Chapter 5: States of Consciousness

Some Early Definitions

• Consciousness: All the sensations, perceptions, memories, and feelings you are aware of in any instant– Waking Consciousness: Normal, clear,

organized, alert awareness• Altered State of Consciousness (ASC):

Awareness that is distinctly different in quality or pattern from waking consciousness

Sleep

• Innate, biological rhythm• Microsleep: Brief shift in brain-wave patterns

similar to those of sleep• Sleep Deprivation: Sleep loss; being

deprived of needed amounts of sleep• Sleep-Deprivation Psychosis: Major

disruption of mental and emotional functioning that occurs because of sleep loss

• Hypersomnia: Excessive daytime sleepiness

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 awakeness

• Alpha Waves: Large, slow waves associated with relaxation and falling asleep

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

throughout body that may occur in Stage 1

Stage 2

• Deeper sleep; sleep spindles (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

Kinds of Sleep

• Rapid Eye Movements (REM): Associated with dreaming; sleep is very light– Body is very still during REM sleep– Lack of muscle paralysis during REM sleep

is called “REM Behavioral Disorder”• Non-REM (NREM) Sleep: Occurs during

stages 1, 2, 3, and 4; no rapid eye movement occurs– Seems to help us recover from daily

fatigue

Sleep Disturbances

• Insomnia: Difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep, or waking 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

Types and Causes of Insomnia

• 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.

• 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.

Sleep Disturbances

• Sleepwalking (Somnambulism): Occurs in NREM sleep during Stages 3 and 4

• Sleeptalking: Speaking while asleep; occurs in NREM sleep

Nightmares

• Bad dreams that occur during REM sleep • Imagery Rehearsal: Mentally rehearse the

changed dream before you go to sleep again; may help to eliminate nightmares

Night Terrors

• Total panic and hallucinations may occur– Occurs during Stage 4 sleep– Most common in childhood; may occur in

adults

Sleep Apnea

• Interrupted breathing during sleep; cause of very loud snoring– Hypersomnia: Extreme daytime

sleepiness– Apnea can be treated by

• Surgery• Weight loss• Breathing mask

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

• Also known as SIDS or Crib Death; Sudden, unexplained death of healthy infant (infants should sleep on back or on side to try to prevent)

• SIDS babies have a weak arousal reflex; prevents them from changing positions and resuming breathing after an apnea episode

REM Rebound

• Extra rapid eye movement sleep following REM sleep deprivation

Psychodynamic (Freudian) Theory of Dreaming

• 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 that have a deeper symbolic meaning

Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis

• Dream content may be affected by motor commands in the brain (that occur during sleep) that are not carried out

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)

– Must cooperate to become hypnotized

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

Stage Hypnosis

• Simulation of hypnotic effects

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 stage group and does not follow instructions is “voted off.”

• 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 Stage Hypnosis “Tricks of the Trade”

• Hypnotist 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.

• Stage Hypnotists Use Tricks: Stage hypnosis is 50% deception and 50% taking advantage of the situation

More Hypnosis Concepts

• 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

Meditation

• Mental exercise designed to produce relaxation or heightened awareness

• Concentrative Meditation: Attention is paid to a single focal point (i.e., object, thought, etc.)– Produces relaxation response and thus

works to reduce stress• Mindfulness Meditation: Based on widening

attention span to become aware of everything experienced at a given moment

• Mantra: Word(s) or sound(s) repeated during concentrative meditation

Relaxation Response

• Occurs at time of relaxation; internal response that prevents activation of adrenal glands

Sensory Deprivation (SD)

• Any major reduction in amount or variety of sensory stimulation

• Benefits– Sensory enhancement– Relaxation– Changing habits

• REST: Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy: Makes it easier to change bad habits

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

Physical Dependence

• Physical Addiction based on drug tolerance and withdrawal symptoms– Drug Tolerance: Reduction in body’s

response to a drug– Withdrawal Symptoms: Physical illness

following withdrawal of the drug

Psychological Dependence

• Drug dependence based on psychological or emotional needs– Usually crave drug– Can be as powerful as physiological

addiction

Stimulants (Uppers)

• Amphetamines: Synthetic stimulants that excite the 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; also used as local anesthetic– From 1886-1906, Coca-Cola did indeed

have cocaine in it!– Highly addictive drug– Anhedonia (Inability to Feel Pleasure):

Common after cocaine withdrawal

MDMA (Ecstasy)

• Chemically similar to amphetamine; created by small variations in a drug’s structure– Risks of using MDMA are unclear– May cause severe liver damage – Repeated use damages serotonergic brain

cells

Caffeine

• Most frequently used psychoactive drug in North America; present in colas, chocolate, coffee, and tea

• Causes hand tremors, sweating, talkativeness, tinnitus, suppresses fatigue or sleepiness, increases alertness– May be hazardous to pregnant women if

used excessively

Caffeinism

• Physiological dependence on caffeine– Symptoms: Insomnia, irritability, loss of

appetite, chills, racing heart, elevated body temperature

Nicotine

• Natural stimulant found mainly in tobacco; known carcinogen

• May cause stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, tremors

• Addictive• Sum: Don’t smoke; smoking kills (so does

chewing tobacco)

Sedatives: Barbiturates

• Sedative drugs that depress brain activity– Seconal and Amytal are two types– Easy to overdose

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

– Addictive and deadly

Sedatives: Tranquilizers

• Lower anxiety and reduce tension– Valium, Xanax, and Librium are three 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• Drug Interaction: One drug increases the

effect of another

Alcohol

• Ethyl Alcohol: Intoxicating element in fermented and distilled liquors– Not a stimulant but does lower inhibitions– Depressant

• Binge Drinking: Consuming five or more drinks in a short time; four or more for women– Serious sign of alcohol abuse

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)

• Worldwide self-help organization composed of recovering alcoholics; emphasizes admitting powerlessness over alcohol usage and wanting to recover. – Spiritual component

• (Founded by a Swedenborgian)– Free; around for over 70 years!

Some Hallucinogens

• Hallucinogen: Substance that alters or distorts sensory impressions

• Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD): Hallucinogen that can produce hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms

• Mescaline (Peyote) and Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms)

• PCP (Angel Dust): Initially can have hallucinogenic effects; also an anesthetic and has stimulant and depressant effects

Marijuana

• Leaves and flowers of the hemp plant– Active chemical: THC– Effects: Relaxation, time distortion,

perceptual distortions

Some Health Risks of Using Marijuana

• Increases risk of a variety of cancers, including prostate and cervical cancer

• Can suppress immune system, perhaps increasing risk of disease

• Activity levels in the cerebellum are lower than normal in pot users

• Pot may damage some of the brain’s memory centers

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

• Non-literal expression of dream content

Secondary Elaboration

• Making a dream more logical and adding details while remembering it

Dreams: Perls

• Most dreams are a special message about what is missing in our lives, what we avoid doing when awake, or feelings that we need to re-own

Lucid Dreaming

• Person feels fully awake within the dream world and feels capable of normal thought and action