Unit 1: Introduction to the Brain

Student Guide Lesson 6

1. What are the objectives of today’s lesson?

● Distinguish between the conscious and unconscious brain and their functions
● Understand and be able to explain how the reward triad includes both conscious and
unconscious functions that control decision making
● Analyze brain injuries including how to respond to events where brain injury may be involved,
preventative measures and brain safety
2. What is a Consciousness?

● The state of wakefulness and awareness

● Alertness in which most human beings’ function while not asleep
● One of the recognized stages of normal sleep from which the person can be readily
awakened.
● Things such as the five senses, reasoning ability of the mind, imagination, emotion and
memory helps the conscious receive and process information

3. What is Unconsciousness?

● The interruption of awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings

● A person may become unconscious due to oxygen deprivation, shock, central nervous system
depressants (alcohol, drugs, or injury)
● Stupor: a state of reduced sensibility and response to stimuli
● Coma: basic body systems may not be working without medical support
● Vegetative State: basic body system is working but the person is not aware
● Brain Death: a state of prolonged irreversible cessation of all brain activity

4. What are the various states of the brain?

● Conscious – all mental processes of which we are aware
● Preconscious – all mental processes that an individual is not aware, but can easily be brought
to consciousness
● Unconscious – all mental processes that are inaccessible to the conscious mind

5. What is the difference between conscious and unconscious thought?

● The cortex is responsible for conscious thought , movement, and sensation

● The brain controls many body functions without our being aware of them such as respiration,
heartbeat, and digestion.

U1L6 Student Guide 1

 6. What are some unconscious actions?

● Caught something that was falling

● Reaching for an object unintentionally
7. What is the Reward Triad? (This is a review)
A collection of brain structures that attempts to regulate and control behavior by including
pleasurable effects. It includes dopamine-containing neurons, nucleus accumbens, the
amygdala and the prefrontal cortex.

8. What happened to the football player’s brain and consciousness? (via video clip)
The blow to the head stopped his conscious thought but did not damage the parts of the brain
regulating breathing and heart rate, so he was not in danger of dying
9. How does a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affect someone’s conscious and unconscious?
● When someone is unconscious, they are still participating in all the automatic processes such
as breathing, heartbeat and digestion
● Depending on where an individual is hit on the head will identify the severity of their
consciousness
● For instance, if someone is hit on the front of the head (like a concussion), they are still alive
because the involuntary functions are still occurring.
● If someone hits the back of their head, death may occur.
● Anything that disrupts the brain stem can cause unconsciousness
● Many central nervous system depressants like alcohol, heroin and barbiturates cause fatal
overdose effects by suppressing brain stem activity
● The brainstem is designed to be the most well protected are of the brain and the last one to
shut down

10. Define the two types of Traumatic Brian Injury:

● Closed – injury to the brain caused by movement of the brain within the skull. Causes may be
a fall, a motor vehicle accident, or being struck by an object
● Penetrating – injury to the brain caused by a foreign object entering the skull. Causes may be
being struck by a sharp object

U1L6 Student Guide 2