Consciousness
Everything of which we are aware at any given time:
o Thoughts
o Feelings
o Sensations
o External stimuli
Altered State of Consciousness
o Changes in awareness produced by:
o
Sleep
o
Meditation
o
Hypnosis
o
Drugs
Influences of Circadian Rhythms
o Circadian
Rhythm
o Regular fluctuations of certain bodily functions
within a 24 hour period
o Affects psychological functions of
o
Blood
pressure
o
Heart
rate
o
Appetite
o
Secretion
of hormones and digestive enzymes
o
Sensory
acuity
o
Elimination
o
Body’s response to medication
o Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
o A pair of tiny structures in the brain’s hypothalamus that control the timing of circadian
rhythms
o The biological clock
Circadian Rhythms
o
Environmental
cues
o Bright light
o
Especially
sunlight
o Pineal gland
o
Secretes
melatonin from dusk until just before dawn
o
Does not
secrete melatonin during daylight hours
o Sleep-wakefulness cycle
o Daily fluctuations of body temperature
o
Sleep is
best when body is at lowest temperature (97-97.5)
Disruptions in Circadian Rhythms
o Delayed
Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS)
o Difficulty
falling asleep
o Brought
on by hormonal changes
o Maintained
by staying up late
o Most
common among adolescents and young adults
o Treated by avoiding meals and social activities 1-4 a.m.
o Advanced
Sleep Phase Syndrome (ASPS)
o Fall
asleep at extraordinarily early times
o Treated
opposite of DSPS
o
Jet lag
o
Frequent
flyers and airline employees are just as likely
to suffer from jet lag
Disruptions in Circadian Rhythms
Shift work
o
Subjective
night affected
o
The time
during a 24-hour period when the biological clock is telling a person to go to
sleep
o
Energy
and efficiency are at their lowest points
o
Reaction
time is slowest
o
Productivity
is diminished
o
Industrial
accidents are higher
o
Daylight
savings time in spring is associated with short term 6.5% increase in
accidental deaths
o Work schedules
o
Moving
work schedules forward from days to evenings to nights makes adjustment easier
o
Rotating
shifts every three weeks lessens the effect on sleep
Sleep
Sleep understanding increased by
researching:
o Brain waves
o Eye movements
o Chin muscle tension
o Heart rate
o Respiration rate
Theories of Sleep Function
Restorative
theory
o Holds that being awake produces wear and tear on the
body and brain, and sleep serves the function of restoring the body and mind
Circadian theory
o Based on the premise that sleep evolved to keep
humans out of harm’s way
during the dark of night and possibly from becoming prey of some nocturnal
predator
NREM Sleep
Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
Four Sleep Stages:
Ø Lightest sleep
Ø Mid-sleep
Ø Deep sleep
Ø Deepest sleep
o
Heart
and respiration slow and regular
o
Little
body movement
o
Blood
pressure and brain activity at lowest points of 24 hour period
REM Sleep
o
Internally:
o Intense brain activity
o Brain metabolism increases
o Brain temperature rises rapidly
o Epinephrine release leads to increases in
o
Blood
pressure
o
Heart
rate
o
respiration
Sleep Cycles
o
Last
about 90 minutes, including NREM stages and REM sleep
o Stage 1
o Transition period of drowsiness between waking and
sleeping
o Sleep spindles occur
o
Short
periods of calm followed by brief intense activity
o Stage 2
o Somewhat more deeply asleep
o Delta waves slight
o Stage 3
o Slow wave sleep begins
o Delta waves reach 20%
o Stage 4
o Delta waves reach nearly 100%
Sleep Cycles
Polysomnogram
o
Provides brain wave sleep recordings
o Outlines
REM and NREM sleep patterns
REM Rebound
The increased amount of REM sleep that occurs after REM deprivation
o
Intensity of REM sleep increases
o
Often associated with unpleasant dreams or nightmares
o
Alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, and LSD use suppress
REM sleep results in REM rebound
o
Withdrawal results in REM rebounds
Sleep Deprivation
Results in:
o Difficulty concentrating
o Attention lapses
o General irritability
o Decreased cognitive functioning
o Impaired learning
n
.
Sleep Variations
o Infants
and young children
o Have the longest sleep time
o Have the highest of REM and slow wave sleep
o Ages
6-puberty
o Most consistent sleepers and wakers
o Sleep and awake same time daily
o Adolescents
o Sleep patterns are influenced by their schedules
o Sleep longer when no schedule conflicts
o Poor sleep may contribute to poor school performance
Dreams
o REM
dream
o An almost continually occurring dream during REM
sleep
o Has story-like qualities
o More vivid, visual, and emotional than NREM dreams
o NREM
dream
o Less frequent than REM dreams
o Less memorable than REM dreams
o Bizarre
dreams
o Biopsychological explanation
o
Lower
amounts of serotonin and norepinephrine lead to less
inhibition of impulsive thoughts and actions
o Lucid
dreams
o A dream an individual is aware of dreaming
o Individual is often able to influence the content
while dreaming
Lucid Dreams
Next time you wake up during a
dream, try the following the steps to see if you can engage in lucid dreaming:
o Relax.
o Close your eyes and focus on an imaginary spot in
your field of vision.
o Focus on your intention to have a lucid dream.
o Tell yourself that you’re going to dream about whatever you want.
o Imagine yourself in a dream of the type you want to
have.
o Repeat the steps until you fall asleep.
Interpreting Dreams
Sigmund
Freud
o Believed dreams satisfy unconscious sexual and
aggressive desires and so must be disguised.
o
Manifest content
o
Content
of a dream as recalled by the dreamer
o
Latent content
o
The
underlying meaning of the dream
o
In recent years
o
Seen as an expression of a broad range of the dreamer’s concerns rather than sexual impulses.
Activation-synthesis hypothesis
o Dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of the random firing of brain
cells during sleep.
o People impose meaning on the random mental activity
Sleep Disorders: Parasomnias
o
Somnambulism (sleepwalking)
o Occurs during partial arousal from stage 4 sleep
o Parasomnia
o Waking behaviors and physiological states occur in
sleep
o
Sleep terror
o Happens during partial arousal from stage 4 sleep
o Usually begins with a piercing scream
o Nightmares
o Are frightening dreams that occur during REM sleep
o
Somniloquy (Sleeptalking)
o Occurs during any sleep stage
o More frequent among children
Major Sleep Disorders
o
Narcolepsy
o Incurable sleep disorder
o Characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and
uncontrollable attacks of REM sleep
o
Sleep apnea
o Periods during sleep when breathing stops
o Individual must awaken briefly in order to breathe
o Insomnia
o Difficulty falling or staying asleep
o Waking too early
o Sleep that is light, restless, or of poor quality
Meditation
A group of techniques that involve:
o
Focusing
attention on:
o An object
o A word
o One’s
breathing
o One’s body
movements
o An
effort to block out all distractions
o Enhance
well-being
o Achieve
an altered state of consciousness
o
Includes: Yoga, Zen, and transcendental meditation
o
Can be
helpful with physical and psychological problems
o Lower blood pressure
o Learn how to control emotions
The Relaxation Response
o
Find a quiet place and sit in a comfortable position.
o
Close your eyes.
o
Relax all your muscles deeply.
o Begin with feet and move slowly upward.
o Relax legs, buttocks, abdomen, chest, shoulders,
neck, and face.
o Allow whole body to remain in this deeply relaxed
state.
o
Concentrate on your breathing.
o Breathe in and out through your nose.
o When you breathe out, silently say the word “One” to
yourself.
o
Repeat this process for 20 minutes.
o When finished remain seated.
o First with eyes closed, then with them open.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis
80-95% of people are
hypnotizable to some degree:
o About 5% can reach deepest levels
o Feelings
o Sensations
o Perceptions
o Behavior
Myths About
Hypnosis
o
Hypnotized
people are under the complete control of the hypnotists and will violate their
moral values.
o
People
can demonstrate superhuman strength and perform amazing feats under hypnosis.
o
Memory
is more accurate under hypnosis.
Ø Pseudomemories – false
memories constructed through guidance.
o
People
under hypnosis will reveal embarrassing secrets.
o
People
under hypnosis can relive an event that occurred when they were children and
can function mentally as if they were that age.
Theories of Hypnosis
o Sociocognitive
o Suggests the behavior of a hypnotized person is a
function of that person’s
expectations about how subjects behave under hypnosis.
o Neodissociation theory
o Suggests that hypnosis induces a split, or
dissociation, between two aspects of the control of consciousness
o
Planning
function
o
Monitoring
function
o Theory
of dissociated control
o Maintains that hypnosis weakens the control of the
executive function over other parts of consciousness
Culture and Altered States of
Consciousness
Every culture around the world
has found ways to induce altered states of consciousness:
o Trance rituals
o Spiritual possession
o Religious rites
o Tribal ceremonies
o
Induced
by flooding the senses with:
o
Repetitive
chanting
o
Whirling
in circles
o
Burning
strong, pungent incense
Psychoactive Drugs
How Drugs Affect The Brain
How Drugs Affect The Brain
How Drugs Affect The Brain
How Drugs Affect The Brain
How Drugs Affect The Brain
Substance Abuse Factors
n
Neurobiological
• Pleasant physiological response by stimulating
nucleus accumbens
• Orbitofrontal cortex changes associated with irrational behaviors,
cravings, and urges to get the drug
n
Heredity
• Genetics
• Physiological differences
n
Some feel
intoxicated only drinking small amounts
n
Some need
to drink more alcohol to feel intoxicated; leads to alcoholism
• Alcoholics’ brains respond different to visual/auditory stimuli
n
Family
members demonstrate similar brain traits
n
More
likely to develop addiction problems
Substance Abuse Factors
n Psychological
and Social
• Impulsivity associated drug use and experimentation
• Stress-related variables
• Family violence strongly predicts drug use
• Earlier teens start using more likely use heavier
drugs
• Substance abuse / dependence higher in Baby Boomers
• Peer and risk taking associated with higher use
n Protective
/ Risk-reducing
• Parental support
• Behavioral coping skills
• Academic and social competence
• Cohorts with higher academic and social competence
• Cultural variables
• Increased time with family lowers risk
Drug Addiction
Substance Abuse
o
A
continued use of a substance after several episodes in which use of the
substance has negatively affected an individual's work, education, and social
relationships
o
People progress from substance “use” to “abuse”
o
Physical pleasure
o Genetically-based
differences
o
e.g.,
people who drink more to “feel the
effect” are more
likely to become alcoholics
o
Personality and social factors
o
e.g.,
impulsiveness
o
Stress related variables
o
e.g.,
victim of child abuse or domestic violence
o
Social and cultural factors
o
e.g.,
associating with peers who abuse drugs
Alcohol Use Among Adolescents of Diverse Ethnicities
Drug Dependence
Commonly called “addiction”
o Physical
drug dependence
o Compulsive pattern of drug use in which:
o
User
develops a drug tolerance
o
Coupled
with unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued
o Drug
Tolerance
o Condition in which the user:
o
Becomes
progressively less affected by the drug
o
must take
increasingly larger doses to maintain the same effect or high
Drug Dependence
o Psychological
drug dependence
o Craving or irresistible urge for the drug’s pleasurable effects
o
More
difficult to combat than physical dependence
o
Drugs
that may not be physical addictive may still cause psychological dependence
o
Learning
processes (classical conditioning) are important elements in development and
maintenance of psychological dependence
o Withdrawal
symptoms
o The physical and psychological symptoms that occur
when a regularly used drug is discontinued
o
Usually
the exact opposite of the effects produced by the drugs
o
Symptoms
terminate when drug is taken again
The Behavioral Effects of
Psychoactive Drugs
o Stimulants
o Speed up activity in the central nervous system
o
Increase
blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration rate, and reduce cerebral blood flow
o Suppress appetite
o Help “feel” more awake and energetic
o Also called “uppers”
o High doses make people “feel” more:
o
Nervous
o
Jittery
o
Restless
o
Shaky or
trembling
o
Unable
to sleep
Stimulants
Caffeine
o Coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, and 100+ prescription
and over-the-counter drugs
o May improve visual acuity
o Withdrawal for moderate to heavy use induces
o
Nervousness
o
Instability
o
Headaches,
drowsiness
o
Decreased
alertness
o EEG’s
confirm withdrawal effects on the brain
o
Significant
increases in blood pressure and velocity of blood flow in all four cerebral
arteries
o
Increase
in slower brain waves causing decreased alertness and drowsiness
Stimulants
Nicotine
o Increases alertness
o Suppresses appetite in some people
o Highly addictive
o Hypnosis treatments are largely ineffective
o Nicotine patches help 1 in 5 smokers quit
Stimulants
Amphetamines
o Increase arousal
o Relieve fatigue
o Improve alertness
o Suppress appetite
o Give a rush of energy
o Stimulate the release of dopamine in frontal cortex
improving attention and concentration
o
Help
with ADHD
o Can cause confused and disorganized behaviors
o
Extreme
fears and suspiciousness
o
Delusions
and hallucinations
o
Aggressive
and antisocial behaviors
o
Manic
behaviors and paranoia
Stimulants
Cocaine
o Stimulant derived from coca leaves
o Can be sniffed, injected, or smoked as crack
o Euphoria is followed by an equally intensive crash
marked by
o
Depression
o
Anxiety
o
Agitation
o
Powerful
craving for more cocaine
o Stimulate the reward (pleasure) pathways in brain
o Reward pathways fail with continued use so no
pleasure is felt except when taking the drug
o Main withdrawal symptoms are psychological
o
Inability
to feel pleasure
o
Strong
desire for more drug
Depressants
Alcohol
o Depresses central nervous system
o Increased drinking causes
o
Slurred
speech
o
Poor
coordination
o
Staggering
o
Impaired
depth perception
o
Men tend
to become aggressive and sexually aroused yet less able to perform sexually
o
Decreases
ability to form new memories
o
Drinker’s expectations of alcohol effects also contribute
alcohol’s effect
Depressants
Barbiturates
o Depress central nervous system
o Act as sedative or sleeping pill dependent on amount
taken
o Abusers become:
o
Drowsy
and confused
o
Thinking
and judgment suffer
o
Coordination
and reflexes are affected
o
Can kill
if taken in overdose (as
little as three times regular dose)
o
Are
potentially fatal when taken with alcohol
Minor Tranquilizers
o Benzodiazepines (Valium, Librium, Dalmane,
Xanax)
o Abuse is associated with temporary and permanent
impairment of memory and other cognitive functions
Depressants
Narcotics
o Derived from opium poppy
o Produces pain relieving and calming effects
o Morphine, codeine, heroin
o Commonly used in cough medicine and pain relief
o Withdrawal symptoms
o
Begin
within 6 to 24 hours
o
Nausea,
diarrhea, depression, stomach cramps, insomnia, and increase in pain common
Hallucinogens (Psychedelics)
Drugs that alter and distort perceptions of time and
space, alter mood, produce feelings of unreality, and cause hallucinations.
Marijuana (THC; tetrahydrocannabinol)
o Produces a high
o Remains in the body for days or even weeks
o Impairs attention and coordination
o Slows reaction time even after intoxication feeling
has passed
o Interferes with concentration, logical thinking, and
ability to form new memories
o Produces fragmentation in thought
o Confusion in remembering recent occurrences
o Chronic use associated with loss of motivation,
general apathy, and decline in school/work performance
o Medical benefits include treatment of glaucoma,
controlling nausea in cancer patients, and improving appetite and controlling
weight loss in AIDS patients
Hallucinogens (psychedelics)
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
o Often referred to as “acid”
o A “trip” lasts 10-12 hours and produces
o
Extreme
perceptual and emotional changes
o
Visual
hallucinations
o
Feelings
of panic
o Bad “trips” are associated with
o
Accidents,
death, or suicide
o
Flashbacks
or “hallucinogen
persisting disorder”
Designer Drugs
o Mimic pleasurable effects of other drugs
o STP and ecstasy
o Derived from amphetamines
o Have hallucinogenic and stimulant effect