psych104 last third

so fun :(

What is consciousness?

- the moment-to-moment subjective experience of the world, bodies, and mental sensations
- subjective, dynamic, self-reflective

How is consciousness (supposedly) measured?

- Self-reports
- Physiological measures (ex. EEG, FMRI)
- Behavioural measures (ex. rouge test)

Mirror-rouge test

- idea: kid put in front of mirror with smear of rouge on forehead; if they touch it, they have awareness/self-concept
- but it worked on pigeons too
- Circular logic

Controlled processing

- mental processing that requires some degree of volitional control and attentiveness
- ex. studying for exam

Automatic processing

- mental activities that occur automatically and require no minimal conscious control/awareness
- ex. riding a bike

Divided attention

- ability to perform more than one activity at the time
- presumed to be made possible but automatic processing
- difficult if tasks require similar cognitive resources
- ex. listening to music while studying for an exam

circadian rhythm

- cyclical changes that occur on roughly 24-hr basis in many biological processes
- regulated by superchiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

superchiasmatic nucleus

- located in hypothalamus
- brain's "biological clock"
- pineal gland releases a hormone melatonin -\> triggers sensations of drowsiness
- located above optic chiasm -partly learns day/night cycles through retinal signals

How much sleep does an average person need?

- roughly 7-10 hours per night

Factors that affect the amount of sleep one needs

- Age
- Health
- Quality of sleep
- Genetics -\> DCE2 gene mutation \= may only require 6 hrs
- Species

What can sleep deprivation result in?

- Difficulties learning
- Poor attention
- lethargy

What health conditions are associated with sleep deprivation?

- weight gain
- diabetes
- heart problems
- weakened immune system

Stages of sleep/waves

- Awake and alert: beta waves ( \>13 waves per second)
- Calm wakefulness: Alpha waves ( 8-12 wps)
- Stage 1: Theta waves ( 4-7 wps)
- Stage 2: Sleep spindles and K-complexes
- Stage 3 and 4 : Delta waves ( 1-2 wps)
- Stage 5 (REM)

Sleep stage 1

- Theta waves (4-7 waves per second)
- myoclonic jerks
- Hypnagogic imagery
- lasts 5-10 minutes
- stage where you don't really feel like you're sleeping

Sleep stage 2

- Sleep spindles
- K-complexes

Sleep spindle

- Stage 2
- short bursts of neural activity, 5-1.5 seconds
- possibly brain consolidating memories

K-complexes

- Stage 2
- large waveform that occurs intermittently
- appear every 1-2 minutes in sleep
- theory that they are related to ability to ignore external staimuli when sleeping

Sleep stages 3 and 4

- Delta waves (1-2 per second), research suggests they are critical to good sleep
- Stage 3

Sleep stage 5

- REM
- stage of sleep where brain is most active/where vivid dreaming most often occurs
- approx 20% of sleep is REM
- rebounds when REM is lost - periods will last longer, experience more vivid dreams - compensating for lost amounts of REM sleep
- REM stage longer as night progresses

Theories on why we sleep

- Energy conservation - body metabolizes slower in sleep
- Adaptive for avoiding predation - human's don't see well at night
- Restorative - body has chance to heal

Sleep disorders

- Insomnia
- Narcolepsy
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Night Terrors
- Sleepwalking

Insomnia

- Difficulty falling/staying asleep
- Treatment (Behavioural): consistent wake schedule, only go to bed when tired, only use bed for sleeping, exercise, avoid alcohol/caffeine in evening
- Treatment (Pharmacological): Can be addictive, can have adverse side effects (ex. Amnesia), can lead to rebound insomnia

Narcolepsy

- irregular control of sleep-wake cycles
- Symptoms:
. "sleep attacks"
. cataplexy (lose voluntary muscle control for a few secs)
. Hypnagogic & hypnopompic hallucinations (sleep-onset & sleep-offset)
. sleep paralysis
. disturbed nighttime sleep
- Possible causes:
. Insufficient hypocretin producing neurons in hypothalamus
. Genes can help determine susceptibility, but % of related people both having \= small

(Obstructive) Sleep Apnea

- caused by blockage of airway during sleep \= daytime fatigue
- Health problems: Night sweats, weight gain, hearing loss, irregular heartbeat, ^ risk of death
- Treatment: Weight loss, CPAP air mask

Night Terrors

- Sudden waking episodes characterized by screaming, perspiring, and confusion followed by return to deep sleep
- Lasts a few minutes
- Stages 3 and 4 (not REM)
- Harmless
- Treatment: Getting older (usually happens in children)

Sleepwalking

- Walking while fully asleep
- Occurs during deep sleep stages
- Usually harmless
- Person often not aware they have done it
- Occurs more often in children
- Occurs during deep sleep

Are dreams typically more negative or positive?

Negative

Freud's Dream Protection Theory

- Dreams reflect "wish-fulfillment" of unconscious desires -\> prevent these from ruining sleep
- unconscious desires expressed symbolically within dream, require "interpretation"
- Manifest content: raw facts/details about dream
- Latent content: underlying meaning about details in dream

Problems with Freud's dream protection theory

- people with brain damage who can't dream will sleep soundly
- dreams often not wish-fulfilling: mostly negative, consist of benign people/activities, can be nightmarish
- most dreams involve no sexual themes

Activation synthesis theory

- dreams reflect inputs from brain activation in pons, forebrain attempts to weave into story
- REM induced by increased Acetylcholine in Pons & reductions in Serotonin/Norepinephrine
-\> signals sent to thalamus then cortical areas that try to make sense of them, but they are incomplete - try to make the best it

out-of-body experience (OBE)

- sensation of consciousness leaving body
- Occurs in approx. 10% of general population
- people who experience OBE's often report other strange experiences as well
- OBE's often occur in conjunction with near-death experiences

deja vu

- Feeling of reliving an experience that's new
- lasts approx. 10-30 seconds
- May be due to:
. excess levels of dopamine in temporal lobe -\> people with small temporal lobe seizures will report Deja vu prior to the seizure
. Resemblance of past events poorly remembered

Hypnosis

- set of techniques that provides people with suggestions for alterations in perceptions, feelings, thoughts, behaviours
- people are chosen to be "hypnotized" on the bases of their suggestibility
- regression therapy

myths about hypnosis

- Puts people in a "trance"
- People can be made to do things they don't want to do
- People are unaware of their surroundings
- People forget what took place
- Hypnosis can give you special abilities
- Hypnotism enhances memory

Regression therapy

- people hypnotized to remember events from childhood (where psych problems originated)
- Problems:
. Reports of age-regressed individuals often cant be corroborated by ppl present at the time
. Poggendorff illusion
. EEG responses

Past life regression therapy

- people are regressed with hypnosis to remember events from a past life
- problems:
. Claims of regressed individuals often prove false when fact-checked
. Ability to be regressed to a past-life is dependent on a belief in reincarnation

Psychoactive drug

- contains chemicals similar to those found naturally in brains that alter consciousness by changing chemical processes in neurons
- Alter how we think, feel, and act
- Effects depend on: type, dose, beliefs and expectations, environment drug is taken in

Depressants

- drugs that create a decrease in nervous system activity
- ex. Alcohol, Barbiturates, Tranquilizers

Simulants

- drugs that create an increase in nervous system activity
- ex. Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, MDMA(Ecstasy), Cocaine, Tobacco

Opiates

- bind to opioid/endorphin receptors and produce analgesic and euphoric effects
- Derived from opium poppy
- can produce ^ levels of dopamine -\> Euphoria
- administered in many ways -\> affects potency
- ex. Morphine, Codeine, heroin, Fentanyl, Oxy-Contin

Hallucinogens/Psychedelics

- Drugs which cause dramatic alterations of perception, mood, and thought
- Can enhance, distort, and intensify sensory experience
- Effects often unpredictable leading to paranoia, violence, and anxiety in some people
- ex. Cannabis

Routes of Administration of drugs

- Ocular -\> drops, bioadhesives
- Buccal -\> mucoadhesive, spray
- Sublingual delivery -\> tablets
- Oral delivery -\> capsule, pill
- Intravenous delivery -\> injection
- Intramuscular delivery -\> depot
- Subcutaneous delivery -\> Depot, implant
-Transdermal/topical delivery -\> patch, cream, spray
- Pulmonary/Nasal delivery -\> Aerosol, spray
- Vaginal/rectal delivery -\> Gel, suppository
- For all drugs to enter into brain, need to enter bloodstream

Blood brain barrier

- physiological mechanism that alters permeability of brain capillaries so some substances are prevented from entering brain tissue while others enter freely

Diagnosis of substance use disorder

- user has significant and recurring impairments in their life as a result of the drug(s)
- Tolerance
- Withdrawal

Tolerance

- reduction in effect of a drug as result of repeated use, requiring greater quantities to achieve same affect
- often result of bodies attempt to maintain homeostasis

Withdrawal

- unpleasant effects of reducing or stopping consumption of a drug that users had consumed habitually
- these can be learned - when someone stops taking drug, they can still occur in times/places where they would normally take it

Alcohol

- Depressant
- Increases GABA, decreases glutamate
- at low doses inhibitory control centers in cortex are "depressed" -\> creates release of inhibitors, "upper" phase pf drinking
- at higher doses other regions "depressed" -\> loss of motor coordination, impaired judgement, "downer" phase of drinking, alcohol myopia

Barbiturates and tranquilizers

- depressants
- aka sleeping pills and sedatives
- increase GABA activity
- at high doses can lead to depression, loss of motor coordination, memory impairments
- like Valium -\> highly prescribed to housewives in 60s
- Withdrawal symptoms can be insomnia or anxiety

Amphetamines

- Simulants
- reduce sleep, fatigue, appetite, depression
- increase dopamine and norepinephrine
- injections can lead to massive spikes in blood pressure causing stroke
- Amphetamine psychosis -\> schizophrenia-like hallucinations that occur when brain's dopamine activity is artificially ^ beyond normal level by heavy use

Methamphetamine

- Simulant
- inhaled via smoking
- ingredients very accessible
- more potent than standard amphetamines -\> ^ probability of OD and dependence
- can cause aggression, paranoia, acne, "meth mouth"

MDMA (ecstasy)

- stimulant
- 3,4-methylenediosymethamphetamine
- alter serotonin levels by ^ release and blocking reuptake
- impaired immune function, sleep problems, intellectual impairments, sexual dysfunction

Cocaine

- Stimulant
- injected, inhaled, snorted
- analgesic properties
- creates excitement/euphoria -\> blocks reuptake of dopamine/norepinephrine
- relatively mild withdrawal symptoms, accompanied by strong cravings
- in high doses: fever, vomiting, convulsions, hallucinations, paranoid delusions
- overdose: can go into cardiac arrest

Heroin

- opiate
- most commonly administered via injection, but can be smoked, ingested, inhaled, etc.

Fentanyl

- opiate
- powerful painkiller that gets abused

Cannabis

- Hallucinogen/psychedelic
- usually smoked, can be consumed other ways
- primary ingredient THC -\> stimulates cannabinoid receptors
- effects: slowed time, enhanced sensations, giggles, ^ appetite
- high doses: impairments in memory, exaggerated emotions, difficulty focusing, anxiety
- Long term: more toxic than tobacco smoke, ^ risk of lung/respiratory disease, negative effect on attention/memory

Myths about cannabis

- Causes amotivational syndrome -\> true that highschool students who use it have lower grades, but often shown that they were low before use
- "gateway drug" -\> twin studies dispel this myth, in many cases its true that it is the 1st "illicit" drug consumed, but just cause one event precedes another \=/\= cause

The problem with likert scales

- assumes people are operating on same psychological scale, difference between values same for all people

Behaviourism

- should only attribute behaviour things that can be objectively measures (not things like mind/consciousness)
- pragmatic argument about how science of behaviour should be conducted, not a metaphysical position about the nature of the mind

phylogenetic behaviour

- behaviour hardwired into you through evolutionary pressures (like instinctual, innate)
- Reflexes, fixed action patters, general behaviour traits

Reflexes

- ex. of phylogenetic behaviour
- relationship between special event and simple response to it
- found in all members of species
- highly stereotypic
- human ex : Pupillary, rooting, suckling, salivary, palmar grasp, peristalsis, respiratory, patellar
- not all useful (ex. allergies, seizures)

Primary laws of the reflex

1. Law of the Threshold -\> point below which no response is elicited and above always occurs
2. Law of Intensity- Magnitude -\> increases in stimulus intensity also increase intensity of response
3. Law of Latency -\> more intense a stimulus is, the faster the response is elicited

Habituation

- decrease in the intensity or probability of a reflex response resulting from repeated exposure to a stimulus that evoked that response
- perhaps the simplest form of learning

Fixed action patterns

- example of phylogenetic behaviour
- series of related acts found in all members of a species
- occurs when releaser stimulus is present
- AKA modal action patterns, species-specific behaviour
- ex. gray-legged goose rolling anything vaguely egg-shaped into nest
- not completely hardwired, degree of variability environment/learning can modify
- remove releaser stimulus, behaviour continues (ex. squirrel digging nut)

General behaviour traits

- ex. of phylogenetic behaviour
- Any general behavioural tendency strongly influenced by genes
- ex. introversion, general anxiety, drug abuses, etc.
-Evidence:
. selective breeding -\> can breed animals to be more aggresive
. gene knockout
. twin studies

Limits of natural selection

- takes long time, so not ideal for coping w/ sudden environmental changes
- adaption that was once useful might become useless, even maladaptive quickly -\> humans with fondness for salt/sugar

What is measured when measuring learning?

- changing behaviour
- not the acquisition of smth

Poggendorff illusion (regression)

- Illusion increases in effectiveness with age
- people who have supposedly regressed often do not see the illusion how a child should (children tend to see it correct)

Types of learning

- habituation
- respondent (i.e. classical/pavlovian conditioning)
- operant conditioning

are all changes in behaviour learning?

- no
- ex. Phineas Gage (guy who's personality changed after pipe went through his frontal lobe), changes due to drug use

Classical/Respondent/Pavlovian conditioning

- associating involuntary action with a stimulus that doesn't naturally elicit that response
- Comes from associating a US with a CS to produce a CR
- ex. playing a bell tone before presenting someone with a donut -\> salivation, over time only bell tone needed for salivation

Unconditional Stimulus (US)

- classical/respondent conditioning
- stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response (UR)
- ex. a donut (US) triggering salivation (UR)

Unconditional Response (UR)

- classical/respondent conditioning
- behaviour elicited by the antecedent stimulus (US) without need of any prior history of learning
- ex. salivation (UR) after seeing a donut (US)

Conditional Stimulus (CS)

- classical/respondent conditioning
- previously neutral stimulus that acquires possibility to elicit a conditioned response when paired with US
- CS's function literally "conditional" on relationship with US
- ex. Bell tone being played before presenting Donut (US)

Conditional Response (CR)

- classical/respondent conditioning
- behaviour elicited by the antecedent stimulus (CS)
- ex. salivation (CR) upon hearing the bell tone (CS)

Probe Trial

- classical/respondent conditioning
- Presents CS alone (with no US)
- more exposure \= greater conditional responding
- early exposure \= more learning than later (non-linear)
- conditioning/learning can occur and different rates (ex. taste aversion can happen after only 1 exposure, salivation requires numerous)

Temporal relationships

- (classical/respondent conditioning)
- Delayed conditioning
- trace conditioning
- Simultaneous conditioning
- Backwards conditioning

delayed conditioning

- classical/respondent conditioning
- CS begins and US overlap partially
- most effective method, when CS-US interval is short (0.4-1 sec)
- common in real world
- ex. training to salivate at sound of bell - food delivered while bell still sounding a bit

trace conditioning

- classical/respondent conditioning
- Cs begins and ends before the US
- longer intervals between CS and US produce weaker responding - but depends on response being learned
- common in real world
- ex. food poisoning from restaurant
- useful in wild to know what is poisonous

simultaneous conditioning

- Classical conditioning
- CS and US begin and end at same time
- less common in real world
- less effective than delayed and trace conditioning

backwards conditioning

- Classical conditioning
- CS follows US
- not effective, but can be demonstrated in a lab

Respondent extinction

- presenting the conditional stimulus (CS) in the absence of the unconditional stimulus
- results in gradual decline of the conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

- increase in magnitude of the CS after respondent extinction has occurred & time has passed
- demonstrates that extinction is not "forgetting" what was learned
- after enough trials, will stop completely
- Classical and Operant conditioning

Treatment of phobias

- respondent extinction
- present the stimuli in the absence of any aversive event
- counter existing conditioning
- Exposure therapy

Respondent/stimulus Generalization

- When an organism shows a conditioned response to values of the CS that were not trained during acquisition
-produces a generalization gradient
- ex. dogs not only salivating to exact tone used for conditioning, but similar tones too - but farther from the original, the lower the response

respondent/stimulus discrimination

- when the value of the CS, other than what was originally trained, elicit little to no conditional response
- ex. therapy for phobia - what if treatment does not generalize to outside of the clinic

Higher-order conditioning

- (classical/respondent conditioning)
- type of conditioning in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditional stimulus (CS2) because of relationship with already effective CS
- ex. person afraid of bees (CS) also afraid of flowers/garden (higher order CS)

Aversion Therapy

- (Classical/respondent conditioning)
- stimulus contingently paired with a noxious stimulus
- Ex. for alcoholism -\> given drug disulfiram (antabuse) that blocks enzyme needed to process alcohol \= sick, associate alcohol w/ illness

Operant conditioning

- study of how consequences effect behaivour
- ex. giving dog a treat after they do a trick, or scolding

Distinction between respondent and operant conditioning

- respondent: behaviour elicited by stimulus, controlling event \= stimuli PRECEDING response
- Operant: behaviour emitted to produce/remove stimulus, controlling event \= stimuli FOLLOWING response

B.F. skinner

- developed operant conditioning
- influenced by Edward Thorndike
- Puzzle box -\> cats could only escape by opening latch, get food after
- Believed that if an act brings a reward, it becomes stamped into mind -\> behaviour changes because of consequence

Operant conditioning chamber

- Skinner box
- rats typically push a lever, pigeons peck at a disc or touch screen
- If they do correct response, get a bit of food
- highly controlled environment with no confounding variables

Increase in behaviour due to consequence

- \= "reinforce"
- ex. giving rat food for pressing lever \= ^ probability of lever being pressed

decrease behaviour due to consequences

- \= "punish"
- rat gets shocked for lever press \= decrease in probability of it getting pressed

effects of reinforcing consequences

- ^ frequency
- increase duration
- ^ intensity
- ^ in quickness (decrease in latency)
- ^ in variability
- ^ of whatever the reinforcer in contingent on
- ex. kid studying for a certain period of time to get access to videogames -\> reinforcer contingent on continued performance of behaviour for duration

Two ways of reinforcing

- add (+) a simulus \= positive reinforcement
. ex. rat pressing lever for food -\> stimulus GIVEN
- remove (-) a stimulus \= negative reinforcement
. ex. rat repeatedly shocked and only way to stop is pressing lever -\> stimulus TAKEN AWAY

Does reward \= reinforcer?

- no
- just because you reward a behaviour doesn't mean you have reinforced it - needs to influence probability of behaviour
- to truly know if reinforcer, need to test it
- ex. coffee as a positive reinforcer for playing piano

two ways of punishing

- add (+) a stimulus \= positive punishment
. ex. walk down street & get mugged -\> less likely to walk it again
- remove (-) a stimulus \= negative punishment
. remove internet for kid misbehaving -\> less likely to misbehave

Punishment

- defined by their effect on behaviour -\> if it doesn't decrease the behaviour, its not a punishment
- can be highly effective and work over the long time when used properly
- but many drawbacks

drawbacks of punishment

- doesn't teach new acceptable behaviour
- usually fosters undesirable emotional response (aggression, fear/anxiety, crying, apathy/depression)
- can foster subversive practices to escape punishment (lying, cheating, etc.)
- imitation of the punisher (children - sees parent slap sibling for punishment, might slap classmate for behaviour they don't like)

Discriminative stimulus

- stimulus or event that sets the occasion for reinforcement
- ex. researcher only reinforcing lever pressing of rat when a light is turned on