States of Consciousness
States of Consciousness
• Consciousness – the awareness of ourselves
and our environment
– Ex: awake and focused
• Altered States – unaware of ourselves and
our environment
– Ex: Sleep
How do we know if we’re in an
altered state?
• Brain Waves differ on an EEG
• Functional activity on an fMRI or PET
scan
Levels of Consciousness
We know that various
levels exists beyond
the conscious level.
• Selective Attention
• Dual Processing
• Priming
• Blind sight
Sleep
• Circadian Rhythm – pattern of
biological functioning that occurs on a
roughly 24-hour cycle.
– Sleep, Temperature, Thinking
– Melatonin - sleep hormone released by the
pineal gland into the bloodstream.
– Suprachiasmatic nucleus – cell clusters in
hypothalamus causes pineal gland to
produce melatonin
• When light strikes the retina the
hypothalamus’ SCN lower production of
melatonin by the Pineal Gland
• Decreasing light causes the SCN to increase
production of melatonin, leading you to sleep
Circadian Rhythm
• Body Temp – rises in morning, peaks during the day,
dips for time in early afternoons (siesta time),
drops again before we go to sleep
• Thinking sharpest, memory most accurate at peak
of arousal
• Circadian rhythm is affected by travelling across
time zones, shift work – spending next day
outdoors will help reset your clock
• Too much Artificial light or dark cave delays sleep
and makes our 24 hr cycle a 25 hr cycle.
Circadian Rhythm
Sleep
• Awake
• Beta waves - alert state
• Alpha waves - the
relatively slow brain
waves of a relaxed,
awake state
• Conscious
• Sleep – periodic natural
loss of consciousness
– Slowed breathing and
irregular brain waves
• Theta waves, Delta waves
Sleep Cycle
• 5 Stages of Sleep
• Takes about 90 min
minutes to pass
through the 5 stages.
• Brain’s waves will
change according to
the sleep stage
• NREM - The first four
stages
• REM - The fifth stage
Stage 1
– Stage 1:
• Slow breathing, irregular heart beat
• Hallucinations – sensory experiences that occur
without a sensory stimulus
• Hypnagogic sensations - strange and extremely
vivid sensations
– Feeling like you’re falling or floating
– Hear someone calling your name
• Alpha & Theta waves
Stage 2
• Lasts about 20 min.
• Theta Waves that get
progressively slower.
• Sleep Spindles…short
bursts of rapid brain
waves.
• Gets longer throughout
the night
• Sleeptalking can occur
Stages 3
• Slow wave sleep.
• Theta & Delta waves.
– Delta waves - large, slow brain waves
associated with deep sleep
– Vital for restoring body’s growth
hormones and good overall health
(same for stage 4
•
•
•
•
Lasts about 30 min
Difficult to awaken
Sleeptalking can occur
Diminishes as the night goes on
Stage 4
Delta waves.
Lasts about 30 min
Difficult to awaken
Bed Wetting and Sleep walking,
sleep talking*,
• Night Terrors – sleep disorder,
high arousal appear being terrified
•
•
•
•
– Seldom wakeup fully
– Not nightmares (REM)
• Diminishes as the night goes on
• Start to ascend back through
stage 3, 2, REM then…..
*Sleep talking can
occur at any stage of
sleep
REM Sleep
• Rapid Eye Movement – fast jerky eye
movements = dreaming
• Paradoxical sleep –
– internally aroused, externally calm.
– Brain waves resemble wakefulness, but body
is at rest
– Body is essentially paralyzed, relaxed
muscles,
• Gets longer throughout the night
• Dreams occur during REM
– emotional, story-like, richly hallucinatory,
including visual, auditory, and other sensory
details
• Genital arousal
• REM Rebound – attempt to catch up on lost
REM
– REM sleep with be more frequent and
longer as then night goes on
Typical Nights Sleep
Stages of Sleep
Sleep Stages
Alpha waves
Theta waves
The rhythmic bursts of brain activity that
occur during Stage 2 sleep are called
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Alpha waves
Circadian rhythms
Sleep spindles
Delta waves
Amplitude waves
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
Nightmares occur in which stage of
sleep
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
REM
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
After flying from California to New York, Arthur
experienced a restless, sleepless night. His problem was
most likely caused by a disruption of his normal
1. Dopamine
production
2. Hypnagogic
sensations
3. Alpha wave patterns
4. Beta wave patterns
5. Circadian Rhythm
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
The hypnagogic sensations of falling or floating
are most likely to occur during which sleep
stage?
1. Stage 1
2. Stage 2
3. Stage 3
4. Stage 4
5. REM
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
The brain waves associated with
REM sleep are most similar to
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Awake
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
NREM
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
• Using psychological research from your text,
answer the following:
– How do culture and genetics influence
sleep?(Group 1)
– What are the effects of sleep loss? (group 2)
– Explain 3 facts about the 5 Sleep Theories
•
•
•
•
•
Sleep protects (group 3)
Sleeps helps recuperation (group 4)
Memory storage (group 5 )
Creative Thinking (group 6)
Sleep and Growth (group 1)
Why Do We Sleep?
• Variations in sleeping patterns
– may be genetically influenced
– Infants spend 2/3 of the day sleeping
– Adults – 1/3 of the day
• Cultural influences
– US 8 hrs, but sleeping less than a century ago
(lightbulb)
– Unhindered would sleep 9 hrs
– People in countries without electric lights generally
sleep longer.
The Effects of Sleep Loss
• Sleep debt – amount of sleep you need but are not getting over
a period of time
– can’t be paid off with one long marathon
• US Navy and NIH studies
– 7.5- 9 hrs /night felt energized and happier
• Age and sleep loss
– Teens need 8-9 hrs if not, function below peak
• Chronic sleep loss
– Makes you fatter - Increases ghrelin (hunger arousing
hormone) and decreases leptin (hunger-suppressing hormone,
stress hormone cortisol increases
– Suppresses immune cells that fight off infection
– Alters metabolic and hormonal functioning that mimics aging,
causes hypertension and memory impairment
– Irritability, slow performance impaired, creativity,
concentration and communication
– Reaction time slows, errors on visual tasks increase
The Effects of Sleep Loss
Spring and fall time changes – higher
accidents and traffic fatalities in
Spring than Fall
Sleep Theories
• Sleep theories
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sleep protects
Sleep helps recuperation
Memory storage
Sleep and creative thinking
Sleep and growth
Sleep Disorders
Insomnia
• Persistent problems
falling asleep and
staying asleep
• Effects 10% of the
population
• Sleeping pills and
alcohol reduce REM
sleep
What advise should you give to
someone with insomnia?
• No caffeine past noon
• Avoid high food intake at
night
• Avoid alcohol before
bedtime,
• Drink milk
• Sleep on regular schedule
• Manage stress level
• Keep clocks out of sight
Narcolepsy
Click above to see Skeeter the narcoleptic dog.
• Suffer from
sleeplessness and may
fall asleep at
unpredictable or
inappropriate times.
• Directly into REM sleep
• Less than .001 % of
population.
• Cause: Lack of
neurotransmitter orexin
Sleep Apnea
• A person stops
breathing during
their sleep.
• Wake up
momentarily, gasps
for air, then falls
back asleep.
• Very common,
especially in heavy
males.
• Can be fatal.
Night Terrors
• Not a nightmare.
• Most common in
children (boys)
between ages 2-8.
• Racing pulse, gasping
for air, screaming
incoherently, can’t
be awakened
Somnambulism
• Sleep Walking
• Occurs in stage 4
(deep sleep).
• If you have had night
terrors, you are more
likely to sleep walk
when older.
• Genetic – how do we
know
– Twin Studies
• Because he has difficulty falling asleep at
night, Dr. Hogan doesn't go to bed until very
late. Before he retires, he tries to wear
himself out by running around the block
several times. Then he treats himself to a
beer and perhaps a pizza while preparing for
the next day's early morning classes. What
specific advice would you give Dr. Hogan to
help him fall asleep?
Sleep Deprivation has been shown
to
1. Increase attentiveness
to highly motivating
tasks
2. Decrease weight
3. Reduce hypertension
4. Diminish immunity to
disease
5. Decrease narcolepsy
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
Slow wave sleep promotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Effective memory
REM rebound
Narcolepsy
Obesity
Insomnia
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
Chronic sleep debt is most likely to
promote
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sleep apnea
Obesity
Narcolepsy
Night Terrors
Nightmares
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
Dreams
• Dreams - A sequence of
images, emotions and
thoughts passing through a
sleeping person’s mind
– Hallucinatory imagery
– Discontinuity
– Incongruities
– Dreamers delusional
acceptance
– Often forgotten
Dreams Theories
1. Freud’s Theory of Dreams
2. Activation Synthesis Theory
3. Information Process Theory
4. Physiological Function
5. Cognitive Development
Freud’s Theory of Dreams
• Dreams are a
roadway into our
unconscious.
• Manifest Content
(storyline)
• Latent Content
(underlying /
censored meaning)
Manifest Content
Latent Content
Unresolved hostility
Avoiding sexual intimacy
Emotional conflict
Desire for something you
can’t have (wish-fulfillment )
• Repressed fear or worry
• Hidden aversion or
perversion
• Hidden sexual desires
•
•
•
•
Activation-Synthesis Theory
• Our Cerebral Cortex is trying to
interpret random electrical
activity we have while sleeping.
• That is why dreams sometimes
make no sense.
• Biological Theory
– Active Areas
• Brain Stem
• visual images (not in visual cortex)
• limbic system (hippocampus, amygdala)
– Inactive Areas
• frontal lobe
• Visual cortex
Information-Processing Theory
aka Memory Consolidation Theory
• Dreams are a way to deal with
the stresses of everyday life
– more dreaming when more
stress or trauma.
• Dreams help us sort out the
days events and consolidate
memory during REM
Physiological Function Theory
• Brain stimulation from REM
sleep may help develop and
preserve neural networks
• REM sleep provides stimulation
for the brain
• Newborns neural networks
develop rapidly & newborns
spend much of sleep time in
REM
• REM Rebound – dreams serve
biological function
– Rem sleep increases following
A Lifetime of Sleep
Cognitive Development Theory
• Dreams are part of
brain maturation and
cognitive development
• Dreams draw on our
concepts and knowledge
• Dreams get more
complex as we age
– Before age 9 dreams like
a slide show and less like
an active story
Critical Considerations: Does not address the
neuroscience of dreams.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis
• Hypnosis – a state of heightened
openness to suggestion
– Responsive to hypnosis if
• Rich Fantasy life
• Expect to and motivated to be
hypnotized
•Posthypnotic suggestion – a
suggestion made under hypnosis
to be carried out later
•Obesity - yes
•Smoking, drugs, alcohol - no
• Franco studied all evening for a chemistry
test scheduled the following morning. That
night he dreamt that he accurately copied
a female classmate's correct answers to
the test questions as they unexpectedly
flashed before his eyes. Compare and
contrast explanations of Franco's dream
that might be provided by Freudian Wish
Fulfillment Theory, memory consolidation
(Info Processing theory) theory,
activation-synthesis theories cognitive
development theory, and physiological
theory?
Some researchers suggest that the brain activity
associated with REM sleep provides the sleeping brain
with periodic stimulation. This finding supports which
of the following dream theories?
67%
1. Wish fulfillment
2. Information
processing
3. Physiological
4. Activation synthesis
5. developmental
33%
0%
1.
0%
2.
0%
3.
4.
5.
The emotional tone of our dreams is especially
likely to be influenced by activation of the
________ during REM sleep.
95%
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sensory cortex
Limbic system
Frontal lobe
Pineal gland
Pons
5%
1.
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
Which theory suggests that dreams are mental
responses to random bursts of neural
stimulation?
1. dissociation theory
100%
2. Social influence theory
3. Activation Synthesis
Theory
4. Wish-fulfillment theory
5. Memory Consolidation
Theory
0%
1.
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
Research on Hypnosis
• Age-Regressed suggestion – ability to
relive childhood experiences
– People act as they believe children would, but
outperform children.
• Hypnotically “Refreshed” memories
– Memories retrieved from hypnosis are
combination of fact and fiction
• Hypnotic influence
– Likely to perform any act within the
range of human possibility
• Hypnotist is considered an “authority figure”
– Supports Social influence Theory (our
behaviors are influenced by others) acting out role of good hypnotized
subjects
Hypnotic Theories
1. Role Theory/Social
Influence Theory
(Spanos)
• Hypnosis is NOT an altered
state of consciousness.
• No changes on an fMRI
• Participants have a high
“hypnotic suggestibility” and
are playing a “role”
• Participants interpret their
behavior during hypnosis as
“involuntary”
• “Hypnosis ritual” creates
expectations in participants to
behave in ways consistent with
expectations
• Supports Social influence
theory
– Presence of an authority
figure/others influences our
behavior
2. State Theory
• Hypnosis is an altered
state of consciousness.
– Distinctive brain activity
accompanies hypnosis
– Would see changes on
fMRI or EEG
• Analgesic effects –
works to help manage
pain
• Hilgard’s Divided
Consciousness Theory
Divided Consciousness Theory
3. Divided Consciousness Theory AKA
Dissociation Theory (Ernest Hilgard) –
hypnosis causes us to divide our
consciousness
A.
B.
One Part of our consciousness responds to
suggestions
One part maintains awareness of reality
• Ice Water Experiment.
• Participant dissociates pain sensation
from emotional suffering people expect
from pain
– Most lifted finger if some part felt pain
– No outward sign of pain from ice water
• Increased activity in areas of the brain
that receive pain sensations, but not in
areas that make us aware of pain
Practical Uses of Hypnosis
• Hypnotic analgesia – pain
reduction during surgery
– fMRI’s show reduction in sensory
cortex
– HOW? Distracting attention or, Gate
Control Theory, but not endorphins
• Relieves Headaches, asthma,
stress related skin disorders,
• Useful in treating obesity
• Not successful in treating other
addictions
A good friend of yours hopes that hypnosis
will improve his memory and help him study
longer and more effectively. He worries,
however, that he might not be easily
hypnotized. Your mother hopes that hypnosis
will help relieve her arthritis pain but fears
that under hypnosis she might do something
embarrassing. Discuss the extent to which
the hopes and fears of your friend and your
mother are realistic. Where appropriate, use
research evidence to support your
conclusions.
People are particularly receptive to
hypnosis if…
1. strongly expect that they can be
hypnotized.
2. are below average in intelligence
and education.
3. are easily distracted and have
difficulty focusing attention.
4. were diagnosed with a
psychological disorder at one
time in their lives.
5. suffer a physical or psychological
dependence on alcohol.
0%
1.
Table
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
Advocates of the social influence theory of
hypnosis are likely to argue that
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
hypnosis is a unique state of
consciousness.
hypnotized people are simply
enacting the role of good hypnotic
subjects.
the process of dissociation best
explains hypnotic phenomena.
most hypnotized people are
consciously faking hypnosis.
hypnotic susceptibility is positively
correlated with introversion.
Table
0%
1.
0%
0%
2.
3.
0%
0%
4.
5.
REM Rebound
• REM Rebound - REM
sleep increases
following REM sleep
deprivation
• Dreaming serves a
biological function
• YOU need your REM
SLEEP!
Current Studies
• Hypothesis: Pain will be less under hypnosis
than with hypnosis
• IV – Hypnosis
– Heating device placed on skin to determine the
temperature considered painful on pain scale not
hypnotized, then same subject was tested under
hypnosis
– 2nd group the order was the opposite.
– DV – brain activity on fMRI
• Results:
– Under hypnosis: pain activity was reduced in areas of
brain responsible for pain perception and activity was
increased in areas that blocked pain signals to higher
Spanos Study
• IV
– behavior suggestions
• Exp. #1
– “your arm is very light and is rising” vs. “Raise your arm”
• Exp. #2
– “Arm rigidity was spontaneous during hypnosis” vs. nothing
• Exp #3
– “first use waking analgesia techniques (such as self-distraction), then tested
using hypnosis) vs. not being told about hypnosis
• DV
– Exp #1
• Interpretation of behaviors
– Exp. #2
• Arm rigidity
– Exp. #3
• Rating of pain intensity (0-100 scale)