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Questions and Answers

What is the job of cognitive science?

Bringing perspectives from neuro, psych, CS, phil, lang, and anthro together.

What method do philosophers use?

Argument and analysis/deductive reasoning.

What methods do psychologists use?

Experimental techniques and paradigms.

What methods do neuroscientists use?

Spatial/temporal resolution, case studies, lesions, brain imaging. Signup and view all the answers

What methods do cognitive psychologists use?

Modeling. Signup and view all the answers

What methods do AI researchers use?

Computer modeling. Signup and view all the answers

Define temporal resolution.

Time intervals to which they are sensitive. Signup and view all the answers

Define spatial resolution.

The scale on which they give precise measurement. Signup and view all the answers

Why are conclusions derived from Western psychological experiments not representative of humanity as a whole?

Participants are WEIRD: Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic. Signup and view all the answers

Define cognition.

Mental activity of acquisition, storage, transformation, and use of knowledge. Signup and view all the answers

Who established the first psychology lab?

Wundt. Signup and view all the answers

What happened when behaviorism took rise?

Psych should study the relation between observable stimuli and response. Signup and view all the answers

What happened when cognitive psychology took rise?

A growth in memory and linguistics and computer science created a view that mental processes can be best understood by comparison to a computer. Signup and view all the answers

What is the computational model of the mind?

Cognition involves an algorithmic process of information processing. Signup and view all the answers

What is parallel distributed processing?

The brain performs a range of activities at the same time. Signup and view all the answers

What is the frontal lobe responsible for?

Speaking, muscle movement, making plans, and judgement. Signup and view all the answers

What is the parietal lobe responsible for?

Sensory cortex. Signup and view all the answers

What is the occipital lobe responsible for?

Visual information. Signup and view all the answers

What is the temporal lobe responsible for?

Auditory processing. Signup and view all the answers

What is the motor cortex responsible for?

Voluntary movements. Signup and view all the answers

What is the sensory cortex responsible for?

Sensations. Signup and view all the answers

What are the two parts of the limbic system?

Amygdala and hippocampus. Signup and view all the answers

What is the amygdala responsible for?

Emotions, fear, and aggression. Signup and view all the answers

What is the hippocampus responsible for?

Memory. Signup and view all the answers

What are the three limitations of the experimental method?

<ol> <li>Lack of ecological validity. 2. Best things in life aren't quantifiable. 3. Belief is a confounding variable.</li> </ol> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between sensation and perception?

Sensation is the process of converting stimulus energies from the environment to neural impulses; perception is interpreting and organizing sensory information. Signup and view all the answers

What are the 4 early models of object perception?

<ol> <li>Template matching. 2. Feature-analysis. 3. Prototype. 4. Recognition-by-components.</li> </ol> Signup and view all the answers

What is the problem with the template matching model?

It can't account for complexities and flexibility of object recognition. Signup and view all the answers

What is the problem with the feature analysis model?

It can't explain recognition of complex objects with moving features. Signup and view all the answers

Explain how Artificial Neural Networks work.

Neurons = nodes. Signup and view all the answers

What are weights in neural networks?

Weights = connections between nodes, similar to IPSP and EPSP. Signup and view all the answers

What is the first layer of nodes in Neural Networks?

The 784 nodes colored on a grey scale (0 = no activation, 1 = fully activated). Signup and view all the answers

What does the second layer in neural networks do?

Picks up on edges based on activation's weighted sum. Signup and view all the answers

What does the third layer in neural networks recognize?

Subcomponents of the number. Signup and view all the answers

What does the last layer in a neural network do?

Has 10 nodes (0-9) and the brightest one indicates the computer's classification. Signup and view all the answers

How are multilayered neural networks trained?

Back propagation. Signup and view all the answers

Why would increasing the number of hidden layers in a neural network be bad?

The network might overfit the training set, unable to generalize new data. Signup and view all the answers

What is bottom-up processing?

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. Signup and view all the answers

What is top-down processing?

Information processing guided by our beliefs, expectations, and memories. Signup and view all the answers

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Beliefs create our experiences and perceptions. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Pygmalion effect?

People are influenced by the expectations built upon them. Signup and view all the answers

What are the three kinds of perceptual constancies?

Shape, lightness, size-distance. Signup and view all the answers

What is light constancy?

We perceive an object as having a constant lightness even while its illumination varies. Signup and view all the answers

What is modular processing?

There are specialized information processing modules that respond automatically and can't be switched off. Signup and view all the answers

What is prosopagnosia?

Inability to recognize faces. Signup and view all the answers

What is visual agnosia?

Inability to recognize objects. Signup and view all the answers

What is unilateral spatial neglect?

Ignores the left side due to a stroke in the right hemisphere. Signup and view all the answers

What is blindsight?

A condition in which people who are blind have some spared visual capacities. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Mozart Effect?

Music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as spatial-temporal reasoning. Signup and view all the answers

Which marketing studies did we cover in class?

Temperature of music in stores affects purchasing behavior and overall sales. Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of music on the brain?

Music activates all areas of the brain simultaneously and improves mental and physical well-being. Signup and view all the answers

What is synesthesia?

Describing one kind of sensation in terms of another. Signup and view all the answers

What are the two theories of synesthesia?

<ol> <li>Brain structure has more connections. 2. ‘Feed-backwards’ connections carry information from high-level multi-sensory areas.</li> </ol> Signup and view all the answers

What is priming?

Unconscious activation of particular associations in memory. Signup and view all the answers

What is dichotic listening?

Different messages in each ear, ignored one ear and recite what the other said. Signup and view all the answers

What is the filter model of attention?

We filter information so only a small portion comes to our conscious understanding. Signup and view all the answers

What are the four physi/neuro ways to measure attention?

<ol> <li>Neuro correlates (ERP and PET). 2. Orienting response. 3. Pupil dilation. 4. Eye movement.</li> </ol> Signup and view all the answers

Feats of divided attention are possible due to practice and actions become automatic.

True Signup and view all the answers

It's possible to perform two tasks that require deep cognitive processing at the same time.

False Signup and view all the answers

What are the advantages and disadvantages of automatic processing?

<ul> <li>Efficient, multitask; - No accuracy, miss richness of life.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

What are the three theories of attention?

<ol> <li>Bottleneck. 2. Automatic vs controlled processing. 3. Feature-integration theory.</li> </ol> Signup and view all the answers

What do bottleneck theories of attention suggest?

Limits the quantity of information we pay attention to. Signup and view all the answers

What are the differences between automatic vs controlled processing?

Automatic is easy or habitual tasks; controlled is hard tasks with serial processing. Signup and view all the answers

What is feature integration theory?

Attention must be serially processed when characterizing objects with separable features. Signup and view all the answers

The more kids with ADHD wiggle and fidget, the better they do on cognitive tests.

True Signup and view all the answers

What is biofeedback?

A person trained to control autonomic processes. Signup and view all the answers

What is neurofeedback?

A form of biofeedback using devices to provide feedback about brain activity. Signup and view all the answers

What area has increased activation from fMRI neurofeedback that improves symptoms of ADHD?

Right inferior frontal cortex. Signup and view all the answers

What is the correlation between TV and attention?

TV may increase attention problems due to reliance on bottom-up processing. Signup and view all the answers

What are the effects of sleep deprivation on cognition?

Impairs prefrontal cortex, negatively impacting attention, memory, and decision-making. Signup and view all the answers

What are the effects of sleep deprivation on adolescents?

Risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression, car accidents. Signup and view all the answers

What is sleep debt?

Building up of lack of sleep. Signup and view all the answers

What are the neurophysiological functions of sleep?

<ul> <li>Consolidation of memories, - Rest, - Flushing out of toxins with glymphatic system.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

What does the glymphatic system do during sleep?

Pushes cerebrospinal fluid through the brain to flush toxins. Signup and view all the answers

What is the basic rest-activity cycle?

90-minute gaps between autonomic activities. Signup and view all the answers

When during the sleep cycle are dreams usually had?

REM (but also in NREM). Signup and view all the answers

What are the theories of dreams?

Freud's wish fulfillment, modern psychodynamic view, activation-synthesis hypothesis, cognitive development theory, memory consolidation view. Signup and view all the answers

What type of memory does slow wave sleep help consolidate?

Declarative memory. Signup and view all the answers

What type of memories does REM sleep enhance processing for?

Emotional memories. Signup and view all the answers

Dreams are used to work through emotional issues.

True Signup and view all the answers

Traumatic dreams are about emotional events that people cannot resolve or assimilate.

True Signup and view all the answers

Recurrent dreams are mostly nightmares.

True Signup and view all the answers

Who tends to have the most nightmares?

Sensitive people. Signup and view all the answers

What is the progression of dreams?

Traumatic dreams > recurrent dreams > repetitive themes within long dream series. Signup and view all the answers

Do dreams' themes change frequently?

False Signup and view all the answers

What is the continuity hypothesis of dreams?

Dream life reflects waking life. Signup and view all the answers

Eight out of ten dreams are negative emotions.

True Signup and view all the answers

What are the lucid dreaming induction techniques?

<ul> <li>Dream recall, - Get ample sleep, - Naps, - Different positions, - Reality testing, - Autosuggestion, - MILD.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

Transforming dreams can end recurrent nightmares.

True Signup and view all the answers

What are the different viewpoints of the mind-body problem?

Monism (idealism and materialism), dualism, functionalism. Signup and view all the answers

What is (monism) idealism?

Everything, including the material world, is actually mind. Signup and view all the answers

What is (monism) materialism?

Everything that exists, including mind, is physical. Signup and view all the answers

What is dualism?

The mind and brain are separate things. Signup and view all the answers

What is functionalism?

What makes something a mental state is solely its function. Signup and view all the answers

What does the Physical Symbol System hypothesis say?

Intelligence is transforming symbols, hence machines can also be intelligent. Signup and view all the answers

What rule does the PSS hypothesis follow about thinking?

Thinking is just the manipulation of symbols. Signup and view all the answers

The Chinese room argument supports PSS.

False Signup and view all the answers

What is the Chinese room argument?

A person follows an instruction manual but doesn’t learn any Chinese. Signup and view all the answers

What does it mean to 'understand' something?

This concept goes against PSS hypothesis. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Turing Test?

If you can't tell the difference between a human and a computer, then the computer is intelligent. Signup and view all the answers

What are the neural correlates of consciousness?

Consciousness results from coordinated activity of a population of neurons. Signup and view all the answers

What are the two theories of NCC?

Global neuronal workspace theory & integrated information theory. Signup and view all the answers

What does the global workspace theory say?

We are conscious when incoming sensory info is broadcasted globally to multiple cognitive systems. Signup and view all the answers

What does the global neuronal workspace theory say?

The network of neurons that broadcasts info is located in the frontal and parietal lobes. Signup and view all the answers

What are examples of unconscious processing that support the GNW theory?

Hypnosis, repression, and dissociative identity disorder. Signup and view all the answers

What does the prefrontal cortex disengage processing in?

The hippocampus. Signup and view all the answers

The brain is more active when avoiding recalling memory than actually just recalling it.

True Signup and view all the answers

What is the posterior hot zone?

The posterior region is involved in conscious experience. Signup and view all the answers

What is Access Consciousness?

Accessibility of information, linked to the prefrontal and parietal areas. Signup and view all the answers

What is phenomenal consciousness?

How and why we experience different qualia the way we do. Signup and view all the answers

What is the hard problem of consciousness?

How do we get subjective experience from the brain? Signup and view all the answers

Where does consciousness explicitly NOT come from?

Cerebellum. Signup and view all the answers

What is the integrated information theory of consciousness?

Exchange and integration of neural signals is the basis of phenomenal consciousness. Signup and view all the answers

What does split brain suggest?

Consciousness involves operations of verbal mechanisms located in the left cerebral hemisphere. Signup and view all the answers

What is anosognosia?

Denial of illness. Signup and view all the answers

Who are more susceptible to hypnosis?

People with rich fantasy lives and imaginative individuals. Signup and view all the answers

What are some uses for hypnosis?

<ul> <li>Recover memories, - Treating physical disorders, - Pain control in childbirth.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

What does LSD do?

Stimulates serotonergic and dopaminergic receptors. Signup and view all the answers

What are the positives and negatives of LSD?

<ul> <li>Can help anxiety; - Can trigger panic attacks, psychotic breaks.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

What does MDMA do?

Releases serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine; blocks their reuptake. Signup and view all the answers

What are the positives and negatives of MDMA?

<ul> <li>Emotional elevation; - Risk of dehydration and long-term damage to serotonin production.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

What does psilocybin do?

Stimulates serotonin receptors. Signup and view all the answers

What are the positives and negatives of psilocybin?

<ul> <li>Euphoria, spiritual experiences; - Nausea, panic attacks, psychotic episodes.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the anterior cingulate cortex?

Integrate cognitive and affective information, selective attention. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

What is Cognitive Science?

Cognitive Science is the study of the mind and its processes.
It draws on perspectives from various disciplines, including:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Computer Science
- Philosophy
- Linguistics
- Anthropology

Methods in Cognitive Science

Philosophers primarily use argumentation, analysis, and deductive reasoning.
Psychologists rely on experimental techniques and paradigms.
Neuroscientists utilize techniques that offer spatial and temporal resolution. Examples include:
- Case studies
- Lesion studies
- Brain imaging techniques
Cognitive Psychologists commonly use modeling.
AI researchers develop computer models.

Spatial and Temporal Resolution

Temporal Resolution refers to the precision in measuring the time intervals of brain activity.
Spatial Resolution signifies the accuracy with which brain structures and regions are measured.

WEIRD Participants

Many psychological experiments are conducted on Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations.
This limited sample size makes generalizations about human cognition difficult.

Defining Cognition

Cognition encompasses the mental processes involved in the acquisition, storage, transformation, and utilization of knowledge.

Evolution of Cognitive Science

Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory in 1879.
Behaviorism emerged in the early 20th century, advocating for the study of observable behavior and the relationship between stimuli and responses.
Cognitive Psychology rose in the 1950s, emphasizing mental processes, including memory, language, and computing. This shift was influenced by the development of computer science.

The Computational Model of Mind

The mind is viewed as an information processing system, similar to a computer.
Parallel Distributed Processing suggests that the brain works in parallel, performing various tasks simultaneously and even completing tasks when some information is missing or inaccurate.

Brain Regions and Functions

Frontal Lobe: Responsible for speech, muscle movement, planning, and judgment.
Parietal Lobe: Contains the sensory cortex, responsible for touch, taste, and temperature.
Occipital Lobe: Processes visual information.
Temporal Lobe: Processes auditory information.
Motor Cortex: Controls voluntary movements.
Sensory Cortex: Processes sensory information.
Limbic System:
- Amygdala: Involved in emotions, especially fear and aggression.
- Hippocampus: Responsible for memory formation.

Limitations of the Experimental Method

Ecological Validity: Highly controlled environments may not accurately reflect real-world situations.
Quantifiability: Not all aspects of human experience, such as subjective experiences, are easily quantifiable.
Belief as a Confounding Variable: Beliefs and expectations can influence experimental results.

Perception and Sensation

Sensation involves sensory receptors and the nervous system converting stimuli from the environment into neural impulses.
Perception is the process of interpreting and organizing sensory information based on prior knowledge.

Early Models of Object Perception

Template Matching: A template is stored in memory, and incoming stimuli is compared to that template for recognition.
Feature Analysis: Objects are recognized by their constituent features.
Prototype: A "best fit" prototype is stored in memory, and incoming stimuli is compared to the prototype for recognition.
Recognition-by-Components: Objects are recognized by their basic geometric shapes (geons).

Problems with Existing Models

Template Matching: Cannot account for the complexity and flexibility of object recognition, for example, different handwriting styles.
Feature Analysis: Limitations in explaining the recognition of complex objects with moving features.

Artificial Neural Networks

Neurons in artificial neural networks are represented as nodes.
Weights of connections between nodes are similar to inhibitory and excitatory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP and EPSP) in biological neurons.

Structure and Functioning of a Neural Network:

The first layer of nodes represents the input signal.
Subsequent layers progressively abstract representations of higher-order features, such as edges and subcomponents.
The final layer provides the output, corresponding to the most likely interpretation of the input.

Training Multi-Layered Neural Networks

Neural networks are trained through Backpropagation - adjusting the weights of connections based on the difference between actual and desired outputs.

Overfitting in Neural Networks

Overfitting occurs when a neural network becomes too specialized to the training data, compromising its ability to generalize to new information.

Perception: Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing

Bottom-Up Processing: Sensory information flows from receptors to the brain, driven by external stimuli.
Top-Down Processing: Information processing is guided by prior knowledge, beliefs, and expectations.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and Pygmalion Effect:

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Beliefs shape experiences and perceptions.
Pygmalion Effect: People's behavior is influenced by the expectations built upon them.

Perceptual Constancy

Shape Constancy: Perception of an object's shape remains constant despite changes in its orientation.
Lightness Constancy: Perception of an object's lightness remains consistent despite changes in illumination.
Size-Distance Constancy: Perception of an object's size remains constant despite changes in its distance from the viewer.

Modular Processing and Agnosias

Modular Processing: Specialized modules process information automatically and cannot be easily switched off.
Prosopagnosia: An inability to recognize faces.
Visual Agnosia: An inability to recognize objects.

Unilateral Spatial Neglect and Blindsight

Unilateral Spatial Neglect: Ignoring one side of space, typically the left, due to damage to the right parietal or frontal lobe.
Blindsight: Residual visual capabilities in individuals who report being blind, despite a lack of awareness of those capabilities.

The Mozart Effect

Music, especially classical, may boost short-term performance on some mental tasks like spatial-temporal reasoning.

Marketing Applications

Music: Music in retail settings can influence shopping behaviors and sales, with different styles affecting customer choices.
Packaging: The color of packaging impacts perceptions of the product.

Music and the Brain

Music is unique in its ability to simultaneously activate all brain areas.
It can enhance mental and physical wellbeing, particularly when combined with playing an instrument or singing.

Synesthesia

A condition in which stimulation of one sense leads to automatic experiences in another sense.

Theories of Synesthesia

Brain Structure Theory: Increased connections between sensory areas.
Feedback Theory: Disrupted inhibitory connections allow information to be fed back to other senses, resulting in cross-modal experiences.

Priming

The unconscious activation of specific knowledge or associations in memory.
Exposure to one stimulus can alter behavior or thoughts later.

Dichotic Listening

Presenting different auditory messages to each ear to test attention.
Participants can typically report the message from the attended ear, but can sometimes also pick up important words from the unattended ear.

Attention: Filter Models and Physiological Correlates

Filter Models: We filter out unnecessary information, allowing only a subset to reach conscious awareness.
Physiological Measures of Attention:
- Neuro Correlates: Changes in brain activity (ERP and PET) associated with attention.
- Orienting Response: Increased heart rate and skin conductance.
- Pupil Dilation:
- Eye Movement.

Change Blindness

Failure to notice changes in the environment due to a focus on maintaining perceptual constancy.

Automatic and Controlled Processing

Automatic Processing: Efficient, effortless, and involuntary processing for familiar or routine tasks.
Controlled Processing: Effortful, serial processing for unfamiliar or demanding tasks.

Theories of Attention

Bottleneck Theories: Information processing capacity is limited, creating a bottleneck for attention.
Automatic vs. Controlled Processing: Two distinct modes of processing with different characteristics.
Feature Integration Theory: Focused attention is needed to bind multiple features together into a complete object, while individual features can be processed automatically.

ADHD

ADHD is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Children with ADHD who fidget and wiggle may perform better on cognitive tests.

Biofeedback and Neurofeedback

Biofeedback: Learning to control physiological processes, such as heart rate, by receiving feedback about those processes.
Neurofeedback: Biofeedback using brain imaging techniques like EEG and fMRI to provide feedback on brain activity for behavioral modification.

Effects of TV on Attention Problems

Excessive TV viewing can lead to attention problems, potentially due to a reliance on bottom-up processing, which is driven by external stimuli rather than internal motivations.

Sleep Deprivation and Cognitive Impairment

Sleep deprivation has widespread negative effects on cognition, particularly impacting the prefrontal cortex.
This impairment can lead to decreased attention, memory problems, impaired decision-making, and difficulty in making connections.

Sleep and Adolescents

Sleep deprivation in adolescents is linked to various health risks, including:
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Depression
- Increased risk of car accidents

Sleep Debt and Neurophysiological Functions of Sleep

Sleep Debt: Accumulated lack of sleep.
Functions of Sleep:
- Memory consolidation
- Rest
- Glymphatic system clearing toxins

Glymphatic System

The glymphatic system is active during sleep, flushing cerebrospinal fluid through the brain to remove harmful molecules.

Sleep Cycle and Dreams

The basic rest-activity cycle is a 90-minute pattern observed in various physiological processes.
Dreams are most commonly experienced during REM sleep but can also occur during Non-REM sleep.
Theories of Dreaming:
- Freudian Wish Fulfillment: Dreams express unconscious desires and wishes.
- Modern Psychodynamic Theory: Dreams reflect life experiences and provide solutions to problems.
- Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis: Dreams are the brain's attempt to interpret random neural activity during sleep.
- Cognitive Development Theory: Dreaming plays a role in cognitive development.
- Memory Consolidation View: REM sleep is essential for consolidating memories.

Memory Consolidation During Sleep

Slow wave sleep consolidates declarative memories.
REM sleep strengthens the processing of emotional memories.

Dreams and Emotional Issues

Dreams may be used to work through unresolved emotional issues.
Traumatic dreams often reflect unresolved traumatic experiences.

Recurring Dreams

Recurring dreams are often a symptom of underlying psychological stress.

Progressive Nature of Dreams

The content of dreams may show a gradual shift in themes, going from traumatic dreams to repetitive themes and frequent elements.

Continuity Hypothesis of Dreams

The content and themes of dreams often reflect waking life experiences.

Emotional Content of Dreams

A significant portion of dreams involve negative emotions, such as fear, anxiety, and sadness.

Techniques for Lucid Dreaming

Dream Recall: Improving memory for dreams.
Ample Sleep: Getting enough sleep.
Naps: Taking short naps.
Different Positions: Sleeping in different positions.
Reality Testing: Checking the reality of a situation within a dream
Autosuggestion: Mentally suggesting to oneself that a lucid dream will occur.
Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming (MILD): A technique involving specific steps to induce lucid dreaming.
Intention: Strengthening the desire to have a lucid dream.

Transforming Nightmares

Lucid dreaming can help to transform recurring nightmares and alleviate their emotional impact.

Mind-Body Problem

The Mind-Body Problem concerns the relationship between the mind and the physical body.
Monism: The mind and body are fundamentally one.
- Idealism: Everything is ultimately mental or spiritual.
- Materialism: Everything is ultimately physical.
Dualism: The mind and body are distinct entities.
Functionalism: The identity of a mental state is determined by its functional role within the system.

Physical Symbol System Hypothesis

Intelligence is the result of manipulating symbols.
Since humans can manipulate symbols, their minds can be considered physical symbol systems.
This suggests that machines can also achieve intelligence through symbolic manipulation.

Chinese Room Argument: Challenging PSS

A person who follows instructions for manipulating Chinese symbols without understanding the language is said to be processing information but not truly understanding it.
This argues against the PSS hypothesis.
The argument raises questions about what it means to truly "understand."

Turing Test

A test to determine if a computer has achieved genuine intelligence.
If a machine can fool a human into believing it is another human through conversation, then it is considered intelligent by the standard of the Turing Test.

Neural Correlates of Consciousness

Consciousness is thought to arise from synchronized activity between a specific population of neurons.
The exact neurons involved remain a mystery.

Theories of Neural Correlates of Consciousness

Global Neuronal Workspace Theory: Consciousness arises when information is broadcast globally to various cognitive systems.
Integrated Information Theory: Consciousness arises from the complex integration of neural signals.

Global Neuronal Workspace Theory: Evidence and Examples

The network of neurons responsible for broadcasting information is thought to reside in the prefrontal and parietal lobes.
Unconscious processing is associated with deficits in the prefrontal and parietal regions.
Examples of unconscious processing:
- Hypnosis
- Repression
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Non-lucid dreams
- Unilateral spatial neglect

Repression and Dissociation: Prefrontal-Hippocampal Interaction

During repression and dissociation, the prefrontal cortex inhibits processing in the hippocampus, resulting in forgetting of traumatic memories.

Posterior "Hot Zone" and Consciousness

Conscious experience is elicited by stimulating specific areas in the posterior brain.
Damage to the posterior brain can affect conscious content.

Access Consciousness vs. Phenomenal Consciousness

Access Consciousness: Accessibility of information to cognitive processes, particularly in the prefrontal and parietal regions.
Phenomenal Consciousness: The subjective experience of qualia (the subjective feel of what it's like to have a certain experience).

The Hard Problem of Consciousness

How does the brain generate subjective experience?
The cerebellum does not play a direct role in consciousness.

Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness

The integrated information theory suggests that consciousness is a product of the complexity and integration of neural signals.

Split Brain

Cut corpus callosum can lead to a split brain in which the two hemispheres of the brain are unable to communicate.
Suggests that consciousness is involves the operations of verbal mechanisms in the left hemisphere.

Anosognosia

Lack of awareness or denial of illness.

Susceptibility to Hypnosis

People who are more imaginative and have rich fantasy lives are more susceptible to hypnosis.

Applications of Hypnosis

Hypnosis is used in therapeutic settings for various purposes, including:
- Retrieving memories
- Treating physical disorders
- Pain management in childbirth

Hidden Observer

A hypothesized dissociated part of the hypnotized person that is aware of what is happening.

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens: Substances (LSD, MDMA, psilocybin) that alter sensory experiences and perception.

LSD

Stimulates serotonin and dopamine receptors.
Can induce feelings of creativity, euphoria, and dissolution of boundaries.
Potential for panic attacks, flashbacks, and psychotic breaks.

MDMA

Releases serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, and blocks their reuptake.
Can produce feelings of empathy, euphoria, and emotional elevation.
May be helpful for PTSD treatment
Risks include dehydration, overheating, and damage to serotonin production, potentially leading to depression and memory impairments.

Psilocybin

Stimulates serotonin receptors.
Can elicit euphoria, mystical experiences, and hallucinations.
Risks include nausea, panic attacks, and psychotic episodes.

Anterior Cingulate Cortex

The anterior cingulate cortex plays a crucial role in integrating cognitive and emotional information.
It is involved in processes such as:
- Selective attention
- Processing of pain
- Error detection
- Decision-making

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