Chapter 4: The Brain and Consciousness
Chapter Review
Summarizing the Principles of the Brain and Consciousness
What Are the Basic Brain Structures and Their Functions?1. The spinal cord is capable of autonomous function: The spinal cord is a bundled rope of neurons that responds to sensory inputs and directs muscle responses (reflexes).
2. The brainstem houses the basic programs of survival: The top of the spinal cord at the base of the skull forms the brainstem, which is involved in basic functions and general arousal.
3. The cerebellum is essential for movement: The cerebellum, the bulging structure connected to the back of the brainstem, is essential for balance and movement.
4. Subcortical structures control basic drives and emotions: The subcortical structures play a key part in psychological functions because they control vital functions (the hypothalamus), sensory relay (the thalamus), memories (the hippocampus), emotions (the amygdala), and planning and producing movement (the basal ganglia).
5. The cerebral cortex underlies complex mental activity: The lobes of the cortex play specific roles in controlling vision (occupital), touch (parietal), hearing and speech comprehension (temporal), and planning and movement (frontal).
How Does the Brain Change?
6. The interplay of genes and the environment wires the brain: Chemical signals influence the growth and function of cells. Environmental experiences, especially during critical periods, are necessary for cells to develop properly and for them to make more detailed connections.
7. The brain rewires itself throughout life: Although plasticity decreases with age, the brain retains the ability to rewire itself throughout life. This ability is the biological basis of learning.
8. The brain can recover from injury: The brain can reorganize the function of areas in response to brain damage, although this capacity decreases with age. Transplanted stem cells may be able to grow to replace damaged neurons.
How Is the Brain Divided?
9. The hemispheres can be separated: A bundle of axons (the corpus callosum) connects the two sides of the brain; the connection can be cut, resulting in two independently functioning sides.
10. The separate hemispheres can be tested: Testing of split-brain patients has revealed the functions of each hemisphere.
11. The hemispheres are specialized: The left hemisphere is primarily responsible for language and the right hemisphere is competent in images and spatial relations.
12. The mind is a subjective interpreter: Our left hemisphere interprets and strives to make sense of our experiences, in- fluencing the way we view and remember the world.
Can We Study Consciousness?
13. Definitions of consciousness allow its empirical study: To better study consciousness, researchers have divided the topic into basic issues, including subjectivity, access to information, and the unitary aspect of experience.
14. Unconscious processing influences awareness: Research findings indicate that much of our behavior occurs automatically, without our constant awareness.
15. Awareness has many seats in the brain: Blindsight demonstrates visual ability without awareness. The neuronal workspace model of consciousness demonstrates how awareness depends on activity in a variety of different cortical areas.
What Is Sleep?
16. Sleep is an altered state of consciousness: The stages of sleep vary by brain and respiration activitity. REM sleep activates the brain and produces body paralysis and genital stimulation.
17. Sleep as an adaptive behavior: Sleep restores the body and circadian rhythms control changes in body function and sleep. Learning is consolidated during sleep.
18. Sleep and wakefulness are regulated by multiple neural mechanisms: The brainstem structures are involved in arousal (the reticular formation) and REM sleep (the pons).
19. People dream while sleeping: REM and non-REM dreams involve activation of different areas of the brain. Sigmund Freud thought dreams revealed unconscious conflicts. The activation-synthesis hypothesis posits that dreams are side effects of brain activity. Antti Revonsuo has theorized that dreaming is adaptive.
Key Terms
activation-synthesis hypothesis, p. 153amygdala, p. 124
basal ganglia, p. 125
blindsight, p. 144
brainstem, p. 121
Broca's area, p. 120
cerebellum, p. 122
cerebral cortex, p. 125
circadian rhythms, p. 150
corpus callosum, p. 137
critical period, p. 130
dreams, p. 152
frontal lobes, p. 127
gray matter, p. 121
hippocampus, p. 124
hypothalamus, p. 123
insomnia, p. 148
latent content, p. 153
manifest content, p. 153
microsleeps, p. 149
occipital lobes, p. 125
parietal lobes, p. 126
phrenology, p. 119
plasticity, p. 129
prefrontal cortex, p. 127
qualia, p. 141
REM sleep, p. 148
reticular formation, p. 122
spinal cord, p. 121
split brain, p. 137
temporal lobes, p. 127
thalamus, p. 123
unconscious, p. 142
white matter, p. 121
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