Biological Bases of Consciousness and Sleep (Lecture Notes)

A set of flashcards covering cerebellum, limbic system (amygdala), hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebral cortex lobes, consciousness, selective attention, dual processing, blindsight, parallel and serial processing, circadian rhythms, and REM/NREM sleep stages.

What role does the cerebellum play in processing information?

Involved in coordinating movement and procedural memory; processes information often outside conscious awareness.

Which limbic system structure is key for emotion and is bean-sized?

Amygdala.

What is the hypothalamus responsible for?

Regulating the endocrine system (via the pituitary) and maintaining homeostasis.

What is the hippocampus responsible for?

Forming new memories and consolidating information for long-term storage.

What are the four lobes in each cerebral hemisphere?

Frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes.

How is consciousness defined in psychology?

Awareness of self and environment.

What is selective attention and the cocktail party effect?

The ability to focus on a specific stimulus while filtering out others; a common example is noticing your name in a noisy room.

What is dual processing?

The idea that information is processed on separate conscious and unconscious channels.

What is blindsight?

The ability to respond to a visual stimulus without conscious awareness.

What is parallel processing?

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously.

What is serial processing?

Processing one aspect of a problem at a time; sequential processing.

What is circadian rhythm?

The 24-hour biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles.

What does REM stand for and what characterizes REM sleep?

REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement; characterized by brain activity similar to wakefulness, vivid dreaming, and rapid eye movements.

What are the stages of NREM sleep and their characteristics?

NREM-1: light sleep; NREM-2: deeper relaxation; NREM-3: deep sleep with slow delta waves.