PSY100- States of Consciousness

consciousness

our awareness of internal and external stimuli

What are some examples of internal awareness?

feeling pain, hunger, thirst, and sleepiness,

being aware of our thoughts and emotions

What are some examples of external awareness?

seeing sunlight

feeling warmth

hearing a friend’s voice

Sleep

a state of low physical activity and reduced sensory awareness

Wakefulness

a state of high sensory awarness, thoguht, and behavior

What are some other states of consciousness?

daydreaming, intoxication, and anesthetia-induced unconsciousness

What are two terms used to describe “mental states that operate below the level of conscious awareness”?

subconscious and unconscious

Subconscious

mental processes and information that are not in conscious awareness but can be easily brought to awareness with some attention or stimuli (ex. habits, emotions, reflexes)

Unconscious

mental processes and information that are inaccessible to conscious awareness; believed to be driven by deeper psychological forces (ex. repressed emotions)

Blindsight

a phenomenon in which people who are blind are still able to respond to visual stimuli without consciously perceiving them

biological rhythms

internal rhythms of biological activity

Circadian rhythm

a 24-hr biological rhythm that causes cyclical changes in body temp and alertness (ex. sleep-wake cycle)

circa-annual rhythms

a recurring, cyclical, biological rhythm that occurs annually

Circatidal rhythm

a cyclical biological rhythm that lasts for 12 hours (ex. fiddle crab feeding patterns)

circalunar rhythms

a biological rhythm that occurs monthly (ex. menstruation)

biological clock

an innate timing device that is made of proteins that interact in cells throughout the body

What is the “biological master clock” that controls biological rhythms?

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

How does the SCN synchronize with the outside world?

light-sensitive neurons

Entrainment

the synchonization of biological cues with external cues (aka “Zeitgebers”)

what are some Zeitgeber examples?

sunlight/artificial light

environment temperature

environmental noise

Internal Desynchronization

when biological rhythms are not in sync with each other

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Feel happy and energetic during the summer and depressed, lethargic, and drowsy in the winter months when there is not as much sunlight

Pineal gland

The gland inside the brain that releases melatonin

How can sleep be visualized?

Electroencephalography (EEG)

sleep deprivation

the state of not getting enough sleep due to poor sleep quality or physical/mental distress

sleep (REM) rebound

when a sleep-deprived individual falls asleep faster during subsequent opportunities for sleep

What are the hormones involved in sleep regulation?

melatonin, FSH, LH, and growth hormone

Function of melatonin during sleep and where it is secreted

triggers a hormonal response to darkness, promoting drowsiness; pineal gland

Function of FSH and LH during sleep and where it is secreted

it helps regulate the reproductive system during sleep; pituitary gland

Function of growth hormone during sleep and where it is secreted

It aids with physical maturation and metabolism during sleep; pituitary gland

How much of human life is spent sleeping?

1/3

what psychological hypothesis is related to function of sleep?

Evolutionary psychology

what are the benefits of sleep listed by the National Sleep Foundation

maintaining healthy weight, lowering stress, improving mood, and increasing motor coordination

slow wave sleep

the deepest sleep humans can get

REM sleep vs. non-REM sleep

REM sleep: final stage of sleep; darting eye movements; brain waves similar to waves during wakefulness

Non-REM sleep: first 4 stages of sleep that are distinguished by characteristic brain wave patterns

Stage 1 sleep

transitioning from wakefulness to sleep (first 10 mins)

characterized by low core body temp, slower respiration/ heart rate, and low muscle tension

alpha and theta waves

Stage 2 sleep

body enters deep relaxation (next 15 mins)

theta waves still involved

sleep spindles (bursts of high frequency) occur occasionally

K complexes control responses to environmental stimuli

Stage 3 sleep

“deep sleep” or “slow wave” sleep

low-frequency delta waves

heart rate and respiration drastically slow down, and it is harder to wake someone up from this stage

body repairs itself

Stage 4 sleep

the DEEPEST stage of sleep, where waves completely slow down

Realistic dreams can occur here

REM Sleep (“paradoxical sleep”)

Rapid eye movement due to similar brain waves occurring as they would during wakefulness

low muscle tone due to paralysis of muscle systems except circulation

weird ass dreams

longer during the end of the night

What will happen if a person is deprived of REM sleep?

They’ll spend more time asleep in REM sleep to recoup sleep lost

Polysomnograph

measures EEG waves and REM

REM sleep occurs ___(a)_____ at night and accounts for ____(b)_____% of total sleep time

(a) end

(b) 20-55%

Freud’s Dream Analysis

Freud stating that dreams are a pathway to the unconscious and that people could increase self-awareness and gain insight to help with their problems

manifest content

actual content, or storyline, of a dream.

latent content

the hidden meaning of a dream

Jung Universal Symbols

Carl Jung’s idea that dreams connect us to a collective conscious and can reveal universal truths

Rosalind Cartwright’s Emotional Regulation Theory

Dreams are a cognitive space where emotions are processed and regulated, linking present experiences to past memories, and aiding in coping with stress

Activation-Synthesis Theory by Hobson and McCarley

dreams are the brain’s attempt to interpret random neural signals during REM sleep

Threat-Simulation Theory

Dreams are considered an evolutionary adaptation, providing a virtual reality where we can rehearse responses to threats; dreams seen as an ancient biological defense mechanism

Expectation-Fulfillment Theory

Dreams are thought to serve as a psychological “flush,” deactivating unexpressed emotional arousals from the day

Memory Consolidation Theory

dreams facilitate the processing and integration of memories, helping to transfer information from short-term to long-term storage

Jie Zhang’s Continual-Activation Theory

Dreams are a byproduct of the brain’s need to continually process information and maintain neural circuitry, especially during periods of sensory deprivation like sleep

Lucid dreams

dreams in which certain aspects of wakefulness are maintained during a dream state allowing a person to realize they are dreaming and control the dream’s content

chronotypes

the person’s personal biological clock; “night owls” and “morning birds”

Jet lag

symptoms that result from the mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and our environment

What stage of development will require a human to get the most amount of sleep?

Newborn stage

sleep debt

When a person does not get sufficient sleep chronically, the consequences include decreased levels of alertness, depression symptoms, and decreased mental efficiency

What are some biological consequences of sleep debt?

obesity, high blood pressure, increased cortisol levels, and decreased immune function

Which is worse: sleep debt or alcohol intoxicxation

sleep debt

insomnia

a consistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep; very common

treatments include limiting stimulant intake, OTC meds, and increased amounts of exercise

onset insomnia

trouble falling asleep

maintenance insomnia

an inability to stay asleep or fall back asleep after waking up

parasomina

sleep disorders characterized by unwanted, disruptive motor activity and/or experiences during sleep (ex. “sleepwalking”, restless leg syndrome, and night terrors)

Sleepwalking

“somnabulism”; when a sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviors ranging from wandering about to driving an automobile; often during slow wave sleep

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)

occurs when the muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase does not occur; associated with Parkinson’s

restless leg syndrome

Uncomfortable sensations in the legs during periods of inactivity or when trying to fall asleep.

night terrors

a sense of panic in the sufferer and is often accompanied by screams and attempts to escape from the immediate environment; occurs during NREM

sleep apnea

episodes where a sleeper’s breathing stops; often associated with brief periods of arousal and can last 10+ seconds

Obstructive sleep apnea

when an individual’s airway becomes blocked during sleep

central sleep apnea

a disruption in signals sent from the brain that regulate breathing cause periods of interrupted breathing

SIDS

“sudden infant death syndrome”; when an infant stop breathing during sleep and dies, occurs in infants under 12 months and is more common with males

Narcolepsy

when a person cannot resist falling asleep at inopportune times

Cataplexy

loss of muscle tone or control

physical drug dependence

changes in normal brain and body chemistry leading to physical symptoms, developing a tolerance, and experiencing withdrawal once ceasing use

psychological drug dependence

a cognitive and emotional need for the drug, may use the drug to relieve psychological distress

tolerance

when a person needs more and more of a drug for it to have the same effect as when they took it prior; can lead to OD

cross tolerance

building a tolerance on a drug you’ve never taken but the drug is in the same classification of another

drug withdrawal

a variety of negative symptoms experienced when drug use is discontinued, often the opposite effect of the drug

depressants

drugs that supress the CNS’s activity (ex. alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines)

lowers inhibition and pain

often percribed to treat anxiety and insomnia

stimulants

drugs that increase dopamine reuptake (ex. cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, nictoine, caffiene)

cause excitement, energy, confidence, and euphoria

Cocaine

drug that can be smoked, injected, and snorted and blocks the reuptake of dopamine; has a freebase form known as crack

Amphetamines

a drug that blocks reuptake of dopamone while also stimulating its release

when not abused, is used to treat ADHD

MDMA

a mild stimulant in pill form that depletes monoamine neurotransmitters

causes increased energy, pleasure, and emotional warmth

Caffeine

a very common stimulant that antagonizes adenosine activity

causes maintained alterness and arousal

Nicotine

a highly addictive plant compound that affects acetylcholine receptors

opiods

drugs that decrease pain, cause powerful emotions, and euphoria (ex. heroin, morphine, fentanyl, codeine, methadone)

Hallucinogens

drugs that affect verious neurtransmitters and induce significant changes in sensory perception and cognitive experiences; can cause hallucinations (ex. psilocybin, mescaline, LSD, cannabis, PCP)

hypnosis

a state of extreme self-focus and attention in which minimal attention is given to external stimuli

post-hypnotic suggestions

instructions that people carry out after hypnosis that they are unaware of; no real research to support that it exists

placebo effect of hypnosis

People will do certain things just to please the hypnotist/audience

hypnotizability

–      The degree to which an individual is responsive to standardized suggestions to experience hypnotic reactions

–      If you believe that you will not, you usually won’t

benfits of hypnosis

pain management, weight loss, smoking cessation

dissociation theory of hypnosis

theory where hypnosis is considered a dissociated state of consciousness, studied by Ernest Hilgard through an ice bucket experiment

social-cognitive theory of hypnosis

people in hypnotic states performing the social role of a hypnotized person

What are some myths involving hypnosis

• it is not sleep

• hypnosis depends on the person 

• Doesn’t increase memory accuracy

• cannot be forced to do things against their will

meditation

the act of focusing on a single target (such as the breath or a repeated sound) to increase awareness of the moment

allows a person to learn techniques to alter or focus attention

rooted in religious practices, can be used for alternative medicine