Varieties of Consciousness

QOTD

Betsy Bennett if you could have one superpower which would it be? a) flight b) hearing peoples thoughts c) ability to rewind time d) have visions (like Thats so Raven) e) i would want a different superpower

Randy O’Reilly How frequently do you lucid dream? A. Never B. Once or twice ever C. Once a year D. Monthly E. Weekly or more frequently

Cierra Cowden What is your favorite state of consciousness? a. normal, awake state b. daydreaming, awake state c. dreaming, asleep state d. drugged state e. some other state

Christine Lambert On average, how many hours of sleep do you get per night? A. Less than 4 B. 4 to 6 C. 6 to 8 D. 8 to 10 E. More than 10

The Big Questions What is consciousness?  And how can I lose it!? Facts about dreams, drugs and other altered states..

Two Key Points 1. Consciousness is just another name for what it’s subjectively like to “live” inside a human brain  Way too much confusion trying to reify it into some kind of “substance”! (all of ours are different!)  Even a rock has a subjective experience (it is just extremely boring) The “hard” problem is impossible!  Objective science will never penetrate the subjective

Two Key Points 2. The “hard” problem is impossible!  Objective science will never penetrate the subjective world of the mind  This does not imply dualism or that consciousness is not also material (again, think of the rock..)

Does anyone understand consciousness? A. Yes B. No

Duh! Everyone understands consciousness!  We are it!  If you think nobody can possibly understand something (which everyone actually has / is), then you’re framing the problem in the wrong way..  That doesn’t mean we know how the brain works..  And what we don’t understand is unconsciousness!

NCC: Neural Correlates of Concsciousness What is different in the brain between when we’re aware of something, vs. not? This can be studied empirically..

What Counts as Conscious?

Recurrent Processing = Consciousness (Lamme, 2006)

Recurrence == Consciousness Consciousness is Unitary Recurrence coordinates all areas on one thing (That thing emerges through popular vote) Consciousness is Functional We learn more about conscious things It helps us organize, prioritize our behavior “Focusing” is necessary for difficult problems

Is Twitter Conscious? A. Yes B. No

Metacognition Awareness of awareness is also a key ingredient of human consciousness – likely associated with prefrontal cortex and other high-level brain areas. Are you conscious when you’re not “mindful”?

Sleep and Dreaming

Your PFC Goes to Sleep And your limbic system wakes up! - Dreams are disorganized, inconsistent over time - And very emotionally charged: lots of fear and lust.. - Braun et al, 1997:

Why do we sleep? Synthesize proteins in synapses, etc:  Use your brain during the day, (re)build your brain at night  Why babies sleep so much..  Result = better memory after sleep – “consolidated” synapses

Which disorder have you had!? A. Nightmares B. Insomnia C. Night terrors D. Sleepwalking E. Rem-sleep behavior disorder

Altering Consciousness via Drugs Do all drugs alter consciousness? Are drugs actually addictive?

What have you tried? A = yes, B = no Alcohol Nicotine Marijuana Cocaine Psilocybin (shrooms) LSD Heroin

Are you dependent on any drugs? A. Yes B. No

Mouse Party!

Hypnosis Bottom line: people are lemmings!