Description
Discussion Topic- The Structure and Function of the Brain
POST 1
I
agree with the following statement that understanding the consciousness
also means having the knowledge and understanding of the brain. Based on
this week’s power point, there are several brain functions that overlap
with the consciousness. This includes the brain’s allowing homeostasis
which is keeping the body in a stable condition and signaling the body
if anything is not right. The brain also allows for process of
attention, for example it allows us to process where we are at the
moment. As we learned in the previous power point, consciousness
involves the state of being aware of our surrounding, being able to know
the awareness of ourselves individually. Another, overlap is the
process of being awake and sleeping, our body knows how to do this
through the circadian rhythm which regulates the sleep-wake cycle. As
discussed in the material, the midbrain and thalamus play a huge role
in the consciousness. In fact, the neurons in the midbrain or reticular
activating system allows for the functions of various areas of the
brain, such as the transition of the sleep-awake cycle Being able to
know when you’re awake and when you’re asleep is part of consciousness
since you have a understanding of what it means to be awake and alert
but also the feeling of being sleepy. The brain also has the function to
process our emotions and feelings, and there are several parts of the
brain that help with that. One main part is the amygdala, as we learned
it’s functions is regulating emotions and it’s located in the limbic
system which works with different parts of the brain. Consciousness also
deals with our emotions and feelings of a certain experience such as
trying beer for the first time. Lastly, the brains overlaps with
consciousness when it comes to learning process. Our learning process
are things such as our behavior, values skills, knowledge and so much
more. This is important in the consciousness since it defines who you
are; why is that you know the information you do? For example, your
parents may have been chiefs and it may have been where your passion for
cooking came from. Or you may remember a medical terminology because it
reminds you of something while another person may just know a term
because it was a common household word; due to their mother being a
nurse.
POST 2
I
agree with the statement that understanding consciousness means
understanding the structure and functions of the brain. From previous
lessons, it was learned that consciousness was described as a more
subjective experience of the individual. Different aspects of
consciousness exists, one of which is that consciousness is ever
changing, meaning that our thoughts processes change frequently, we can
only focus on minimal things at a time without proceeding to the next
thought; William James referred to this as the flowing quality of
consciousness. Initially, scientists lacked study in consciousness since
they did not have access to the imaging machines that they do now, but
in the 1990’s the interest of prominent scientists shift since they got
access to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and
electroencephalography (EEG) machines. One of the first neuroscientist,
Adrian Owen, did research on a young female who had sustained brain
damage due to a car accident that left her non-responsive both verbal
and somewhat physically. What many of us describe s the first sign of
consciousness, open eyes or wakefulness’ was the only form of
consciousness that she could display. Furthermore, Owen and his team of
researchers used the fMRI machine to study the parts of her brain that
interpreted consciousness, the researchers used verbal commands for this
study. For instance, the researchers asked the female to imagine
herself playing tennis and they noted brain activity in the
supplementary motor area. The researchers did the same study with
healthy volunteers and saw that they produced identical signs of
activity in the brain as the female with brain damage. This shows just
how much understanding what parts of the brain are responsible or play a
part in our consciousness is important and helpful to patients who need
neurological attention. Even though or cerebral cortex is largely
responsible for our consciousness, all other parts of our brain are
interconnected and also play a role in our perception and interpretation
of the things that occur in our environment. This is vital because
everything in our bodies are interconnected and interpolated especially
our brain, nervous and peripheral systems which carry information to and
from parts of our bodies to the brain. Also, we can see how one part of
the brain malfunctioning or suffering from trauma can affect other
parts of the brain, especially those important areas that supply us with
consciousness. Overall, it is important for one who is trying to
understand consciousness to understand how the brain is structured and
how it functions since the brain is such a vital part of our bodies that
serves as the control center for bodily function, consciousness,
thoughts, feelings, etc. and if you do not know how it works, then how
would you be able to fix it in the event that something malfunctions or
is damaged, take for an example, a car accident or any head trauma.“Decoding the Neuroscience of Consciousness”, Emily Sohn, Nature, ISSN 1476-4687. www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02207-1. 24 July 2019
Dr. Lickliter’s Musings on
“Consciousness” [part 5]
Primary Consciousness
• The ability to build a multimodal scene based on
several different sources of concurrent information.
• Does not necessarily contain any self-referential
aspect – it lives in the present (“here” and “now”),
tied to the succession of events in real time.
Primary Consciousness
• …is the process of achieving a neural and
mental pattern which brings together, in
about the same instant, incoming
stimulation from the immediate
environment (extrinsic), incoming
stimulation from the organism (intrinsic),
and the pattern of the relationship
between the two.
PRIMARY CONSCIOUSNESS
• This coupling in real time of inside,
outside, and the relationships between
the two depend on the contributions of a
number of individual brain sites working
in close cooperation. The brain sites or
structures are both cortical and
subcortical.
Seeking the Correlates of Consciousness
5
Examples of Neural Correlates
Involved in Consciousness
• Brain Stem: involved in maintaining
vegetative function (breathing,
swallowing, etc.), arousal, regulation of
sleep/wake cycles
Neural Correlates of Consciousness
• Superior Colliculus: integrates
multimodal information, connects to
various cortical and sub-cortical
brain regions.
• Involved in orientation to moving
external stimuli.
Neural Correlates of Consciousness
• Thalamus: receives incoming sensory
information and relays to a variety of brain
regions, especially the sensory cortex.
Involved in sensory/temporal succession.
• Cingulate Cortex: involved in emotion,
attention, and autonomic control. Sensory
and motor integration.
Biological functions of brain
structures which support
consciousness appear to
overlap…
(even though they are widely
distributed in the brain)
Overlapping Brain Functions
1) regulating homeostasis and signaling body
structure and state
2) participating in processes of attention
3) participating in the processes of
wakefulness and sleep
4) participating in the processes of emotion
and feeling
5) participating in the learning process
Midbrain and Thalamus: Key Players in the
Conscious State
11
Midbrain and Thalamus: Key Players in the
Conscious State
• Neurons in the midbrain reticular activating system project
throughout the cortex.
• When the organism is alert, these neurons fire at a high
rate.
• The firing rate slows down when the organism is asleep.
• Activity within the reticular activating system helps
maintain consciousness.
12
Midbrain and Thalamus: Key Players in the
Conscious State
• The nuclei of the thalamus interact with the reticular
activating system to maintain awareness.
• These nuclei are particularly vulnerable to oxygen
deprivation.
13
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