Levels of Consciousness

• Altered states of consciousness can exist on many levels of awareness, from high awareness to no awareness (eg. drugs, sensory deprivation, sleep, dreaming)

  • Controlled Processes (highest)

    • require max attention

  • Automatic Processes

    • minimal attention awareness

  • Subconscious

    • below consciousness

  • Little or no Awareness (lowest)

    • biologically based lowest level of awareness (comas, anesthesia)

Sleep & Circadian Rhythms

• Biological processes

• a 24 hour process

• SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus)

• Ex: sleep, alertness, body temp.

• 4 Non-Rem sleep cycles

• 1 Rem (Rapid Eye Movement, we dream in this state)

  • 1: Light Sleep, muscle activity slows, occasional muscle tight

  • 2: breathing pattern and rate slows. a slight decrease in temp.

  • 3 and 4: Deep sleep, rhythmic breathing, limited muscle activity, slow brainwaves

  • REM: rapid eye movement, brain waves speed up dreaming occurs, muscles relax and heart increases, increase blood pressures, increase in breathing rate, erections in males, usually accompanied by dreams, body is typically “paralyzed”

Why do we sleep

Adaptation/Protection theory:

• sleep evolved to conserve energy and as a protection from predators

Repair/Restoration Theory

• Sleep allows organisms to repair or recuperate from depleting daily waking activities

Growth Theory:

• Deep sleep is correlated with physical development

Learning Theory:

• Sleep is important for retaining information and also absorbing it

Sleep Deprivation

• The failure to get enough sleep, regardless of the reason

  • how much is enough?

  • complete vs. partial sleep deprivation

• Relatively common in the United States: why?

• Negative effects include

  • Irritability and moodiness

  • impaired cognitive performance

The Function and Meaning of Dream

No one knows

• Unconscious wish fulfillment theory (Freud 1900)

  • Proposed that dreams represented unconscious wishes that dreamers desire to see fulfilled

• Latent content refers to the “disguised” meaning of the dream

• Manifest content refers to the actual storyline of the dream

Why do we Dream> 2 other views

• Biological

  • activation-synthesis hypothesis

  • random brain activity. your personality motivations, memories, and experiences guide the construction of a dream

• Cognitive

  • Information-processing dreams allow us to process, assimilate and update info in our brain

  • Evidence: REM increases after stress and learning

Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia

  • can’t sleep and can’t stay asleep

  • distress, impaired functioning

  • strategies

• Keep body temp down - no screens 30 mins before

• Condition your brain to associate bed with sleep

• exercise during the day

• Sleep Apnea

  • Breath stops during sleep

  • can wake up hundreds of times during the night

  • alcohol and sedatives make it worse

  • more likely if overweight

  • PAP machine mask sleep (think of dad)

• Narcolepsy

  • Incurable

  • Attacks of REM

  • Fall asleep any time

Drug Use: The highs and lows of consciousness

• Psychoactive drugs

  • Influence a person’s emotions, perceptions and behaviour

• Addictive Drugs

  • produce a biological or psychological dependence in the user, and withdrawal from them leads to a craving for the drug, in some cases, it can be irresistible

• Biologically based

• Psychologically based

Addiction

• Behavioural pattern

• Overwhelming, compulsive desire despite harmful consequences

Tolerance: after repeated use, the original dose is no longer effective, more needed»> same effect

Dependency: the body needs drugs (physiologically) to prevent withdrawal symptoms; the person has intense cravings (psychologically)

Withdrawal symptoms: painful psychological & physiological symptoms

Harmful Consequences

• Time management

• Quality & quantity sleep,

• interpersonal relationships,

• impression management

Effects on the nervous system

1. drugs mimic neurotransmitters

• excite or inhibit neurons

• open chemical locks

  • ex: morphine & heroin = endorphins

2. Drugs block reuptake

• NT are reabsorbed, removed from synapse

• drugs block this, constant stimulation

  • ex. cocaine blocks dopamine

Stimulants: Drug Highs

• Affects the central nervous system by causing a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, and muscular tension

  • Caffeine

  • Nicotine

  • Cocaine

  • Ecstasy, Molly

  • Amphetamines

    • speed, crystal meth

• Desired effects

  • reduce appetite

  • perceived power

  • increased alertness

• Undesired effects

  • anxiety

  • insomnia

  • irritability

  • paranoia

Depressants: Drug Lows

• Impede the nervous system, by causing neurons to fire more slowly

• alcohol

  • Rohypnol

• Barbiturates

  • sleep

• Tranquillizers

  • lower anxiety

• Desired Effects

  • Reduce tension

  • Relaxation

  • Lower inhibitions

• Undesired Effects

  • Anxiety

  • Nausea

  • Impaired reflexes

  • Impaired motor & cognitive functioning

  • Loss of consciousness

Narcotics: Relieving Pain and Anxiety

• Increase relaxation and relieve pain

• Morphine

• Fentanyl

• Desired effects

  • rush of pleasure

  • pain relief sleep

  • prevents withdrawal

• Undesired effects

  • Nausea

  • Vomiting

  • Painful Withdrawal

  • constipation

Hallucinogens: Psychedelic Drugs

• Drugs that are capable of producing hallucinations

• changes in the perceptual process

• Marijuana (THC)

• MDMA (Ecstasy)

• LSD

• Desired Effects

  • Mild delusions

  • Heightened aesthetics responses

  • distortion of perceptions

• Undesired effects

  • lack of motivation

  • possible psychosis

  • panic

  • nausea

  • bad trips

  • reduced sperm count

  • **Ecstasy: damage to cells in the hippocampus and reduced serotonin/damage to receptors

Factors influencing the addictive potential of drugs

• How quickly the effects of the drug are felt

• How pleasurable the drug effects are

• how long do the pleasurable effects last

• how much discomfort is experienced when the drug is discontinued (Medzerian, 1991)