Psychological Science
Michael Gazzaniga and Todd Heatherton
Chapter Four:
The Brain and Consciousness
Overview of Chapter Questions:
What Are the Basic Brain Structures and
Their Functions?
How Does the Brain Change?
How Is the Brain Divided?
Can We Study Consciousness?
What Is Sleep?
What Are the Basic Brain Structures
and Their Functions?
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The Spinal Cord Is Capable of Autonomous
Function.
The Brainstem Houses the Basic
Programs of Survival.
The Cerebellum Is Essential for Movement.
Subcortical Structures Control Basic
Drives and Emotions.
The Cerebral Cortex Underlies Complex
Mental Activity.
The Spinal Cord Is Capable of
Autonomous Function
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Grey Matter
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White Matter
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Spinal Reflexes
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Example: The Stretch Reflex
The Brainstem Houses the Basic
Programs of Survival
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A complement of survival reflexes:
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Gagging, breathing, swallowing, etc.
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Brainstem uses spinal reflexes to produce
useful behavior:
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The reticular formation and sleep
The Cerebellum Is Essential for
Movement
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Cerebellum = “little brain”
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Role in motor learning
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Beyond motoric training:
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Multiple cognitive processes
Empathy
Subcortical Structures Control
Basic Drives and Emotions
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The limbic system separates the “older” and
“newer” parts of the brain.
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Hypothalamus
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Thalamus
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Hippocampus and Amygdala
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Basal Ganglia
The Cerebral Cortex Underlies
Complex Mental Activity
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Frontal Lobe
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Parietal Lobe
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Temporal Lobe
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Occipital Lobe
How Does the Brain Change?
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The Interplay of Genes and the Environment
Wires the Brain.
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The Brain Rewires Itself throughout Life.
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The Brain Can Recover from Injury.
The Interplay of Genes and the
Environment Wires the Brain
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The Importance of plasticity
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Chemical signals guide growing connections.
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Experience fine-tunes neural connections.
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Plasticity has “critical periods.”
The Brain Rewires Itself
throughout Life
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Change in the strength of connections
underlies learning
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Hebbian learning: “fire together, wire together”
Changes in use distort cortical maps
The Brain Can Recover from Injury
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Remapping after injury reflects plasticity
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The promise of transplanting stem cells
How Is the Brain Divided?
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The Hemispheres Can Be Separated.
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The Separate Hemispheres Can Be Tested.
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The Hemispheres Are Specialized.
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The Mind Is a Subjective Interpreter.
Can We Study Consciousness?
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Definitions of Consciousness Allow
Its Empirical Study
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Unconscious Processing Influences
Awareness
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Awareness Has Many Seats in the Brain
Definitions of Consciousness
Allow Its Empirical Study
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Subjectivity and “qualia”
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Access to Information
Unconscious Processing
Influences Awareness
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The case for unconscious influence:
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Priming effects
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The “Freudian Slip”
The Illusion of conscious will
Awareness Has Many
Seats in the Brain
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“Blindsight”
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Neuronal Workspace
What Is Sleep?
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Sleep Is an Altered State of
Consciousness.
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Sleep Is an Adaptive Behavior.
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Sleep and Wakefulness Are Regulated by
Multiple Neural Mechanisms.
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People Dream while Sleeping.
Sleep Is an Altered State
of Consciousness
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Stages of sleep
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REM sleep
Sleep Is an Adaptive Behavior
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Restoration and Sleep Deprivation:
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Microsleeps
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Circadian Rhythms
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Facilitation of Learning
Sleep and Wakefulness Are
Regulated by Multiple Neural
Mechanisms
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Brainstem and arousal
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REM Sleep
People Dream while Sleeping
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What do dreams mean?
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Activation-synthesis hypothesis
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Evolved threat-rehearsal strategies
Student Website:
Study Smarter
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www.wwnorton.com/psychsci
Diagnostic Quizzes
Chapter Reviews
Vocabulary Flashcards
Studying the Mind videos
Animations and Activities
Concept Quiz
1.Franz decided to go on some of the rides at a
fair. Unfortunately, a piece of the carousel
broke and punctured his skull in Broca's area.
We know that when he recovers, he is going
to have difficulty with the:

a.
production of language
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b.
understanding of language
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c.
hearing of language
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d.
control of his emotions
Concept Quiz
2.Roger is suffering from severe epilepsy. To
control it, he opts to have this brain area
severed thus separating the two hemispheres
of the brain.

a.
corpus callosum
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b.
frontal lobe
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c.
hypothalamus
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d.
amygdala
Concept Quiz
3.Mike, a split-brain patient, is shown a key in
his left visual field and a ring in his right visual
field. He is asked what he sees. Which of
the following is most likely his answer?
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a.
nothing
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b.
a key
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c.
a ring
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d.
a key ring
Concept Quiz
4. Larry has lost his vision following a couple of
strokes. However, when he takes he kids to the mall
he amazes them by guessing fairly accurately the
expressions of people without actually seeing them.
This phenomenon of visual processing without
visual awareness is known as:

a.
qualia
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b.
subliminal perception
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c.
blindsight
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d.
unconscious awareness
Concept Quiz
5. For revenge, Joe wants to put shaving
cream on his roommates face and write
"STUPID" on his forehead. Which sleep
stage should he pick for his roommate to be
least likely to detect this?

a.
Stage 1
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b.
Stage 2
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c.
REM
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d.
Stage 4
Concept Quiz
6. Nancy has been depressed throughout the winter.
She tries something new and cuts her sleep in half
for a week. Amazingly, this helps lift her spirits.
This effect likely works because sleep deprivation
leads to increased activation of __________
receptors.
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a.
acetylcholine
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b.
dopamine
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c.
serotonin
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d.
GABA