Variations in Consciousness

Definitions for the Brain and Consciousness (Myers Module 7)

Directions: Read these. William James: the father of functionalism; studied

consciousness and its relation to adaptive behavior in every day life.

Consciousness: our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Cognitive Neuroscience: the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Dual Processing: the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

Selective attention: the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Inattentional blindness: failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Change blindness: failing to notice changes in the environment.

Bodily Cycles (Myers Module 8)

Directions: Think of a time you missed your regular bed time OR got up at a time uncharacteristic of your habit. How did you feel?

Circadian rhythm: the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle.

EX. Pulling an all-nighter, we may feel groggiest about 4 AM, and then we get a second wind after our normal wake-up time arrives.

Non-REM REM Stage 1: slip into sleep, slow

breathing, fast alpha waves, perceptual window to outside shuts off; hallucinations, falling or floating sensations

Stage 2: sleep spindles (bursts of rapid brain waves), clearly asleep though easy to awake; sleep talking

Stage 3: transitional stage that lasts a few minutes, slow delta waves begin in brain, routine dreams, difficult to awaken

Stage 4: deepest stage of sleep, delta waves continue; routine dreams bedwetting and sleepwalking, difficult to awaken

Nicknamed “paradoxical sleep,” because body is paralyzed but other body systems are active.

Rapid eye movement sleep Recurring sleep stage

during which vivid, creative dreams commonly occur

Alpha waves, similar but more active than those in stage 1, dominate REM.

Brain waves in REM look like we’re awake

Sleep: What is the biological rhythm of sleep?

More on Sleep

We cycle through the stages of non-REM and REM sleep about four times per night.

As the night moves on, we descend more shallowly into the deeper stages of sleep and we REM more and more often. This is why we can remember our dreams when we wake up.

Adults spend 20% of their sleep REM-ing. Infants sleep 16 hours per day and spend 50% of their sleep time in REM (Weiten, c. 5).

We spend 1/3 to ¼ of our lives sleeping.Everyone needs different quantities of sleep.

Fraternal twins shared significantly less of a similarity between sleep needs than did identical twins. Is sleep genetic?

Theories of Sleep (Myers 99-100)Directions: Why do we sleep? Come up with at least

3 theories based on your experience. Sleep is adaptive (evolutionary): sleep protects; darkness put

constraints on our ancestors, so we slept to conserve energy and stay safe. EX. Grazing animals sleep less than night-hunting animals

Sleep helps us recuperate: restores and repairs brain tissue; gives resting neurons time to repair themselves while allowing unused connection to weaken. Analogy: When consciousness leaves your house, brain construction workers come in for a makeover.

Sleep is for making memories: restores and rebuilds our memories of the day’s experiences. You’ll remember things better after a night’s sleep or a nap. EX. In humans and rats, neural activity during slow-wave sleep reenacts and promotes recall of prior novel experiences (2004)

Sleep feed creativity: sleep and dreams have inspired creative achievements. EX. Those who begin to solve a problem, sleep, and then continue come up with more innovative solutions.

Sleep plays a role in the growth process: The pituitary releases a growth hormone during deep sleep.

Dreams and Theories of Dreaming (Myers, pg. 106)

Dreams happen in the deep stages of sleep and also in REM.

We dream both about the mundane (deep stages) and about the intense and strange (REM).

Sensory input collected in our sleep environment may intrude on our dreams (EX. The alarm clock is a school bell in your dream).

Dreams and Theories of Dreaming (Myers, pg. 106-7)

Directions: Why do we dream? Come up with at least 3 theories based on your experience.

Wish Fulfillment Theory: Freudian theory that says dreams are a safe environment in which to let our id run free. Sex and aggression are the base of many dreams. More generally, dreams result from unconscious urges.

Cognitive Theories: (1)Dreams are to organize, consolidate, and file memories; brain scans confirm a link between REM and memory (2) Dreams used for brain maturation and cognitive development

Develop and Preserve Neural Pathways: physiological function; REM provides the sleeping brain with stimulation (waves look like we’re awake) which develops and preserves the brain’s neural pathways.

Activation-Synthesis Model (Weiten, 196): Brain is so active during REM that there’s a lot of random neural static; in order to justify the activity the brain makes up a story to go along with it. A lot of the time, the stories don’t make sense, because the prefrontal cortex (logic) is turned off during REM while the limbic system (emotion) is turned on.

Sleep and Health

Sleep deprivation causes fatigue and impairs concentration, creativity, and communication.

Sleep deprivation leads to obesity, hypertension, and a suppressed immune system, irritability and slower performance

Sleep Disorders

Insomnia: can’t sleep; recurring wakefulness; often a result of stress

Narcolepsy: falling asleep suddenly and experiencing cataplexy (paralysis) when emotions run high; thought to be result of absence of hypocretin (neuropeptide that interacts in hypothalamus)

Sleep apnea: stop breathing during sleep; wake up hundreds of times per night even if you don’t realize it

Night terrors: plagues children; happen during Stage 4, so not “nightmares”

Sleepwalking: stage 4; geneticSleeptalking: stage 2; geneticREM Sleep Behavior Disorder: the part of the brainstem

that causes paralysis during REM sleep is disabled, causing people to move around and act out their dreams during REM

Hypnosis and Its Uses (Myers Module 9)Directions: Remember Spanos’ study on hypnosis? IS hypnosis an

actual altered state of consciousness? Why or why not?

Hypnosis: a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feeling, thought, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

Valid uses of hypnosis include pain control. Posthypnotic suggestions have helped people harness their own healing powers (anesthesia, etc.), but have not been very effective in treating addiction.

Use of hypnosis in psychotherapy has been proven ineffective. Hypnosis does not enhance recall of forgotten events (it may evoke false memories)

Hypnosis: Myths and RealitiesDirections: Take a look at these facts. Surprises?

Hypnotized people are no more vulnerable to act against their will than unhypnotized are people. EX. You are getting sleepy. Now, jump out the window! (won’t work)

Hypnotized, unlike unhypnotized people, may perform unlikely acts when told to do so by an authoritative person.

Many psychologists believe that hypnosis is a form of normal social influence and that hypnotized people act out the role of “good subject.” It is not an “altered state.”

Other psychologists view hypnosis as a dissociation—a split between normal sensations and conscious awareness.

A unified account of hypnosis melds these two view and studies how brain activity, attention, and social influences interact in hypnosis.

Hypnotic Phenomena

Posthypnotic suggestions: suggestions made during a hypnosis session to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.

Dissociation: phenomenon championed by those who believe that hypnosis is an “altered state;” a split between normal sensation and conscious awareness

Ernest Hilgard: Hypnotized woman exhibited no pain when her arm was placed in an ice bath. But when asked to press a key if some part of her felt the pain, she did so. Evidence of dissociation, or divided consciousness. Proponent of social influence theory maintain that people responding this way are caught up in playing the role of “good subject.”

Drugs and Consciousness (Myers Module 10)

Directions: Look at chart on the next slide. Study the major psychoactive drug categories (e.g., narcotics, stimulants) and classify specific drugs you’ve heard of, including their psychological and physiological effects.

Discuss drug dependence, addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.

Drugs and Their EffectsCategory Medical Uses and Neural Reactions

Drug Names and Effects

sedatives Depress the CNS activity reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment; used as sleeping pills and anticonvulsants

Barbituates (e.g. Seconal) and Nonbarbituates (e.g. Qualude)-drowsiness, nausea, impaired coordination and mental functioning

opiates/narcotics Depress neural activity temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

Morphine, heroine-euphoria, relaxation, anxiety reduction, pain relief

stimulants Excite neural activity and speed up body functions; treatment of hyperactivity and narcolepsy, local anesthetic (cocaine)

Caffeine, nicotine, some amphetamines (including meth), cocaine, and Ecstasy-elation, excitement, increased alertness, increased energy

hallucinogens No medical uses Ecstasy, LSD, Mescaline-Increased sensory awareness, euphoria, altered perceptions, hallucinations, insightful experiences

cannabis Glaucoma and chemotherapy, induces nausea and vomiting

Marijuana, hashish, THC-mild euphoria, relation, altered perceptions, enhanced awareness

alcohol No medical uses -impaired coordination, impaired mental functions, mood swings

Drug Dependence and Related Phenomena(Myers Module 10)

Tolerance: the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug

Withdrawal: the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an active drug

Physical dependence: a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

Psychological dependence: a psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions.

Addiction: compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences. Some drugs are addictive psychologically and/or physiologically and some aren’t.

Agonist vs Antagonist

Agonist: a drug that causes (excites) a reaction by mimicking a neurotransmitter.

Antagonist: a drug that stops (inhibits) a reaction by mimicking a neurotransmitter.

Most drugs that people use recreationally are agonists for various neurotransmitters.

Why Do Some Use and Others Abuse

What determines whether or not a drug user will become a drug abuser?

Psychological factors: stress, depression, hopelessness

Social factors: peer pressure, acceptanceCultural and ethnicity: some people may be

biologically predisposed to be more likely to become dependent on drugs, such as alcohol

How do addictions progress?

Addiction Stages by Robert and Mary McAuliffe

discussed in The Essentials of Chemical Dependency: Toward a Unified Theory of Addiction

1. Use to know (Abuse and Live)2. Use for fun (Abuse and Live)3. Live to Abuse4. Abuse to Live5. Abuse to Die

Models of Addiction

Disease Model: Addiction is a disease like any other because it involves a disordered organ (the brain) and can be treated using the medical model. Evidence continues to emerge in favor of this theory regarding the midbrain, which governs the body’s survival and pleasure centers. Dopamine secretion is also semi-permanently altered in addicts' brains.

Choice Model: The social and moral answer to addiction theory. Addiction is a matter of choice. If you choose to take drugs, you chose to be an addict.

Opening discussion: Groups of 3-4. Each group will receive a different question:

1. How would medical training change if addiction was universally considered a disease?

2. How would medical insurance change if addiction was universally considered a disease?

3. How would hospitals change if addiction was universally considered a disease?

4. How would arrests change if addiction was universally considered a disease?

5. How would courts change if addiction was universally considered a disease?

6. How would entertainment change if addiction was universally considered a disease?

7. How would therapy change if addiction was universally considered a disease?

(Spiral) Lecture by Dr. Kevin McCauley

What are both the virtues and the flaws of Dr. McCauley’s model of addiction?

Here are some topics you may consider: generalization of research extraneous variables population (selection of people to study) results of therapy model biases evidence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hz6-2NwRzE