CONSCIOUSNESS PART 2

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• The video watched refers to consciousness and provides additional knowledge about the state of consciousness
• Consciousness is altered through sleeping and dreaming
• Sleep is an active process where behaviors like moving, dreaming, talking, and walking can occur
• Two essential characteristics of sleep:

  • It creates a perceptual wall between the conscious mind and the outside world
  • The sleeping state can be reversed instantly by waking
• Circadian Rhythms are variations in physiological processes that cycle within approximately a 24-hour period
• The body's internal timekeeper, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), regulates physiological activity on daily cycles
• Melatonin plays a role in relaxation and drowsiness, regulated by the SCN
• Rapid Eye Movements (REM) mark phases of dreaming, while Non-REM (NREM) sleep has relatively few eye movements
• REM sleep declines over the lifespan, with newborns and infants spending more time in REM sleep for brain growth and development
• Sleep supports restorative processes in the CNS like neural growth, memory consolidation, and protection against cellular damage
• Insomnia is characterized by trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling rested after sleep for 2 or more consecutive weeks
• Sleepwalking occurs when a person engages in activities during sleep that are typical of wakefulness
• Narcolepsy causes excessive daytime sleepiness with sudden sleep episodes throughout the day
• Sleep apnea is characterized by brief pauses in breathing during sleep, leading to daytime fatigue
• Hypnosis does not alter consciousness but involves role-playing behavior
• Psychoactive Drugs produce qualitative changes in conscious experience when ingested
• Common Psychoactive Drugs, Their Primary Effects, and Risks:

  • Depressants: Alcohol, Sedatives
  • Opioids
  • Stimulants: Caffeine, Nicotine, Cocaine, Amphetamines
  • Ecstasy (MDMA)
  • Hallucinogens: Marijuana, LSD
  • Risks include accidents, brain damage, addiction, and other health issues
• Ben, a second-year college student falls asleep several times during various activities despite having more than 8 hours of sleep
• Best characterization of Ben's situation:

  • Narcolepsy
  • Insomnia
  • Hypersomnia
  • Sleep apnea
• George, a critical person, became suggestible and lacked voluntary control over his behavior during an experiment about hypnosis
• Explanation supported by the experimenters' observations:

  • Hypnosis is not imitation but rather real brain activity
  • Hypnosis is a state in which one part of the brain operates independently
  • Hypnosis is a gateway to the unconscious
  • Hypnosis makes people behave the way they think a hypnotized person would behave
• Psychoactive drugs that activate the nervous system:

  • Stimulants
  • Depressants
  • Hallucinogens
  • All psychoactive drugs mentioned activate the nervous system
• Lucid dreaming allows people to be aware that they are dreaming and sometimes control their dreams
• Most consistent theoretical explanation of lucid dreaming:

  • Biological
  • Cognitive
  • Psychoanalytic
  • Combined theories
• Hypersomnia:

  • Exists when a person sleeps more than 10 hours a day for 2 weeks or more
  • Involves strong urges to nap throughout the day, often at inappropriate times
• Night terrors:

  • Occur when a person, often a child, speaks incoherently and awakens suddenly in a terrified state from sleep
  • May involve walking around in one's sleep
  • The individual may scream, bolt upright from bed, appear very confused and frightened, wake up sweating and breathing very fast with dilated pupils
• Nightmares:

  • Frightening or distressing dreams
  • Common problems for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD)
• Dreams:

  • Succession of images, thoughts, and feelings experienced while asleep
  • Images are loosely connected by unusual associations and not well recalled afterward
• Theoretical Perspective on Dreams:

  • Psychoanalytic Theory: Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious according to Freud
  • Biological Theory: Dreams are devoid of meaning and result from random brain activity
  • Cognitive Theory: Dreams are not that different from everyday thinking, involving standard processes like imagery, memory, speech, and problem-solving
• Hypnosis:

  • State of mind characterized by focused attention, suggestibility, absorption, lack of voluntary control over behavior, and suspension of critical faculties of the mind
  • People may be easily hypnotized when relaxed
  • Theoretical Explanations of Hypnosis:

  1. It is a state in which one part of the brain operates independently

  2. Hypnosis does not alter consciousness, nor do hypnotized individuals give up control of their behavior

  3. From a neuroscience standpoint, hypnosis is not imitation but real brain activity
• Psychoactive Drugs:

  • Naturally occurring or synthesized substances that produce qualitative changes in conscious experience when ingested
  • Tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, hallucinations, and addiction are common risks associated with psychoactive drugs
• Jodie, after falling asleep, sees a series of images passing across the ceiling of her bedroom and remembers all the details in the morning
• Most likely associated with this event is Rapid Eye Movements (REM)
• Nina, a nurse at XYZ Medical Center, works on a shifting schedule every two weeks, working mornings in the first two weeks and evenings in the second two weeks of the month
• Most likely to occur with Nina's shifting schedule is disruption in the circadian rhythms
• Alcohol is a popular drug that can make people feel more aroused in social settings but is a depressant
• All drugs are classified as stimulants except for opioids