Consciousness Lecture 3 — Video Notes (Sleep, Dreams, Drugs & Effects)

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Consciousness lecture notes (video) on consciousness, sleep, dreams, and drugs.

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Altered Consciousness

States that differ from normal waking consciousness, including spontaneous (daydreaming, drowsiness, dreaming) and induced (hypnosis, meditation) states.

Dual-Track Mind

Theory that cognition operates on two levels: automatic unconscious processing (low road) and deliberate conscious processing (high road).

Unconscious “low” track

Automatic processing that operates without conscious awareness.

Conscious “high” track

Deliberate processing that we are aware of.

Automatic processing

Unconscious processing that occurs without intention or awareness.

Sensation and Perception (dual processing example)

Demonstrates how automatic perception can occur alongside conscious interpretation.

Stroop Task

A test where you name the ink color of color words to demonstrate conscious and unconscious processing.

Parallel processing

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus simultaneously.

Sequential processing

Processing one aspect of a stimulus at a time.

Subliminal priming

Influence of stimuli not consciously perceived, evidence for a separate perception track.

Blindsight

Ability to respond to visual stimuli without conscious visual awareness; evidence for separate perception and action tracks.

High road / Low road

Visual perception (high road) vs visual action (low road) processing paths.

Hollow mask illusion

Illusion used to illustrate the distinction between perceptual processing (high road) and action processing (low road).

Selective Attention

Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Inattentional blindness

Failing to notice unexpected stimuli when attention is engaged elsewhere.

Change blindness

Failing to notice changes in a visual scene.

Sleep stages

Distinct brain activity patterns associated with different consciousness levels: N1, N2, N3, REM.

N1 (Non-REM 1)

Light sleep with slow breathing and irregular brain waves.

N2 (Non-REM 2)

Relaxed sleep with sleep spindles.

N3 (Non-REM 3, Deep sleep)

Deep sleep with slow-wave (delta) activity.

REM sleep

Sleep stage with rapid eye movements, dreaming, and internal arousal; voluntary muscles are paralyzed.

Sleep cycles

Pattern of moving through all sleep stages roughly every 90 minutes; REM increases later in the night.

Beta waves

Fast brain waves associated with alert wakefulness.

Alpha waves

Slower brain waves associated with relaxed wakefulness.

Delta waves

Slow, large brain waves seen in deep N3 sleep.

REM sleep characteristics

In REM: heart rate rises, breathing quickens, sleep paralysis, genital arousal.

Dreams

Stream of images, actions, and feelings experienced during REM sleep.

Why Do We Dream? theories

Theories include information processing, physiological function, activation-synthesis, wish fulfillment, and cognitive development.

Psychoactive drugs

Substances that alter brain function, causing changes in perception, mood, or consciousness.

Substance Use Disorder

Disorder marked by continued use despite significant life disruption.

Tolerance

Diminished effect of a drug with continued use, requiring more to achieve the same effect.

Withdrawal

Unpleasant symptoms that occur when stopping an addictive substance.

Addiction

Compulsive craving and use of a drug or behavior despite harm.

Depressants

Drugs that slow neural activity; alcohol is a disinhibitor and a depressant.

Stimulants

Drugs that excite neural activity and increase alertness and energy (e.g., caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, methamphetamine).

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions (e.g., LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, ketamine).

Opioids

Opium and derivatives that blunt pain and anxiety; highly addictive (e.g., morphine, heroin, fentanyl).

Cannabis (THC)

Psychoactive substance from Cannabis sativa; heightens sensory perception, impairs motor skills, may have medical uses.

Cocaine

Stimulant that blocks reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, producing euphoria followed by a crash.

Nicotine

Highly addictive stimulant in tobacco; increases alertness and alleviates appetite but has withdrawal challenges.

Standard drink

0.6 oz of ethanol; approximately 12 oz of beer; used to measure alcohol intake.

Alcohol use disorder

Disorder characterized by problematic drinking despite negative consequences.

Alcohol limits

Moderation guidelines: men up to 2 drinks/day (not every day); women up to 1 drink/day (not every day).

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

Brain region that regulates circadian rhythms and melatonin production in response to light.

Melatonin

Hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles.

Sleep and memory

Sleep helps protect, restore, strengthen memories, and support creative problem solving.

Dream content notes

Dreams often involve negative emotions or events; sexuality is less common; stimuli from real life can intrude into dreams.