Consciousness
our awareness of ourselves and our environment
- allows us to assemble information from many sources as we reflect on our past and plan for our future
Cognitive Neuroscience
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
Dual Processing
the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
Conscious (high track)
our minds take deliberate actions we know we are doing
- ex: problem solving, naming an object, defining a word
Unconscious (low track)
our minds perform automatic actions, often without being aware of them
- ex: walking, acquiring phobias, processing sensory details into perceptions and memories
Blindsight
a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it
Selective Attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Inattentional Blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
- woman holding umbrella
Change Blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment
Circadian Rhythm
the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle
- ex: temperature and wakefulness
REM Sleep
rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep since the muscles are relaxed yet body systems are active
- heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid and irregular
Alpha Waves
the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed awake state
Sleep
period, natural loss of consciousness- as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma etc
- marked by the slowed breathing and the irregular brain waves of non-REM stage 1 sleep
Hallucinations
false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
- sensory experiences that occur without a sensory stimulus
Sleep Spindles
burst of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity
- during NREM-2 sleep
Delta Waves
the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
- during NREM-3 sleep
EEG
monitors brain waves
90 minutes
the length of our sleep cycle
Sleep Paralysis
brain stem blocks the motor cortex's messages muscles don't move
protects, helps us recuperate, helps restore and rebuild our fading memories of day's experiences, feeds creative thinking, supports growth
Benefits of Sleep (sleep theories)
insomnia
reoccurring problems in falling or staying asleep
narcolepsy
a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks
- sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times
night terrors
a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified
- unlike nightmares, it occur during NREM-3 sleep within two or three hours of falling asleep and are seldom remembered
sleep apnea
a sleep disorder characterized characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings
Dream
a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind
- notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities
- incorporates traces of previous day's nonsexual experiences and preoccupations
Otto Loeni
discovered neurotransmitters in 1920
lose brainpower, gain weight, get sick, be irritable, feel old
Effects of Sleep Loss
Peter Tripp
stayed awake for 200 hours
Manifest Content
according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream
Latent Content
according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream
REM rebound
the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
- created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep