Chapter 5 Flashcards
what is the stream of consciousness
a phrase coined by William James (1950) to describe the mind as a continuous flow of changing sensations, images, thoughts, and feelings
how do we define consciousness
- an individuals awareness of external events and interval sensations under a condition of arousal (including awareness of the self and thoughts about ones experiences)
what does arousal mean in this context
physiological state of being engaged with the environment
e.g. sleeping
- its a state determined by the reticular activating system (limbic brain system)
what are the levels of awareness
- higher-level consciousness, lower-level consciousness, altered states of consciousness, subconscious awareness, and no awareness
what is higher-level consciousness
uses controlled processing which is the most alert state of human consciousness, where someone has to actively focus on a goal (i.e. doing a math/science problem)
- likely to involve the pre-frontal cortex
what is lower-level consciousness
- include automatic processes: states of consciousness that require little attention and can be done simultaneously with other processes
- I.e. being fluent in a language, knowing how to use a smartphone, and daydreaming (conscious, and active partake in dreaming)
what are altered states of consciousness
states produced by drugs, trauma, fatigue, hypnosis, and sensory deprivation
what is subconscious awareness
it is our thoughts just below the surface of our awareness
- or when for example you look at a dog and consciously, you’re aware you’re looking, but subconsciously, you are storing info and processing that the thing you’re looking at is in fact, a dog.
what is NO Awareness
Sigmund Freud believed that some unconscious thoughts are too submersed in anxiety, guilt, fear, etc. for the consciousness to admit them
- could also be used to describe being knocked out or anaesthetized
(FREUDS PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH)
how do we define sleep
a natural state of rest for the body and mind that involves the reversible loss of consciousness
what are biological rhythms
periodic physiological fluctuations in the body
- menstruation, sleep, body temperature, hibernation
what are circadian rhythms
- daily behavioural/physiological cycles
- sleep/wake cycle, body temperature, bp, blood sugar
how does our body monitor the changes
using the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is a small brain structure that takes input from the retina to measure light cycles, and then the SCN sends info to the hypothalamus/pineal gland to regulate daily rhythms
what are the theories on why we need sleep
- safety, energy conversion (evolutionary perspectives), body rejuvenation, rebuilding, and brain plasticity where sleep enhances synaptic connections between neurone and helps with memory
what is the theory we need sleep from an evolutionary perspective
sleep helped animals protect themselves at night, since if they were inactive, they couldn’t become prey or hurt themselves
- also helped them conserve energy since they weren’t burning calories and could leave the hunting for food in the morning
what are the effects of chronic sleep deprivation
decreases activity in the thalamus and prefrontal cortex
- reduces the complexity of brain activity, influence moral judgement and decision making
how may stages of wakefulness are there and what are they
using the electroencephalograph (EEG), the EEG patterns shoved 2 types of waves: beta and alpha…
BETA: concentration and awareness, they are highest in frequency and lowest in amplitude, they have inconsistent patterning
ALPHA: when we are relaxed but awake, so the waves become more regular and increase in amplitude (relaxation, drowsiness)
what are the stages of sleep
- stage W- person is awake (alpha and beta waves)
- stage N1 (non-rem 1)
- stage N2
- stage N3
- Stage R
what happens during N1
just falling asleep
- drowsy sleep which lasts about 10 minutes, one may experience sudden muscle movements called myoclonic jerks
- characterized by theta waves, slower in f but greater than alpha waves)
what happens during N2
- muscle activity decreases
- person isn’t consciously aware of their environment
- theta waves
- have sleep spindles important to the role of sleep in memory
- lasts up to 20 minutes
what happens during N3
- characterized by delta waves
(slowest and highest amplitude) - deepest sleep
- also called “slow-wave sleep”
what happens during stage R (REM) sleep
- after going through the first three stages
- sleepers go to stage R instead of N1, where the most vivid dreaming occurs
- EEG waves has waves similar to beta waves
- lasts about 10 mins in the first sleep cycle and up to an hour in the last
what are the percentages people spent in each stage
60% in light sleep (N1 and N2)
20% in N3
20% in REM
what are important neurotransmitters involved in sleep
- serotonin, notepinephrine, and acetylcholine
- when sleep cycles start, these levels start dropping until they reach their lowest during stage N3
- then REM is initiated by the rise in acetylcholine
- REM ends when there is a rise in serotonin ad norepinephrine
what is insomnia
- inability to sleep
- higher chance in women, older adults, diabetics, depressives
- 1/4 Americans develop insomnia per year
what is sleepwalking/talking
- somnambulism is the term for sleep walking, which occurs in the deepest stages of sleep
what are night terrors/nightmares
- nightmare is a frightening dream that awakens a REM sleep
- peak age: 3-6
- a night terror is a sudden arousal from sleep
what is narcolepsy
- rapid and unexpected onset of sleep
- cataplexy (brief paralysis) seems to involve issues with hypothalamus and amygdala
what is the difference between manifest content and latent content
- manifest content is the surface content of a dream, containing symbols that disguise the dreams meaning
- latent content is a dreams hidden content or its unconscious and true meaning
what is the cognitive theory of dreaming
- we can understand dreaming by applying the same cognitive concepts we use to study the waking mind
what is the activation-synthesis theory
- dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex synthesizes neural signals generated from activity in the lower part of the brain and dreams are the result of brain’s attempt to find logic in random activity
what are psychoactive drugs
- drugs that act on the nervous system to alter consciousness, modify perfection, and change mood
what are the types of psychoactive drugs
depressant: slow down mental/physical activity (barbiturates, alcohol, tranquilizers)
stimulants: increase CNS activity (
amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, caffeine, nicotine, and cocaine)
hallucinogens: modify a person’s perceptual experiences and produce images (psychedelics: marijuana and LSD)
what is hypnosis
- an altered state of consciousness or psychological state of altered attention where one is oddly receptive to suggestions
what are the steps of hypnosis
1) minimizing distractions, make the person comfortable
2) concentrate on something specific
3) creates expectations for the hypnotic state
4) suggests events/feelings and when they occur, you are more suggestible to future commands
what is the divided consciousness view of hypnosis
- hypnosis involves a splitting of consciousness into 2
1) flexible
2) hidden observer
what is the social cognitive behaviour view of hypnosis
that hypnosis is a normal state in which a hypnotized person behaves how they think a hypnotized person should behave
what is the theory of mind
individuals understanding that they and others think, feed perceive, and have private experiences
what is incubation
- subconscious processing that leads to a solution to a problem after a break
sleep apnea
sleep disorder in which individuals stop breathing because the windpipe fails to open or because brain processes involved in respiration fail to work properly
