1. States of Consciousness
Levels of consciousness, Sleep & dreaming, Sleep Disorders, Hypnosis and Drugs

2. Levels of Consciousness – Clearing up the language…
Consciousness – Your awareness of the outside world, yourself, and your thoughts, feelings and perceptions
Preconscious – Memories and feelings that are outside of our awareness, but easily accessible – Ex. “What happened in the football games this weekend?”
Unconscious/Subconscious – Psychodynamic concept – All of the thoughts, feelings and desires that are not available to our conscious mind – too inappropriate
Non-Conscious – Bodily processes that occur totally outside of our conscious awareness, such as blood flow and hormonal activity

3. Getting your zzzzzz’s…Sleep and Dreaming
Sleep is a combination of different states of consciousness
The amount of sleep we get varies – Newborns average about hours per day, most adults average about 7
AP Exam Review - What portions of the brain control our levels of wakefulness, arousal and attention?
The Reticular Formation, Thalamus and Hypothalamus
Circadian Rhythm - physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle

4. Stages of Sleep
Brain Waves are measured with Electroencephalograms (EEGs)
Awake – Beta Waves
Relaxed Wakefulness (Hypnagogic State) – Alpha Waves
Two types of sleep – REM and NREM – NREM is divided into 4 stages
Stage 1 – Theta Waves
Stage 2 – Sleep Spindles – High frequency bursts of brain activity
Stage 3 – Transition stage. Beginning of Delta Waves
Stage 4 – Deep sleep.
Delta (D Deep) Heart rate, temperature, blood flow to the brain are all reduced
Then, the countdown – 3,2,1
REM sleep – Paradoxical Sleep – Eyes move, breathing is irregular, heart rate increase, etc. but muscles are relaxed.

5. Dreams
Freud believed dreams revealed the secrets of the unconscious – a safety valve for our desires
Manifest Content – The story that we remembered
Latent Content – The underlying meaning
Activation-Synthesis Theory – Pons generates action potentials, and then the dreamer creates a story line
Key Question – Are dreams psychological (Psychoanalysts) or physiological (A-S Theory)?

6. Sleep Disorders
REM-Rebound – More time is spent in REM sleep the night after a “bad sleep”
Insomnia – The inability to fall asleep or stay sleeping
Narcolepsy – An awake person falls asleep – Sudden and uncontrollable – Usually directly into REM sleep
Sleep Apnea – Temporary cessation of breathing
Night Terrors – Childhood sleep disruption from Stage 4 sleep
Sleepwalking/ Somnambulism - Childhood sleep disruption from Stage 4 sleep
In both cases, usually nothing is remembered in the morning

7. Hypnosis
Hypnosis – an altered state of consciousness – deep relaxation and heightened suggestibility
“When I ring this bell, you will begin to cluck like a chicken”
May smell, taste, see or hear things that are not really there
Highly vivid and intense
High levels of focus
Manage pain, quit certain unwanted behaviors, relaxation, etc.

8. Drugs
Psychoactive Drugs – Substances that can pass through the blood/brain barrier to alter perception – Ex. Coffee
Depressants – Reduce the activity of the Central Nervous System and induce relaxation – Barbiturates, tranquilizers & alcohol – Valium, Xanax, “roofies”
Narcotics – CNS depressants – Opiates – Morphine, opium, heroin – Relieve pain and induce sleep
Stimulants – Reduce inhibitions and increase motivational centers of the brain – Caffeine, cocaine and Ecstasy
Hallucinogens – alter mood and distort perceptions – LSD, PCP, Marijuana