00:01
Okay.
00:02
Let’s move on to state
of consciousness.
00:04
Now, how does this
apply to cognition?
Well, states of consciousness
are related to cognition
because it is during this
cognitive state and state
of consciousness that we
do a lot of our thinking.
00:18
So conscious is defined as the
awareness that we have of ourselves,
our internal states,
and the environment.
00:24
So, being aware of
what is around you,
being aware of yourself, being
aware of your capabilities,
and being aware of
your internal state,
are you excited, are you
angry, are you at peace.
00:34
So consciousness is needed to
complete novel and complex tasks.
00:38
So if you’re not
consciously aware,
it’s going to be really hard
to do things, to do tasks,
especially if they’re different
and require you to think.
00:47
So practiced and simple tasks may be
completed with little conscious awareness.
00:52
So for example driving home.
00:55
How many times have you
done this, where you’re
driving home, and at least
in your mind you think
you’re driving home, but
you’re supposed to go
to the grocery store to
pick up a bag of milk?
Your wife calls you on the way home
saying, “Can you get some milk?”
You’re like, “Sure, no problem.”
And as you’re driving, you realized
that you just drove straight home.
01:11
It’s because that
simple practice task
required very little conscious awareness,
a lot of very little conscious input,
and so it becomes an
automatic behavior, right?
And then you go home, you get yelled at,
you turn around, and you go get the milk.
01:24
Now, subconscious cues may influence
us without entering our consciousness,
so first impressions
for example.
01:31
So when you see somebody
for the first time,
you -- and then your subconscious
level actually accrue
and save what you believe
to be your first impression
and that actually didn’t go
through your consciousness.
01:42
You didn’t actively think
about that first impression.
01:46
It just happens.
01:47
You can then later
on consciously
readdress or revisit
that first impression,
but the actual first impression
happens subconsciously.
01:58
Okay. Let’s talk
about alertness.
01:59
Now, alertness and arousal involve the ability
to remain attentive to what’s going on.
02:04
And, again, throughout the
different modules, we’ve talked --
we’ve used that term
“arousal” before,
and we’re referring to your
brain being active or alert.
02:12
And alertness or arousal
is a direct measure of the
sort of level of function
that you have at that moment.
02:20
Now, back to our injuries,
if you have ADD or
narcolepsy or depression,
this actually impairs the
ability to remain alert
and as a result, impairs
your cognitive ability.
02:31
So you need to be alert and arouse in
order to do what you need to do, okay?
So it’s impossible to maintain
alertness indefinitely,
which is why over our
24-hour cycle, this varies.
02:41
There are periods of
peak performance, right?
So when you wake up at
three in the morning,
are you really alert? No.
02:48
Forget about middle
of the night.
02:48
Forget about middle
of the night.
02:49
How about even at like 10:30 PM?
You’ve gotten home. You’ve had your dinner.
You’re watching TV. You’re relaxing.
02:54
Are you really alert?
And we all know our periods
of activity and inactivity,
and when we’re the most
alert and when we’re not,
and, you know, some people
are morning people and
they’re very, very efficient
and alert in the morning,
and some people are night
owls and they’re really, really
apt at doing their work
later on in the day.
03:12
So this process of
alertness is mediated by a
brain structure called
the reticular formation.
03:18
So, this is in the brainstem
and it’s also known as the RAS,
the reticular activating system.
03:25
It’s easy to remember because we’re
talking about arousal, alertness,
and activity, and this is called
the reticular activating system.