4.17.2012 wk 3 lect. 5Lecture 4 continuedTwo halves of the brain can operate independently and they both have specialized functionedLanguage is in the left cerebral hemispherePart of the process of consciousness is partly based on how the sides of the brain are composing info. That is meaningfulSpecialized aspects of cerebral hemisphere are lateralized(something is more understood on the left than the right)Left cerebral hemisphere: step by step processing such as language ,(sequence of words linked together) math/ more inclined to process info. SequentiallyRight cerebral hemisphere: things that are integrated in the holistic fashion/ form perception such as the photograph and landscapePhoto receptors in the retina in the eye the brain has to integrate what we seeDepending on where the damage is one can still have some functions but not allNeurogenesis: formation of new neurons (brain cells)/ normal process in early brain development/ extremely limited in adult brain/ neurons can die out/ as long as the cell body is viable there is a chance of regrowth(the dendrites or axons can be damaged) / areas tied into new experience and memory can grow new neuronsBrain plasticity: the brain can make modification of itself/ for instance in learning the neurons grow new processes/ building new pathways or connections based on experience/ it’s not about how many it’s about how neurons are connected to eachother / compensate for brain damage by rewiring, reassigning functions to undamaged brain regions usually when you’re youngBrain is generating the mindWAKING CONSCIOUSNESSConsciousness: an awareness of the fact that we exist and our environmentFeatures of consciousnessFocus- individual’s attention either outward(environment) or inward(thoughts or physiological processes)Structure: foreground (attending to), background(things flowing in and out of our mind), and aerial perspective(observing our own conscious thought processes/ thinking about what it is you’re thinking about/ critical for meditators/ )Attributes: is the experience…. significant or meaningless/ organized or disorganized/ clear or fuzzyCharacteristics of our consciousnessSubjective and private: other people cannot directly know what reality is yours/ all you can do is try to communicate it to other peoplethey can relate to your feelings but they can’t know exactly how you feelDynamic (always changing)- we drift in and out of various states throughout each day/ only capturing what’s happening at that very moment and the brain may try to integrate that based on expectations/ flowing stream we continue to process info. In hopes of adaptation we useexperiences to help us make better choices down the road to make new strategies is based on old strategiesSelf-reflective and central to our sense of self- mind is aware of its own consciousnessIntimately linked to selective attention- the process that focuses on some stimuli to the exclusionof othersSelective attentionCocktail party effect: ability to attend to only one voice among many/ if it’s important to use then we focus on itDual processing: perception, memory, thinking, lang., attitudes all operate on two levelsHigh road: conscious (deliberate) ex: learning to drive a carLow road: unconscious (automatic)/ acquire through repetition and memory ex: driving a car for many yrsStates of consciousnessSome states occur spontaneously(daydreaming), physiologically induced, psychologically inducedAltered states of consciousness ( apart from waking conscious states)SleepBiological rhythmsCircadian ( approx.24hrs), ultradian (90min. cycle/ REM cycle), infradian (less than once per day),circannual (one yr)Light helps re-set the circadian clockA set of neurons in the retina layers send info. To supochiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus and melatonin is released which regulates sleep in dark melatonin is released and sleep is inducedSleepSleep one-third of our life awayThere are different stages of sleep that can tell you what happens inside of the brainChanges in brain wave patterns (electroencephalogram eeg)Measuring activity underneath to skull in order to make discrimination Electrical patterns identified beta waves, alpha waves theta waves, and delta waves(beta is fastest)/ the deeper the sleep the slower the brain waves/ during meditation you can put your brain In a state that mimics sleep/ Wakefulness: high frequency (beta range), low amplitude, desynchronized pattern of electrical activity(neurons don’t fire at the same time because they’re processing different info.)Sleep: decrease in frequency of brain waves, increase in amplitude(neurons fire at the same time)Awake but relax: alpha wavesBrain waves and sleep stagesAlpha waves: slow waves of a relaxed, awake brainDelta waves: large, slow waves of deep sleepHallucinations: false sensory experiencesSleep stages (1-4 )Stage 1- NREM drowsiness, pre-sleep/ hypnogogic sensations: sensation of falling or floating: hallucinations/ alpha waves more prominentStage 2- NREM-2 light sleep/ occurrence of nocturnal jerk/ sleep spindles not seen in any other stage!!!(burst of activity, rapid and rhythmic)/ alpha waves disappearStage 3 brain waves become more synchronized: slower frequency and higher voltage/ delta waves predominateStage 4: coma-like state/ occurrence of sleep irregularities (night terrors, sleep-walking usuallyseen in young people)/ slow delta waves make up more than 50% of EEGHigh to low frequencyREM sleep (90min. into sleep period): the eyes move back and forth/ individuals experience vividdreams/ intense autonomic activity (blood pressure goes up/ erection)/ muscular paralysis/ occurrence of dreams/ paradoxical sleep (the body is asleep and the brain is producing brain wave patterns that look as though the person is awake)Sequence of sleep stages1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM(stage 1 gets replaced) 2, 3, 4, 3Stage 4 shortens and then disappears altogetherREM stage lengthens as the period of sleep progressesREM and DreamsWe typically dream of events in our daily lives/ eye movements probably do not parallel the action in a sequence of a dream/ people usually will recall dreaming if awoken during REM even if they claim they don’t dream/ dreams can occur in the non-REM stages but they are usually verbal(non-visual), repetitive, and fleetingWhy do we dreamDream theoriesFrued: we have different levels of consciousness/ certain thoughts get censored and put into the unconscious