Ch. 4 States of Consciousness
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Consciousness - Our awareness of various
cognitive processes, such as sleeping,
dreaming, concentrating, and making decisions
Altered state of consciousness (ASC) mental state that differs noticeably from normal
waking consciousness
1. Conscious Experience
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A. What is Waking Consciousness?
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B. Explaining Waking Consciousness
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Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that arise when
we are awake
Stream of information resulting from the activity of the
thalamus which analyzes and interprets information
C. Daydreaming and Fantasy
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May provide stress relief and encourage creativity
2. Sleep
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A. Circadian Cycles: The Biological Clock
 Circadian = “about a day”
B. The Rhythms of Sleep
 Brain waves and sleep stages
 Sleep stages 1- 4
 REM versus non-REM
 REM more vivid dreams
 REM called paradoxical sleep
Research into sleep patterns shows that normal sleep consists of
several stages. Following the initial "twilight" state, which is
characterized by irregular, low-voltage alpha waves and a state of
relaxed wakefulness, the sleeper enters Stage 1 of sleep…
REM sleep is also called paradoxical sleep because while brain
activity and other physiological symptoms resemble those recorded
during waking consciousness, the sleeper appears to be deeply asleep
and is incapable of moving because of paralysis of the body's
voluntary muscles
Non-REM, or NREM sleep, refers to the nonrapid-eye-movement stages of sleep that alternate
with REM stages during the sleep cycle
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C. Sleep Disorders
 Sleeptalking, sleepwalking, and night terrors
 More common in children
 Usually Stage 4 sleep
 Insomnia - Difficulty falling asleep or remaining
asleep
 35 million Americans
 May be related to stress, depression,
medication
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Apnea
 Breathing stops momentarily during sleep
Narcolepsy
 Suddenly falling asleep
3. Dreams
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A. Why Do We Dream?
 Dreams as unconscious wishes
 Freud “royal road to the unconscious”
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Dreams and neural activity
 Random outbursts of nerve-cell activity
 Dreams and waking life
 “Housecleaning” of information
B. Do We Need to Dream?
 Reprocessing of information
 Can you learn while asleep?
4. Drug-Altered Consciousness
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A. Psychoactive Drugs
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B. Substance Use
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Chemicals that change mood and perceptions
Movie Clip #1
Movie Clip #2
Using a substance but it does not yet interfere with a
person’s life
C. Substance Abuse
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Using substances to the point that the person
becomes less responsible
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D. Substance Dependence
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Dependence on substance leads to tolerance and withdrawal
Addiction Movie
E. Tolerance and Withdrawal
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Tolerance
 More substance is required to obtain the same effect
Withdrawal
 Physical discomfort when the substance is stopped
Substance use may be essential for medical reasons and it may also be
culturally approved and valued. By contrast, substance abuse is a pattern of
drug use that diminishes the person's ability to fulfill responsibilities at home or
at work or school, that results in repeated use of a drug in dangerous
situations, or that leads to legal difficulties related to drug use
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F. Depressants
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Alcohol
 2/3 fatal crashes
 Paradoxical stimulant
 Alcohol myopia
Click here to view the Blood-Alcohol table
Barbiturates
 Downers
 For insomnia, anxiety, epilepsy, arthritis,
bedwetting
 Opiates
 Poppy seed or synthetic
 Heroin
 Opiates Movie
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G. Stimulants
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Caffeine
 Alertness
 Anxiety, headaches, heart palpitations, insomnia,
diarrhea
Nicotine
 Highly addictive
 Brain craves
 Nicotine Movie
Caffeine is considered to be a benign drug,
but in large doses it can cause anxiety,
insomnia, and other unpleasant conditions
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Amphetamines
 Euphoria then crash, severe depression
 Amphetamines Movie
Cocaine
 In Coca-Cola originally
 Euphoria (stim. Sympathetic NS)
 Crash leads to anxiety, depression, and cravings
 Cocaine Movie
Click here to view the Depressants, Stimulants, and Hallucinogens
table
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H. Hallucinogens and Marijuana
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Distort visual and auditory perception
LSD
 Produces hallucinations and delusions similar to a
psychotic state
 Can result in psychosis, memory loss, paranoia,
panic attacks, nightmares and aggression
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Marijuana
 Mild hallucinations
 Euphoria, sense of well-being, relaxation
 Anxiety and paranoia
 Marijuana Video
5. Meditation and Hypnosis
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A. Meditation
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A technique which improves the ability to focus and
relax
B. Hypnosis
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Hypnotic suggestions
Clinical application of hypnosis