Consciousness 1

Some psychologists define consciousness as: “our awareness of ourselves and our environment.” Aren’t animals aware of their environment? If so, is our awareness different?... Possibly…because we have (uniquely?) a narrative experience of that awareness. Consciousness is…  How do you define consciousness?  Other definitions: alertness; being awake vs. being unconscious self-awareness; the ability to think about self having free will; being able to make a “conscious” decision a person’s mental content, thoughts, and imaginings. 2

Brain and Consciousness: Findings and Debates Finding Some rare “unconscious” patients have brain responses to conversation. Implication Don’t judge a book by its cover when it comes to consciousness. Debate What is going on in the brain that generates our experience of consciousness? One View Synchronized, coordinated brain activity generates consciousness, or at least is a sign that conscious activity is occurring. 3

The KEY CONCEPT for the day THE DUAL TRACK MIND 4

Conscious vs. Unconscious Activity: The Dual-Track Mind Conscious “high” track: our minds take deliberate actions we know we are doing Examples: problem solving, naming an object, defining a word Unconscious “low” track: our minds perform automatic actions, often without being aware of them Examples: walking, acquiring phobias, processing sensory details into perceptions and memories Automatic processing: Conscious “high” track says, “I saw a bird!” Unconsciously, we see: Example (borrowed from the Sensation and Perception topic): 5

Why have two tracks? Possible benefit: not having to think about everything we do all at once Examples  You can hit or catch a ball without having to consciously calculate its trajectory.  You can speak without having to think about the definitions of each word.  You can walk and chew gum AND carry on a conversation. 6

Unusual Consequences of Having a Dual-Track Mind Blindsight Selective Attention Selective Inattention  Inattentional blindness  Change blindness  Choice blindness 7

Case Study A woman with brain damage, but NO eye damage, was unable to use her eyes to report what was in front of her. BUT, she was able to use her eyes to help her take actions such as putting mail in slots. What are the two mental “tracks” in this case? Blindsight Judging size and distance well enough to put the mail in the slot: the “low road,” or unconscious, automatic track Describing the mail and the slot: the “high road,” or conscious track 8

 There are millions of bits of information coming at our senses every second.  So, we have the skill of selective attention; our brain is able to choose a focus and select what to notice. Selective Attention Selective Attention and Conversation  The good news: we can focus our mental spotlight on a conversation even when other conversations are going on around us. This is known as the cocktail party effect.  The bad news: we can hyperfocus on a conversation while driving a car, putting the driver and passengers at risk. 9

Selective inattention refers to our failure to notice part of our environment when our attention is directed elsewhere. Selective Inattention:  inattentional blindness  change blindness  choice blindness Selective Inattention: what we are not focused on, what we do not notice Selective Attention: what we focus on, what we notice 10

Inattentional Blindness  Various experiments show that when our attention is focused, we miss seeing what others may think is obvious to see (such as a gorilla, or a unicyclist).  Some “magic” tricks take advantage of this phenomenon. 11

Change Blindness Two-thirds of people didn’t notice when the person they were giving directions to was replaced by a similar-looking person. The Switch By the way, did you notice whether the replacement person was in the same clothes or different clothes? 12

Choice Blindness In one experiment, people chose their favorite among two jams. But when the jar’s contents were deceptively reversed and tasted again, people described the same jar’s contents as their chosen jam. The researcher flips the divided containers, so that the next taste from that jar is actually the other jam. 13

Sleep 14

Sleep Deficit Scale Analyze your results: 4 or fewer: Student gets adequate sleep. 5 or 6: Most days, the student gets adequate sleep. Some days a person’s sleeps account may be a bit short, and this may mean that performance is less than 100% on certain activities. 7 or 8: There is evidence of a sleep debt that may cause noticeable reductions in work efficiency. 9-11: Definitely a large sleep debt exists. The person’s work is likely to suffer from large, random errors, and even small errors may be missed when the work is reviewed a second time : In addition to experiencing the same symptoms as those who score in the 9-11 range, the person’s general quality of life suffers. Perhaps the person is less interested in things formerly found to be fascinating and is less inclined to spend time socializing. The person may also be a bit accident- prone and subject to temporary memory deficits such as momentarily forgetting his or her address or phone number. 15 or above: Sleep debt is a major problem. Levels of sleepiness are in the range often found in people with clinical levels of sleep disturbance – for example, those with sleep apnea or severe insomnia. The person should increase the amount of sleep he or she gets and should seek professional help if this does not bring scores back below 7. How much sleep should you get? Research supports that extending people’s sleep to approximately 10 hours a night seems to improve performance, psychological status, and mood. Data also suggest that when all time cues are removed, people tend to sleep for 9 to 10 hours a night.

Sleep Journals In order to prepare for a deeper discussion about sleep and dreams, you need to complete a sleep journal for the next 5 days. To start, you should complete the first entry for today right now. Then you will complete a journal entry for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Bring all five entries to class on Tuesday to turn in at the beginning of class.

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NOVA “Sleep” While watching this clip, write down key facts about sleep. Create a detailed list. Small group discussions 1.Give each person a chance to share the facts s/he took during the clip (add to your notes) 2.What did you find interesting about this segment? 3.Can you think of examples from your own life when you have seen sleep (or lack of it) make an impact on you?

How Do We Learn About Sleep and Dreams?  We can monitor EEG/brain waves and muscle movements during sleep.  We can expose the sleeping person to noise and words, and then examine the effects on the brain (waves) and mind (memory).  We can wake people and see which mental state (e.g. dreaming) goes with which brain/body state. Sleep as a State of Consciousness Consider that:  we move around, but how do we stop ourselves from falling out of bed?  we sometimes incorporate real- world noises into our dreams.  some noises (our own baby’s cry) wake us more easily than others. When sleeping, are we fully unconscious and “dead to the world”? Or is the window to consciousness open? 19

Daily Rhythms and Sleep The circadian (“about a day”) rhythm refers to the body’s natural 24-hour cycle, roughly matched to the day/night cycle of light and dark. What changes during the 24 hours? Over the 24 hour cycle, the following factors vary, rising and falling over the course of the day and night:  body temperature  arousal/energy  mental sharpness “Larks” and “Owls” Daily rhythms vary from person to person and with age. General peaks in alertness:  evening peak—20-year old “owls”  morning peak—50-year old “larks” 20

Stages and Cycles of Sleep Sleep stages refer to distinct patterns of brain waves and muscle activity that are associated with different types of consciousness and sleep. There are four types of sleep. Sleep cycles refer to the patterns of shifting through all the sleep stages over the course of the night. We “cycle” through all the sleep stages in about 90 minutes on average. 21

22 Measuring sleep: About every 90 minutes, we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages. Hank Morgan/ Rainbow Stages and Cycles of Sleep

Stages of Sleep 23 Stage 1. Feel self drifting on the edge of consciousness Stage 2. Minor noises won’t disturb you Stage 3. Breathing and pulse have slowed down Stage 4. Deep sleep REM. Increased eye movement, loss of muscle tone, dreaming Stages and Cycles of Sleep

24 Awake but Relaxed When an individual closes their eyes but remains awake, brain activity slows down to a large amplitude and slow, regular alpha waves. A meditating person exhibits an alpha brain activity. Stages and Cycles of Sleep

25 During early, light sleep (stages 1-2) the brain enters a high-amplitude, slow, regular wave form called theta waves. A person who is daydreaming shows theta activity. Sleep Stages 1-2 Theta Waves Stages and Cycles of Sleep

26 During deepest sleep (stages 3-4), brain activity slows down. There are large-amplitude, slow delta waves. Sleep Stages 3-4 Stages and Cycles of Sleep

27 REM Sleep After reaching the deepest sleep stage (4), the sleep cycle starts moving backward towards stage 1. Although still asleep, the brain engages in low- amplitude, fast and regular beta waves much like awake-aroused state. A person during this sleep exhibits Rapid Eye Movements (REM) and reports vivid dreams. Stages and Cycles of Sleep

Stages of Sleep: The 90 Minute Cycles Through 8 Hours of Sleep The length of REM sleep increases the longer you remain asleep. With age, there are more awakenings and less deep sleep. NREM-1 NREM-2 NREM-3 28

Typical night’s sleep for a young adult 29

Why do we sleep? What determines the quantity and rhythm of sleep? The amount and pattern of sleep is affected by biology, age, culture, and individual variation.  Age: in general, newborns need 16 hours of sleep, while adults need 8 hours or less  Individual (genetic) variation: some people function best with 6 hours of sleep, others with 9 hours or more  Culture: North Americans sleep less than others, and less than they used to, perhaps because of the use of light bulbs Light and the brain regulate sleep.  The circadian rhythm is hard to shift (jet lag).  This rhythm can be affected by light, which suppresses the relaxing hormone melatonin. 30

1.Sleep restores and repairs the brain and body. 2.Sleep strengthens the immune system. 3.Sleep builds and strengthens memories. 4.Sleep facilitates creative problem solving. 5.Sleep is the time when growth hormones are active. Why do we sleep? What does sleep do for us? 31

Sleep Loss Effects by Body System 32

Sleep Loss/Deprivation=Accident Risk Sleep loss results in more accidents, probably caused by impaired attention and slower reaction time. Accident Frequency 33

Sleep Disorders Insomnia: persistent inability to fall asleep or stay asleep – Fatal Familial Insomnia Narcolepsy (“numb seizure”): sleep attacks, even a collapse into REM/paralyzed sleep, at inopportune times Sleep apnea (“with no breath”): repeated awakening after breathing stops; time in bed is not restorative sleep  Night terrors refer to sudden scared-looking behavior, with rapid heartbeat and breathing.  Sleepwalking and sleeptalking run in families, so there is a possible genetic basis. Are these people dreaming? These behaviors, mostly affect children, and occur in NONREM-3 sleep. They are not considered dreaming. 34