Chapter 7: Altered States of Consciousness

Consciousness

A state of awareness, including a person's feelings, sensations, ideas, and perceptions. Consciousness can range from alertness to non-alertness

Selective Attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus (ex. having a conversation with someone in a crowded, public space)

Sensory Awareness

Awareness of our physical environment and things outside ourselves.

Direct Inner Awareness

Awareness of emotions, thoughts, memories, and images.

Preconsciousness

Level of awareness in which information can be easily recalled.

Unconscious/Subconscious

Pertaining to mental activity beyond the level of consciousness. Controls our involuntary movements and emotions.

Nonconscious

Basic biological functions that we do not sense such as your basic functions (ex. fingernails growing)

Altered State of Consciousness

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

Circadian rhythms

The 24-hour biological cycles found in humans and many other species.

Stage I of Sleep

Lightest sleep. Pulse slows a bit more and your muscles relax. During this stage, your breathing becomes uneven and your brainwaves grow irregular. This stage lasts 5-10 mins. Marked by the presence of theta waves.

Stage II of Sleep

Brainwaves will occasionally shift from low-amplitude high-frequency waves to high-amplitude, low-frequency waves. Your eyes roll slowly from side to side. Sleep spindles and theta waves occur during this stage.

Stage III of Sleep

Large-amplitude delta waves begin to sweep your brain every second or so. This stage of sleep lasts for 30 mins.

Stage IV of sleep

Deepest sleep; difficult to awaken. Large, regular delta waves occurring more than 50% of the time indicate a stage of deep sleep. Uncommon sleep events such as talking out loud, sleepwalking, and bed-wetting may occur in this stage. Deep sleep is important to your physical and psychological well-being.

REM Sleep

Dream/paradoxical sleep. A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, a high level of brain activity, a deep relaxation of the muscles, and dreaming. Beta waves occur in this stage.

Insomnia

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

Night Terrors

Sleep disruptions that occur during stage 4 of sleep, involving screaming, panic, or confusion. Night terrors may last from 5 to 20 minutes and after sudden symptoms.

Sleepwalking (Somnambulism)

Walking or carrying out behaviors while asleep; often occurs in stage 3 of the sleep cycle.

Four Biological Rhythms

1. Annual cycles
2. 28-day Cycles
3. 24-hour Cycle
4. 90-minute Cycle

Annual Cycle

Yearly cycle, people may experience seasonal variations in appetite, sleep length, and moods.

28-Day Cycle

Cycles that occur every month (ex. a woman's menstrual cycle)

24-hour cycle

Our 24 hour biological clock; our body temperature and awareness changes throughout the day (body temperature is cooler when we are tired or sleeping)

Sleep Apnea

A disorder in which the person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep. Can occur during any stage of sleep.

Nightmares

Bad dreams occurring during REM sleep.

Hypnosis

State of consciousness in which the person is especially susceptible to suggestion.

Neodissociation Theory

Hilgard's proposal that hypnosis involves two simultaneous states: a hypnotic state and a hidden observer.

Posthypnotic Suggestions

Instructions given to people when they are hypnotized to be followed after they wake.

Biofeedback

The process of learning to control bodily states by monitoring the states to be controlled.

Meditation

The focusing of attention to clear one's mind and produce relaxation. There are major approaches to meditation: Transcendental, Mindfulness, Breath.

Transcendental Meditation

Involves the mental repetition of a mantra, usually a Sanskrit phrase. The participant sits with eyes closed and meditates for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day.

Mindfulness Meditation

Developed from a Buddhist tradition. This form of meditation focuses on the present moment.

Breath Meditation

A concentration on one's respiration- the process of inhaling and exhaling.

Psychoactive Drug

A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods.

Addiction

A physiological or psychological dependence on a drug.

Depressants

Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

Intoxication

The state in which a person's mental and physical abilities are impaired by alcohol or another substance.

Narcotics

A class of opium-related drugs that suppress the sensation of pain by binding to and stimulating the nervous system's natural receptor sites for endorphins.

Stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Amphetamines

Drugs, such as methamphetamine, that stimulate neural activity, causing accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes.

Hallucinations

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

Delusion

A false belief or opinion.

Hallucinogen

A drug that distorts perception, thought, and mood.

Tolerance

A progressive decrease in a person's responsiveness to a drug.

Withdrawal

The discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug.

Detoxification

The physical process of freeing the body of an addictive substance.

Physical Dependence

A type of addiction in which the body itself feels a direct need for a drug.

Psychological Dependence

A condition in which a person believes that a drug is needed in order to feel good or to function normally.

Agonist "mimic"

A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response (heroin, oxycodone, morphine, opium, depressants)

Antagonist "blocker"

A drug that blocks the action of a neurotransmitter (dopamine, serotonin receptors)

Role Theory

States that a hypnotized person is not actually in an alternate state of consciousness but is playing the role of being hypnotized.