Consciousness and the

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Chapter 3

• Consciousness and the
• Two-Track Mind

• PowerPoint Presentation
• by Jim Foley

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Consciousness is

• alertness being awake vs. being unconscious
• self-awareness the ability to think about self
• having free will being able to make a
  conscious decision
• a persons mental content, thoughts, and
  imaginings
• To explore the nature of consciousness, it helps
  to first choose a definition.

• Many psychologists define Consciousness as
• our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Arent animals aware of their environment? If
so, is our awareness different? Possibly,
because we have (uniquely?) a narrative
experience of that awareness.
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Altered States and Forms of Consciousness
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Selective Attention

• There are millions of bits of information coming
  at our senses every second.
• So, we have the skill of selective attention our
  brain is able to choose a focus and select what
  to notice.

• Selective Attention and Conversation
• The good news we can focus our mental spotlight
  on a conversation even when other conversations
  are going on around us. This is known as the
  cocktail party effect.
• The bad news we can hyperfocus on a conversation
  while driving a car, putting the driver and
  passengers at risk.

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Selective Attention what we focus on, what we
notice
Selective Inattention what we are not focused
on, what we do not notice

• Selective inattention refers to our failure to
  notice part of our environment when our attention
  is directed elsewhere.

• Selective Inattention
• inattentional blindness
• change blindness

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Inattentional Blindness

• Various experiments show that when our attention
  is focused, we miss seeing what others may think
  is obvious to see (such as a gorilla, or a
  unicyclist).
• Some magic tricks take advantage of this
  phenomenon.

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Change Blindness
The Switch

• Two-thirds of people didnt notice when the
  person they were giving directions to was
  replaced by a similar-looking person.

By the way, did you notice whether the
replacement person was in the same clothes or
different clothes?
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Daily Rhythms and Sleep

• Larks and Owls
• Daily rhythms vary from person to person and with
  age.
• General peaks in alertness
• evening peak20-year old owls
• morning peak50-year old larks

• The circadian (about a day) rhythm refers to
  the bodys natural 24-hour cycle, roughly matched
  to the day/night cycle of light and dark.

• What changes during the 24 hours?
• Over the 24 hour cycle, the following factors
  vary, rising and falling over the course of the
  day and night
• body temperature
• arousal/energy
• mental sharpness

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Sleep as a State of Consciousness

• How Do We Learn About Sleep and Dreams?
• We can monitor EEG/brain waves and muscle
  movements during sleep.
• We can expose the sleeping person to noise and
  words, and then examine the effects on the brain
  (waves) and mind (memory).
• We can wake people and see which mental state
  (e.g. dreaming) goes with which brain/body state.

When sleeping, are we fully unconscious and dead
to the world? Or is the window to consciousness
open?

• Consider that
• we move around, but how do we stop ourselves from
  falling out of bed?
• we sometimes incorporate real-world noises into
  our dreams.
• some noises (our own babys cry) wake us more
  easily than others.

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Sleep Stages and Sleep Cycles What is
Measured?
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Stages and Cycles of Sleep
There are four types of sleep.

• Sleep stages refer to distinct patterns of brain
  waves and muscle activity that are associated
  with different types of consciousness and sleep.

Sleep cycles refer to the patterns of shifting
through all the sleep stages over the course of
the night. We cycle through all the sleep
stages in about 90 minutes on average.
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Not yet asleep Beta and Alpha waves
Alpha waves are the relatively slow brain waves
of a relaxed, awake state.
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Falling asleep

• Yawning creates a brief boost in alertness as
  your brain metabolism is slowing down.
• Your breathing slows down.
• Brain waves become slower and irregular.
• You may have hypnagogic (while falling asleep)
  hallucinations.
• Your brain waves change from alpha waves to
  NREM-1.

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Non-REM Sleep Stages Getting deeper into
sleepbut not dreaming yet
NREM-1 NREM-2 NREM-3
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REM Sleep
What happens during REM sleep?

• Eugene Aserinskys discovery (1953) dreams
  occurred during periods of wild brain activity
  and rapid eye movements REM sleep.

• Heart rate rises and breathing becomes rapid.
• Sleep paralysis occurs when the brainstem
  blocks the motor cortexs messages and the
  muscles dont move. This is sometimes known as
  paradoxical sleep the brain is active but the
  body is immobile.
• Genitals are aroused (not caused by dream
  content)

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Stages of Sleep90 Minute Cycles During 8 Hours
of Sleep

• Duration of REM sleep increases the longer you
  remain asleep.
• With age, there are more awakenings and less deep
  sleep.

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Why do we sleep?What determines the quantity and
rhythm of sleep?

• The amount and pattern of sleep is affected by
  biology, age, culture, and individual variation.

• Age in general, newborns need 16 hours of sleep,
  while adults need 8 hours or less
• Individual (genetic) variation some people
  function best with 6 hours of sleep, others with
  9 hours or more
• Culture North Americans sleep less than others,
  and less than they used to, perhaps because of
  the use of light bulbs

• The circadian rhythm is hard to shift (jet lag).
• This rhythm can be affected by light, which
  suppresses the relaxing hormone melatonin.

Light and the brain regulate sleep, thanks to the
action of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, decreasing
melatonin levels when we see light.
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Why do we sleep?What does sleep do for us?

1. Sleep protected our ancestors from predators.
2. Sleep restores and repairs the brain and body.
3. Sleep builds and strengthens memories.
4. Sleep facilitates creative problem solving.
5. Sleep is the time when growth hormones are
   active.

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Effects of Sleep Loss/ Deprivation

• Research shows that inadequate sleep can make you
  more likely to
• lose brainpower.
• gain weight.
• get sick.
• be irritable.
• feel old.

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Sleep Loss/DeprivationAccident Risk
Accident Frequency

• Sleep loss results in more accidents, probably
  caused by impaired attention and slower reaction
  time.

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Sleep Disorders
Are these people dreaming?

• Night terrors refer to sudden scared-looking
  behavior, with rapid heartbeat and breathing.
• Sleepwalking and sleeptalking run in families, so
  there is a possible genetic basis.

• Insomnia persistent inability to fall asleep or
  stay asleep
• Narcolepsy (numb seizure) sleep attacks, even
  a collapse into REM/paralyzed sleep, at
  inopportune times
• Sleep apnea (with no breath) repeated
  awakening after breathing stops time in bed is
  not restorative sleep

These behaviors, mostly affect children, and
occur in NONREM-3 sleep. They are not considered
dreaming.
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Sleep Hygiene How to Sleep Well

1. Turn the lights low and turn all screens off.
2. Eat earlier, and drink less alcohol and caffeine.
3. Get up at the same time every day, avoid naps.
4. Exercise regularly, but not in the late evening.
5. Dont check the clock just let sleep happen.
6. Manage stress and anxiety.

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Dreams

• the stream of images, actions, and feelings,
  experienced while in REM sleep

• What We Dream About the hallucinations of the
  sleeping mind
• Dreams often include some negative event or
  emotion, especially failure dreams (being
  pursued, attacked, rejected, or having bad luck).
• Dreams do NOT often include sexuality.
• We may incorporate real-world sounds and other
  stimuli into dreams.
• Dreams also include images from recent,
  traumatic, or frequent experiences.

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Theories about Functions of Dreams
Theory Explanation
Wish fulfillment (Freuds psycho- analytic theory)
Information-processing
Physiological function
Activation-synthesis
Cognitive-developmental theory
Lacks any scientific support dreams may be
interpreted in many different ways.

• Dreams provide a psychic safety valve they
  often express otherwise unacceptable feelings,
  and contain both manifest (remembered) content
  and a latent content (hidden meaning).

But why do we sometimes dream about things we
have not experienced?
Dreams help us sort out the days events and
consolidate our memories.
This may be true, but it does not explain why we
experience meaningful dreams.
Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help
develop and preserve neural pathways.
The individuals brain is weaving the stories,
which still tells us something about the dreamer.
REM sleep triggers impulses that evoke random
visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves
into stories.
Does not address the neuroscience of dreams.
Dream content reflects the dreamers cognitive
developmenthis or her knowledge and
understanding.
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A Possible State of ConsciousnessHYPNOSIS
Your arm may soon feel so light that it rises

• Text definition Hypnosis is a social interaction
  in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to
  another (the subject) that certain perceptions,
  feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will
  spontaneously occur.

• Alternate definition Hypnosis is a cooperative
  social action in which one person is in a state
  of being likely to respond to suggestions from
  another person.
• This state has been called heightened
  suggestibility as well as a trance.
• Controversy does this social interaction really
  require an altered state of consciousness?

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Benefits of Hypnosis for Some People
What Hypnosis Cannot Do

• With the help of posthypnotic suggestions
  (carried out after hypnosis session is complete),
  people can
• block awareness of pain, even enough for surgery
  without anesthesia
• reduce obesity, anxiety, and hypertension
• improve concentration and performance

• work when people refuse to cooperate
• bestow superhuman abilities or strength
• accurately boost recall of forgotten events (it
  is more likely to implant false recall)

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Theories Explaining Hypnosis
Social Influence Theory Hypnotic subjects may
simply be imaginative people who go along with
the subject role they have agreed to play.

• Divided Consciousness Theory
• Hypnosis is a special state of dissociated
  (divided) consciousness of our dual-track mind.

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Altering Consciousness Drugs

• Dependence/Addiction
• Many psychoactive drugs can be harmful to the
  body.
• Psychoactive drugs are particularly dangerous
  when a person develops an addiction or becomes
  dependent on the substance.
• Factors related to addiction
• tolerance
• withdrawal
• impact on daily life of substance use
• physical and psychological dependence

Psychoactive drugs are chemicals introduced into
the body which alter perceptions, mood, and other
elements of conscious experience.
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Depressants
Depressants are chemicals that reduce neural
activity and other body functions.

• Examples
• alcohol
• barbiturates
• opiates

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Effects of Alcohol Use
Chronic Use Brain damage

• Impact on functioning
• Slow neural processing, reduced sympathetic
  nervous system activity, and slower thought and
  physical reaction
• Reduced memory formation caused by disrupted REM
  sleep and reduced synapse formation
• Impaired self-control, impaired judgment,
  self-monitoring, and inhibition increased
  accidents and aggression

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Barbiturates

• Barbiturates are tranquilizers--drugs that
  depress central nervous system activity.
• Examples Nembutal, Seconal, Amytal
• Effects reducing anxiety and inducing sleep
• Problems reducing memory, judgment, and
  concentration can lead to death if combined with
  alcohol

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Opiates Highly Addictive Depressants

• Opiates depress nervous system activity this
  reduces anxiety, and especially reduces pain.
• High doses of opiates produce euphoria.
• Opiates work at receptor sites for the bodys
  natural pain reducers (endorphins).

Opiates are chemicals such as morphine and heroin
that are made from the opium poppy.
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Stimulants
Stimulants are drugs which intensify neural
activity and bodily functions.
Some physical effects of stimulants dilated
pupils, increased breathing and heart rate,
increased blood sugar, decreased appetite

• Examples of stimulants
• Caffeine
• Nicotine
• Amphetamines, Methamphetamine
• Cocaine
• Ecstasy

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Caffeine

• adds energy
• disrupts sleep for 3-4 hours
• can lead to withdrawal symptoms if used daily
• headaches
• irritability
• fatigue
• difficulty concentrating
• depression

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Nicotine

• The main effect of nicotine use is ADDICTION.

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Cocaine

• What happens next?
• Euphoria crashes into a state worse than before
  taking the drug, with agitation, depression, and
  pain.
• Users develop tolerance over time, withdrawal
  symptoms of cocaine use get worse, and users take
  more just to feel normal.
• Cycles of overdose and withdrawal can sometimes
  bring convulsions, violence, heart attack, and
  death.

• Cocaine blocks reuptake (and thus increases
  levels at the synapse of
• dopamine (feels rewarding).
• serotonin (lifts mood).
• norepinephrine (provides energy).
• Effect on consciousness Euphoria!!! At least
  for 45 minutes

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Methamphetamine

• Methamphetamine triggers the sustained release of
  dopamine, sometimes leading to eight hours of
  euphoria and energy.
• What happens next irritability, insomnia,
  seizures, hypertension, violence, depression
• Meth addiction can become all-consuming.

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Ecstasy/MDMA(MethyleneDioxyMethAmphetamine)

• Ecstasy is a synthetic stimulant that increases
  dopamine and greatly increases serotonin.
• Effects on consciousness euphoria, CNS
  stimulation, hallucinations, and artificial
  feeling of social connectedness and intimacy

• What Happens Next?
• In the short run, regretted behavior,
  dehydration, overheating, and high blood
  pressure.
• Make it past that, and you might have
• damaged serotonin-producing neurons, causing
  permanently depressed mood
• disrupted sleep and circadian rhythm
• impaired memory and slowed thinking
• suppressed immune system

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Hallucinogens

• Marijuana/THC
• What Happens Next?
• Impaired motor coordination, perceptual ability,
  and reaction time
• THC accumulates in the body, increasing the
  effects of next use
• Over time, the brain shrinks in areas processing
  memory and emotion
• Smoke inhalation damage

• LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
• LSD and similar drugs interfere with serotonin
  transmission.
• This causes hallucinations--images and other
  sensations that didnt come in through the
  senses.

Marijuana/THC (delta-9-TetraHydroCannabinol)

• Marijuana binds with brain cannabinoid receptors.
• Effect on consciousness
• amplifies sensations
• disinhibits impulses
• euphoric mood
• lack of ability to sense satiety

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Summary Desired Effects of Drugs
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Summary Aversive Effects of Drugs