Ch 4 Learning objectives consciousness What does it mean to be conscious and are there different levels of o Consciousness is your awareness of everything that is going on around you and inside your head at any given moment includes thoughts feelings and o There is no single stream of consciousness There are multiple channels and each handles its own tasks Waking consciousness thoughts feeling sensations are clear and organized and they feel alert Altered states of consciousness when there is a shift in the quality or pattern of your mental activity Why do people need to sleep and how does sleep work o The human body s biological rhythms the activities the body must go Fuzzy thoughts Disorganized Dream like thoughts through to stay alive including Menstrual cycle Heart beat Sleep wake cycle o Circadian rhythms takes about a day to complete Most people will experience several hours of sleep at least once during every 24 hour period Controlled by the brain hypothalamus Melatonin a hormone secreted by the pineal gand is influenced by the suprachiasmatic nucleus what tells you when to wake and when to fall asleep Sensitive to changes in light Controls body temperature the higher the body temperature the more alert people are and vice versa Serotonin Serotonin producing neurons are most active during wakefulness Some serotonin receptors are excitatory and some are inhibitory The importance of sleep Lack of sleep causes difficulty with tasks you wouldn t normally have trouble with lack of concentration inability to focus etc More serious lack of sleep sleep deprivation which causes o Dizziness o Trembling o Droopy eyelids o Staring off into space o General discomfort o Irritability o Depression What are the different stages of sleep including the stage of dreaming and its importance o There are two stages of sleep REM Relatively psychologically active type of sleep Most of the dreaming takes place Voluntary muscles are inhibited Non REM More restful Body free to move around o Beta waves are what show on and as your brain wave pattern when you re awake Small and fast waves appear o As the person begins to become tired slower and larger alpha waves o After alpha waves even slower and larger theta waves replace them As the theta waves replace alpha waves you re entering N1 or light sleep non REM If people are awakened in this state they will claim that they weren t actually asleep Hypnogogic images or hallucinations o Ghostly visits alien abductions near death experiences Hypnic jerk or falling sensation o N2 R K stage 2 Sleep Spindles Body temperature continues to drop heart rate slows breathing becomes shallow Sleep spindles brief bursts of activity Theta waves still predominate you will know if you were asleep o N3 R K stages 3 4 Delta waves roll in Slowest and largest waves make their appearance Delta Deepest stage of sleep Growth hormones are released from the pituitary gland and reach their peak Hard to awaken Deep sleep is when body growth occurs o R R K REM After time in N3 the person will go back up through N2 Body temp will increase to near waking levels heart beats faster eyelids flutter Sometimes referred to as paradoxical sleep Dream state Purpose of REM sleep And emotionally stressful day leads to more time in How do sleep disorders interfere with normal sleep REM sleep o Nightmares o REM behavior disorder rare disorder where the brain mechanisms fail allowing the person to thrash around and even get up and act out nightmares o Night terrors a state of panic experienced while sound asleep Possible to sit up scream and even feel unable to breathe Most people don t remember night terrors Why do people dream and what do they dream about o Dreams are products of the activity in the pons o Dreams tend to take place in REM sleep 90 It is possible to have dreams in other stages of sleep REM dreams are more vivid NREM dreams tend to be more like thoughts o Manifest content the actual dream itself o Latent content the true hidden meaning of a dream How does hypnosis affect consciousness o A state of consciousness where the person is susceptible to suggestion People can be hypnotized but only if they re willing to be hypnotized Why hypnosis works Dissociation splitting of conscious awareness Role playing What is the difference between a physical dependence and a psychological dependence on a drug o Physical dependence body becomes unable to function normally without the drug and the person is said to be dependent or addicted o Psychological the belief that the drug is needed to continue feeling of emotional or psychological well being How do stimulants and depressants affect consciousness and what are the dangers associated with taking them especially alcohol o Stimulants causes the sympathetic nervous system or the central division or both to increase levels of functioning Make the heart beat faster Make the brain work faster Amphetamines uppers Synthesized in labs Crystal meth They don t give people extra energy but causes them to burn up whatever reserves they have o When the drug wears off energy is gone and there is a crash Depresses the appetite Cocaine Natural Produces feelings of euphoria Deadens pain Suppresses appetite Nicotine Produces a rush or sense of arousal as it raises the blood pressure and accelerates the heart Has a relaxing affect Physical withdrawal symptoms Caffeine Natural Stimulant helps maintain alertness and increase effectiveness of some pain relievers such as aspirin o Depressants drugs that slow down the central nervous system Major tranquilizers barbituates Minor tranquilizers Benzodiazepines o Rohypnol rape drug Alcohol Most commonly used and abused Associated with risks to liver brain and heart Associated with loss of work time loss of a job and loss of economic stability A depressant that gives the allusion of stimulation because it depresses your inhibitions first What are some of the affects and dangers of hallucinogens including marijuana o Hallucinogens cause the brain to alter its interpretation of sensations and can produce sensory distortions hallucinations o Two kinds lab create and natural sources Lab created LSD PCP MDMA ecstasy Natural Marijuana How can the workings of our conscious explain supernatural visitations o Hypnogogic hallucinations that occur in N1 the same stage that you would deny being asleep if you were woken up Ch 5 Learning objectives What does the term learning really mean o Any relatively permanent change in behavior
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