States of Consciousness Lecture 5

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States of ConsciousnessLecture 5

• Psychology 101
• Marina Sangkavichai

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States of Consciousness

• To be conscious means to be aware.
• Consciousness is a persons awareness of
  everything that is going on around him or her at
  any given moment, which is used to organize
  behavior including thoughts, sensations, and
  feelings.

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States of Consciousness

• Altered States of Consciousness change in
  quality and pattern of mental activity. Samples
  fatigue, delirium, hypnosis, drugs, euphoria,
  sleep, dreaming, awake
• We spend an average of 25 years of our life
  asleep!

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Hearing vs Seeing Words
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Utah Study Results

• A student talks on a hands-free cell phone while
  operating a high-tech driving simulator. The
  simulator was used during a University of Utah
  study that found motorists who talk on cell
  phones while driving are as impaired as drunken
  drivers with blood-alcohol levels at the legal
  limit of 0.08 percent.

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Sleep

• Sleep is an innate biological rhythm that can
  never be entirely ignored.
• Our bodies roughly synchronize with the 24 hour
  cycle of day and night through a biological clock
  called the CIRCADIAN RHYTHM.
• The circadian rhythm also regulates when we
  sleep and when were awake and body temperature.

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How We Feel Sleepy

• Melatonin is a hormone secreted deep within the
  hypothalamus in an area called the
  suprachiasmatic nucleus.
• The SCN is sensitive to changes in light.
• As daylight fades, the SCN tells the pineal gland
  to secrete melatonin.
• As melatonin accumulates you begin to feel sleepy.

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Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
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Circadian Rhythm

• Our bodies follow this internal clock called the
  circadian rhythm.
• Our body temperature rises as morning approaches,
  peaks during the day dips for a time in early
  afternoon ( when people take naps ) and then
  begins to drop again before we go to sleep.

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The Circadian Clock
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Circadian Rhythm

• Recent evidence suggests that thinking is
  sharpest and memory most accurate when people are
  at their daily peak in circadian arousal.
• Some of us are morning loving larks.
• Some of us are evening energized owls.
• Most university students are evening persons.
• This shifts as we grow older. We go from owls
  to larks.
• Find out what works best for you! Use this to
  your advantage.

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More facts on sleep

• Sleep is as basic to us as breathing
• Sleep deprivation. Four days or more without
  sleep is hell for anyone. The record for the most
  days without sleep is held by Randy Gardnerhe
  went 11 days without sleep.
• Interesting, sleep loss can be reversed by a
  single nights rest.
• People who experience sleep loss have trouble
  paying attention, staying alert, and doing simple
  tasks.

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Effects of Sleep Deprivation
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Sleep Loss

• In an experiment at the University of Chicago,
  rats who were deprived of sleep died.
• Sleep deprivation psychosis confusion,
  disorientation, delusions, hallucinationsthis is
  not common.

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Theories of Sleep

• Adaptive theory aka Circadian theory of sleep
  proposes that animals and humans evolved sleep
  patterns to avoid predators by sleeping when
  predators are most active. If a prey animal is in
  a cave somewhere sleeping at night, it wont be
  an evening snack.
• Restorative theory proposes that sleep is
  necessary to the physical health of the body and
  serves to replenish chemicals and repair cellular
  damage. It restores body and mind

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Sleep is an active state of mind
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What is the normal range of sleep?

• Long sleepers/9hrs or more
• Majority of people sleep 7 to 8 hours.
• The range is 5 hours to 11 hours!
• People vary in how much sleep they need

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The afternoon siesta

• The afternoon sleepiness most people feel is a
  natural part of the sleep cycle. Between
• 100-400pm our body temperature drops. Its
  quite appropriate to take naps.

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Stages of Sleep

• We go through these stages every night
• Stage 1- You first enter light sleep. Heart rate
  slows down. Muscles of your body relax. This may
  trigger a reflex muscle contraction throughout
  the body called a hypnic jerk.
• You may also experience hypnagogic images. They
  look like flashes of light and bits of pieces of
  what may eventually turn into dreams.

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Stages of Sleep

• Stage 2 of sleep-sleep deepens. Body temperature
  drops. Sleep spindles are recorded on the EEG.
  Machine used to record brain waves during sleep.
• Stage 3-Sleep deepens and delta waves appear.
  Deeper sleep and further loss of consciousness
• Stage 4- Deepest sleep. Sleeper in oblivion.
  Growth hormones are released. Children are very
  hard to awaken in this stage because they are
  still growing.

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REM SLEEP

• After some time in stage four, person will go
  back up through stage three, stage two, and then
  into REM sleep.
• Body temperature increases, eyes move rapidly
  under eyelids, heart beats faster and brain
  activity signals wakefulness.
• This is where dreams happen 90 of the time.
• REM paralysis inability of the voluntary muscles
  to move during REM sleep.

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Infants and REM

• Babies do move during REM
• When babies are REM sleep, they are forming new
  neural connections. Much brain growth and
  development is taking place.

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Sleep Stages
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Stages of Sleep

• We cycle back to stage 3, 2, 1 throughout the
  night. Our sleep cycle usually ends with a dream.
• When people are dreaming, many experience REM
  which is RAPID EYE MOVEMENTS. Sleepers eyes
  occasionally move under eyelids. This is is
  associated with dreams. Brain very active!

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Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia-difficulty in getting to sleep or
  staying asleep.
• Narcolepsy-sudden attacks of sleep, person may
  fall asleep while standing, talking or even
  driving. ( video Narcolepsy news segment)
• Sleep apnea- breathing stops for 20 seconds to 2
  minutes, as the need for oxygen becomes intense
  person wakes up and gulps in air. Extremely
  sleepy from waking up all the time. Snores loudly

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Why do we dream?

• Psychodynamic theory-Freud believed dreams
  reflect a persons wishes and desires. Thus a
  student who is angry at a teacher might dream of
  embarrassing the teacher in class, a lonely
  person may dream of romance or a hungry child
  food.
• Very weak evidence however. Dreams show few signs
  of directly expressing hidden wishes. Flying
  desiring more freedom.
• Dream symbols/not direct/all in the
  interpretation
• Dreams do however reflect our concerns.

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Why Do we Dream?

• The Activation Synthesis Hypothesis an attempt
  to explain how dream content is affected by motor
  commands in the brain that occur during sleep but
  not carried out.
• Random firing of nerve cells that control motor
  commands and brain is trying to make sense of it
  all by retrieving past memories and producing a
  dream.
• So for example, the nerve cell responsible for
  balance is being triggered during REM and instead
  of acting it out, brain produces a dream in which
  one is falling.
• Smell and taste nerve cells are not activated
  during dreams.

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Psychology Question of the Day

• What are the causes of insomnia and list possible
  solutions.
• Please research strategies on how to improve ones
  sleep.

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What is Hypnosis?

• An altered state of consciousness characterized
  by narrowed attention and increased
  suggestibility.
• Hypnotized people generally remain in control of
  their behavior and aware of what is going on.

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Hypnosis

• How are people hypnotized on stage?
• People are usually cooperative on stage because
  they dont want to spoil the act.
• Selection of responsive subjects/They choose
  those who are going to follow instructions
• Hypnosis label disinhibits you can sing, dance
  or act silly because being hypnotized takes away
  personal responsibility

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Hypnosis on Stage

• The hypnotist as director-as volunteers loosen
  up and respond to a few suggestions, they are
  stars of the show. Theyll ham it up.
• Rigidly suspend a person between 2 chairs-anyone
  can do this!

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Drug Altered Consciousness

• Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that change
  perception and moods.
• There are legal and illegal drugs alcohol,
  caffeine, nicotine, caffeine, diet pills,
  sleeping pills, vicodin, etc.
• Some drugs, of course, have a higher potential
  for abuse than others. For example, heroin is
  certainly more dangerous than caffeine.

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Patterns of abuse

• Experimental short term use based on curiosity.
  Bill Clinton who didnt inhale.
• Social recreational occasional social use for
  pleasure or relaxation. For example, social
  drinkers.
• Situational use to cope with a specific problem,
  such as needing to stay awake. I.e. taking alert
  pills to drive through the night, or steroids for
  athletes.

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Patterns of Abuse

• Intensive daily use with elements of dependence.
  I.e. using sleeping pills to get to bed
• Compulsive intense use and extreme dependence.
  Doing whatever it takes to get your next fix.
  Not being able to stop.

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Why Do People Use Drugs?

• For a high, to feel euphoria, to escape pain,
  calm their nerves, to deal with personal
  problems, cure boredom, to fit in, ( Go Ask
  Alice )
• Dopamine-a rush of pleasure ( cocaine )
• Len Bias, basketball player for Boston Celtics,
  tried cocaine at 22 and died from Cardiac arrest.

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Marijuana

• Marijuana produces a sense of euphoria or well
  being, relaxation, altered time sense, and
  perceptual distortions.
• High dosages paranoia, hallucinations, and
  delusions can occur

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Marijuana

• The effects of marijuana have been inconclusive
  but it has been linked to
• Impaired memory
• Precancerous changes in living cells
• Temporarily lowers sperm production in males
• Can suppress bodys immune system
• Some loss of coordination

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Cocaine and Freud

• Sigmund Freud used cocaine and wrote about its
  euphoric properties. Some say it caused his
  wild imagination
• Died at age 83 from cigars which he was heavily
  addicted to.
• Coca Cola had cocaine in it until 1906.
• Cocaine stimulant extracted from leaves of the
  cocoa plant.
• Alertness, euphoria, well-being power, dozen of
  non-prescription potions and cure alls contained
  cocaine.

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Effects of Drug Abuse
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Effects of Methamphetamine
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Ten Years of Meth Use