states of consciousness

Consciousness

Def: awareness of one's thoughts, feelings, sensations, and environment

Normal consciousness

Waking awareness

Altered state

Any state that differs from waking (normal) consciousness

Sleep Stage 1- Hypnagogic Sleep

• Light, 5 min

• Irregular brain waves

• Breathing slows, muscles relax

• Hypnic jerks

Sleep Stage 2

• 20 min

• Sleep spindles ( bursts of brain activity )

• Easy to wake still

• Sleep Stage 3+4

• Deep sleep

• Delta waves

• Difficult to waken- disoriented if woken

• Sleep Stage 5

• REM: rapid eye movement

• After 1 hour

• Dreams, muscle paralysis

• Arousal, heart rate increases

Sleep purpose

• Restorative theory

• Evolutionary theory: preserve energy to protect from predators

• REM rebound: increase REM after sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation

Impairs attention, mood, and immune functioning

Dreams

Freud believed they come from unconscious mind

Manifest content

What we remember, what you are actually dreaming

Latent content

Meaning of dream

Activation-synthesis hypothesis

Random bursts of nerve impulses that brain tries to make sense of (cause of dreaming)

Acetylcholine

Chemical that activates during REM

Melatonin

Regulates sleep cycles

Circadian rhythm

• Biological clock influenced by light/dark

• Controlled by suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus

Insomnia

Difficulty falling or staying asleep

Sleep apnea

Breathing stops repeatedly during sleep

Narcolepsy

Sudden, uncontrolled sleep attacks

Hypnosis

State of focused attention on vivid experiences and decreased awareness of external environment (altered state of consciousness)

Hypnotic induction

Technique to enter a trance

Trance theory

Individual must be amenable

Socio cognitive theory

Reflects role-playing not a true altered state

Posthypnotic suggestion

Instructions that have affect after hypnosis ends

Substance abuse

Substance use causes social, legal, physical issues

Substance dependence

Substance use results in tolerance, withdrawl, no control, continued use despite harm

Depressants

• Decrease in CNS activity

• Alcohol, sedatives, anxiolytics, antihistamines

• Alcohol myopia: reduced cognitive control → impulse behavior and poor vision

Stimulants

• Increase in CNS

• Cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, nicotine

• Cocaine: blocks dopamine and norepinephrine →euphoria →crash→bugs

• Methamphetamine: highly addictive, synthetic stimulant, permanent neural damage

• Caffeine and nicotine (also depressant): common legal stimulants

Narcotic Analgesics (opiates)

• Poppy seeds

• Pain relief drugs (morphine, heroin)

• Euphoria + relaxation → strong physical dependence

• Withdrawal symptoms: chills, vomiting, anxiety

Hallucinogens

• Sensory distractions

• Phencyclidene (PCP), Lysergic Acid Diethlmide (LSD), ketamine

• Bad trips

• Flashbacks long after use