Variations in Consciousness
Definitions for the Brain and Consciousness
(Myers Module 7)
Directions: Read these.
 William James: the father of functionalism; studied consciousness
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and its relation to adaptive behavior in every day life.
Consciousness: our awareness of ourselves and our environment.
Cognitive Neuroscience: the interdisciplinary study of the brain
activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking,
memory, and language).
Dual Processing: the principle that information is often
simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious
tracks.
Selective attention: the focusing of conscious awareness on a
particular stimulus.
Inattentional blindness: failing to see visible objects when our
attention is directed elsewhere.
Change blindness: failing to notice changes in the environment.
Bodily Cycles (Myers Module 8)
 Directions: Think of a time you missed your
regular bed time OR got up at a time
uncharacteristic of your habit. How did you feel?
 Circadian rhythm: the biological clock; regular
bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and
wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle.
 EX. Pulling an all-nighter, we may feel groggiest
about 4 AM, and then we get a second wind after our
normal wake-up time arrives.
Sleep: What is the biological rhythm of sleep?
Non-REM
REM
 Stage 1: slip into sleep, slow breathing,
 Nicknamed “paradoxical sleep,”
fast alpha waves, perceptual window to
outside shuts off; hallucinations, falling
or floating sensations
 Stage 2: sleep spindles (bursts of rapid
brain waves), clearly asleep though easy
to awake; sleep talking
 Stage 3: transitional stage that lasts a few
minutes, slow delta waves begin in brain,
routine dreams, difficult to awaken
 Stage 4: deepest stage of sleep, delta
waves continue; routine dreams
bedwetting and sleepwalking, difficult to
awaken
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because body is paralyzed but
other body systems are active.
Rapid eye movement sleep
Recurring sleep stage during
which vivid, creative dreams
commonly occur
Alpha waves, similar but more
active than those in stage 1,
dominate REM.
Brain waves in REM look like
we’re awake
More on Sleep
 We cycle through the stages of non-REM and REM sleep
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about four times per night.
As the night moves on, we descend more shallowly into the
deeper stages of sleep and we REM more and more often.
This is why we can remember our dreams when we wake
up.
Adults spend 20% of their sleep REM-ing. Infants sleep 16
hours per day and spend 50% of their sleep time in REM
(Weiten, c. 5).
We spend 1/3 to ¼ of our lives sleeping.
Everyone needs different quantities of sleep. Fraternal
twins shared significantly less of a similarity between sleep
needs than did identical twins. Is sleep genetic?
Theories of Sleep (Myers 99-100)
Directions: Why do we sleep? Come up with at least 3
theories based on your experience.
 Sleep is adaptive (evolutionary): sleep protects; darkness put constraints on
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our ancestors, so we slept to conserve energy and stay safe. EX. Grazing
animals sleep less than night-hunting animals
Sleep helps us recuperate: restores and repairs brain tissue; gives resting
neurons time to repair themselves while allowing unused connection to
weaken. Analogy: When consciousness leaves your house, brain construction
workers come in for a makeover.
Sleep is for making memories: restores and rebuilds our memories of the day’s
experiences. You’ll remember things better after a night’s sleep or a nap. EX.
In humans and rats, neural activity during slow-wave sleep reenacts and
promotes recall of prior novel experiences (2004)
Sleep feed creativity: sleep and dreams have inspired creative achievements.
EX. Those who begin to solve a problem, sleep, and then continue come up
with more innovative solutions.
Sleep plays a role in the growth process: The pituitary releases a growth
hormone during deep sleep.
Dreams and Theories of Dreaming (Myers, pg. 106)
 Dreams happen in the deep stages of sleep and also
in REM.
 We dream both about the mundane (deep stages)
and about the intense and strange (REM).
 Sensory input collected in our sleep environment
may intrude on our dreams (EX. The alarm clock is
a school bell in your dream).
Dreams and Theories of Dreaming (Myers, pg. 106-7)
Directions: Why do we dream? Come up with at least 3 theories
based on your experience.
 Wish Fulfillment Theory: Freudian theory that says dreams are a safe
environment in which to let our id run free. Sex and aggression are the
base of many dreams. More generally, dreams result from unconscious
urges.
 Cognitive Theories: (1)Dreams are to organize, consolidate, and file
memories; brain scans confirm a link between REM and memory (2)
Dreams used for brain maturation and cognitive development
 Develop and Preserve Neural Pathways: physiological function; REM
provides the sleeping brain with stimulation (waves look like we’re
awake) which develops and preserves the brain’s neural pathways.
 Activation-Synthesis Model (Weiten, 196): Brain is so active during REM
that there’s a lot of random neural static; in order to justify the activity
the brain makes up a story to go along with it. A lot of the time, the
stories don’t make sense, because the prefrontal cortex (logic) is turned
off during REM while the limbic system (emotion) is turned on.
Sleep and Health
 Sleep deprivation causes fatigue and impairs
concentration, creativity, and communication.
 Sleep deprivation leads to obesity, hypertension, and
a suppressed immune system, irritability and slower
performance
Sleep Disorders
 Insomnia: can’t sleep; recurring wakefulness; often a result of stress
 Narcolepsy: falling asleep suddenly and experiencing cataplexy
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(paralysis) when emotions run high; thought to be result of absence
of hypocretin (neuropeptide that interacts in hypothalamus)
Sleep apnea: stop breathing during sleep; wake up hundreds of
times per night even if you don’t realize it
Night terrors: plagues children; happen during Stage 4, so not
“nightmares”
Sleepwalking: stage 4; genetic
Sleeptalking: stage 2; genetic
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: the part of the brainstem that causes
paralysis during REM sleep is disabled, causing people to move
around and act out their dreams during REM
Hypnosis and Its Uses (Myers Module 9)
Directions: Remember Spanos’ study on hypnosis? IS hypnosis an actual altered
state of consciousness? Why or why not?
 Hypnosis: a social interaction in which one person
suggests to another that certain perceptions, feeling,
thought, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.
 Valid uses of hypnosis include pain control.
Posthypnotic suggestions have helped people
harness their own healing powers (anesthesia, etc.),
but have not been very effective in treating addiction.
 Use of hypnosis in psychotherapy has been proven
ineffective. Hypnosis does not enhance recall of
forgotten events (it may evoke false memories)
Hypnosis: Myths and Realities
Directions: Take a look at these facts. Surprises?
 Hypnotized people are no more vulnerable to act against their
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will than unhypnotized are people. EX. You are getting sleepy.
Now, jump out the window! (won’t work)
Hypnotized, unlike unhypnotized people, may perform unlikely
acts when told to do so by an authoritative person.
Many psychologists believe that hypnosis is a form of normal
social influence and that hypnotized people act out the role of
“good subject.” It is not an “altered state.”
Other psychologists view hypnosis as a dissociation—a split
between normal sensations and conscious awareness.
A unified account of hypnosis melds these two view and studies
how brain activity, attention, and social influences interact in
hypnosis.
Hypnotic Phenomena
 Posthypnotic suggestions: suggestions made during a hypnosis
session to be carried out after the subject is no longer
hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired
symptoms and behaviors.
 Dissociation: phenomenon championed by those who believe
that hypnosis is an “altered state;” a split between normal
sensation and conscious awareness
 Ernest Hilgard: Hypnotized woman exhibited no pain when
her arm was placed in an ice bath. But when asked to press a
key if some part of her felt the pain, she did so. Evidence of
dissociation, or divided consciousness. Proponent of social
influence theory maintain that people responding this way are
caught up in playing the role of “good subject.”
Drugs and Consciousness (Myers Module 10)
 Directions: Look at chart on the next slide. Study the
major psychoactive drug categories (e.g., narcotics,
stimulants) and classify specific drugs you’ve heard of,
including their psychological and physiological effects.
 Discuss drug dependence, addiction, tolerance, and
withdrawal.
Category
Medical Uses and Neural
Reactions
Drug Names and Effects
sedatives
Depress the CNS activity reducing
anxiety but impairing memory and
judgment; used as sleeping pills
and anticonvulsants
Barbituates (e.g. Seconal) and
Nonbarbituates (e.g. Qualude)
-drowsiness, nausea, impaired
coordination and mental functioning
opiates/narcotics
Depress neural activity temporarily Morphine, heroine
lessening pain and anxiety
-euphoria, relaxation, anxiety
reduction, pain relief
stimulants
Excite neural activity and speed up
body functions; treatment of
hyperactivity and narcolepsy, local
anesthetic (cocaine)
Caffeine, nicotine, some
amphetamines (including meth),
cocaine, and Ecstasy
-elation, excitement, increased
alertness, increased energy
hallucinogens
No medical uses
Ecstasy, LSD, Mescaline
-Increased sensory awareness,
euphoria, altered perceptions,
hallucinations, insightful experiences
cannabis
Glaucoma and chemotherapy,
induces nausea and vomiting
Marijuana, hashish, THC
-mild euphoria, relation, altered
perceptions, enhanced awareness
alcohol
No medical uses
-impaired coordination, impaired
mental functions, mood swings
Drugs and Their Effects
Drug Dependence and Related Phenomena(Myers Module 10)
 Tolerance: the diminishing effect with regular use of the
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same dose of a drug
Withdrawal: the discomfort and distress that follow
discontinuing the use of an active drug
Physical dependence: a physiological need for a drug,
marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the
drug is discontinued
Psychological dependence: a psychological need to use a
drug, such as to relieve negative emotions.
Addiction: compulsive drug craving and use, despite
adverse consequences. Some drugs are addictive
psychologically and/or physiologically and some aren’t.
Agonist vs Antagonist
 Agonist: a drug that causes (excites) a reaction by
mimicking a neurotransmitter.
 Antagonist: a drug that stops (inhibits) a reaction by
mimicking a neurotransmitter.
 Most drugs that people use recreationally are
agonists for various neurotransmitters.
Why Do Some Use and Others Abuse
 What determines whether or not a drug
user will become a drug abuser?
 Psychological factors: stress, depression,
hopelessness
 Social factors: peer pressure, acceptance
 Cultural and ethnicity: some people may be
biologically predisposed to be more likely to become
dependent on drugs, such as alcohol
How do addictions progress?
Addiction Stages by Robert and Mary McAuliffe
discussed in The Essentials of Chemical Dependency: Toward a Unified
Theory of Addiction
 1. Use to know (Abuse and Live)
 2. Use for fun (Abuse and Live)
 3. Live to Abuse
 4. Abuse to Live
 5. Abuse to Die
Models of Addiction
 Disease Model: Addiction is a disease like any other
because it involves a disordered organ (the brain)
and can be treated using the medical model.
Evidence continues to emerge in favor of this theory
regarding the midbrain, which governs the body’s
survival and pleasure centers. Dopamine secretion is
also semi-permanently altered in addicts' brains.
 Choice Model: The social and moral answer to
addiction theory. Addiction is a matter of choice. If
you choose to take drugs, you chose to be an addict.
Opening discussion: Groups of 3-4. Each group will
receive a different question:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
How would medical training change if addiction was universally
considered a disease?
How would medical insurance change if addiction was universally
considered a disease?
How would hospitals change if addiction was universally considered a
disease?
How would arrests change if addiction was universally considered a
disease?
How would courts change if addiction was universally considered a
disease?
How would entertainment change if addiction was universally
considered a disease?
How would therapy change if addiction was universally considered a
disease?
(Spiral) Lecture by Dr. Kevin McCauley
 What are both the virtues and the flaws
of Dr. McCauley’s model of addiction?
 Here are some topics you may consider:
 generalization of research
 extraneous variables
 population (selection of people to study)
 results of therapy model
 biases
 evidence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hz6-2NwRzE