Consciousness Chapter 3

Consciousness Results from brain activity. Our right hemisphere communicates with our left hemisphere through the Corpus callosum Split brain: When the corpus callosum is missing (congenital or surgical)

Motivation for sleep If you don’t sleep, you die. Rat who don’t sleep at all die in 2-3 weeks; rats deprived of REM sleep die in 5 weeks Sleep conserves energy, repairs the brain, and strengthens the immune system

Purpose of sleep Our brains are busy experiencing sensory information while we are awake. But we also need brain power to create new memories. It’s hard for us to do both at the same time. So, we store memories of immediate experiences during waking and integrate these with other memories/information while we sleep. Does this make sense to you in your life, based on your sleep/wake experiences?

Why do we sleep and then wake and then sleep and then wake and then… We sleep and wake up based on a Circadian Rhythm: We naturally have about a 24 hour sleep- wake cycle. The rhythm is affected by adrenaline levels in your body. Teens have “sleep phase delay”—makes you want to stay awake later and sleep later.

Effects of Sleep loss Lapsing: slow response time Memory problems: especially after 30+hours awake Shift workers can deal with sleep loss

REM Sleep We are paralyzed during REM sleep. It helps us form memories, deal with emotions and stress, fosters creativity. It’s the time when we do much of our dreaming, especially the bizarre dreams.

Features of dreams 1. Hallucination: The visual system responds to memories as though they came from the outside world. 2. Delusion: We tend to accept dreams as reality. 3. Distortions in time, place, person 4. Intensification of emotion 5. Failure to remember

Why do we dream Freud: Things in dreams have symbolic meanings, usually about repressed desires Hobson: Memories are made into a story by the brain during random neuron firings Crick: Content of dreams is meaningless, but dreams are important to prep the brain for optimum function during waking hours Kramer: Dreams are a time to assimilate and/or accommodate new information Hartmann: Dreams help form new brain connections which “spread out” emotions and make them easier to deal with during waking

Lucid dreaming Being fully active and aware during dreams. We can use lucid dreams to do things we find difficult in waking. Confronting people or dealing with our own inadequacies. It can lead to improved self-confidence, optimism, and feelings of control. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK3SfNxbK3Y

Becoming a lucid dreamer 1. Practice dream recall 2. Teach yourself to recognize you are in a dream 3. Learn to confirm to yourself that you are dreaming 4. Plan ahead of time what you intend to do when you become lucid 5. Keep practicing. What do you guys think??

Coming this week! Wednesday: Class activity on Chapter 3 with Dr. J Thursday: Chapter 3 Quiz and Ted talk with response writing Friday: Genius hour work

Videos for the Week Video for Thursday 3/24 http://www.ted.com/talks/russell_foster_why_do_we_sleep