9 15 14 Psych Chapter 5 Consciousness Sleep Hallucinations Hypnosis Drugs What is Consciousness o Noun consciousness Sleep The state of being awake and aware of one s surroundings The awareness or perception of something by a person o Sleep is a state of periodic rest during which we enter a state of diminished consciousness and experience periodic intense hallucinations most notable in the form of dreams o There is a 24 hour sleep wake cycle o 24 hour bodily cycles are called circadian rhythms Circadian Rhythms are a type of biological rhythms o When you get tired the hypothalamus releases a hormone called melatonin o During sleep brain activity is measured using an EEG An EEG measures electrical activity in the brain There is more activity when we re awake than when we are asleep with a MAJOR EXCEPTION Stages of Sleep 1 Stage 1 2 Stage 2 3 Stage 3 4 Stage 4 5 Rapid eye movement REM sleep Stage 1 Sleep Stage 2 Sleep Stage 3 and 4 o Light sleep Lasts for about 10 to 15 minutes Sometimes hard to tell if you have slept or not Mild hallucinations called hypnagogic images o Brain activity slows down even more than in stage one However there are sudden bursts of activity called sleep spindles Sleep spindles may help memory consolidation About 65 of sleep Adults o Deep sleep Very slow brain activity It is very hard to wake someone up in this stage Dreams in this stage are less frequent less negative and less bizarre than dreams during REM Children spend about 40 of sleep in these stages As we get older we spend less and less time here Rapid Eye Movement REM Sleep o Brain suddenly becomes very active Most dreaming Eyes move Most muscles except breathing muscles and ocular muscles are paralyzed Dreams are bizarre and more negative About a quarter of sleep in adults o Sometimes when you wake up during REM you body is still paralyzed and you are partially awake and partially dreaming This is called sleep paralysis Sleep Paralysis The Sleep Cycle o We cycle through the five stages of sleep about once every 90 minutes during the night However the amount of the sleep cycle spend in REM increases through the night 9 15 14 Psych Sleep Disorders Insomnia 1 2 Narcolepsy 3 Sleep Apnea 4 Night Terrors 5 Sleepwalking Insomnia asleep o Inability to fall asleep waking too early and having trouble falling back o Most of the time the cause is psychological depression anxiety o Sometimes cause is physical o Psychological treatments are most effective long term Narcolepsy Sleep Apnea Night Terrors Sleepwalking Dreams o Sudden sleepiness or onset of sleep Can be inherited or caused by brain injuries Medication is used to control the disorder o Airways are blocked during sleep leading to sudden awakenings poor sleep and loud snoring Can contribute to sudden death Being overweight is a risk factor In more sever cases a breathing machine ay be sued at night o Sudden awakening while overcome by terror Screaming is common No associated with dreams usually harmless usually end by early adulthood Most common in children o Walking while you sleep Self explanatory Occurs during stages 3 and 4 Usually not very dramatic Occasionally people do things like drive Claims of murder and sex while sleepwalking are questionable o Mostly occur during REM REM dreams are more bizarre and easier to remember o REM is likely necessary to live Theories of Dreaming 1 Freud s Dream Protection Theory 2 Activation synthesis 3 Neurocognitive Perspective Freud s Dream Protection Theory o Freud was a neurologist who became interested in psychological problems that didn t have ready medical explanations o Says that dreams are the disguising of our weird sexual and aggressive desires into symbols that won t disrupt our sleep o Also much of the content of REM dreams are negative IT is unlikely that nightmares are wish fulfillment 9 15 14 Psych Id Base animalistic desires Uncontrolled appetite Superego The social rules imposed on us A strict conscience Ego The conscious part of the psyche that negotiates between the Id and the superego Activation Synthesis o Merely says that random signals starting in the pons a lower brain structure are interpreted by the cortex Under this theory dreams are random and meaningless Freud s theory gives dreams a lot of theories The Neurocognitive Perspective o This perspective on dreams is a middle ground o Research shows that dreaming can help enhance learning and problem solving A dream may not be as meaningful as a symbol forbidden desires but it is not random Hypnosis o Traditionally hypnosis is considered a technique for inducing relaxation and an altered state of consciousness that makes people open to altered perceptions o What it Can t Do It can t make you unaware of your surroundings It doesn t put you to sleep or into a trance It DOES NOT improve memory You can resist WHENEVER YOU WANT TO It can t make you forget the hypnotic session o It only works if you believe it will and are willing to participate It is a real alternate state of consciousness or driven by our beliefs Think facilitated communication He is bias Hallucinations Out of Body Experiences o Sensory perceptions of things that don t exist in the external world Seeing things that aren t there hearing sounds smelling scents when they are not there Ex drugs mental illness early stages of sleep and random About 10 of people o A type of hallucination where you believe you have left your body and viewed it form the third person Seems to happen under extreme stress o People tend not to be accurate when describing the events from a third person perspective suggesting its an illusion When studies have shown people are accurate they have almost never been replicated Replicability problem Drugs o Drugs that alter our consciousness are called psychoactive o Classes of Drugs Stimulants These activate the nervous system Nicotine caffeine methamphetamine cocaine They mimic neurotransmitters that excite the nervous system 9 15 14 Psych Depressants Opiates Decrease central nervous system activity Mimic neurotransmitters that slow the nervous system down Alcohol mimics GABA barbiturates Quaaludes ect Mimic endorphins our natural painkillers Derived from poppy plant These are things like heroin morphine and prescription narcotics Very addictive Much less likely to become addicted to opiates if you take them for medical purposes However you should only use what you are prescribed and only for as long as you need it Psychedelics Hallucinogens Hallucinogens