Sleep Disorders
What are they and what can be done?
Sleep DisordersKLS – (Kleine Levin Syndrome)
Is a rare sleep disorder characterized by recurring periods or excessive drowsiness and sleep (up to 20hrs per day).
Symptoms, which can last for days or weeks, include irritability, disorientation, lack of energy, dreamlike state, excessive eating. Regression of maturity, hypersexuality
Onset usually in adolescence (15 years) 68% male
Episodes tend to lengthen in time with irregular periods of time in between episodes
Average diagnosis takes 4 years
Causes – unknown
Decrease blood flow to the thalamus
Affected by decreased activity in the thalamus and hypothalamus
Treatment – none with much success
Symptoms seem to disappear after 12 years
Narcolepsy – a sleep disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness or uncontrollable sleep attacksSome lasting from 5-30 minutes
SymptomsCataplexy – affecting 75% of the people with the disorder. – sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone
Often triggered by emotional experiences
Vivid hallucinations during sleep onset or during awakening
Brief total body paralysis at the beginning or ending of sleep
Automatic behaviors
250,000 people in the US alone suffer
Appears to have a genetic connection
Typically 10-15 years before a diagnosis
Conscious-altering Drugs
Classifying drugs.
The physiology of drug effects.
The psychology of drug effects.
Classifying Drugs
Psychoactive drug.Substance capable of influencing perception, mood, cognition, or behavior.
Types.Stimulants
speed up activity in the CNS.
Depressants slow down activity in the CNS.
Opiates relieve pain.
Psychedelic drugs disrupt normal thought processes.
The Physiology of Drug Effects
Psychoactive drugs work by acting on brain neurotransmitters. These drugs can:
increase or decrease the release of neurotransmitters,prevent reabsorption of excess neurotransmitters by the cells that have released them,block the effects of neurotransmitters on receiving cells, orbind to receptors that would ordinarily be triggered by a neurotransmitter or a neuromodulator. (mimicking a neurotransmitters)
Cocaine’s Effect on the Brain
Cocaine blocks the brain’s reabsorption (“reuptake”) of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, so levels of these substances rise.
The result is an overstimulation of certain brain circuits and a brief euphoric high.
When drug wears off, depletion of dopamine may cause user to “crash.”
The Psychology of Drug Effects.
Reactions to psychoactive drugs depend on:
Physical factors such as body weight, metabolism, initial state of emotional arousal and physical tolerance.Experience or the number of times a person has used a drug.Environmental factors such as where and with whom one is drinking.Mental set or expectations for drug’s effects.
The Riddle of Hypnosis
Defining hypnosis.
The nature of hypnosis.
Theories of hypnosis.
HYPNOSIS
Hypnosis – A procedure in which the practitioner suggests changes in the sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings or behavior of the subject that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility
Franz Anton Mesmer – “Mesmerized”
The person being hypnotized is more important than the hypnotist
Easily absorbed into their activities and involved in the world of imagination – weakly related
Hypnotized people will not do “anything”Hypnotized people aren’t superhumanHypnotism doesn’t increase the accuracy of memory
May help jog memories but pseudo memories and errors increase
Hypnosis does not allow you to relive long ago events
Some may report feeling like a child but they accepting the role
It is effective for (stress and pain reduction, eliminating bad habits, improve study skills, pump up confidence in athletes)
Can you be hypnotizedHow easily can you by Hypnotized?Ask a friend to observe you as you roll your eyes upward as far as they can go while you slowly try to close your eyelids at the same time. Then compare the position of your eyes with the drawing above. The higher you score, the greater your “hypnotizability.
About 10% good & bad
http://learnhypnosisinyourhome.com/
2 TheoriesDissociation - A split in consciousness in which one part of the mind operates independently of others
ExamplesDriving a car and daydreaming – Highway Hypnosis
Ernest HilgardHidden observer – watches but does not participate
The hypnotized part of the mind remains unaware of the observer
Parts of the brain are working independently and not actively communicating
Sociocognitive Approach – results from the social influence of the hypnotist and the person willing to accept a role where they will submit to the suggestions of the social figure- not just faking it
Sociocognitive Approach
• Effects of hypnosis result from interaction between social influence of the hypnotist (socio) and the abilities, beliefs and expectations of the subject (cognitive).
• Can explain “alien abduction” and “past-life regression.
Those that doubt
EEG patterns cannot be distinguished from their EEG patterns in normal waking states
(some suggest it is dramatic role-playing)
Can duplicate effects