PS101 Chapter 6: Chapter 6
Document Summary
Consciousness is often defined as our immediate awareness of our internal and external states. Attention is a key part of our conscious awareness. The relationship between attention and consciousness is the topic of lively debate in psychology. One possibility = attention is a prerequisite for consciousness. To be fully conscious of something, must be aware of attending to it. Multiple brain processes and structures must be operating simultaneously to be conscious. Neurons tend to work in groups (networks), become more efficient with repeated use. Weiskrantz concluded that the areas of the brain that help us attend to visual stimuli are different from the visual areas in the cerebral cortex that help us to be aware that we are attending to such stimuli. The left cerebral cortex is responsible for verbal awareness. The right cerebral cortex responsible for non-verbal forms of conscious awareness. This suggests that the right cerebral cortex can produce tactile awareness.
