consciousness
-our awareness of ourselves and our environment
-can take many forms, while other mental processes occur simultaneously outside our awareness
-restricts our attention, combines sensation with learning and memory
-allows us to create a mental world of the
how do we study consciousness?
-Roger Shepard and Jacqueline Metzler (1971)
-Proved how consciousness allows us to manipulate objects by asking people to identify if objects that were the same object
-The greater the object rotated, the longer it takes to identify the correct object
stream of consciousness
-A literary technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur.
-called by William James as we can bike easily with practice and it becomes semi-automatic. Whereas we can focus on something else
hypnosis
-a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur
-hypnosis involves heightened suggestibility. Its procedures do not endow a person with special powers but ca
Post hypnotic suggestion
a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors
Ernest Hilgard
believed hypnosis involves not only social influences but also a special dual-processing state of dissociation
Dissociation
-a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others
-doodling while listening to a lecture or typing the end of the sentence while starting a conversation
Attention is diverted from a painful ice bath. How?
-Divided consciousness theory: hypnosis has caused a split in awareness
-Social influence theory: the subject is so caught up in the hypnotized role that she ignores the cold
sleep
-periodic, natural loss of consciousness--as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation
-your perception window is open a crack even when you're deep asleep
circadian rhythm
-the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle
-age and experience can alter our circadian rhythm. Most teens and young adults are evening energized "owls" with performance improving across the day
-most adults are morning-lov
REM sleep
-Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.
-You REMember these dreams
-REM-sl
sleep patterns
consciousness changes in cycles that correspond to our biological rhythms and the patterns of stimulation in our environment
daydreaming
A common variation of consciousness in which attention shifts to memories, expectations, desires, or fantasies and away from the immediate situation.
levels of consciousness
conscious, subconscious, preconscious, unconscious
alpha waves
the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
NREM sleep
-non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep
-You DONT remember the dreams
Hallucinations
false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
hypnagogic sensations
bizarre experiences, such as jerking or a feeling of falling or floating weightlessly, while transitioning to sleep
delta waves
the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep of NREM-3
suprachiasmatic nucleus
-a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm in response to light.
-in response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness
facts about REM sleep
you need about 20% of your sleep cycle to be REM sleep because your frontal lobe is still in the final stages of development. So if you only slept for 5 hours last night, you got roughly 20 minutes of REM sleep, which is only 10% of what your brain needed
function of sleep
-to protect, restore the body (neurotransmitter neuron sensitivity), to build "neural nets" and flush out useless information from the brain, to feed creativity, to help us grow
sleep debt
A sleep deficiency caused by not getting the amount of sleep that one requires for optimal functioning.
sleep deprivation
-increases ghrelin, a hunger-arousing hormone and decreases its hunger suppressing partner, leptin
-decreases metabolic (energy use) rate
-increases production of cortisol, a stress hormone that stimulates the body to make fat
-enhances limbic brain respo
brain
decreased ability to focus attention and process and store memories
immune system
decreased production of immune cells. increased risk of viral infections
fat cells
increased production and greater risk of obesity
joints
increased inflammation and arthritis
heart
increased risk of high blood pressure
stomach
increased in hunger-arousing hormone, ghrelin. Decrease in the hunger-suppressing hormone, leptin.
insomia
recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
nacrolepsy
A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.
sleep apnea
a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessation of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings
night terrors
a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered
dream
a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer's delusional acceptance of the content and later difficultie
trauma and dreams
after suffering a trauma, people are more commonly report nightmares, which help distinguish daytime fears
cataplexy
sudden loss of muscle control that occurs before narcoleptic sleep attack
sigmund freud
proposed that dreams provide a psychic safety value that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings
manifest content
according to freud, the symbolic, remembered story line of a dream
latent content
according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream
Freud's theory of dreams
-To file away memories
-To develop and preserve neural pathways
-To make sense of neural static
-Activation synthesis theory
-To reflect cognitive development
psychoactive drugs
a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods
substance use disorder
disorder characterized by continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk
tolerance
the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect
Withdrawal
-the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug
-side effects: we experience what it would be like if we had none of that chemical in our bodies. Most times, withdrawal will cause discomfort such as chills, seizures, de
What does it mea to be an addict and why must we see addicts as having a problem and not being a bad person?
-Addicts crave a certain drug or behavior despite knowing the consequences of continuing these behaviors or use of those drugs. The stigma around addiction makes it difficult for addicts to break their habits.
-If we acknowledge that addiction is an issue
Behavioral addictions
A form of addiction involving a compulsion to engage in an activity such as gambling, sex, or shopping, rather than a compulsion to use a substance.
how can compulsive or dysfunctional disorders be treated?
the use of stimulants an calm the effects
Depressants
-drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
-alcohol is not a depressant in large amounts but is a stimulant in small amounts
How do depressants calm neural activity and slow down body function?
depressants calm neural activity and slow down body functions
identify how alcohol affects the brain and the central nervous system
alcohol acts as a disinhibitor, slowing the brain's ability to control the users judgment. Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, interfering with the communication between the nerve cells
disinhibitor
slows brain activity that controls judgement and inhibitions
alcohol use disorder
(aka alcoholism) alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use
slowed neural processing
Low doses of alcohol relax the drinker by slowing sympathetic nervous system activity. In larger doses, alcohol can become a staggering problem.
Memory Disruption
Increases nerve cell death and inhibits the formation of new ones. Inhibits growth of synaptic connections (suppresses REM sleep)
Reduced self-awareness
alcohol drinkers are more likely to be caught mind-wandering and less-likely to notice that they zoned out.
Expectancy Effects
as with other psychoactive drugs, expectations influence behavior. Expectations help explain why adolescents-pressuring that alcohol will lift their spirits-sometimes drink when they're upset and alone
Baribiturates
drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement
what are barbiturates used to treat? what are the side effects of this?
-barbiturates are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders.
-side effects: makes you very sleepy and relaxed and in larger doses can impair memory and judgement
opiates
-opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety
-deprived from poppy plants
name some of the different types of opiates
morphine, vicodin, codeine
Which neurotransmitter is affected by the use of opiates
endrorphins
stimulants
Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.
nicotine
a stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco
cocaine
a powerful and addictive stimulant, derived from the coca plant, producing temporarily increased alertness and euphoria
Amphetamines
drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes
Methamphetamine
a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the CNS, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels
Ectasy (MDMA)
a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.
identify how stimulants alter consciousness
stimulants excite activity and speed body fundtions
if stimulants help to increase alertness and the ability for one to keep awake and stay focused, which sleep disorder might benefit from this class of drugs
Nacrolepsy
out of all the psychoactive drugs combined, which stimulant causes the most deaths annually
nicotine
cocaine causes people to feel a euphoric, pleasurable sense of reward. Which neurotransmitter is being affected or blocked?
dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine
Hallucinogens
-psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input
-LSD, THC or MDMA (ectasy)
discuss how hallucinogens alter or affect consciousness
-Hallucinogens distort an individual's perception and evoke sensory images, some of which resemble an altered consciousness of near-death experiences.
-Which means that even though a person is conscious, hallucinogens help establish an altered reality con
identify two negative side effects of using cannabis/marijuana
-includes hallucinations, or a slowed perception and an impaired memory, behavior and judgement
how can cannabis/marijuana use be beneficial?
Medical cannabis/marijuana can beneficial for cancer patients who are going through chemotherapy because it reduces their nausea and it stimulate their appetite.