Consciousness

• Consciousness


  Subjective awareness of internal and external states
• Consciousness


  • Complex past with psychology
  • Introspection
  • Basic units of consciousness
  • Behaviorism
  • Cognitive psychology
  • Brain imaging of consciousness
• Psychoactive substances


  Substances that alter consciousness
• Synapses and Neurotransmitters (NTs)


  1. Chemical messages

  2. Post-synaptic receptors

  3. Lock and Key principle

  4. Reuptake

  
• Agonists


  Increases activity of NTs, mimics the body's natural NTs
• Antagonists


  Decreases activity of NTs
• Substance use disorder


  • Drug-related distress or impairment
  • Tolerance
  • Physical dependence
  • Psychological dependence
• CNS depressants


  Inhibits function of CNS, GABA agonist, deactivate Glutamate, activates opioid receptors
• CNS depressants


  • Alcohol
• Stimulants


  Excites function of central nervous system
• Stimulants


  • Cocaine
• Cannabis


  • Hallucinogenic, depressant, and stimulant properties
  • Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
  • Anandamide: body's natural cannabinoid
  • Endocannabinoid system
  • Cannabidiol (CBD)
• Opioids


  Relieve pain and induce sleep
• Narcotics


  Opioids, inhibit pain signals, slow/stop breathing (overdose leads to death)
• Hypnosis


  Altered state of consciousness, heightened suggestibility
• Hypnosis


  • Induction methods
  • Individual differences
  • Potential clinical applications
• Dissociation


  Division of consciousness, hidden observer vs. rest of mind
• Sociocognitive Theories


  Hypnosis does not involve an altered state of consciousness, beliefs and expectations
• Myths of Hypnosis


  • Hypnosis can make you do things you don't want
  • Hypnosis is a sleep like state
  • People under hypnosis are unaware of their surroundings
• Circadian rhythm


  • Cyclical changes in our biological processes that occur roughly in a 24 hour basis (incl. sleep)
  • Triggered by light, suprachiasmatic nucleus releases melatonin

  
• Daylight savings time


  Increased car accidents, work accidents, heart attack, stroke
• Sleep stages and EEG


  • Awake: Beta waves
  • Calm wakefulness: Alpha waves
  • Stage 1: Theta waves
  • Stage 2: K complex, sleep spindles
  • Stage 3 and 4: Delta waves
  • Rapid Eye Movement (REM): Beta waves
• Dreams


  • Freud's Dream Theories: Wish fulfillment
  • Activation--Synthesis Theory: Neurological theory, pons activation, cerebral cortex synthesis
• Circadian rhythms are changes in our daily biological cycles, including sleep
• The five stages of sleep are characterized by the "speeds" of brain activity
• 1. 6 cycles of sleep per night; 90-minute cycles
• The activation synthesis theory proposes that dreams are the cerebral cortex making sense of sporadic brainstem activity