Chapter 6
States of Consciousness
Quiz
1.What are altered states of
consciousness?
2.How do they affect our
lives on a daily basis?
Some Early Definitions
• Consciousness: All the sensations, perceptions,
memories, and feelings you are aware of at any
instant
– Waking consciousness: Normal, clear alert
awareness
• Altered state of consciousness (ASC): Changes
that occur in quality and pattern of mental
activity; different from waking consciousness
Sleep
• Innate, biological rhythm
• Sleep deprivation: Sleep loss; being deprived
of needed amounts of sleep
• Hypersomnia: Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Microsleep: Brief shift in brain activity to
pattern normally recorded during sleep
More on Sleep
• Sleep-deprivation psychosis: Confusion,
disorientation, delusions, and hallucinations
that occur because of sleep loss
• Sleep patterns: Daily rhythms of sleep and
waking
Not all animals sleep, but like humans, those that do have powerful
sleep needs. For example, dolphins must voluntarily breathe air,
which means they face the choice of staying awake or drowning. The
dolphin solves this problem by sleeping on just one side of its brain
at a time! The other half of the brain, which remains awake, controls
breathing
Fig. 6-1, p. 183
Measuring Sleep Changes
• Electroencephalograph (EEG): Brain-wave
machine; amplifies and records electrical
activity in the brain
• Beta waves: Small, fast waves associated
with alertness and wakefulness
• Alpha waves: Large, slow waves associated
with relaxation and falling asleep
Fig. 6-5b, p. 186
Stages of Sleep
Stages of Sleep
Stage 1 Small, irregular waves produced in
light sleep (people may or may not say they
were asleep)
– Hypnic jerk: Reflex muscle twitch
Stage 2: Deeper sleep; sleep spindles (short
bursts of distinctive brain-wave activity)
appear
Stage 3 Deeper sleep; delta waves appear;
very large and slow
Stage 4 Deepest level of normal sleep;
almost purely delta waves
During
unscheduled
periods, the
subject was
allowed to select
times of sleep and
lighting. The
result was a sleep
rhythm of about
25 hours. Notice
how this freerunning rhythm
began to advance
around the clock
as they fell asleep
later each day.
When periods of
darkness (shaded
area) were
imposed during
the fifth week, the
rhythm quickly
resynchronized
with 24-hour days.
Fig. 6-2, p. 185
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep
• Associated with dreaming; sleep is very light
• Return to Stage 1 sleep EEG patterns
• Body is very still during REM sleep
Non-REM (NREM) Sleep
• Occurs during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4; no rapid
eye movement occurs
• 90 percent of non-REM sleep is dream-free
• Seems to help us recover from daily fatigue
Sleep Disturbances
• Insomnia: Difficulty in getting to sleep,
frequent nighttime awakenings, or waking too
early
– Sleeping pills exacerbate insomnia; cause
decrease in REM and Stage 4 sleep and
may cause dependency
• Drug-dependency insomnia: Sleeplessness
that follows withdrawal from sleeping pills
• Lack of muscle paralysis during REM sleep is
called REM behavioral disorder
• Night Terrors
Temporary Insomnia
• Brief period of sleeplessness caused by
worry, stress, and excitement
– Avoid fighting it and read a book, for
example, until you’re struggling to stay
awake
– What contributes to this in your lives?
Chronic Insomnia
• Exists if sleeping troubles last for more than
three weeks
– Adopt regular schedule; go to bed at the
same time each night, for example
Tryptophan
• Amino acid (chemical) that increases
serotonin levels and therefore leads to
sleepiness
• What common thanksgiving food includes
this?
Sleep Disturbances
• Sleepwalking (somnambulism): Occurs in
NREM sleep during Stages 3 and 4
• Sleeptalking: Speaking while asleep; occurs
in NREM sleep
Some Other Sleep Disturbances
• Nightmares: Bad dreams that occur during
REM sleep
– May occur once or twice a month; brief and
easily (unfortunately) remembered
• Imagery rehearsal: Mentally rehearse the
changed dream before you go to sleep again;
may help to eliminate nightmares
Night Terrors
• Night terrors: Total panic occurs;
hallucinations may occur during Stage 4
NREM sleep
– Most common in childhood; may occur in
adults
– Not remembered
Sleep Apnea
• Repeated interruption during sleep
• Produces loud snoring with short silences
and gasps for breath
• Apnea can be treated by
– Surgery
– Weight loss
– Breathing mask
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(SIDS; Crib Death)
• Sudden, unexplained death of healthy infant
(infants should sleep on back to try to prevent it)
– May be related to sleep apnea
– May have weak arousal reflex
– May be related to secondhand smoke
– Remember “back to sleep”
Narcolepsy
• Sudden, irresistible sleep attacks
– May suffer from catalepsy: Sudden, temporary
muscle paralysis leading to complete body
collapse
– Fall directly into REM sleep
REM Rebound
• Occurrence of extra REM sleep following
REM sleep deprivation
• Alcoholism
• Also, why after sleep deprivation, you can
“catch up” with less sleep than you missed
Dreams
• Psychodynamic (Freudian) theory:
Emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and
unconscious forces
• Wish fulfillment: Freudian belief that many
dreams are expressions of unconscious
desires
– Much evidence to refute this
• Dream symbols: Images in dreams that have
a deeper symbolic meaning
• Manifest: Obvious, visible meaning of dream
• Latent: Hidden symbolic meaning of dream
Why do we dream?
• Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis Random
activity in lower brain centers results in the
manufacture of relatively bizarre dreams by
higher brain centers
• Neurocognitive Dream Theory Dreams
reflect everyday working thoughts and
emotions
Dream Interpretation
• Freud: Four dream processes (mental filters)
that hide true purposes of dreams
• Condensation Combining several people,
objects, or events into a single dream image
• Displacement Directing emotions or actions
toward safe or unimportant dream images
• Symbolization Nonliteral expression of
dream content
• Secondary Elaboration Making a dream
more logical and complete while
remembering it
Dream Interpretation: A Different View
• Perls: Most dreams are a special message
about what is missing in our lives, what we
avoid doing, or feelings that we need to reown
• Lucid Dreaming Person feels fully awake
within the dream and feels capable of normal
thought and action
Other States on Consciousness
• Overall, conscious means awake and alert
without any substances in our system, altered
states of consciousness ACS includes:
• Sleeping
• Hypnosis
• Meditation
• Drugs
Hypnosis
• Altered state of consciousness characterized by
intensely narrowed attention and increased
openness to suggestion
– Mesmer: Believed he could cure diseases by
passing magnets over body; true “animal
magnetism” (“mesmerize” means to hypnotize)
– Mesmer was, in effect, a fraud and a quack
– Must cooperate to become hypnotized
Hypnotic Susceptibility
• How easily a person can be hypnotized
• Basic suggestion effect: Tendency of
hypnotized people to carry out suggested
actions as though they were involuntary
• Hidden observer: Detached part of
hypnotized person’s awareness that silently
observes events
Hypnosis Can…
• Help people relax
• Reduce pain
• Get people to make better progress in
therapy
• Hypnosis cannot…
• Produce acts of superhuman strength
• Produce age regression
• Force you to do things against your will
Relax…
• Altered states such as hypnosis and meditation
require the subject to relax. Relaxation is not always
easy to achieve, and most people need to work at it
to do it successfully. Biofeedback techniques can
help people learn to relax and gain control of their
bodies. Students can discover how easy it is to relax,
even in the classroom, by a simple exercise.
“Tricks of the Trade”
• Waking suggestibility: People on stage do not
want to spoil the act, so they will follow any
instruction
• Selection of responsive subjects: Any
“volunteer” who does not get hypnotized in
the group on stage and does not follow
instructions is “thrown off”
More “Tricks of the Trade”
• Hypnotists as director: Once they are in a
trance, the “volunteers” are suddenly the
show’s stars, and they will act like it. The
hypnotists only need to direct them
• The hypnosis label disinhibits: On stage,
once you are “in a hypnotic trance,” your
responsibility for actions is removed; you can
do whatever you want!
More “Tricks of the Trade”
• Stage hypnotists use tricks: Stage hypnosis is
50% deception and 50% taking advantage of the
situation
• Conclusion: Stage hypnotists entertain; they
rarely hypnotize
Fig. 6-9a, p. 197
Fig. 6-9b, p. 197
Meditation
• Mental exercise for producing relaxation or
heightened awareness
– Concentrative meditation: You attend to a
single focal point, object, or thought
– Mindfulness meditation: Based on widening
attention to become aware of everything
experienced at any given moment
Sensory Deprivation (SD)
• Any major reduction in amount or variety of
sensory stimulation
• Benefits
– Sensory enhancement
– Relaxation
– Changing habits
• Benefits called REST: Restricted
Environmental Stimulation Therapy
Fig. 6-10, p. 198
Drugs and Altered States of
Consciousness
• Psychoactive drug: Substance capable of
altering attention, judgment, memory, time
sense, self-control, emotion, or perception
• Stimulant: Substance that increases activity in
body and nervous system
• Depressant: Substance that decreases
activity in body and nervous system
Fig. 6-11, p. 200
Physical Dependence
• Addiction based on drug tolerance and
withdrawal symptoms
– Drug tolerance: Reduction in body’s
response to a drug
– Withdrawal symptoms: Physical illness and
discomfort following withdrawal of a drug
Psychological Dependence
• Drug dependence based primarily on
psychological or emotional needs
– Drug is necessary to maintain comfort and
well-being
– Crave drug and its rewarding qualities
Stimulants
• Amphetamines: Synthetic stimulants that
excite nervous system
– Dexedrine and methamphetamine are two
types of stimulants
• Amphetamine psychosis: Loss of contact with
reality because of amphetamine use; user
tends to have paranoid delusions
Cocaine
• Central nervous system stimulant derived
from leaves of coca plant
– From 1886-1906, Coca-Cola did indeed
have cocaine in it!
– Highly addictive drug
– Anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure):
Common after cocaine withdrawal
p. 204
MDMA (Ecstasy)
• Chemically similar to amphetamine; created
by small variations in the drug’s structure
– May cause severe liver damage and fatal
heat exhaustion
– Repeated use damages serotonergic brain
cells
Caffeine
• Most frequently used psychoactive drug in
North America; present in colas, chocolate,
coffee, tea
• Causes tremors, sweating, talkativeness,
tinnitus; suppresses fatigue or sleepiness,
increases alertness
Caffeinism
• Physiological dependence on caffeine
• Symptoms: Insomnia, irritability, loss of
appetite, chills, racing heart, elevated body
temperature
• May be hazardous to pregnant women if used
excessively; may cause birth defects
Nicotine
• Natural stimulant found mainly in tobacco
• In large doses may cause stomach pain,
vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, tremors
• Addictive
• Smoking is one cause of lung cancer
• Sum: Don’t smoke; smoking kills (so does
chewing tobacco)
GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate)
• Central nervous system (CNS) depressant
that relaxes and sedates; combination of
degreasing solvent and drain cleaner
– Sedative effects may result in nausea, loss
of muscle control, and either sleep or a
loss of consciousness
– Inhibits gag reflex, so some choke to death
on their own vomit
Tranquilizers
• Lower anxiety and reduce tension
– Valium, Xanax, Halcion, and Librium are
four types
– Rohypnol: Related to Valium; lowers
inhibitions and produces relaxation or
intoxication. Larger doses can induce
short-term amnesia and sleep
• Date rape drug, because it’s odorless
and tasteless (“roofies”)
Drug Interaction
• Combined effect of two drugs that exceeds
addition of one drug’s effects to the other
Alcohol
• Ethyl alcohol: Intoxicating element in
fermented and distilled liquors
– NOT a stimulant but does lower inhibitions
– Depressant
• Alcohol myopia: Shortsighted thinking and
perception that occurs during alcohol
intoxication
Binge Drinking
• Consuming five or more drinks in a short
time, or four or more for women
– Serious sign of alcohol abuse
– May lead up to 10 percent loss of brain
power, especially memory
p. 209
Treatment for Alcohol Abuse and
Dependence
• Detoxification: Withdrawal of the person from
alcohol; occurs in a medical setting and is tightly
controlled; often necessary before long-term
treatment begins
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): Worldwide selfhelp organization composed of recovering
alcoholics; emphasizes admitting
powerlessness over alcohol usage and
wanting to recover
– Spiritual component
– Free; around for over 70 years!
– Common complaints about AA: An AA
Alternative Rational Recovery, and
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS):
Non-spiritual AA Alternative
Some Hallucinogens
• A substance that alters or distorts sensory
impressions
• Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD):
Hallucinogen that can produce hallucinations
and other psychotic-like symptoms
• Mescaline (peyote) and psilocybin (magic
mushrooms) are two other types of
hallucinogens
PCP (Angel Dust)
• Initially can have hallucinogenic effects; also
an anesthetic and has stimulant and
depressant effects
Marijuana (Pot)
• Cannabis sativa (marijuana; pot): Leaves and
flowers of the hemp plant
– Active Chemical: THC
– Effects: Relaxation, time distortion,
perceptual distortions
– Psychologically and physiologically
addictive
Some Health Risks of Using Marijuana
• May increase risk of prostate and cervical
cancer
• May suppress immune system, perhaps
increasing risk of disease
• THC may cause a higher rate of miscarriages
• Activity levels in the cerebellum are lower than
normal in pot users
• Pot may damage some of the brain’s memory
centers
Drug Treatment: each group will be
assigned one of these topics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Drug education to discourage experimentation with drugs.
A scientifically-based legal system for classifying psychoactive drugs.
A definition of “responsible use” that takes into account risk factors such as the
drug used and the time and place it is used. (For instance, we currently make a
distinction between drinking at a party and drinking while driving.)
Limits on pro-drug advertising, including ads for tobacco and alcohol and
sponsorship of sporting events.
Taxes to discourage the purchase of legal drugs and to pay for the damage they
cause.
Adults willing to set an example by using drugs responsibly, or not at all.