Consciousness & Dreams
Consciousness
• Our awareness of ourselves & our
environment
• Consciousness is the headlines of a
newspaper
• Summaries of brain activity – not all the
many millions of details of what went
on behind the scenes
• “The Conscious mind is not at the center of the action in
the brain; instead, it is far out on a distant edge, hearing
whispers of the activity” – David Eagleman
• Subconscious - information we aren’t
consciously aware of but know must exist
due to behavior
• Unconscious - thoughts or desires about
which we have no direct knowledge
States of Consciousness
Awake, Asleep, Altered State
some states occur
spontaneously
day dreaming
drowsiness
dreaming
some are
physiologically
induced
hallucinations
orgasm
food or oxygen
starvation
some are
psychologically
induced
sensory
deprivation
hypnosis
meditation
Sleep & Dreams
• Biological Rhythms & Sleep
• Circadian Rhythm
• 24 hour cycle
• temperature changes
Sleep Stages
• Awake - Alpha Waves
• Stage 1 - Sleep,
hallucinations
• Stage 2 - Sleep Spindles
• Stage 3 - transitional sleep
• Stage 4 - Delta Waves
• REM Sleep
REM Sleep
• Rapid Eye Movement
• Recurring sleep state during which vivid
dreams commonly occur. Also known as
paradoxical sleep because the muscles are
relaxed but other body systems are active
• Typical nights sleep is about a 90 minute
cycle
Why do we sleep?
• Variations in sleeping patterns
• Cultural Influences
• Sleep Debt
• Age of Sleep Studies
• Chronic seep loss
• Spring and fall time changes
Sleep Theories
• Sleep protects
• Sleep helps recuperation
• Memory Storage
• Sleep and Creative thinking
• Sleep and Growth
Sleep Disorders
• Insomnia - problems of getting or staying
asleep
• Narcolepsy - extreme sleepiness (sleep
attacks)
• Sleep Apnea - stop breathing during sleep
• Night Terrors - usually occur in children,
dreams outside of REM
• Sleepwalking / Sleep talking
Dreams according to Freud
• Manifest Content
• the remembered story line of a dream - literal
content
• Latent Content
• the underlying meaning of a dream - deeper
meaning
Dream Theories
• Freud’s Wish Fulfillment
• Dreams provide a ‘psychic safety valve’ expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings;
contain manifest (remembered) content and
a deeper layer of latent content (hidden
meaning)
• Critical considerations: Lacks any scientific support;
dreams may be interpreted many different ways
Dream Theories
• Information-Processing
• Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and
consolidate our memories
• Critical Considerations: But why do we sometimes
dream about things we have not experienced?
Dream Theories
• Physiological Function
• Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep
may help develop and preserve neural
pathways
• Critical Considerations: This may be true, but it
doesn’t explain why we experience meaningful
dreams
Dream Theories
• Activation-Synthesis
• REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes
random visual memories, which our sleeping
brain weaves into stories
• Critical Considerations: The individuals brain is
weaving the stories, which still tells us something
about the dreamer
Dream Theories
• Cognitive Development
• Dream content reflects dreamer’s cognitive
development – their knowledge and
understanding
• Critical Considerations: Does not address the
neuroscience of dreams