9/9/15

Ch4 - Consciousness

Moment to moment, subjective experiences

Attending to / processing _____________

www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/what-is-consciousness/

Consider the following:

______________
philosophical ______________
______________& some comatose brains
philosophers
cogito ergo sum
______________ hypothesis

Dual Processes

___________ process

___________ process

slower

faster

deliberate

autopilot

intentional

quick & dirty

______________

too much attention can

____________!

increased detail
optimized: _________

optimized: ________

Usually-automatic processes (e.g., driving) can be impaired by

________________

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Selective Attention
Stimuli can distract us automatically,
Shadowing task
shifting ____________________
_____ and non-ignorable (pain)
_______-relevant (evoke emotion)
Socially-relevant or self-relevant
AKA ________________

Inattentional & Change Blindness

_________ participants may be less prone to this
__________ might increase its likelihood
People skilled at maintaining attention are _____

Attention is critical to encoding / processing / storage of

information (more in Memory)

Unconscious Process
Not the same as Freudian ____...
______________ perception can influence thinking.
__________ effects on complex actions
thirst increases drinking
________ topic influences judgments

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Mind Reading

Global workspace model

consciousness is ___________________________
(outputs = ______________)
damage not always detectable
e.g., ______________
mechanism of awareness, prioritizing information

Brain Injury
_____ medically induced / naturally occurring
Persistent vegetative state: ________________________
likely brain damage; longer PVS = poor odds of recovery
Brain death: __________________________
requiring ________ to maintain basic body functions
Minimally conscious state: may attempt to __________,
make deliberate movements

Circadian Rhythms: regulate some physiological

processes: ________, hormone levels, __________ cycle
Biological ________ : light/dark cycles (w/ some flex)
Light suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
SCN ________ ________; secretes ________
________ suppresses, ________ triggers secretion
helps with ________ & shift work (rhythm disruptors)

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So what IS sleep?
1) ________________________________
Some brain areas increase activity

2) ________________________________
Several key theories of its function
Chronic poor sleep linked to ________

________: alert, awake (irregular, fast)

________: drifting off (regular, slow activity)
Stage 1: ________ ; ________
Stage 2: k-complex (big wave; ________ trigger?)
________ (spikes; signal to
________________)
Stage 3/4: delta waves (________________); hard to wake
REM sleep: ~__m in, cycle ________________; brain is
________________ (often dreaming)

Need ~8 hrs, but ________________________

________ need more; ________ need less
Sleep Deprivation

short term: minimal effect on ________, ________; hard

to do ________ task, may feel ________
long term: ________ ________ problems; attention
difficulties & poor ST memory
very long term/sustained = ________

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Why do we need sleep?

________ theory:

sleep allows for body/brain ________

Circadian rhythms: sleeping at night ____________, is
linked to our need to obtain energy
Facilitates learning: consolidates ________ (neural
connections), possibly through ________ ________

What do dreams do/mean?

Not clear if dreaming serves a biological function
non-REM: ________________________________
in REM: ________________________________
________ active, ________ offline

Real life --> dream content (but not Freudian)

Activation-synthesis: ________________________

Insomnia: ___________
________% of adults; ________
issue bad reporting, subjective feeling of sleep
major factor = ________
TREATMENTS: ________ & cognitive behavioral therapy
Some Rx are habit-forming
CBT: very effective, targets _____________
_____________& mythbusting

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Obstructive sleep apnea:

tied to ____________________________ (BiPAP/CPAP)
_________: (rare) excessive sleepiness, prone to sleeping
suddenly w/ _________
REM behavior disorder: _________
Sonambulism: _________; 1-2hrs into sleep

www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/361/fear-of-sleep

_____________: Not clear if true change in consciousness

useful for _________ _________ (immediate/chronic),

especially _________ _________ (not sensory)
not much evidence it boosts _________ effects
Sociocognitive theory:

Neodissociation model:

MEDITATION: Practice of _________

to specific stimulus (_________)

to _________ itself (mindfulness)

Reduces _________
New era of mindfulness-based _________

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How to lose yourself

_________: Complete absorption in whatever specific
activity one is doing (Csikszentmihalyi)

_________ _________ (exercise/running)

Religious ecstasy (euphoric religious experience)
_________ (engaging in alternate realities to manage or
avoid intense emotional experiences)

DRUG CLASSES
_________ increase CNS activity (more _________,
happiness, restless; less _________, appetite)
Depressants _________ _____ activity (relaxing/calming)
_________ mimic _________ in brain to _________(boost
pleasure, relaxation, _________, reward; orgasmic stupor)
Hallucinogens (psychedelics) alter cognition, _________ &
mood (change experience of world)
Unclassified drugs have _________ _________

SUBSTANCE ADDICTION
Physiological dependence on a drug identified by:
_________ must use more to get same effect
_________ psych/phys state if not using;
_________, anxiety, tension, other symptoms
_________ system (nucleus accumbens) = _________

Insula = _________

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Addiction in Context
No single _________; likely _________
e.g., risk-taking + _________ + sensation-seeking + low NS
arousal, etc.
_________ _________ also influential
Robins & _________ _________(_________/cues)
50% use heavy drugs in Vietnam
rarely addicted on return to USA

Cocaine
Historically: used in _________, _________
Originally believed to have _________
Grown from coca plant; was in _________
Reality: high habit forming potential
(especially _________ _________ _________)
High risk of _________ _________ _________
Via _________, boosts _________, alertness
Long-term: _________, violence

(Meth)amphetamines
Amphetamine has history of use as _________ _________
Also in _________ medication often without an Rx

Via _________ increase, boost _________

High addiction potential
Damage to F & T lobe, _________

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_________
_________ relaxation/uplifting feeling; some experience
cognitive/perceptual distortions
NT path not well understood - maybe _________?
decreases _________, impairs _________ & _________
frequent users can get high on small amount
chronic use:
_________ & amygdala atrophy

MDMA (Ecstasy)
Effect = _________ + _________
less _________, more serotonin
can _________ serotonin
current research target for _________, depression
Can damage _________, hippocampus
long term use linked to _________ impairments

ALCOHOL: Via _________ (inhibitory)

Relaxing; poor _________, slowed RT, _________ speech
High doses associated with _________
Cultural and societal implications
social norms (including sanctioned _________ _____)
linked to of _________, _________ ($223B/yr cost)
80K deaths per year (1.8K collegiates; 60% drink)
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/CollegeFactSheet/CollegeFactSheet.pdf

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Alcohol Use
___________________________, across cultures
possibly _________/body size
possibly social acceptability / _________

_________ influence use, intoxication

Kids drink more if they have __________________
People get more drunk based on __________________

Alcohol poisoning is legit

Respiratory paralysis is COD in ~ of all alcohol-related deaths

using it alone?
using it to cope?
using it to regulate difficult emotional states?
cant do X,Y or Z unless I am drunk/high?

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