The document describes an exam question about a man named Roy who was learning words for a play in a room where a clock was ticking loudly. It asks two multiple choice questions:
1. Roy's ability to focus on learning the words despite the clock noise is best explained as a controlled process requiring mental effort.
2. It would be expected that Roy's thalamus directed his attention to learning the words while filtering out the sound of the clock.
The document provides context for a exam question about different levels of awareness and the role of the thalamus in directing attention and filtering sensory information.
A research proposal concerning various problems and ideas about neuroscience and human consciousness. I have wanted to work on human consciousness and neuroscience for a long time. Eventually I came up with this research proposal. This is not an exhaustive research proposal however. Moreover, it does not contain any citations. I hope to be able to add them in the due course.
Discussion in this chapter focuses on consciousness and altered states of consciousness. We look at sleep and dreaming, hypnosis, meditation, and the effects of illicit drugs.
Buddha's Brain: Lighting up Your Own Circuits of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom ...Rick Hanson
Â
How mental activity sculpts neural structure; the benefits and pitfalls of integrating neuroscience and psychotherapy; the neural substrates of self-compassion; and how to activate the lateral networks of mindful awareness.
More resources, freely offered at http://www.rickhanson.net
The Neurology of Awakening: Using the New Brain Research to Steady Your MindRick Hanson
Â
Introduction to the neuroscience of mindfulness and meditation; brain-wise methods for steadying the mind, quieting it, bringing it to singleness, and concentrating it; an exploration of what could be happening in the brain during the non-ordinary states of consciousness known as samadhis or jhanas.
More resources, freely offered at http://www.rickhanson.net
A research proposal concerning various problems and ideas about neuroscience and human consciousness. I have wanted to work on human consciousness and neuroscience for a long time. Eventually I came up with this research proposal. This is not an exhaustive research proposal however. Moreover, it does not contain any citations. I hope to be able to add them in the due course.
Discussion in this chapter focuses on consciousness and altered states of consciousness. We look at sleep and dreaming, hypnosis, meditation, and the effects of illicit drugs.
Buddha's Brain: Lighting up Your Own Circuits of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom ...Rick Hanson
Â
How mental activity sculpts neural structure; the benefits and pitfalls of integrating neuroscience and psychotherapy; the neural substrates of self-compassion; and how to activate the lateral networks of mindful awareness.
More resources, freely offered at http://www.rickhanson.net
The Neurology of Awakening: Using the New Brain Research to Steady Your MindRick Hanson
Â
Introduction to the neuroscience of mindfulness and meditation; brain-wise methods for steadying the mind, quieting it, bringing it to singleness, and concentrating it; an exploration of what could be happening in the brain during the non-ordinary states of consciousness known as samadhis or jhanas.
More resources, freely offered at http://www.rickhanson.net
Using the Mind To Change the Brain: Talks @Google - Rick Hanson, PhDRick Hanson
Â
Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and other great teachers were all born with a brain built essentially like anyone else's. Then they used their minds to change their brains in ways that changed history. With the new breakthroughs in neuroscience, combined with insights from thousands of years of contemplative practice, you, too, can shape your own brain for greater happiness, love, and wisdom.
Written with neurologist Richard Mendius, M.D., and with a Foreword by Daniel Siegel, M.D. and a Preface by Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom joins modern science with ancient teachings to show you how to have greater emotional balance in turbulent times, as well as healthier relationships, more effective actions, and greater peace of mind.
http://amzn.to/oLTD3B
Introduction to the neuroscience of mindfulness and meditation; brain-wise methods for steadying the mind, quieting it, bringing it to singleness, and concentrating it; an exploration of what could be happening in the brain during the non-ordinary states of consciousness
Buddha's Brain: Lighting Up the Neural Circuits of Happiness, Love and WisdomRick Hanson
Â
Combining the power of the latest brain science with the wisdom of contemplative practice, these are practical methods for centering your brain in its natural state of gladness, love, and peace.
Steadying the Mind - Healing and Treating Trauma, Addictions and Related Diso...Rick Hanson
Â
To stay alive in the wild, our ancestors evolved highly distractible attentional systems â which pose real challenges to developing greater mindfulness today. This presentation covers how attention works in your brain, and the implications of normal neurological diversity for the âturtlesâ and âjackrabbitsâ at either end of the spectrum.
The Loving Brain - Healing and Treating Trauma, Addictions and Related Disord...Rick Hanson
Â
Over millions of years, social abilities â such as bonding, empathy, compassion, language, and cooperative planning â really aided survival. Love, broadly defined, has profoundly shaped the evolution of the human brain.
Continuum of Consciousness
- Controlled and Automatic Processes
- Altered States of Consciousness
- Psychoactive Drugs
- Sleep and Dreams
- Different Stages of Sleep (REM and N-REM)
- 4 Major Questions About Sleep
- Sleep Disorders
- The Unconscious Mind
- Unconsciousness
Using the Mind To Change the Brain: Talks @Google - Rick Hanson, PhDRick Hanson
Â
Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and other great teachers were all born with a brain built essentially like anyone else's. Then they used their minds to change their brains in ways that changed history. With the new breakthroughs in neuroscience, combined with insights from thousands of years of contemplative practice, you, too, can shape your own brain for greater happiness, love, and wisdom.
Written with neurologist Richard Mendius, M.D., and with a Foreword by Daniel Siegel, M.D. and a Preface by Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom joins modern science with ancient teachings to show you how to have greater emotional balance in turbulent times, as well as healthier relationships, more effective actions, and greater peace of mind.
http://amzn.to/oLTD3B
Introduction to the neuroscience of mindfulness and meditation; brain-wise methods for steadying the mind, quieting it, bringing it to singleness, and concentrating it; an exploration of what could be happening in the brain during the non-ordinary states of consciousness
Buddha's Brain: Lighting Up the Neural Circuits of Happiness, Love and WisdomRick Hanson
Â
Combining the power of the latest brain science with the wisdom of contemplative practice, these are practical methods for centering your brain in its natural state of gladness, love, and peace.
Steadying the Mind - Healing and Treating Trauma, Addictions and Related Diso...Rick Hanson
Â
To stay alive in the wild, our ancestors evolved highly distractible attentional systems â which pose real challenges to developing greater mindfulness today. This presentation covers how attention works in your brain, and the implications of normal neurological diversity for the âturtlesâ and âjackrabbitsâ at either end of the spectrum.
The Loving Brain - Healing and Treating Trauma, Addictions and Related Disord...Rick Hanson
Â
Over millions of years, social abilities â such as bonding, empathy, compassion, language, and cooperative planning â really aided survival. Love, broadly defined, has profoundly shaped the evolution of the human brain.
Continuum of Consciousness
- Controlled and Automatic Processes
- Altered States of Consciousness
- Psychoactive Drugs
- Sleep and Dreams
- Different Stages of Sleep (REM and N-REM)
- 4 Major Questions About Sleep
- Sleep Disorders
- The Unconscious Mind
- Unconsciousness
2012 Presentation - Existential and Psychological Health as Products of Intri...Nick Stauner
Â
Stauner, N. (2012). Existential and psychological health as products of intrinsic goal attainment. Presented in the Proseminar for Current Research in Personality Psychology, April 19, University of California, Riverside.
6 Ways to Improve Emotional Intelligence According to ScienceShanna Sloan
Â
Looking for ways to improve emotional intelligence?
Raising your emotional intelligence is something that can be done at any stage in life, and itâs a skill that can benefit you for the rest of your days.
2. Lesson 1 Normal Waking Consciousness
Exam Question
Use the following information to answer Questions 2 and 3.
Roy was in a room learning words for a play in which he was to perform. While he was learning
the words, a clock was ticking noisily in the room. However, Roy was able to focus and
concentrate on learning his words without being distracted by the sound of the clock.
Question 2
In terms of levels of awareness, Royâs ability to focus on learning the words of the play is best
explained as
A. a controlled process that involves mental effort.
B. an automatic process that involves mental effort.
C. an automatic process that involves minimal awareness.
D. a controlled process that involves minimal awareness.
Question 3
During the time when he was learning the words of the play, it would be expected that Royâs
thalamus
A. processed all the sensory information and was not highly activated.
B. processed all the sensory information and was highly activated.
C. directed his attention simultaneously towards learning the words and the sound of the clock
ticking.
D. directed his attention towards learning the words while simultaneously ďŹltering out the
sound of the clock
ticking.
2012 VCAA Exam
Monday, 7 January 2013
3. Lesson 1 Normal Waking Consciousness
Exam Question
Use the following information to answer Questions 2 and 3.
Roy was in a room learning words for a play in which he was to perform. While he was learning
the words, a clock was ticking noisily in the room. However, Roy was able to focus and
concentrate on learning his words without being distracted by the sound of the clock.
Question 2
In terms of levels of awareness, Royâs ability to focus on learning the words of the play is best
explained as
A. a controlled process that involves mental effort.
B. an automatic process that involves mental effort.
C. an automatic process that involves minimal awareness.
D. a controlled process that involves minimal awareness.
Question 3
During the time when he was learning the words of the play, it would be expected that Royâs
thalamus
A. processed all the sensory information and was not highly activated.
B. processed all the sensory information and was highly activated.
C. directed his attention simultaneously towards learning the words and the sound of the clock
ticking.
D. directed his attention towards learning the words while simultaneously ďŹltering out the
sound of the clock ticking.
2012 VCAA Exam
Monday, 7 January 2013
4. Altered States of Consciousness
Any state we experience that is different to a normal state of
consciousness.
This can be judged on the characteristics that we determine
our normal state of consciousness:
* Level of Awareness
* Content Limitations
* Controlled and automatic processes
* Perceptual and cognitive distortions
* Emotional awareness
* Self-control
* Time Orientation
Monday, 7 January 2013
5. Consciousness Activity
Get out a pen and paper and start writing down all the
thoughts that come in to your mind
Keep writing until told to stop
Donât read over what you have written or worry about
spelling and/or grammar - just keep writing
Donât talk to those around you
Monday, 7 January 2013
7. Distortions in Cognition. Where there any changes in
thought content? Disorganised thought, fantasy etc?
Monday, 7 January 2013
8. Distortions in Cognition. Where there any changes in
thought content? Disorganised thought, fantasy etc?
Changes in emotional feeling? Do you feel a
change in how you feel dependent on what you were
writing about?
Monday, 7 January 2013
9. Distortions in Cognition. Where there any changes in
thought content? Disorganised thought, fantasy etc?
Changes in emotional feeling? Do you feel a
change in how you feel dependent on what you were
writing about?
Disturbed sense of
time? How long do you
think we were writing for?
Monday, 7 January 2013
10. Distortions in Cognition. Where there any changes in
thought content? Disorganised thought, fantasy etc?
Changes in emotional feeling? Do you feel a
change in how you feel dependent on what you were
writing about?
Disturbed sense of
time? How long do you
think we were writing for?
Distortions of Perception? Did you
notice any changes in perception? Were you
more or less aware of the outside world?
Monday, 7 January 2013
11. So why are the following ASC?
Sleep/dreaming/daydreaming
⢠thought patterns are disorganised
⢠distorted perception of time
â˘Â lack of control of movements
⢠sensations and perceptions are dulled
From drug use
⢠thought processes are disorganised Hypnosis
⢠sensations or perceptions are dulled or heightened ⢠distorted perception of time
⢠memory impaired ⢠sensations or perceptions are
⢠more/less/inappropriate emotional reactions dulled (for example, pain)
⢠distorted perception of time ⢠loss of awareness of self
⢠lack of self control ⢠can increase self control (for
example, quitting smoking)
⢠more suggestible, so less inhibited
Monday, 7 January 2013
13. Self-control â Did he have difficulty
maintaining self control, coordinating
and controlling movements?
Monday, 7 January 2013
14. Distortions in Cognition. Do you think his
thoughts were disorganised, will he remember this in
the morning?
Self-control â Did he have difficulty
maintaining self control, coordinating
and controlling movements?
Monday, 7 January 2013
15. Distortions in Cognition. Do you think his
thoughts were disorganised, will he remember this in
the morning?
Changes in emotional feeling? What do
you think his emotional state would be like?
Self-control â Did he have difficulty
maintaining self control, coordinating
and controlling movements?
Monday, 7 January 2013
16. Distortions in Cognition. Do you think his
thoughts were disorganised, will he remember this in
the morning?
Changes in emotional feeling? What do
you think his emotional state would be like?
Disturbed sense of
time? Do you think he
would know how long he
Self-control â Did he have difficulty
had been drinking? Or
maintaining self control, coordinating
how long he was in the
and controlling movements?
shop?
Monday, 7 January 2013
17. Distortions in Cognition. Do you think his
thoughts were disorganised, will he remember this in
the morning?
Changes in emotional feeling? What do
you think his emotional state would be like?
Disturbed sense of
time? Do you think he
would know how long he
Self-control â Did he have difficulty
had been drinking? Or
maintaining self control, coordinating
how long he was in the
and controlling movements?
shop?
Distortions of Perception? Would
this guy notice be experiencing any
changes in perception?
Monday, 7 January 2013
19. What else would you do to learn the difference between
NWC and ASC?
Monday, 7 January 2013
20. Â Watch the first five minutes of The Simpsons Season 14 Episode 2: âHow I spent my Strummer
Vacationâ.
http://www.watchcartoononline.com/the-simpsons-season-14-episode-2-how-i-spent-my-
strummer-vacation
Â
1 Make a list of the various ways Homer tried to alter his state of consciousness. Categorise
these altered states of consciousness as drug-induced or non drug- induced.
Â
2 List the various effects that Homer experienced while in an altered state of consciousness.
Categorise these changes in terms of:
> perceptionâsight, hearing, smell, taste, touch
> thinkingâincluding problem solving, reasoning and understanding
> memory
> emotions
> behavioursâincluding self-control, coordination, balance and speech
> perception of timeâe.g. understanding the amount of time that has passed
Activity 2
 Create a mind map comparing normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness
on each of the following characteristics:
⢠level of awareness
⢠content limitations
⢠controlled and automatic processes
⢠perceptual and cognitive distortions
⢠emotional awareness
⢠self-control
⢠time orientation
Table 3.2 p64 of Oxford Text will assist you with the material required to complete this activity.
Monday, 7 January 2013