Chapter 5: States of Consciousness
Cards (27)
- Lower-level consciousness
- Automatic processes — using your smart phone while someone is talking to you
- Daydreaming
- Napping benefits include a 15-minute cat nap
- Altered State of Consciousness
- Drugs, alcohol, hypnosis, meditation
- Subconscious
- Waking subconscious awareness
- Sleep and Dreams
- No Awareness
- Unconscious thought (Freud)
- When awake – beta waves (concentration and being alert)
- Stage 1 (non Rem1) characterized by theta waves
- Stage 2 (nonRem2) characterized by theta waves and sleep spindles
- Sleep Spindles: bursts of brain activity that occur when you’re in a light stage of sleep
- Stage 3 & 4 (nonRem3) characterizes by delta waves
- Stage 5 (REM) — most dreaming occurs; Instead of reentering stage 1 we go into REM
- Cycles generally last about 90 to 100 minutes (most people have an average of 5 cycles per night)
- Sleep patterns change during the night
- 60%—Stage 1& 2
- 20% - Stage N3 sleep
- 20% - REM sleep
- Suprachiasmatic nucleus: a small brain structure that uses input from the retina to synchronize its own rhythm with the daily cycle of light and dark. Send info to the hypothalamus, pineal gland, and reticular information
- Desynchronization: when you are trying to perform tasks when your circadian rhythms are not at the same level of arousal
- Consolidation Theory (plasticity) – neuroscientists have recently found that sleep can enhance synaptic connections or tiny bridges between brain cells that communicate with each other and become stronger as we remember and learn.
- Sleep Theories
- Restorative
- Conserve Energy
- Circadian Rhythm
- Consolidation Theory
- Freud's Dreaming Theory
- He said that dreams unlocked the unconscious
- Manifest content – this is the surface of the dream
- Latent content – this is its hidden content, or hidden meaning (this is the true meaning of your dream…your hidden desires and wishes)
- Cognitive Theory of Dreaming
- The cognitive theory of dreaming states that the purpose of dreams is to process information, solve problems, and think creatively about our everyday issues
- There is no hidden meaning
- Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming
- The cerebral cortex synthesizes neural signals generated from activity in the lower part of the brain.
- So basically, the brain has all this neural activity going on which is the main event, and then there are the dreams that are produced that are going along for the “neural ride”
- Psychoactive Drugs
- Drug use highest in mid to late 70s and dcreased in the 80s
- Why? 1981: AIDs epidemic
- Back up in the 90s (crack cocaine) …then another decline in the early 21st century
- Now we have a heroine epidemic
- Tolerance-continued use of psychoactive drugs and the need to take increasing amounts to get the same effect
- Psychological dependence – repeat use for emotional reasons, i.e., feel pleasure, reduction of stress
- Physical dependence - Physiological need for a drug…withdrawal can occur
- Physical pain
- Nausea
- Cravings
- Alcoholism = disease
- Ecstasy (MDMA) has both hallucinogenic and stimulant properties
- Long term cognitive impairment
- Kills axons that are connected to serotonin thus permanent depression results...SSRIs are often prescribed
- Sleep Challenges
- Sleepwalking – somnambulism (som·nam·bu·lism)
- Usually occurs in Stages 3 & 4, when person is not dreaming)…act out
- Sleep talking – somniloquy (som-nil-o-gwee)
- The drug Ambien – sleep eating and sleep driving
- Nightmares – usually in REM sleep
- Night terrors – in Stage 4
- Sleep Disorders
- Insomnia – the inability to sleep
- Sleep Apnea – windpipe fails to open while sleeping
- Narcolepsy – sudden urge to sleep (while walking, talking, driving, eating, you name it) …triggered by emotions
- REM Behavior Disorder – person acts out dream rather than going into the normal paralysis that can accompany REM dreaming (it’s a very rare disorder) … (e.g., may hit your partner while sleeping)
- Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) – very rare disorder; Caused by a genetic mutation.