PS101 Lecture 9: State of Consciousness
Document Summary
The question has been around for a long time. Moment to moment awareness of ourselves and environment. Properties of consciousness: subjective & private, others cannot directly know our reality, dynamic, self-re ective, ever-changing, mind is aware of its own consciousness. Consciousness: infer much from absence of consciousness, perform many mental functions without being aware of it. Does the absence of conscious thought = the unconscious: term unconscious , freud, non conscious , preconscious can be brought to mind. Measuring consciousness: how do we operationally de ne inner states, self reports, physiological, behavioural, are objective but cannot indicate what person is experiencing subjectively, direct but not veri able, performance on tasks, need to infer state of mind. Circadian rhythms: brain & environment: circadian rhythms regulated by suprachiasmatic (scn, scn neurons like to pineal gland, which secretes melatonin. Circadian rhythms: neurons in scn-active during daytime, inhibits melatonin secretion, raises body temperature and alertness.
