Consciousness

Consciusness
Sleep Dreams Hypnosis Psychoactive Drugs

Consciousness
Consciousness
Persons awareness of everything that is going on around him or her at any given moment which is used to organized behavior

Waking Consciousness
State in which thoughts, feelings and sensations are clear, organized and the person feels alert

Altered State of Consciousness

State in which there is a shift in the quality or pattern of mental activity as compared to waking consciousness

SLEEP
Circadian Rhythm
Cycle of bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24 hour period

Adaptive Theory
Sleep patterns have evolved to avoid predators by sleeping when their active

Restorative Theory
Sleep is necessary to the physical health of the body and serves to replenish chemicals and repair cellular damage

Stages of Sleep
Stage 1 (Light Sleep)
Theta wave increases and alpha wave decreases Hypnagogic images or hallucination Hypnic Jerk

Stage 2 (Sleep Spindles)

Sleep spindles and K complexes Heart rate sleeps, breathing is shallow

Stages of Sleep
Stage 3 and 4: Deep Sleep
Delta waves appear
Slowest and largest wave

People are most difficult to awaken in this stage

Stage 5: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep

REM Paralysis REM rebound

Sleep Disorders
Nightmares and REM Behavior Disorders
Night terrors
Person experiences extreme fear and screams or runs around during sleep without waking fully

Sleepwalking (somnambulism)
Episode of moving around or walking around in ones sleep

Insomnia
Inability to get to sleep, stay asleep or get good quality of sleep

Sleep Apnea
Disorder in which the person stops breathing for nearly half a minute or more

Narcolepsy
Sleep disorder in which a person falls immediately into REM sleep during the day without warning

Dreams
Manifest Content
The actual dream itself

Latent Content
The true meaning of the dream

Dreams (Activation-Synthesis Theory)

Dreams are created by the higher centers of the cortex to explain the activation by the brain stem of cortical cells during REM sleep periods ActivationInformation-Mode Model (AIM)

Information accessed during waking hours can have an influence on the synthesis of dreams

Hypnosis
State of consciousness in whicn a person is especially susceptible to suggestion

Hypnosis CAN
Create amnesia whatever happens during the hypnotic session, at least for a brief time Relieve pain by allowing a person to remove conscious attention from the pain Alter sensory perceptions (Smell, hearing, vision, time sense and the ability to see visual illusions) Help people relax in situations that normally would cause them stress, such as flying on an airplane

Hypnosis CANNOT
Give people superhuman strength (people may use their full strength under hypnosis, but it is no more than they had before hypnosis) Reliably enhance memory (Theres an increased risk of false0memory retrieval because of the suggestible state hypnosis creates) Regress people back to childhood (Although people may act like children, they do and say things children would not) Regress people to some past life. There is no scientific evidence for past-life regression

Theories on Hypnosis
Hypnosis as Dissociation: The Hidden Observer
One part of the mind is aware of actions/activities taking place, while the hypnotized part is not

Social Cognitive Theory of Hypnosis

People who are hypnotized are not in an altered state but are merely playing the role expected of them in a situation

Psychoactive Drugs
Drugs that alter thinking, perception and memory Physical dependence
The body becomes unable to function normally without a particular drug

Withdrawal
Physical symptoms that can include nausea, pain, tremors, crankiness, and high blood pressure, resulting from a lack of an addictive drug in the body systems

Psychological Dependence
The feeling that drug is needed to continue a feeling of emotional or psychological wellbeing

Stimulants
Drugs that increase the function of the Nervous System
Amphetamines Cocaine Nicotine Caffeine

Depressants
Drugs that decrease the functioning of the nervous system
Barbiturates Benzodiazepines

Narcotics
A class of opiumrelated drugs that suppress the sensation of pain by binding to and stimulating the nervous systems natural receptor sites for endorphins
Opium Morphine Heroin

Hallucinogens
Produces hallucinations or increased feelings of relaxation and intoxication
Marijuana LSD Mescaline Psilocybin