State of consciousness Ch 4 PDF

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State of consciousness(ch.4) ● Consciousness- is the awareness of various cognitive processes , such as sleeping, dreaming, concentrating, and making decisions ● Waking consciousness- mental state that encompasses the thoughts, feelings and perceptions that occurring when we awake and reasonably alert ● Altered states of consciousness- mental states that differ noticeably from normal waking ● Why do we need sleep? ○ We sleep because sleep appears to play an important restorative function, both physically and mentally. Getting adequate sleep boosts our immune system response and cleanses the body of chemicals ○ Sleep also plays an important role in long term memory ● Biological clocks ○ The human biological clock is governed by a tiny cluster of neurons in the brain known as the Suprachiasmatic nucleus that regulates proteins related to metabolism and alertness ○ Circadian Rhythm- a regular biological rhythm with a period of approximately 24 hours ● Rhythms of sleepy ○ Stage 1 : the pulse slows, muscles relax and the eyes move from side to side ● The sleeper is easily awakened ○ Stage 2&3 : the sleeper is hard to awaken and doesn't respond to noise or light ● Heart rate, blood pressure and temp continue to drop ○ Stage 4: heart rate and breathing rates, blood pressure. And body temperature are at their lowest points of the night ○ After an hour, the sleeper goes back to stage 1 i. At this stage, the muscles become more relaxed than at any time in the cycle ii. This stage is called Rapid-Eye Movement(REM) or Paradoxical sleep ● Nightmare vs. night terror

○ Sleep disorders include sleepwalking, night terrors, insomnia, apnea, and narcolepsy ○ Nightmares- frightening dreams the most often occur during REM Sleep and are remembered ○ Night terrors- most common in children than adults, prove difficult to be awakened from, and are rarely remembered ○ Insomnia- characterized by difficulty in falling asleep or remaining asleep throughout the night ○ Apnea- marked by breathing difficulties during the night and feelings of exhaustion during the day ○ Narcolepsy- a hereditary sleep disorder characterized by sudden nodding off during the day and sudden loss of muscle tone following moments of emotional excitement ● Dreams ○ Dreams- visual or auditory experiences that occur primarily during REM periods of sleep ○ Less vivid experiences that resemble conscious thinking tend to occur during NREM ○ According to Freud, dreams have two kinds of content i. Manifest: the surface content of the dream itself ii. Latent : the disguised, unconscious meaning of the dream ○ According to recent hypothesizes, dreamed arise out of the mind’s reprocessing of daytime information that is important to the survival of the organism ● Drugs ○ PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS- chemical substances that change moods and perceptions ○ SUBSTANCE ABUSE- a pattern of drug use that diminishes the ability to fulfill responsibilities at home, work, or school that results in repeated use of a drug in dangerous situations or that leads to legal difficulties related to drug use ○ substance dependence- a pattern of compulsive drug taking that results in tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, or other specific symptoms for at least a year ○ DOUBLE BLIND PROCEDURE- experimental design useful in studies of the effects of drugs, in which neither the subject nor the researcher knows at the time of administration which subjects are receiving an active drug and which are receiving an inactive

substance ○ PLACEBO- chemically inactive substance used for comparison with active drugs in experiments on the effects of drugs ○ DEPRESSANTS- chemicals that slow down behavior (ex. alcohol, barbiturates, opiates) alcohol - depressant that is the intoxicating ingredient in whiskey, beer, wine, and other fermented or distilled liquors ○ alcoholic myopia- a condition resulting from alcohol consumption involving poor judgments arising from misdirected attention and failure to consider negative consequences ○ barbiturates- potentially deadly depressants, first used for their sedative and anticonvulsant properties, now used only to treat such conditions as epilepsy and arthritis ○ opiates - drugs such as opium and heroin, derived from the opium poppy, that dull the senses and induce feelings of euphoria, well-being, and relaxation. Synthetic drugs resembling opium derivatives are also classified as this. ○ STIMULANTS - drugs including amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine, nicotine; that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and produce feelings of optimism and boundless energy ○ amphetamines -stimulant drugs that initially produce "rushes" of euphoria often followed by sudden "crashes" and, sometimes, severe depression ○ cocaine- drug derived from the coca plant that, although producing a sense of euphoria by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, also leads to anxiety, depression, and addictive cravings ○ HALLUCINOGENS- any of a number of drugs, such as LSD and mescaline, that distort visual and auditory perception ○ lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-hallucinogenic or "psychedelic" drug that produces hallucinations and delusions similar to those occurring in a psychotic state ○ marijuana- a mild hallucinogen that produces a "high" often characterized by feelings of euphoria, a sense of well-being, and swings in mood from gaiety to relaxation; may also cause feelings of anxiety and paranoia ● Meditation and Hypnosis ○ Meditation refers to any of several methods of concentration, reflection, or focusing of thoughts intended to suppress the activity

of the sympathetic nervous system ○ Meditation has been used to treat medical problems especially functional complaints ○ hypnosis is a trance like state in which the hypnotized person responds readily to suggestions...