Altered States of
Consciousness
Introductory Psychology 40S
Excerpts from Myers 8e (Worth Publishers)
C. McMurray
Forms of Consciousness
Consciousness, modern psychologists believe, is an
awareness of ourselves and our environment.
What is Consciousness?
Watch What is Consciousness (Vsauce)
Biological Rhythms
Biological rhythms are controlled by
internal “biological clocks.”
1. Annual cycles: On an annual cycle, geese
migrate, grizzly bears hibernate, and
humans experience seasonal variations in
appetite, sleep, and mood. Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood
disorder people experience during dark
winter months.
Biological Rhythms
2. 28-day cycles: The female menstrual cycle
averages 28 days.
Biological Rhythms
3. 24-hour cycles: Humans experience 24-hour cycles
of varying alertness (sleep), body temperature, and
growth hormone secretion. (Circadian rhythms)
4. 90-minute cycles: We go through various stages of
sleep in 90-minute cycles.
Rhythm of Sleep
Illustration © Cynthia Turner 2003
Circadian Rhythms occur on a 24-hour cycle and
include sleep and wakefulness, which are disrupted
during transcontinental flights.
Light triggers the suprachiasmatic nucleus to decrease
(morning) melatonin from the pineal gland
and increase (evening) it at night fall.
Sleep and Dreams
Why do we sleep?
We spend one-third of
our lives sleeping.
Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./ Corbis
If an individual remains
awake for several days,
they deteriorate in terms
of immune function,
concentration, and
accidents.
Sleep Stages
Measuring sleep: About every 90 minutes, we
pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages.
Hank Morgan/ Rainbow
90-Minute Cycles During Sleep
With each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep decreases
and the duration of REM sleep increases.
http://dreamstop.com/sleep-cycle-everything-know/
Awake & Alert
During strong mental engagement, the brain exhibits
low amplitude and fast, irregular beta waves (15-30
cps). An awake person involved in a conversation
shows beta activity.
Beta Waves
Awake but Relaxed
When an individual closes his eyes but remains
awake, his brain activity slows down to a large
amplitude and slow, regular alpha waves (9-14 cps). A
meditating person exhibits an alpha brain activity.
Sleep Stages 1-2
Stage 1 Sleep:
Time of drowsiness or transition from being awake to
falling asleep. Brain waves and muscle activity begin to
slow down. Image may appear. May experience sudden
muscle jerks, and a falling sensation.
Stage 2 Sleep:
Light sleep. Brain waves become slower, with
occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles.
Heart rate slows and body temperature decreases.
Sleep Stages 1-2
Sleep Stages 3-4
Stage 3 Sleep: Transition into deep sleep
Stage 4 Sleep:
• DEEP SLEEP. Delta Waves. Breathing slows, body
temperature drops even lower. No eye movement.
Very difficult to be awakened during deep sleep.
People who are awakened during these stages of sleep
may feel groggy or disoriented when the wake up.
• Bed wetting, sleep talking, sleepwalking and night
terrors may happen during this stage.
• Restorative or healing sleep. This is the time when the
body does most of its’ repair work and regeneration.
Sleep Stages 3-4
REM Sleep
After reaching the deepest sleep stage (4), the sleep
cycle starts moving backward towards stage 1.
Active period of sleep marked by intense brain
activity. Beta Waves.
Breathing becomes irregular, eyes move rapidly in
various directions. Limb muscles become temporarily
paralyzed. Heart rate increases. Vivid dreams occur.
The Right Mix of Sleep



Teenagers need about 9.5 hours of sleep. But just as
important as the quantity of sleep is getting the right mix
of REM and DEEP SLEEP.
Deep Sleep (Stage 4) is a restorative or healing sleep.
This is the time when the body does most of its’ repair
work and regeneration.
REM Sleep is important for processes such as learning,
memory, mood and the ability to concentrate.
Did You Know?
Sleep helps regulate the hormones that
affect and control your appetite. Studies
have shown that when your body is
deprived of sleep, the normal hormone
balances are interrupted and your appetite
increases.
Unfortunately this increase in appetite leads
to a craving for food high in calories, fats
and carbohydrates!
Sleep Paralysis
What is sleep paralysis
Sleep Deprivation
1. Fatigue
2. Impaired concentration.
3. Emotional irritability.
4. Depressed immune system.
5. Greater vulnerability.
Dreams
Watch: Why Do We Dream (Vsauce)
Sleep Theories
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sleep Protects: Sleeping in the darkness when
predators loomed about kept our ancestors out of
harm’s way.
Sleep Recuperates: Sleep helps restore and repair
brain tissue.
Sleep Helps Remembering: Sleep restores and
rebuilds our fading memories.
Sleep and Growth: During sleep, the pituitary
gland releases growth hormone. Older people
release less of this hormone and sleep less.
Sleep Disorders:
1.
Somnambulism: Sleepwalking.
2.
Nightmares: Frightening dreams that wake a
sleeper from REM.
3.
Night terrors: Sudden arousal from sleep with
intense fear accompanied by physiological
reactions (e.g., rapid heart rate, perspiration)
that occur during deep sleep (stage 4 sleep.)
Sleep Disorders:
4.
Narcolepsy: Overpowering urge to fall asleep
that may occur while talking or standing up.
5.
Sleep apnea: Failure to breathe when asleep.
6.
Insomnia: Failure to fall asleep or stay
asleep.
Narcoleptic Dog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=
endscreen&v=X0h2nleWTwI&NR=1&saf
ety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
&safe=active
Drugs and
Consciousness
Psychoactive Drug
A chemical substance that alters
perceptions and mood (effects
consciousness)
 Psychoactive drugs are divided into 3
groups:
1. Depressants
2. Stimulants
3. Hallucinogens

Your Brain on Drugs

Your Brain on Alcohol

Your Brain on Marijuana

Your Brain on Cocaine
Depressants
Depressants are drugs that reduce neural
activity and slow body functions. They
include:
1.
2.
3.
Alcohol
Barbiturates
Opiates
Alcohol
1.
Alcohol affects motor skills, judgment,
and memory…and increases
aggressiveness while reducing self
awareness.
Barbiturates
2.
Barbiturates: Drugs that depress the
activity of the central nervous system,
reducing anxiety but impairing memory
and judgment. Nembutal, Seconal, and
Amytal are some examples.
Depressants
http://opioids.com/timeline
3. Opiates: Opium and its
derivatives (morphine
and heroin) depress
neural activity,
temporarily lessening
pain and anxiety. They
are highly addictive.
Stimulants
Stimulants are drugs that excite neural activity
and speed up body functions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Caffeine
Nicotine
Cocaine
Ecstasy
Amphetamines
Methamphetamines
Caffeine & Nicotine
Caffeine and nicotine increase heart and
breathing rates and other autonomic
functions to provide energy.
Amphetamines
Amphetamines stimulate neural activity,
causing accelerated body functions and
associated energy and mood changes, with
devastating effects.
National Pictures/ Topham/ The Image Works
Ecstasy
Ecstasy or
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
(MDMA) is a stimulant and mild
hallucinogen. It produces a euphoric
high and can damage serotoninproducing neurons, which results in
a permanent deflation of mood and
impairment of memory.
Greg Smith/ AP Photos
Cocaine
Cocaine induces immediate euphoria followed by a
crash. Crack, a form of cocaine, can be smoked. Other
forms of cocaine can be sniffed or injected.
http://www.ohsinc.com
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are
psychedelic (mindmanifesting) drugs that
disrupts normal mental
functiong and produces
distored perceptions
Ronald K. Siegel
Hallucinogens
1. LSD: (lysergic acid diethylamide) powerful
hallucinogenic drug (ergot fungus) that is
also known as acid.
2. THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol): is the
major active ingredient in marijuana (hemp
plant) that triggers a variety of effects,
including mild hallucinations.
Hemp Plant
Influences on Drug Use
The use of drugs is based on biological, psychological,
and social-cultural influences.
The debate:
To Criminalize or
Decriminalize
1.
Criminalize

2.
Allowing the recreational use of marijuana has greater
impact on the health and social aspects (brain
development, a “gateway” drug, or potential gang
involvement) than any possible benefits. Criminalization
inhibits the “normalization of drug abuse”
Decriminalize

By having greater regulation (similar to that of alcohol) on
marijuana, decriminalization would allow (a) youth and
adults to be pushed away from criminal activity and (b)
decrease convictions of possession so as to access a
higher socio-economic spectrum, reducing further
progression of abuse and consequently crime.
Effects on the young brain

How does cannabis impact the brain?



Marijuana works by inhibiting neuroreceptors and
neurotransmitters from synaptic activity – stops the
release, exchange and passing of information
The adolescent brain is developing 3 distinct and
important processes in the brain:
1.
2.
3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsJzCdFlpyQ
Learning and working memory
Motivation
Mood and emotions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvszaF4vcNY
 Effects on the brain