3 - Consciousness - Professor: Christina Parker PDF

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Professor: Christina Parker...

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Consciousness (Ch. 4) *Use the VOD’s number 7 (beginning with the definition of consciousness) through number 10 to answer and complete these lecture notes. Assigned readings: Video Quiz: on Revel - Stages of Sleep Video Quiz; on Revel under Module 4.9, “How Much Do You Know About Alcohol? Survey”; (*Note the quizzes associated with these video/modules are not worth points in the course, however some questions could appear on the exam.)

I.

What would it be like to be conscious, but paralyzed? Trapped in your own body? a. What is locked-in syndrome?

b. What happened to Erik Ramsey?

c. What happened to Nissa Smith?

II.

Psychological Trivia: Myth or Fact? a. Most brain activity stops during sleep. b. Virtually everyone dreams while they are sleeping. c. People with narcolepsy may fall instantly asleep while walking, talking, or driving a car. d. It is easy to learn things, like a foreign language, while asleep. e. Dreams last only a few minutes. f. Dreaming of dying can be fatal.

III.

Defining Consciousness a. Consciousness - awareness of everything that is going on around you and inside your own head at any given moment, which you use to organize your behavior including thoughts, sensations, and feelings

i. How do we know others are conscious?

ii.

How does conscious thought relate to theory of mind (TOMM)?

iii. At what age do children generally develop theory of mind?

iv. Explain the false belief task.

v. Have children with autism developed TOMM and how does this relate to their social interactions?

b. Levels of Consciousness *List examples for each. i. Higher-Level – focused attention; controlled processes

ii. Lower-Level – automatic processes

iii. Subconscious – sleeping & dreaming

iv. Unconscious – buried, repressed desires

v. Altered States of Consciousness – produced by drugs, trauma, fatigue, hypnosis, and sensory deprivation

IV.

Biological Explanations of Sleep – Why do we sleep? a. How much do humans sleep? What percentage of our lives are spent in sleep?

b. Why do we need sleep? i. Biological Explanations: 1. Circadian rhythm - cycle of bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24 hour period 2. Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) – located deep within the hypothalamus; the internal clock that tells people when to wake up and when to fall asleep; tells pineal gland to secrete melatonin a. melatonin –

b. What are melatonin supplements used for?

c. What happens when we experience sleep deprivation?

i. What is a microsleeps –

1. What happens when rats are deprived of sleep?

ii. How many people experience sleep deprivation? iii. What causes sleep deprivation? iv. What are the symptoms of sleep deprivation? v. What does the research state? d. Theories of Sleep i. Adaptive (evolutionary) theory – animals evolved sleep patterns to avoid predators by sleeping when predators are most active; also helps to conserve energy and search for food & water since it is safer & easier to do these activities when the sun is up, then energy can be conserved when the sun goes down

ii. Restorative theory – sleep is necessary to the physical health of the body and serves to replenish chemicals and repair cellular damage

e. How much sleep do we need as humans?

i. infants?

ii. adolescents?

a. Puberty alters biorhythms (sleep-wake patterns) b. What is an adolescent’s typical sleep-wake pattern?

c. What was found in the saliva of the boys in the video? d. What role does melatonin play in sleep? e. On average how many hours of sleep does an adolescent require? f. Society sets different schedules

g. What did the researchers find when they changed school schedules?

V.

Stages of Sleep a. REM vs. NREM Sleep i. Rapid eye movement (REM) – eyes move rapidly under the eyelids and the person is typically dreaming ii. non-REM (NREM) – any other stage of sleep

b. Four Types of Waves i. Beta waves – brain waves that indicate a state of awake or alertness 1. How many cycles per second (Hz)?

ii. Alpha waves - brain waves that indicate a state of relaxation or light sleep 1. How many cycles per second (Hz)?

iii. Theta waves - brain waves indicating the early stages of sleep 1. How many cycles per second (Hz)?

iv. Delta waves - long, slow waves that indicate the deepest stage of sleep 1. How many cycles per second (Hz)?

c. Stages of sleep 1. Stage One - Stage one – light sleep a. REM or non-REM?

b. What type of waves?

c. What are hypnagogic images?

a. What is a hypnic jerk?

2. Stage Two – temperature, breathing, & heart rate decrease a. REM or non-REM? b. What are sleep spindles? c. What are k-complexes?

3. Stages Three & Four – deep sleep a. REM or non-REM? b. What type of waves? c. What is different between stages 3 & 4? d. What happens if a person is awakened in these stages? e. Is it hard or easy to awaken someone in stages 3 or 4 sleep? f. Why are these stages believed to be important to the growth of children? g. What stage do most sleep disorders present?

4. REM Sleep - eyes move rapidly under the eyelids and the person is typically experiencing a dream a. Body temperature increases to near waking levels b. Heart beats much faster c. also known as paradoxical sleep d. What type of brain waves? e. What happens if awakened during REM? f. Dreaming in REM – i. What is believed to be different about REM dreaming vs. NREM dreaming?

ii. REM paralysis –

1. Why would paralysis be important?

g. What happens if deprived of REM sleep? i. REM rebound –

ii. How long does a person spend in each stage?

iii. Use the images below to answer the following questions. 1. How many cycles does a person typically go through in a night?

2. Does a person spend more time in REM or non-REM sleep?

VI.

Sleep Disorders a. Nightmares - bad dreams occurring i. When do nightmares typically occur?

ii. Why is it believed that children experience more nightmares than adults?

iii. REM behavior disorder – rare disorder in which the mechanism that blocks the movement of the voluntary muscles fail, allowing the person to thrash around and even get up and act on nightmares 1. This disorder is most often seen in men over the age of 60. 2. List the examples discussed. 3. What diseases are related to REM behavior disorder? 4. How is REM behavior disorder treated?

b. Somnambulism (sleepwalking) - episode of moving around or walking around in one’s sleep

Wait! Don’t wake him; it can be dangerous.

1. At what stage of sleep does it typically occur?

2. What age group is most likely to experience?

c. Night terrors - relatively rare disorder in which the person experiences extreme fear and screams or runs around during deep sleep without waking fully 1. At what stage of sleep does it typically occur?

2. What age group is most likely to experience?

d. Insomnia - the inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, or get a good quality of sleep

1. Do insomniacs get no sleep at all?

2. How can you encourage sleep?

e. Sleep apnea - disorder in which the person stops breathing for nearly half a minute or more 1. How is this disorder related to heart disease?

2. What are the common characteristics of someone experiencing sleep apnea?

3. Continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP) -

f. Narcolepsy - sleep disorder in which a person falls immediately into REM sleep during the day without warning i. cataplexy 1. What happened to the teen, Anthony, depicted in the video clip?

2.

What happens when Anthony is sleep paralyzed?

3. What is cataplexy?

4. What bring on an episode of cataplexy?

5. What brain chemical do narcoleptics lack?

6. What stage of sleep do narcoleptics fall in to?

7. What do the drugs do?

g. Restless leg syndrome – uncomfortable sensation in legs causing movement & loss of sleep

h. Nocturnal leg cramps – painful cramps in calf or foot muscles VII.

Sleep disorders as a legal defense? a. Some things to consider: i. Should sleep walking be a valid defense for a crime as serious as murder? ii. What about other kinds of crimes? iii. What kind of evidence should be required to convince a jury that a crime was committed while sleepwalking? b. What happened in the case of Scott Falater?

c. What happened in the case of Kenneth Parks?

d. What happened in the case of Sephen Reitz?

e. What happened in the case of Jules Lowe?

VIII.

Dreaming a. What do we typically dream about?

b. Why do we dream? i. Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams – 1. Manifest content – 2. Latent content –

ii. Activation-synthesis hypothesis - explanation that states that dreams are created by the higher centers of the cortex to explain the activation by the brain stem of cortical cells during REM sleep periods

iii. Activation-information-mode model (AIM) - revised version of the activationsynthesis explanation of dreams in which information that is accessed during waking hours can have an influence on the synthesis of dream

IX.

Altered States: Psychoactive Drugs a. Psychoactive drugs - drugs that alter thinking, perception, mood, and memory; they change conscious awareness b. Addiction – being enslaved to a practice that is physically and/or psychologically habit forming to such an extent that cessation results in severe trauma i. Physical dependence – the body craves the drug and is unable to function normally in an absence of the drug 1. Signs of Physical Dependence a. Drug tolerance – b. Withdrawal – c. Negative reinforcement –

ii. Psychological dependence – mental desire or craving; feeling as if the drug is needed to continue a feeling of emotional or psychological well-being 1. Think/Cues – 2. True of any drug – 3. Positive reinforcement – 4. Negative reinforcement –

iii. Signs of a Substance Abuser 1. Financial difficulties 2. Caused to lose job 3. Efficiency or ambition is diminished

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. X.

Jeopardizing academic performance Difficulty sleeping Remorse afterwards Time cues Complete or partial loss of memory Hospitalized or institutionalized

Classifications of Psychoactive Drugs a. Stimulants - drugs that _______________ the functioning of the nervous system

i. Amphetamines – stimulants that are synthesized in labs rather than found in nature; increase the release of dopamine enhancing activity level and pleasurable feelings 1. What are they typically used for?

2. Why are they addictive and what withdrawal symptoms are typical?

3. What is crystal methamphetamine?

ii. Cocaine – illegal, natural drug derived from the coca plant that produces feelings of euphoria, energy, power, pleasure, alertness, & self-confidence; when snorted or injected as a powder it floods the bloodstream rapidly producing a rush of euphoric feelings that last 15 – 30 minutes; it depletes the brains supply of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine so a depressed mood follows

1. This drug was once thought to be harmless. What was it used for? What soda was it put in? 2. What is crack? 3. Highly addictive drug; after just one dose the brain develops a craving a. What have animal studies shown?

b. those addicted will lie, cheat, steal for money to buy the drug

c. kills 3x more people than any other drug; why?

iii. Nicotine – active ingredient in tobacco; produces feelings of relaxation, increases alertness, diminishes pain, and decrease appetite especially for carbohydrates; increase dopamine levels in the brain 1. What percentage of American report smoking?

2. Why is it so addictive? 3. How can it harm developing fetus?

iv. Caffeine – mild stimulant used to maintain alertness, increase effectiveness, pain relief for migraines, used in diet pills; most commonly used stimulant

1. What is caffeinism?

2. What withdrawals symptoms are typically experienced?

3. How can it harm a developing fetus?

4. How does it affect the brain?

b. Depressants - drugs that _______________ the functioning of the central nervous system

i. Barbiturates – major tranquilizers 1. These were once widely used as sleep aides, but are no longer utilized. Why?

2. What withdrawal symptoms are typical?

ii. Benzodiazepines – minor tranquilizers used to lower anxiety, reduce stress, and help with sleep problems; much safer than barbiturates 1. highly addictive; can lead to tolerance 2. What withdrawals symptoms are typical?

iii. Alcohol – most widely used depressant 1. Why is alcohol considered a depressant and not a stimulant?

2. How fast does the liver typically metabolize alcohol?

3. alcoholism -

4. Fetal Alcoholism -

c. Narcotics - a class of opium-related drugs that suppress the sensation of _______________ by binding to and stimulating the nervous system’s natural receptor sites for endorphines; substances that are either illegal or the distribution is strictly regulated by the government i. Opium – substance derived from the opium poppy 1. frequently processed into heroin 2. mimics natural endorphins in the brain 3. How was it used in ancient times?

ii. Morphine – derived from opium poppy, but legal with a prescription; medically used to treat severe pain 1. Why is it used as a last resort when treating pain?

2. What withdrawal symptoms are typical?

iii. Heroin – derived from opium poppy; depresses CNS and after initial high clouds ability to think, process information resulting in a dream-like state

1. Binds to opiate receptors in the brain stem that are important for?

2. extremely addictive d. Hallucinogens (Psychogenic drugs) - drugs that produce hallucinations or increased feelings of relaxation; cause false sensory messages, altering the perception of _______________

i. LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) – very powerful synthetic hallucinogen 1. one of the most potent drugs 2. How is it thought to expand consciousness and increase creativity? 3. Are all “trips” good? 4. Why do researchers wish to use the drug in those with terminal illnesses? 5. What has the research shown concerning the use of LSD in treating cluster headaches?

ii. PCP (phenyl cyclohexyl piperidine) – synthetic drug that can cause stimulant, depressant, narcotic, & hallucinations effects depending on the dosage

1. What withdrawal symptoms are typical?

iii. MDMA (Ecstasy) – actually an amphetamine, but can have hallucinogen effects; creates sense of euphoria/love, belief one is unstoppable

1. What physical changes are seen in the body when ecstasy is taken?

2. What risks are involved if the drug is taken in high doses?

3. What withdrawal symptoms are typical?

iv. Marijuana– mild hallucinogen; derived from the hemp plant, active ingredient in THC

1. most popular illegal drug

2. produces a mild euphoria resulting in a relaxed state of mind, mild visual distortions 3. What happens in high doses?

4. What withdrawal symptoms are typical?...