Chapter 6 Consciousness 07 26 2012 Our awareness of ourselves mental processes thoughts feelings perceptions AND our environments Our experience of a moment as we move through it States of Consciousness Waking consciousness and organized thoughts feelings and sensations are clear o Person is fully present and paying attention to self AND environment Altered state of consciousness a shift in the quality of mental activity o Any state other than waking consciousness o Reduced ability to monitor information from self and or environment o Many sources of alteration Conscious Processing Awareness is focused on a particular stimulus while ignoring others selective attention Ability to register and react quickly to stimuli Conscious processing we are aware of and paying attention to requires conscious control Conscious awareness is focused on a particular stimulus while ignoring others Selective attention Non conscious processing Non conscious processing passive handling of stimuli that are received in the brain but that we are not selectively attending o 11 000 000 bits of info processed without conscious awareness colors Non threatening sensory stimuli background noise o No critical or logical analysis of non conscious information o BUT brain can redirect attention to very important stimuli Problem with redirection slow Non conscious processing priming recent exposure causes a temporary and passive activation of information and associations stored in memory We respond faster and more accurately to stimuli that are primed So primed means familiar o information you know so well that it is always slightly o information that is activated because you have recently activated OR encountered it Organization in LTM Spreading activation among connections explains priming AND semantic interference Semantic network model information is stored in connections so that activating a concept also activates related concepts Why do we sleep Adaptive theory animals and humans evolved sleep patterns to avoid predators by sleeping when the predators are most active Restorative theory the body repairs and maintains itself during sleep o replenishes chemicals and repairs cellular damage Memory consolidation learning theory information are reinforced during sleep neural pathways for new o People who get enough sleep are better at remembering what they learned that day Biology of sleep Circadian Rhythm a 24 hr internal body cycle Age influences your optimal am pm clock suprachiasmatic nucleus biological sleep clock hypothalamus structure that tells your body when to wake up and when to fall asleep Tells pineal gland when to secrete melatonin which makes a person feel sleepy Artificial light delays sleepiness Sleep happens in stages Brain activity changes predictably during sleep Waveform shows what stage of sleep the person is in Pre Sleep active Sleep Stages Beta waves small fast person is wide awake and mentally Alpha waves larger slower person is very relaxed and drowsy Stage 1 theta waves Light sleep o Transition stage o person may claim to still be awake o Hypnogogic sensations may occur floating falling and can be incorporated into real memories hallucination Hypnic jerk knees legs or whole body jerks Stage 2 theta plus sleep spindles o Cognitive processing is suppressed to promote tranquility o temperature breathing and heart rate decrease o may respond to things like a ringing phone o sleep talking may occur Stages 3 and 4 delta waves deep sleep o growth hormones released hard to wake up o Bedwetting sleepwalking may occur o Auditory cortex still responds to certain stimuli e g baby crying o After a physically exhausting day we spend more time in deep sleep Stage 5 Sleep REM o Rapid eye movement REM dreaming o consciousness rises from deep sleep to a nearly awake state very easy to wake up o Reduced frontal lobe activity o After an emotionally exhausting day we spend more time in REM A 5 paradoxical sleep 1 Go through this cycle every 90 mins 2 3 Sleep Deprivation Any significant amount of reduced sleep 4 1 3 of Americans get less than 8 hrs night Sleep debt brain s log of lost sleep that has to be made up Microsleeps brief slips into sleep that last only a few seconds http www youtube com watch v k9Y0WE0tKtM NR 1 5 hrs night for 5 days is like 0 1 BAC Fatigue impaired concentration Inability to recall key details Impaired cognition and judgment logic centers shut down Decreased punctuality Impaired interpersonal relations depressed immune system Metabolic aging Weight gain Sleep Disorders Insomnia persistent problems in falling or staying asleep numerous causes o Sleep disorders o People wanting to stay awake o Worry anxiety stress depression o Drug usage prescription or non prescription o Shift work o Children Sleep Apnea o Mostly affects overweight men o 30 sec cessation of breathing during sleep o momentary snorting re awakenings o Treated with continuous positive airway pressure device Narcolepsy o Genetic condition causes uncontrollable sleep attacks o Excitement tends to trigger attacks o May be accompanied by cataplexy o Cataplexy sudden loss of muscle tone like during REM Sleep Disorders o Night Terrors Happens during deep sleep Associated with sleep apnea in children but tends to disappear by adolescence high arousal appearance of being terrified disoriented Fear circuit what brain structure Not associated with dreaming or disorders Condition in which sleeper rises and wanders about doing normal o Physical circuits o Deep sleep o Like night terrors mainly affects children and is not associated with a psychological disorder Sleepwalking activities Dreams Dreams sequence of images emotions and thoughts passing through a person s mind during REM o Suppressed frontal lobe activity o Increased activity everywhere else including hippocampus o hallucinatory imagery aliens ghosts flying o Discontinuities abrupt shifts delusional acceptance of the content Why do we dream Activation information mode model AIM real life experiences influence dream synthesis o evolutionary survival mechanism o CNS pathways practice information and form strategies o Unsuccessful strategies are discarded Dreams Hypnosis REM Rebound o We spend more time in REM sleep after being deprived of REM sleep on earlier nights why Hypnosis altered state of consciousness in which the person is especially susceptible to suggestion o Intense selective attention to experiencing the suggestions o Some people are able to experience