Chapter 5 States of Consciousness

1. Chapter 5States of Consciousness

2. I. States of Consciousness • Consciousness- all the sensations and perceptions of external events and your self awareness of mental events including thoughts, memories, and feelings about your experiences and yourself

3. A. Altered States of Consciousness • 1. waking consciousness – a state of clear, organized alertness • states of consciousness related to fatigue, delirium, hypnosis, drugs, and euphoria – not “normal” awareness

4. 2. altered state of consciousness- changes occur in the equality and pattern of mental activity • 3. some causes: • a. sensory overload • b. monotonous stimulation • c. restricted sensory input • d. unusual physical conditions

5. II. Sleep • A. The Need for Sleep • 1. Sleep is an innate biological rhythm that can never be entirely ignored • symptoms of sleep deprivation are reversed by a single night’s rest

6. 2. causes trembling hands, drooping eyelids, inattention, irritability, staring, increased pain sensitivity, and general discomfort. • 3. Hypersomnia (excessive daytime sleepiness) occurs after a few hours of sleep loss • 4. lose just 1 hour of sleep a night, it can affect your mood, memory, ability to pay attention

7. 5. a microsleep is a brief shift in brain activity • Biologically sleep is a necessity • 6. temporary sleep-deprivation psychosis (loss of contact with reality): confusion, disorientation, delusions, and hallucinations.

8. B. Sleep Patterns • Rhythms of sleep and waking are steady • Short sleepers- 5 hours of sleep or less per night. • long sleepers - 9 hours or more

9. III. Stages of Sleep • a balance between sleep and waking systems; one system has brain circuits and chemicals that promote sleep; another network of brain cells responds to chemicals that inhibit sleep. • -the two systems see-saw back and forth, switching the brain between sleep and wakefulness.

10. A. Sleep Stages • 1. Stage 1 – light sleep • -heart rate slows more; breathing becomes more irregular; muscles of body relax. • -this may trigger a reflex muscle contraction called hypnic jerk

11. 2. Stage 2 • -as sleep deepens, body temperature drops further. • -sleep spindles –short bursts of brainwave activity appear and mark the true boundary of sleep

12. 3. Stage 3 • -new waves called delta appear – large and slow; signal a move to deeper sleep and a further loss of consciousness. • 4. Stage 4 – deep sleep • - takes about one hour; sleeper is in a state of oblivion

13. B. Two Dual Process Hypothesis of Sleep • -fluctuations n her sleep hormones cause recurring cycles of deeper and lighter sleep throughout the night • -REM – rapid eye movements are associated with dreaming • - NREM – non-REM sleep – occurs during stages 1,2,3, and 4; dream free 90 percent of the time.

14. 1. Functions of NREM sleep • a. dream free about 90 percent of the time and is deepest early in the night during the first few stage 4 periods • b. dreamless slow-wave NREM sleep increases after physical exertion and may help us recover from bodily fatigue

15. c. according to the dual process hypothesis, we are bombarded by information throughout the day, which causes our neural networks to become more and more active. As a result, your brain requires more and more energy to continue functioning

16. 2. Function of REM Sleep • a. REM seems to help us sort and integrate memories, especially memories concerning strategies that help us solve problems. • b. Early in life, REM sleep may stimulate the developing brain.

17. 3. REM Sleep and Dreaming • a. During the day, when info is streaming in, the brain may be too busy to efficiently select useful memories. • b. time of high emotion; heart beats irregularly, blood pressure and breathing waver. • c. valuable for keeping the brain in good working order.

18. IV. Sleep Disturbances – a serious risk to health and happiness • A. Insomnia – 30 percent of adults –difficulty in going to sleep, frequent nighttime awakenings, waking too early, or a combination of these.

19. 1. Types and Causes of Insomnia • -worry, stress, and excitement can cause temporary insomnia: increased mental activity and heightened arousal; then frustration and anger over not being able to sleep cause more worry and arousal, which further delays sleep, which causes more frustration

20. 2. Chronic Insomnia exists if a sleeping problem lasts for more than 3 weeks • 3. Drug-dependency insomnia – sleep loss caused by withdrawal from sleeping pills

21. 4. Behavioral Remedies • a. stimulus control • b. sleep restriction-don’t sleep late or got to bed early • c. paradoxical intention – remove the pressures of trying to go to sleep; try to keep the eyes open and stay awake • d. relaxation • e. exercise

22. f. food intake - starchy foods increases the amount of tryptophan that reaches the brain, which increases brain serotonin ( associated with relaxation, positive mood, and sleepiness) • g. stimulant avoidance-consume less caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco

23. B. Sleepwalking and Sleeptalking • 1. Somnambulists • eyes are open; blank face; shuffling feet • -occurs during NREM sleep – stages 3 and 4.

24. 2. Sleeptalking – occurs in NREM stages of sleep • C. Nightmares and Night Terrors • 1. Nightmare – bad dream in REM sleep; occur twice a month, are usually brief and easily remembered • 2. Night terrors – total panic and may hallucinate frightening dream images; awakens drenched in sweat but only vaguely remembers the terror • -occurs in NREM sleep

25. D. Sleep Apnea • -a person who snores loudly, with short silences and loud gasps or snorts, may suffer from apnea; interrupted breathing. • 1. breathing stops for periods of 20 seconds to 2 minutes. As the need for oxygen becomes intense, the person wakes a little and gulps in air. She or he then settles back to sleep.

26. 2. Some cases occur because the brain stops sending the signals that maintain breathing. • 3. SIDS - for of sleep apnea – “crib death”

27. E. Narcolepsy- sudden, irrestible sleep attacks; last from 1 to 30 min.; fall asleep while standing, talking, or driving • -emotional excitement triggers it, especially laughter • 1. cataplexy – temporary paralysis of muscles, leading to complete body collapse.

28. V. Dreams • -Most people dream 4-5 times a night • usually spaced 90 minutes apart. • dreams occur in real time, not as a flash.

29. A. REM Rebound – when sleep deprived and finally allowed to sleep undisturbed, they dream extra amounts

30. B. Dream Theories • 1. Psychodynamic Dream Theory • a. first advanced the idea that dreams are based on wish fulfillment • b. emphasizes internal conflicts and unconscious forces • c. there is evidence against them

31. d. dreams are expressed as images or pictures rather than in words • e. dreams express conscious desires and conflicts as disguised dream symbols. • f. Freud realized that some dreams are trivial “day residues” or carryovers from ordinary waking events.

32. 2. The Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis. • a. during REM sleep, brain cells are activated that normally control eye movements, balance, and actions. However, messages from the cells are blocked from reaching the body, so no movement occurs. • b. The cells continue to tell higher brain areas of their activities; struggling to interpret this info, the brain searches through stored memories and manufactures a dream.

33. c. Several parts of the brain are activated during REM sleep. This triggers sensations, motor commands, and memories. • d. The cortex of the brain is active and synthesizes this activity into stories and visual images.

34. e. The frontal areas, which control higher mental abilities, are mostly shut down during REM sleep; this explains why dreams are more primitive and more bizarre than daytime thoughts; a different type of thinking occurs during sleep. • f. Because dreams are created from memories and past experiences, they can tell us quite a lot about each person’s mental life, emotions, and concerns.

35. 3. Neurocognitive Dream Theory • 1. most dreams reflect everyday events; action takes place between the dreamer and 2-3 other emotionally important people. • -the brain areas that are active when we are awake remain active during dreaming • -conscious expression of REM sleep processes that are sorting and storing daily experiences

36. C. Dream Worlds • 1. dream actions are mostly familiar: running, jumping, ridding, sitting, talking, watching.

37. VI. Hypnosis – an altered state of consciousness, characterized by narrowed attention and an increased openness to suggestion • -basic suggestion effect - tendency of hypnotized persons to carry out suggested actions as if they were voluntary

38. VII. Meditation and Sensory Deprivation • A. meditation is a mental exercise used to alter consciousness; focuses attention and interrupts the typical flow of thoughts, worries, and analysis • B. Sensory Deprivation – any major reduction in the amount or variety of sensory stimulation • -REST – Restricted Environment Stimulation Therapy shows promise to stimulate creative thinking; enhance performance in skilled sports; relieve chronic pain and reduce stress

39. VIII. Drug-Altered Consciousness • 1. psychoactive drug – substance capable of altering attention, judgment, memory, time sense, self-control, emotion, or perception. • 2. stimulant – increases activity in the body and nervous system. • 3. depressant – does the reverse

40. -all addictive drugs stimulate the brains reward circuitry, producing feelings of pleasure; fool brain-reward pathways : “that felt good. Let’s do it again. Let’s remember exactly how we did it.” – creates a compulsion to repeat the experience. negative consequences follow much later

41. A. Drug Dependence • -psychoactive drugs create dependencies • 1. physical dependence - when a person compulsively uses a drug to maintain bodily comfort • -withdrawal from drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates can cause violent flu-like symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, sweating, and cramps.

42. -addiction is accompanied by drug tolerance – reduced response to a drug – leads to larger and larger does to get the desired effect. • 2. psychological dependence – drug is necessary to maintain feeling of comfort or well-being; just as powerful as physical addiction • -addiction is any compulsive habit pattern

43. B. Patterns of Abuse • 1. Experimental – short term based on curiosity • 2. social-recreational • 3. situational – use to cope with a specific problem • 4. intensive – daily use with elements of dependence • 5. compulsive – intense use and extreme dependence

44. -Polydrug Abuse – abusing more than one drug at the same time; accounts for the vast majority of deaths due to overdose. • -when mixed, the effects of different drugs are multipled by drug interaction – one drug enhances the effect of another

45. IX. Uppers • A. Amphetamines – synthetic stimulants • -were once widely prescribed for weight loss or depression; today: narcolepsy, childhood hyperactivity, and overdoses of depressant drugs.

46. 1. Methamphetamine – variation of amphetamine – can be made cheaply in backyard labs • -can be snorted, injected or eaten • -rapidly process a drug tolerance; most abusers take even larger doses to get the desired effect

47. 2. Abuse – large doses can cause nausea, vomiting, extremely high blood pressure, fatal heart attacks; and disabling strokes • -speed up the use of bodily resources; do not supply energy

48. -causes loss of contact with reality known as amphetamine psychosis; have paranoid delusions that someone is out to get them

49. B. Cocaine – central nervous system stimulant extracted from the leaves of the coca plant • -produces feelings of alertness, euphoria, well-being, power, boundless energy, and pleasure • -lasts 15-30 minutes; metabolized quickly

50. 1. Abuse – even casual or 1st time users risk convulsions, heart attack, or stroke • -increases the chemical messengers dopamine – produces a rush of pleasure and noradrenalin – arouses the body • First there is a jarring “crash of mood and energy, then within a few days: fatigue, anxiety, paranoia, boredom, and anhedonia – an inability to feel pleasure.