Chapter 5 Variations in Consciousness

Table of Contents Consciousness: Personal Awareness Awareness of Internal and External Stimuli –Levels of awareness James – stream of consciousness Freud – unconscious Sleep/dreaming research

Table of Contents The Electroencephalograph: A Physiological Index of Consciousness EEG – monitoring of brain electrical activity Brain-waves –Amplitude (height) –Frequency (cycles per second) Beta (13-24 cps) - alert Alpha (8-12 cps) - relaxing Theta (4-7 cps) - sleep Delta (<4 cps) – deep sleep Because All Toros Dream

Table of Contents

Biological Rhythms and Sleep Circadian Rhythms – 24 hr biological cycles –Regulation of sleep/other body functions –Free-running (without external stimuli) it will be closer to 25 hours Physiological pathway of the biological clock: –Light levels -> retina -> suprachiasmatic nucleus of hypothalamus -> pineal gland -> secretion of melatonin Melatonin and circadian rhythms –Melatonin used to help with jetlag

Table of Contents Sleep/Waking Research Instruments: –Electroencephalograph – brain electrical activity –Electromyograph – muscle activity –Electrooculograph – eye movements –Other bodily functions also observed

Table of Contents Sleep Stages: Cycling Through Sleep Stage 1: brief, transitional (1-7 minutes) –alpha -> theta –Hypnic (myoclonic) jerks Stage 2: sleep spindles (10-25 minutes) Stages 3 & 4 : slow-wave sleep (30 minutes) Stage 5: REM, EEG similar to awake, vivid dreaming (initially a few minutes, progressively longer as cycle through the stages) –Developmental differences in REM sleep Infants spend much more time in REM than do adults.

Table of Contents

Figure 5.5 An overview of the cycle of sleep

Table of Contents The Neural Bases of Sleep Brain Structures: –Ascending reticular activating system –Pons, medulla, thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system Neurotransmitters: –Acetylcholine and serotonin –Also norepinephrine, dopamine, and GABA

Table of Contents

Why Do We Sleep? Hypothesis 1: –Sleep evolved to conserve organisms’ energy Hypothesis 2: –Immobilization during sleep is adaptive because it reduces danger Hypothesis 3: –Sleep helps animals to restore energy and other bodily resources

Table of Contents Sleep Deprivation Complete deprivation –3 or 4 days max Partial deprivation or sleep restriction –impaired attention, reaction time, coordination, and decision making –accidents: Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez Selective deprivation –REM and slow-wave sleep: rebound effect

Table of Contents

Sleep Problems A majority of adults in the U.S. (62%) experienced a sleep problem a few nights per week or more during the past year. (Sleep Ominbus Survey 2000) Insomnia – difficulty falling or staying asleep - (58%) – F 5.10 Narcolepsy – falling asleep uncontrollably Sleep Apnea – reflexive gasping for air that awakens - (10%) – current estimates: 21 million in US and 470 million in the world Nightmares – anxiety arousing dreams - REM Night Terrors – intense arousal and panic - NREM Somnambulism – sleepwalking

Table of Contents

Dreams and Dreaming: Content and Significance Dreams – mental experiences during sleep –Content usually familiar –Common themes –hallucinatory imagery –discontinuities –delusional acceptance of the content –difficulties remembering –Waking life spillover – day residue Western vs. Non-Western interpretations

Table of Contents DREAMS  Hobson & McCarley – activation – synthesis hypothesis  Sigmund Freud--The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)  wish fulfillment  discharge otherwise unacceptable feelings  Manifest Content  remembered story line  Latent Content  underlying meaning

Table of Contents

Hypnosis: Altered State of Consciousness or Role Playing? Hypnosis = a systematic procedure that increases suggestibility Hypnotic susceptibility: individual differences Effects produced through hypnosis: –Anesthesia –Sensory distortions and hallucinations –Disinhibition –Posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia

Table of Contents HYPNOSIS  Orne & Evans (1965)  control group instructed to “pretend”  unhypnotized subjects performed the same acts as the hypnotized ones  Posthypnotic Suggestion  suggestion to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized  used by some clinicians to control undesired symptoms and behaviors

Table of Contents HYPNOSIS  Dissociation  a split in consciousness  allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others  Hidden Observer  Hilgard’s term describing a hypnotized subject’s awareness of experiences, such as pain, that go unreported during hypnosis

Table of Contents Meditation Meditation = practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control Yoga, Zen, transcendental meditation (TM) –Potential physiological benefits Similar to effective relaxation procedures

Table of Contents

Principal Abused Drugs and Their Effects 6 categories of psychoactive drugs –Narcotics (opiates) – pain relieving –Sedatives – sleep inducing –Stimulants – increase CNS activity –Hallucinogens – distort sensory and perceptual experience –Cannabis – produce mild, relaxed euphoria –Alcohol – produces relaxed euphoria, decreases in inhibitions –MDMA (ecstasy) – produces a warm, friendly euphoria

Table of Contents DRUGS Small Large Drug dose Little effect Big effect Drug effect Response to first exposure After repeated exposure, more drug is needed to produce same effect Tolerance diminishing effect with regular use Withdrawal discomfort and distress that follow discontinued use

Table of Contents DRUGS  Depressants (Sedatives)  drugs that reduce neural activity  slow body functions  alcohol, barbiturates, opiates  Stimulants  drugs that excite neural activity  speed up body functions  caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine

Table of Contents DRUGS  Hallucinogens psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input  LSD  Barbiturates  drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement

Table of Contents DRUGS  Opiates (Narcotics)  opiates depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety  opium and its derivatives (morphine and heroin)  Amphetamines (Stimulants)  drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

Table of Contents DRUGS  Ecstasy (MDMA)  synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen  both short-term and long-term health risks  LSD  lysergic acid diethylamide  a powerful hallucinogenic drug  also known as acid  THC  the major active ingredient in marijuana  triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

Table of Contents