States of Consciousness Chapter 5 Understanding Consciousness Sleep

States of Consciousness Chapter 5 -Understanding Consciousness - Sleep and Dreams Circadian Rhythms, Stages of Sleep, Why Do We Sleep & Dream? Sleep Disorders, Self-help for Sleep Problems - Psychoactive Drugs - Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness

Consciousness w Definition: An individual’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and memories that are active at a given moment. Or “an organism’s awareness of its own self and surroundings” w Awareness of: • Internal sensations • External events • Self as a unique being • Thoughts and experiences w Characteristics: Personal and subjective, occurring on a continuum, and changing all the time.

Function of Consciousness w Monitoring • Monitoring the environment for what is and what isn’t important • Selective Attention: the ability to choose what to allow into consciousness • Cocktail Party Phenomenon w Controlling • Used to plan and change our actions

Conscious/Unconscious Continuum w Subconscious • ignore, select and reject incoming stimuli • Ex: clock chiming the hour w Preconscious • Available memories w Unconscious • Freudian slips, repressed memories, dreams w Divided Consciousness • Ability to do two things at once • Controlled vs. Automatic processes

Rhythms in humans w Yearly, 28 day, 90 minute w 24 hour (Circadian) Rhythms: alertness, body temp, hormones w What happens if no external cues? w Jet lag w Sleep Deprivation West to East Phase advance East to West Phase delay

Theories on Sleep There is no physiological reason found for sleep Adaptive: Species need a certain time awake to survive. Sleep protects by keeping out of trouble. Conserving Energy: Less calories burned. Restorative: Restore body and nervous system

Sleep as a change in consciousness w Sleep Stages • Stage 1 • Stage 2 Collectively called NREM stages • Stage 3 • Stage 4 • REM

EEG Cycles

Brain Waves

Sleep Stages 1 & 2 Stage 1 • Theta Waves, irregular, breathing slows, light sleep, easily awakened, lasts about two minutes, may have sensory experience without stimulus Stage 2 • About 20 minutes long • Characterized by sleep spindles and K Complexes • easily awakened but clearly asleep

DEEP Sleep stages 3 & 4 Stage 3 • A purely transitional stage • marked by 20 -50% delta waves Stage 4 • About 30 minutes long • Hard to awaken • Delta waves > than 50% of the time • Walking or talking in sleep, wetting the bed, and night terrors can occur during this stage • Still attend to external stimuli

Sleep Stages REM • Occurs the first time about an hour into the sleep cycle • Brain waves rapid • Breathing and heart rate rapid • Arousal of genitals • Rapid eye movement • Essentially paralyzed during this stage • Cannot easily be awakened

The Cycles of Sleep Repeats about every 90 minutes w REM sleep increases at the night moves on w About 25% of sleep is REM w

Specific Sleep Disorders w w w w Sleep Apnea Nightmares Narcolepsy Sleep paralysis Insomnia REM without Atonia Restless leg Sleep walking, talking Night Terrors (NREM) children, sudden terror

Function of Sleep w Deprivation studies for REM sleep result in: • • • hand tremors crankiness inability to pay attention, concentrate reports of being sleepy reported hallucinations REM rebound which occurs once normal sleep cycle is allowed to return

Dreaming Dreams can occur at any stage w Content and clarity of dream depends on which stage it occurs in • Dreams in sleep stage 1 -4 generally lack detail and are more associated with reports of emotion (ex: “It felt like I was being chased”) • REM dreams are detailed and are associated with story lines (ex: I was walking down a dimly lit street, wearing high heels…”) w

The Function of Dreaming w Function • Wish Fulfillment (Freud): Manifest (actual) and latent contents (symbolic) • Information Processing (Cartwright): The need to continue processing the day’s activities. Solves problems • Activation Synthesis Hypothesis (Hobson & Mc. Carley): Triggered by neural activity from the brainstem

Dreaming: pic

Most Common Dreams w w w Falling Being attacked Trying repeatedly to do something School, teachers, exams Sex Arriving too late Frozen with fright Death of a loved one Nudity/Inappropriate dress Killing or seeing themselves dead Fire/ Snakes

Hypnosis w w w Heightened state of suggestibility Posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia Theories: Disassociation, role, state Best subjects: fantasize, imaginations, good concentration, think favorably Facts and fallacies

Factors influencing drugs effects w w w w Tolerance Weight Physiology Amount and strength Mood Personality Age Gender

Drugs and Consciousness w Concepts in drug use • Tolerance: The need to use more and more of a drug to continue to get the same effects • Dependence • Physiological: Showing a withdrawal syndrome once removed from the drug regimen • Psychological: An emotional need for the drug • Co-dependence • Withdrawal: A distinct set of physiological symptoms associated with the removal of the drug from the system

Use of Drugs - Percentage “This picture demonstrates the debilitating effects of drug use. You can clearly see the physical breakdown that occurs with the abuse of drugs. What you don't see but can imagine is the loss of jobs, relationships and family. ” http: //www. houstoncriminallawjournal. com/art icles/drug-possession/

Classifications of Drugs w Stimulants: Drugs that stimulate CNS activity • Examples - amphetamines, caffeine, nicotine w Depressants: Drugs which decrease CNS activity • Examples - Alcohol, Barbiturates, Minor tranquilizers w Hallucinogens: Drugs that change perception and self-awareness • Examples - LSD, PCP, marijuana

Classification of Drugs

Depressants w Barbiturates: w Anti-Anxiety: calms nervous system w Alcohol: Reduces inhibitions. Males more likely to coerce sex, tip and spend big.

Stimulants w Amphetamines: Speeds up nervous system. Often an initial euphoria or gain in energy followed by a crash Examples: Meth, cocaine, nicotine, Ritalin, “speed”

Opiates Narcotics w Pain killers: Heroin, oxycotin, codeine, morpheme w Kills pain, restricts pupils, sedates w

Hallucinogens w Behavioral Changes observed? • Mimic psychosis w Examples – LSD, Peyote

Marijuana Does not fit neatly into any category, although usually classified as hallucinogen, it can act like a depressant and a stimulant, and a pain killer. w Active drug THC w Much stronger than in previous generations. w