Consciousness has less control than believed, according to new theory

Consciousness -- the internal dialogue that seems to govern one's thoughts and actions -- is far less powerful than people believe, serving as a passive conduit rather than an active force that exerts control, according to a new theory proposed by an SF State researcher.

Associate Professor of Psychology Ezequiel Morsella's "Passive Frame Theory" suggests that the conscious mind is like an interpreter helping speakers of different languages communicate.

"The interpreter presents the information but is not the one making any arguments or acting upon the knowledge that is shared," Morsella said. "Similarly, the information we perceive in our consciousness is not created by conscious processes, nor is it reacted to by conscious processes. Consciousness is the middle-man, and it doesn't do as much work as you think."

Morsella and his coauthors' groundbreaking theory, published online on June 22 by the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, contradicts intuitive beliefs about human consciousness and the notion of self.

Consciousness, per Morsella's theory, is more reflexive and less purposeful than conventional wisdom would dictate. Because the human mind experiences its own consciousness as sifting through urges, thoughts, feelings and physical actions, people understand their consciousness to be in control of these myriad impulses. But in reality, Morsella argues, consciousness does the same simple task over and over, giving the impression that it is doing more than it actually is.

"We have long thought consciousness solved problems and had many moving parts, but it's much more basic and static," Morsella said. "This theory is very counterintuitive. It goes against our everyday way of thinking."

According to Morsella's framework, the "free will" that people typically attribute to their conscious mind -- the idea that our consciousness, as a "decider," guides us to a course of action -- does not exist. Instead, consciousness only relays information to control "voluntary" action, or goal-oriented movement involving the skeletal muscle system.

Compare consciousness to the Internet, Morsella suggested. The Internet can be used to buy books, reserve a hotel room and complete thousands of other tasks. Taken at face value, it would seem incredibly powerful. But, in actuality, a person in front of a laptop or clicking away on a smartphone is running the show -- the Internet is just being made to perform the same basic process, without any free will of its own.

The Passive Frame Theory also defies the intuitive belief that one conscious thought leads to another. "One thought doesn't know about the other, they just often have access to and are acting upon the same, unconscious information," Morsella said. "You have one thought and then another, and you think that one thought leads to the next, but this doesn't seem to be the way the process actually works."The theory, which took Morsella and his team more than 10 years to develop, can be difficult to accept at first, he said.
"The number one reason it's taken so long to reach this conclusion is because people confuse what consciousness is for with what they think they use it for," Morsella said. "Also, most approaches to consciousness focus on perception rather than action."

The theory has major implications for the study of mental disorders, Morsella said. "Why do you have an urge or thought that you shouldn't be having? Because, in a sense, the consciousness system doesn't know that you shouldn't be thinking about something," Morsella said. "An urge generator doesn't know that an urge is irrelevant to other thoughts or ongoing action."
The study of consciousness is complicated, Morsella added, because of the inherent difficulty of applying the conscious mind to study itself.

"For the vast majority of human history, we were hunting and gathering and had more pressing concerns that required rapidly executed voluntary actions," Morsella said. "Consciousness seems to have evolved for these types of actions rather than to understand itself."

 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150623141911.htm

Smoking effects on the body

Smoking in considered the largest preventable cause of death worldwide. Every day we are attacked with the side effects of smoking, but it does not seem to convince smokers that smoking truly is the worst thing for their health. To round up, regular smoking cuts half an hour of your life with every two cigarettes. On average smokers die 10 years earlier than non-smokers.
Here is a list of the effects of smoking:

• CANCER

Lung cancer develops in 95% of patients with a positive history of smoking. Smoking is also associated with other cancers such as bladder cancer, kidney cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer, esophagus cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, bowel cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of the nose and sinuses and some forms of leukemia.
There are over 4,000 compounds in a cigarette smoke. A large number of them are toxic and harm our cells; some of them are carcinogenic meaning that they cause cancer.
Cigarette smoke primarily consists of:
Nicotine: this is not the carcinogenic compound, but it is responsible for the addictiveness of smoking. Nicotine acts very fast, it reaches the neurons in 15 seconds after being inhaled. If there were no nicotine in cigarettes the number of smokers wouldn’t be this concerning and the tobacco industry would surely fail.
Nicotine exposure leads to depression of the nervous system, growth retardation and in pregnancy to improper fetal development.
Carbon Monoxide: it is a tasteless and poisonous gas. It is highly soluble in blood and interacts easily with hemoglobin. If there is enough carbon monoxide in the air inhaling it will cause fatigue, weakness, dizziness, decreased muscle and heart function and gradually coma and death.
Tar from the inhaled cigarette smoke 70% of the tar remains in the lugs. It is a harmful chemical residue that coats everything with a brownish-yellow film. The tar in cigarette smoke harms the cilia predisposing to many diseases such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer.
Nitrosamines: NNN, NAT and NNK are the three compounds unique to tobacco that are known carcinogens.
Other compounds found in cigarette smoking include: cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, acetylene, ammonia, cresol, lead and many more.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
The stimulant effect of nicotine only lasts very short, after this effect it leaves you tired and craving for more. Smoking also leads to poor eye sight because it causes macular degeneration and cataracts.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Smoking damages the cilia function, predisposing to infections. It is also related with emphysema, the destruction of air sacs, chronic bronchitis, where the lining of the bronchi get inflamed and the condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Smoking is one of the leading causes of atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty substances in the lumen of arteries. This condition leads to coronary heart disease predisposing to heart attack.
Smoking also increases blood sugar, causes vasoconstriction, hypertension, raises the risk of forming blood clots and aortic aneurism.
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
Skin involvement by smoking presents with discoloration, wrinkles, and premature aging. The presence of tar manifests as a brownish-yellow stain on the nails, fingers and teeth. The bad smell of the cigarette smoke also clings to the hair and skin.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Oral problems are very common in smokers, presenting with gingivitis and periodontists. These conditions lead to tooth decay, tooth loss and of course to bad breath. Smoking can also decrease your appetite predisposing you to malnutrition.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
Smoking has harmful effects on insulin function thus increasing the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Cortisol lowers the effects of nicotine. In high stress situation, when your body produces lots of cortisol you’ll need more nicotine to achieve its desired effects.
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
Smokers have difficulty achieving orgasm, and the vasoconstriction caused by smoking effects the man’s ability to get an erection. Smoking also increases the risk of infertility and causes menopause earlier than expected.
Pregnant women experience more complications such as premature delivery, miscarriage and placental problems.

  http://wespeakscience.com/smoking-effects-on-the-body/

ALCOHOL and the BRAIN

Most of us have witnessed the outward signs of heavy drinking: the stumbling walk, slurred words and memory lapses. People who have been drinking have trouble with their balance, judgment and coordination. They react slowly to stimuli, which is why drinking before driving is so dangerous. All of these physical signs occur because of the way alcohol affects the brain and central nervous system.
Alcohol affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion. Neurotransmitters are either excitatory, meaning that they stimulate brain electrical activity, or inhibitory, meaning that they decrease brain electrical activity. Alcohol increases the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the brain. GABA causes the sluggish movements and slurred speech that often occur in alcoholics. At the same time, alcohol inhibits the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Suppressing this stimulant results in a similar type of physiological slowdown. In addition to increasing the GABA and decreasing the glutamate in the brain, alcohol increases the amount of the chemical dopamine in the brain's reward center, which creates the feeling of pleasure that occurs when someone takes a drink.

Alcohol affects the different regions of the brain in different ways:

• Cerebral cortex: In this region, where thought processing and consciousness are centered, alcohol depresses the behavioral inhibitory centers, making the person less inhibited; it slows down the processing of information from the eyes, ears, mouth and other senses; and it inhibits the thought processes, making it difficult to think clearly.
• Cerebellum: Alcohol affects this center of movement and balance, resulting in the staggering, off-balance swagger we associate with the so-called "falling-down drunk."
• Hypothalamus and pituitary: The hypothalamus and pituitary coordinate automatic brain functions and hormone release. Alcohol depresses nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal and performance. Although sexual urge may increase, sexual performance decreases.
• Medulla: This area of the brain handles such automatic functions as breathing, consciousness and body temperature. By acting on the medulla, alcohol induces sleepiness. It can also slow breathing and lower body temperature, which can be life threatening.

In the short term, alcohol can cause blackouts -- short-term memory lapses in which people forget what occurred over entire stretches of time. The long-term effects on the brain can be even more damaging.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/alcoholism4.htm