States of Consciousness

Chapter 4

Consciousness• Consciousness: All the sensations,

perceptions, memories, and feelings you are aware of in any instant• Waking Consciousness: Normal, clear,

organized, alert awareness

• Consciousness - a person’s awareness of everything that is going on around him or her at any given moment.

Explaining Waking Consciousness

• Stream of information resulting from the activity of the thalamus which analyzes and interprets information

• Consciousness may only be the “tip of the iceberg” that includes unconscious mental activities

• Consciousness is also viewed as an adaptation allowing us to get along with others in our group (humans)

Daydreaming and Fantasy

• Spontaneous shifts if attention away from the here and now into a make-believe world

• Urge to daydream peaks about every 90 minutes

• Daydreams may provide stress relief and encourage creativity

Consciousness• Altered state of consciousness -

state in which there is a shift in the quality or pattern of mental activity as compared to waking consciousness.

• Awareness that is distinctly different in quality or pattern from waking consciousness

Necessity of Sleep• Circadian rhythm - a cycle of bodily rhythm that

occurs over a 24-hour period.• “circa” – about• “diem” – day

• Hypothalamus – tiny section of the brain that influences the glandular system.• suprachiasmatic nucleus – deep within the

hypothalamus; the internal clock that tells people when to wake up and when to fall asleep.

• Tells pineal gland to secrete melatonin, which makes a person feel sleepy.

Circadian Cycles:The Biological Clock

• Circadian cycles are those that last “about a day”

• Circadian rhythms are governed by an area of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

• Controls body temperature, metabolism, blood pressure, hormone levels, and hunger

• Jet lag is the result of desynchronization of the circadian rhythm

Necessity of Sleep• Microsleeps - brief sidesteps into

sleep lasting only a few seconds.• Sleep deprivation - any significant

loss of sleep, resulting in problems in concentration and irritability.

Necessity of Sleep• Adaptive theory - theory of sleep proposing that animals and

humans evolved sleep patterns to avoid predators by sleeping when predators are most active.

• Restorative theory - theory of sleep proposing that sleep is necessary to the physical health of the body and serves to replenish chemicals and repair cellular damage.

Brain Wave Patterns• Electroencephalograph (EEG) - allows

scientists to see the brain wave activity as a person passes through the various stages of sleep and to determine what type of sleep the person has entered.• Alpha waves - brain waves that indicate a state of

relaxation or light sleep.• Theta waves - brain waves indicating the early

stages of sleep.• Delta waves - long, slow waves that indicate the

deepest stage of sleep.

Stages of Sleep• Rapid eye movement (REM) - stage of

sleep in which the eyes move rapidly under the eyelids and the person is typically experiencing a dream.

• NREM (non-REM) sleep - any of the stages of sleep that do not include REM.

The Rhythms of Sleep

• Brain waves and sleep stages • Stage 1• Stage 2• Stage 3• Stage 4• REM sleep

• Non-REM (NREM) Sleep: Occurs during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4; no rapid eye movement occurs• Seems to help us recover from daily

fatigue

• Rapid Eye Movements (REM): Associated with dreaming; sleep is very light• Body is very still during REM sleep• Lack of muscle paralysis during REM sleep

is called “REM Behavioral Disorder”

Stages of Sleep• Non-REM Stage One – light sleep.

• May experience:• hypnagogic images – vivid visual events.• hypnic jerk – knees, legs, or whole body jerks.

• Non-REM Stage Two – sleep spindles (brief bursts of activity only lasting a second or two).

• Non-REM Stages Three and Four – delta waves pronounced.• Deep sleep – when 50%+ of waves are delta

waves.

Sleep Cycle

• Use an EEG machine to measure stages of sleep.

• When you are the onset of sleep you experience alpha waves.

• Produces mild hallucinations, like a feeling of falling.

Click dude for alphaWaves.

Click to see an awake brain.

Stage 1• Kind of awake and

kind of asleep.• Only lasts a few

minutes, and you usually only experience it once a night.

• Your brain produces Theta Waves.

Stage 2

• More Theta Waves that get progressively slower.

• Begin to show sleep spindles…short bursts of rapid brain waves.

Click image to see Stage Two of sleep.

Stages 3 and 4• Slow wave sleep.• You produce Delta

waves.• If awoken you will

be very groggy.• Vital for restoring

body’s growth hormones and good overall health.

Click boys to see deep sleep.From stage 4, your brain begins to speed up and you go to stage 3, then 2….then ……

REM Sleep• Rapid Eye

Movement• Often called

paradoxical sleep.• Dreams usually

occur in REM.• Body is

essentially paralyzed.

Click boy dreaming to see REM sleep.

REM Sleep and Dreaming• If wakened during REM sleep, almost always report a

dream.• REM rebound - increased amounts of REM sleep

after being deprived of REM sleep on earlier nights.• Nightmares - bad dreams occurring during REM

sleep.• REM behavior disorder - a rare disorder in which the

mechanism that blocks the movement of the voluntary muscles fails, allowing the person to thrash around and even get up and act out nightmares.

Some Sleep Disorders

Insomnia

• Persistent problems falling asleep

• Effects 10% of the population

• Primary versus Secondary Insomnia

Narcolepsy• Suffer from

sleeplessness and may fall asleep at unpredictable or inappropriate times.

• Directly into REM sleep

• Less than .001 % of population.

Click above to see Skeeter the narcoleptic dog.

Sleep Apnea• A person stops

breathing during their sleep.

• Wake up momentarily, gasps for air, then falls back asleep.

• Very common, especially in heavy males.

• Can be fatal.

Night Terrors

• Wake up screaming and have no idea why.

• Not a nightmare.• Most common in

children (boys) between ages 2-8.

Somnambulism

• Sleep Walking• Most often occurs

during the first few hours of sleeping and in stage 4 (deep sleep).

• If you have had night terrors, you are more likely to sleep walk when older.

Dreams

Freud’s Theory of Dreams

• Dreams are a roadway into our unconscious.

• Manifest Content (storyline)

• Latent Content (underlying meaning)

Activation-Synthesis Theory

• Physiological View /Biological Theory.

• Our Cerebral Cortex is trying to interpret random electrical activity we have while sleeping.

• That is why dreams sometimes make no sense.

Information-Processing Theory

• Dreams are a way to deal with the stresses of everyday life.

• We tend to dream more when we are more stressed.

Cognitive View• Two facts about REM sleep are crucial in →→

understanding nature of dreams 1) During REM sleep areas of the cerebral cortex that play a role

in waking perception, thought and regulating of motor processes are highly active

2) Yet, during REM sleep there is massive inhibition of input from sensory systems and muscles

• As a result, the cortical structures or systems that normally regulate perception & thought have only their own activity as input. This activity forms the basis for the imagery and ideas in dreams

Hypnosis

Hypnosis

• Altered state of consciousness?

• Posthypnotic suggestion

• Posthypnotic amnesia

Hypnotic Theories

Role Theory• Hypnosis is NOT an altered

state of consciousness.• Different people have

various state of hypnotic suggestibility.

• A social phenomenon where people want to believe( social learning they experience what they expect to experience through learning)

• Work better on people with richer fantasy lives.

State Theory• Hypnosis is an altered

state of consciousness.

• Dramatic health benefits

• It works for pain best.

Dissociation Theory

• We voluntarily divide our consciousness up.

• Ice Water Experiment.

• We have a hidden observer, a level of us that is always aware.

• Neo-dissociation theory : suggests that hypnotized individuals enter a an altered state of consciousness in which consciousness is divided

• Theory of dissociated control: suggests that hypnotism weakens control of the central function over other cognitive and behavioral subsystems, letting these subsystems to be invoked by the hypnotist’s suggestions.

Some facts • Certain findings suggest that some people

produce actual changes in perception and states of consciousness. But this is common amongst people who are highly suggestible / susceptible to hypnotism.

• Evidence is more for the social cognitive/ social learning view. i.e. reaction to hypnosis seem to stem from primarily from their beliefs and expectations about it.

Drugs

Psychoactive Drugs• Psychoactive drugs - drugs that alter thinking,

perception, and memory.• Physical Dependence

• Tolerance – more and more of the drug is needed to achieve the same effect.

• Withdrawal - physical symptoms that can include nausea, pain, tremors, crankiness, and high blood pressure, resulting from a lack of an addictive drug in the body systems.

• Psychological dependence - the feeling that a drug is needed to continue a feeling of emotional or psychological well-being.

Drugs• Our brain is

protected by a layer of capillaries called the blood-brain barrier.

• The drugs that are small enough to pass through are called psychoactive drugs.

Drugs are either….If a drug is used

often, a tolerance is created for the drug.

Thus you need more of the drug to feel the same effect.

If you stop using a drug you can develop withdrawal symptoms.

Stimulants• Speed up body

processes.• More powerful ones

(like cocaine) give people feelings of invincibility.

Depressants• Depressants - drugs that

decrease the functioning of the nervous system.

• Slows down body processes.

• Alcohol• Anxiolytics

(barbiturates and tranquilizers)

Alcohol

• More than 86 billion dollars are spent annually on alcoholic beverages.

• Alcohol is involved in 60% of ALL crimes.

• Alcohol is involved in over 70% of sexually related crimes.

• Is it worth the cost?

Hallucinogens

• Psychedelics• Causes changes in

perceptions of reality

• LSD, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana.

• Reverse tolerance or synergistic effect

Opiates• Has depressive and

hallucinogenic qualities.

• Derived from poppy plant.

• Morphine, heroin, methadone and codeine.

• All these drugs cross the placental barrier….teratogens.