lecture overview understanding consciousness sleep & dreams psychoactive drugs healthier ways to...

Lecture Overview

• Understanding Consciousness

• Sleep & Dreams

• Psychoactive Drugs

• Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2010

Understanding Consciousness

• Consciousness: an organism’s awareness of its own self & surroundings

• Alternate States of Consciousness (ASCs): mental states, other than ordinary waking consciousness, found during sleep, dreaming, psychoactive drug use, hypnosis, etc.


Sleep & Dreams: Circadian Rhythms

• Circadian Rhythms: biological changes occurring on a 24-hour cycle– Our energy level, mood, learning, & alertness all

vary throughout the day.– Sections of the hypothalamus called the

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) & the pineal gland regulate these changes.


Brain’s Role in Circadian Rhythms


Sleep & Dreams: Disrupted Circadian Rhythms

• Disrupted circadian rhythms from shift work, jet lag, & sleep deprivation may cause alterations in mood, concentration, motivation, attention, & motor skills.


Sleep & Dreams: Stages of Sleep(NREM Sleep)

• NREM sleep (Non-Rapid-Eye-Movement):– includes Stages 1 through 4– involves lower-frequency brain waves,

decreased pulse & breathing,& occasional, simple dreams– serves a biological need (NREM needs met

before REM needs)© John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2010

Sleep & Dreams: Stages of Sleep (REM Sleep)

• REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) Sleep:– light sleep (also called paradoxical sleep)– also known as paradoxical sleep– involves high-frequency brain waves, increased

pulse & breathing, large muscles– serves a biological need– may play a role in learning & consolidating new

memories


Sleep graphed for 3 minutes


Sleep & Dreams: Stages of Sleep in a Typical Night


Pause & Reflect: Assessment

• Can you label the three key areas of the brain involved in circadian rhythms?


Pause & Reflect: Assessment

• Judging by the cat’s posture, which cat is in NREM sleep and which is in REM sleep?


Sleep & Dreams: Research

• The EEG, EOG, & EMG are common tools for sleep research.


Sleep & Dreams: Stages of Sleep & Brain Waves


Sleep & Dreams: Over the Life Span


Sleep & Dreams: Average Daily Hours of Sleep for Different Mammals


Sleep & Dreams: Why Do We Sleep?

• Repair/Restoration Theory: sleep helps us recuperate from daily activities

• Evolutionary/Circadian Theory: sleep evolved to conserve energy & as protection from predators


Sleep & Dreams: Why Do We Dream?

• Psychoanalytic Theory: dreams are disguised symbols (manifest versus latent content) of repressed desires & anxieties

• Biological View (activation-synthesis hypothesis): dreams are simple by-products of random stimulation of brain cells

• Cognitive View: dreams are a type of information processing


Sleep & Dreams: Sleep Disorders

Two major categories:

1. Dyssomnias: problems in amount, timing, & quality of sleep

2. Parasomnias: abnormal disturbances during sleep


Sleep & Dreams: Three Forms of Dyssomnias

• Insomnia: persistent problems in falling asleep, staying asleep, or awakening too early

• Sleep Apnea: repeated interruption of breathing during sleep

• Narcolepsy: sudden & irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking hours


Sleep & Dreams: Narcolepsy in Dogs


Sleep & Dreams: Two Forms of Parasomnias

• Nightmares: anxiety-arousing dreams occurring near the end of sleep, during REM sleep

• Night Terrors: abrupt awakenings from NREM sleep accompanied by intense physiological arousal & feelings of panic


Psychoactive Drugs

• Psychoactive Drugs: chemicals that change conscious awareness, mood, or perception


Psychoactive Drugs: Important Terms

• Drug Abuse: drug taking that causes emotional or physical harm to the individual or others

• Addiction: compulsion to use a specific drug or to engage in a certain activity


Psychoactive Drugs: Important Terms (Continued)

• Psychological Dependence: desire or craving to achieve effects produced by drug

• Physical Dependence: changes in bodily processes that make a drug necessary for minimal functioning


Psychoactive Drugs: Important Terms (Continued)

• Withdrawal: discomfort & distress experienced after stopping the use of addictive drugs

• Tolerance: bodily adjustment to higher & higher levels of a drug leading to decreased sensitivity


Psychoactive Drugs: How Drugs Work

• Agonist Drug: mimics a neurotransmitter’s effect

• Antagonist Drug: blocks normal neurotransmitter functioning


Drug effects (cont.)

• Indirect Agonist : mimics neurotransmitter pre-synaptically

• Direct Agonist: mimics neurotransmitter post-synaptically

• Indirect Antagonist: blocks neurotransmitter pre-synaptically

• Direct Antatgonist: blocks neurotransmitter post-synaptically


How Psychoactive Drugs Work (Agonists vs. Antagonists)


Psychoactive Drugs: Four Categories

1. Depressants: act on the CNS to suppress bodily processes (e.g., alcohol, valium)


Psychoactive Drugs: Depressants (Continued)


Psychoactive Drugs: Stimulants

2. Stimulants: act on the CNS to increase bodily processes (e.g., caffeine, nicotine, cocaine)


Psychoactive Drugs: Opiates

3. Opiates: act as an analgesic or pain reliever (e.g., morphine, heroin)


Psychoactive Drugs: Hallucinogens

4. Hallucinogens: produce sensory or

perceptual distortions called hallucinations (e.g., LSD, marijuana)


Psychology at Work: Club Drug Alert!

• Popular “Club Drugs”:–Date Rape Drug (Rohypnol)–MDMA (Ecstasy)–GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate)– Special K (Ketamine)–Crystal Meth (Methamphetamine)– LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)


Other Ways to Alter Consciousness

• Meditation: group of techniques designed to refocus attention, block out all distractions, & produce an ASC


Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness

• Hypnosis: trancelike state of heightened suggestibility, deep relaxation, & intense focus


Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness

• Hypnosis is used to treat chronic pain, severe burns, dentistry, childbirth, psychotherapy.


lecture overview understanding consciousness sleep & dreams psychoactive drugs healthier ways to...

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