Chapter 5: States of Consciousness
Consciousness 1 The awareness of sensations, thoughts, and feelings being experienced at a given moment, an attentional spotlight, internal and external awareness Is slow, but skilled at new challenges- Does consciousness exist? debated by early psychologists Psychological constructs- Selective attention-
Consciousness 2 Weiten breaks it down into 4 components: Awareness of external events of internal sensations of self as unique of thoughts about experiences Our levels of consciousness vary as well Controlled, automatic, lowered Freud also described levels as preconscious, unconscious and nonconscious
Consciousness 3 Neuroscience- -Libet study-.35 sec -Kosslyn and Koenia 2004- chords guitar Brain: -EEG measures electrical activity measures amplitude and frequency, Betaawake -Alpha, Theta, Delta- frequency declines in each Biological rhythms: -Annual cycles- -28 day cycles- -24 hour cycles( or 25)- -90 min cycles-
Circadian Rhythms: Life Cycles Biological processes that occur repeatedly on a 24-hour cycle Seasonal affective disorder Jet lag Latin circa diem Infradian and ultraidan
Circadian cont d Ex: body temp, low in am, up mid day, lower again pm Studies inconsistent on how to assist humans adjust to disruptions Light tweaks our rhythms-, retinal proteins,suprachiasmatic nucleus, pineal gland, melatonin production, adenosine inhibitors We are at highest arousal at our daily peak, but it differs by age Artificial light- Age and cycles: as we age it varies Rotating shifts at jobs, optimal to have later start times Jet lag- see basketball study in text Sunday night insomnia and Monday morning blues- Carlson and Kalat Insomnia- Bloom and Lazerson 1988- delayed sleep insomnia
Hypnosis Hypnosis Originated by Franz Mesmer in the 18 th century, it is described as being in a trance-like state of heightened susceptibility to the suggestion of others Hilgards research 1960 s- people differ in responses -10 % on each side Stanford Hypnotic susceptibility scale- 500 subjects Theories of: - Barber & Spanos expectations of the role, situational factors not the hypnosis: non hypnotized people did the same as hypnotized -Memory- little recall, more mistakes -Regression tends to be inaccurate Hypnosis & personality- not attributed to traits except perhaps imaginativeness and absorption During hyp- people may experience distortions or hallucinations Dissociation in consciousness- splits mental processes, Hilgard determines these are normal brain functions Many still depend on it as a source of treatment, even with little empirical evidence. Applications Control pain, reduce smoking, treating psychological disorders, assisting law enforcement, improving athletic performance, anesthesia
Stages of Sleep Stage 1 The stage of transition wakefulness and sleep relatively rapid, low voltage brain waves Stage 2 slower, more regular wave pattern momentary interruptions of sharply pointed spiky waves- sleep spindles
Stages of Sleep Stage 3 Waves become slower, with higher peaks and lower valleys in the wave pattern Stage 4 Waves are even slower and more regular, and people are least responsive to outside stimulation
Sleep cycles and REM Average person takes 25 min to fall asleep REM was discovered accidentally in a lab REM is dominated by Beta waveswhat??? REM cycles longer each time Note: be sure to read the personal application in text p 206-7
The Sleep Cycle
REM Sleep: The Paradox of Sleep Sleep that occupies a little over 20% of adult s sleeping time and is characterized by Rapid eye movement Increased and irregular heart rate Increase in blood pressure Increase in breathing rate Erections in males Usually accompanied by dreams Person s body is typically paralyzed
REM Sleep: The Paradox of Sleep
The Function and Meaning of Dreaming Unconscious wish fulfillment theory (Freud 1900) Proposed that dreams represented unconscious wishes that dreamers desire to see fulfilled Latent content refers to the disguised meaning of the dream Manifest content refers to the actual story line of the dream Carl Jung also had a very detailed system for analyzing dreams, see handout
The Function and Meaning of Dreams-for-survival theory Dreams permit information that is critical for our daily survival to be reconsidered and reprocessed during sleep Dreaming
The Function and Meaning of Dreaming Activations-synthesis theory The brain produces random electrical energy during REM sleep that stimulates memories lodged in various portions of the brain which are put together to make a logical story line Hobson etc study- just bursts of activity or side effects of the neural activity that produce beta waves during REM
Dreaming continued Cartwrights and Lamberg 1990 s Problem solving model of dreaming Allows room for creativity, dealing with issues, sleep on it We dream about what we are going through- ie study on divorced women Studies do not implicate solutions, though. Newer Neural Cognitive research- see packet reading Other models: Van de Castle index
Common dreams Falling-over 80% attacked, chased school, teachers studying sexual being late eating frozen fear loved one is dead locked up finding money swimming snakes dressing poorly, inadequately smothering nude fire failing and exam flying seeing s
Freud and Jung s ideas and methods 1. Freud- unconscious wish fulfillment theory Interpretation of dreams- Manifest content Latent content Symbols- Sexual intercourse- climbing stairs crossing a bridge flying airplane, walking down hallway, train in tunnel etc Apples, peaches grapefruits- Snakes fire sticks umbrellas, guns horses- Ovens tunnels closets caves bottle- Wish fulfillment- your ID s true desire Looked at repressed issues in childhood. 2. Jung- waking dreams Analysis, see crib sheet-parts to the dream and active imagination, amplification, etc Archetypes in our collective unconscious The shadow
Sleep Disturbances Insomnia Sleep apnea Sudden infant death syndrome Narcolepsy Sleepwalking
Why do we sleep? What happens when we are deprived? What is sleep for? Sleep protects, sleep repairs and recuperates, sleep helps us remember, sleep helps us grow 1/3 of our lives, to regenerate, keep our body clock, to function and survive. Does everyone need 8 hours? No Webb and Campbell 1983 genetics twins Culture? Edison s light bulb transformed out sleep patterns, fats paced tech today? Coren- need 9 hours unhindered 1996 Making up sleep- cannot really do that, Dement 1999 Gallup poll- 61 % men 41% women Deprivation s consequences- lowered immune system, loss of memory, mood worsens, obesity, poor habits, risk of accident injury/ fatal even. Most major accidents in modern history were at midnight where sleepiest at shift, Teens? Nap 1 st period, rest at lunch, sleep when class is boring, malaise, Stanford University Dement 1997- US Navy and NIH experiments 1999 and on- Kahnemen 2004-909 women Think about Daylight Savings issues, Driver fatigue, pilots etc..
Daydreams under our control, part of waking consciousness, 2-4 % half free time per day. Some studies show 10 % of day Brain waves are beta or at times alpha Freud and others considered this a way to repress or avoid conflict, escape What do you day dream about? Usefulness of daydreaming?
Therapy For Insomnia Exercise during the day Choose a regular bedtime Don t use your bed as an all purpose area Avoid caffeine after lunch Drink a glass of warm milk at bedtime Avoid sleeping pills Try not to sleep Talk yourself into sleeping
Meditation Meditation Learned technique, repetition, unaware of other external stimulus Relaxation studies mixed on helpfulness, can improve health over long term, how? Practice saying word one over and over again for 20 min. Mantra Repetition of a word, a sound, or a syllable
Drug Use: The Highs and Lows of Consciousness Psychoactive drugs Influences a person s emotions, perceptions, and behavior Modifies messages sent to brain in CNS See chart on p 199 for types Narcotics, sedatives, stimulants, hallucingens, cannabis, alcohol, MDMA( ecstasy) Addictive drugs Produce a biological or psychological dependence in the user, and withdrawal from them leads to a craving for the drug that, in some cases, may be nearly irresistible Biologically and psychological based Drup dependency depends on tolerance levels at the start
How do drugs work? Synaptic level, multiple effects Ex: Amphetamines affect NE and DA and can mimic monoamines Increases release of NE and DA and affect it at reuptake Increased dopamine activity has affects, then a large crash after. Reuptake slows, and eventual depletion of dopamine and norephineph These drugs also bind to endorphin receptors- newer research
Stimulants: Drug Highs Affect the central nervous system by causing a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, and muscular tension Caffeine Nicotine cocaine Amphetamines Methamphetamine most dangerous street drug
Stimulants: Drug Highs How much caffeine do you consume?
Depressants: Drug Lows Impede the nervous system by causing neurons to fire more slowly Alcohol Rohypnol Binge drinking Barbiturates Nembutal Seconal Phenobarbital
Depressants: Drug Lows
Narcotics: Relieving Pain and Anxiety Increase relaxation and relieve pain and anxiety Heroin Methadone treatment Morphine
Hallucinogens: Psychedelic Drugs Drugs that are capable of producing hallucinations, or changes in the perceptual process Marijuana MDMA (Ecstasy) LSD
Dependence Psychological & Physical Both function at the neural level, that is why it is hard to beat an addiction. Mesolimbic dopamine pathways- goes to cortex, reward pathway strengthens as you use more, so the mental addiction is as powerful as the physical one. Overdoses see chart 5.3 Depressants most at risk for OD Stimulants less common but damaging Direct effects of continued abuse: Indirect effects: Marijuana: Is it ok? Some risks are noted, but much evidence is still new or too small to correlate: cancers, respiratory, fertility, cognitive functions,