Chapter 5 - Variations of consciousness

Question 1

What is consciousness?

Answer 1

• the awareness of internal and external stimuli. Consciousness moves, flows, wanders.

Question 2

What are the three levels of awareness?

Answer 2

• Unconscious
• Stream of consciousness (recognizing that consiousness is in constant flux)
• Sleep/dreaming research

Question 3

What is mind wandering? How often does it happen?

Answer 3

• people’s experience of task-unrelated thoughts.
  ◦ we all experience it
  ◦ people spend 15-50% of their time mind wandering

Question 4

What did Dijksterhuis 2004 example demonstrate?

Answer 4

• discusses decision making process emphasizing the role of unconscious thought
• suggests that for complex decisions like choosing a roommate rely on intuition and time for unconscious processing for a better outcome.
  ◦ suggests that when people engage in conscious thought for a short period (about 4 mins) they tend to focus on specific attributes and might get bogged down by the details
  ◦ however, if they allow for a period of demanding unconscious thought, also about 4mins, it enables their brain to process information more holistically
• Dual process highlights: benefits of both conscious deliberation and power of unconscious processing in reaching better decisions

Question 5

What is Electroencephalograph (EEG) ?

Answer 5

• The EEG is a device that monitors the electrical activity of the brain over time by means of recording electrodes attached to the surface of the scalp.
  ◦ Summarizes the rhythm of cortical activity in the brain in terms of line tracings called brain waves. vary in:
  ‣ amplitude (height)
  ‣ frequency (cycles per second, cps)

Question 6

What are the EEG patterns associated with states of consiousness?

Answer 6

Beta - 13-24 CPS - during normal waking thought and problem solving

Alpha - 8-12 - deep relaxation, blank mind, meditation

Theta - 4-7 - light sleep

Delta - less than 4 - deep sleep

Question 7

What are biological rhythms?

Answer 7

• Periodic fluctuations in physiological functioning

Question 8

What are circadian rhythms?

Answer 8

• the 24hr biological cycles found in humans and many other species
  ◦ our “internal clocks” regulate functions such as blood pressure, urine production, hormonal secretions, and other physical functions, also alertness, short-term memory, and other aspects of cognitive performance.
  ◦ research indicates that people generally fall asleep as their body temperature begins to drop and awake as it begins to rise once again.

Question 9

What happens when we ignore circadian rhythms?

Answer 9

• your sleep suffers (trouble falling asleep and poor-quality sleep)
• positive functions associated with sleep.
  ◦ When we ignore the rhythms –> sleep debt. (shift workers)

Question 10

How do physiological pathways relate to circadium rhythms?

Answer 10

• light levels -> retina -> suprachiasmatic nucleus of hypothalamus -> pineal glad -> secretion of melatonin.
  ◦ When exposed to light, some receptors in the retina send direct inputs to a small structure in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
  ◦ the SCN sends signals to the nearby pineal gland, whose secretion of the hormone melatonin plays a key role in adjusting biological clocks.

Question 11

What is an example of ignoring circadian rhythms?

Answer 11

jet lag - study of traveling teams
◦ Easier to travel to the west - takes 2/3 day to adjust
◦ eastword 1 day per time zone
◦ 2/3 of a day for each time zone crossed to the west

Question 12

What do you know about melatonin and circadian rhythms?

Answer 12

• can be effective sometimes but needs to be some strategically. You can buy it easily in Canada.
  ◦ results of melatonin use are inconsistent
  ◦ can reduce the effects of jet lag by helping travellers resynchronize their biological clocks

Question 13

What are the three instruments used to do sleep and waking research?

Answer 13

• EEG - Electrical brain activity
• EMG - Electromyograph - records muscle activity and tension - stages of sleep where you move and stages where you are paralyzed
• EOG - Electrooculograph - records eye movements

Question 14

What does “N” represent in the stages of sleep?

Answer 14

◦ N represents “non REM stages of sleep”

Question 15

What are the six stages of sleep dicussed?

Answer 15

• Ordinary wakefulness
• Relaxed
• Stage 1 (N1): 1-7 minutes in this phase - irregular brain waves. Hypnic jerks typical during this stage
• Stage 2 (N2): 10-25 minutes - specific sleep character. High amplitude with sudden burst (sleep spindles)
• Stage 3 (N3): slow wave sleep (recycle back through stages go from stage N3-N2-Rem (not back to stage 1))
• REM: similar to being awake (rapid eye movement)

Question 16

What are some cultures that differ in terms of their thoughts toward co-sleeping?

Answer 16

• In North American cultures generally against co-sleeping.
  ◦ Other issues at play.
• In East Asian cultures - there doesn’t tend to be issues with co-sleeping

Question 17

What is the ARAS?

Answer 17

• ARAS (Asending reticular activating system)
  ◦ consists of the afferent fibres running through the reticular formation that influence physiological arousal
  ‣ fibers that connect and transfer information to the brain.
  ‣ Pons and medullar involved in sleep
  ‣ Hypothalamus as well.
  ‣ Sleep involves many structures (some induce paralysis, no specific neurotransmitter (acetocolin and seratonin)
  ‣ Gaba is often associated with medication taken to help with sleep

Question 18

What are the three hypothesis presented about why we sleep?

Answer 18

1) Sleep evolved to conserve organisms’ energy. (When humans had to hunt for food: not much available energy, limited food)
2) Immobilization during sleep is adaptive because it reduces danger. (more accidents happen more after 11pm, dark isn’t as safe, can’t see)
3) Sleep helps animals to restore energy/resources and clear toxins (has the most evidence out of the three)

Question 19

At what stage are you at complete sleep deprivation?

Answer 19

◦ 3-4 days (could go this long but it’s not ideal, some are more effected than others)

Question 20

What are the results of partial sleep deprivation?

Answer 20

• impaired attention, reaction time, coordination and decision making
  ◦ also could have negative effects on endocrine and immine system
  ◦ Pilots have to sleep certain amounts of time
  ◦ Micro sleeps can happen (falling asleep and not knowing)
  ◦ Sleep loss is associated with less emotional control
  ◦ Amygdala driven processing (emotions)
  ◦ Increased hunger and lower immune function
  ◦ REM needed for complex logic tasks

Question 21

What is insomnia? What are the 3 types?

Answer 21

• chronic problems getting to sleep that result in daytime fatigue and impaired functioning
• 3 types
  ◦ 1) difficulty in falling asleep (younger people have more problems with this)
  ◦ 2) difficulty in remaining asleep (older people suffer from this more)
  ◦ 3) persistent early morning wake up (older people)

Question 22

What is Peudoinsominia/sleep state misperception?

Answer 22

• when people believe they haven’t slept in days - but often they actually have and when brought into a lab they will fall asleep.

Question 23

What is the Hyperarousal model of insomnia?

Answer 23

• tendency toward excessive worry and rumination, and frequently occurs more intensely during the pre-sleep period

Question 24

What is narcolepsy?

Answer 24

• disease marked by sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking periods
  ◦ Wake to REM sleep for a short period of time or up to 10-20mins
  ◦ Stimulants taken to keep people awake
  ◦ Uncontrollable sleep
  ◦ Can be triggered by strong emotions

Question 25

What are nightmares?

Answer 25

• anxiety-arousing dreams taht lead to awakening usually from REM sleep
  ◦ time of sleep that we dream
  ◦ stressed/depression = increase frequency of nightmares
  ◦ story like dream
  ◦ Young children —> might refer to counselling

Question 26

What is sleep apnea?

Answer 26

• involves frequent, reflexive gasping for air that awakens a person and disrupts sleep.
  ◦ Stopping breathing repeatedly throughout sleep
  ◦ C-pap devices keeping airways open
  ◦ reflexive gasping for air leads to waking
  ◦ 8% of adults

Question 27

What are night terrors?

Answer 27

• “sleep terrors” are abrupt awakenings from NREM sleep, accompanied by intense autonomic arousal and feelings of panic
  ◦ no story connected to the experience
  ◦ Re-occurring in children
  ◦ happens earlier as they are associated with later stages of non rem sleep
  ‣ recommending behavioural therapy (wake up right before the terror, and then break up sleeping pattern)
  * within a few nights terrors go away

Question 28

What is Somnambulism?

Answer 28

• When a person arises and wanders about while remaining asleep
  ◦ tends to be early in the night (first 2 hours), During slow wave sleep (non REM stage sleep)
  ◦ not usually acting out dreams
  ◦ Can last seconds, 15-30 mins, longer etc.
  ◦ Genetic contribution
  ◦ doesn’t always reflect psychological issues
  ◦ Good to gently wake them up

Question 29

What is REM sleep behaviour disorder? (RBD)

Answer 29

• is marked by potentially troublesome dream enactments during REM periods
  ◦ errors with maintaining paralyzing REM stage
  ◦ act out in not typical ways
  ◦ 50+ men usually experience

Question 30

What is somniloquy?

Answer 30

• Sleep talking
  ◦ Occurs during NREM - during transitions
  ◦ Is it meaningful talking? Doesn’t reveal anything, often making noises/no sense/no control over what they are saying.
  ◦ Common in young children (50% experience, most outgrow it)
  ◦ You might exhibit sleep talking if you also have night terrors or sleep walking too

Question 31

What are dreams?

Answer 31

• mental experiences during sleep, most involve familiar experiences and during REM
  ◦ Can occur outside REM sleep
  ◦ Not always bizarre
• common dream contents: chased/pursued, sexual, failing, school, teachers, arriving late, trying again and again.
• Changes in dream format as we age (young children report dreams less often and less story like detail. Adults have more structured story dreams with details)

Question 32

What is lucid dreaming?

Answer 32

• aware you are dreaming while you are dreaming
• keeping a diary can help you to have a lucid dream
• they can do what they want in their dream

Question 33

What is the “dreams as wish fulfillment” theory of dreaming

Answer 33

Dreams as wish fulfillment (Freud)
* the day residue shapes dreams that satisfy unconscious needs in a disguised fashion
◦ we have dreams to fill our unfilled desires
◦ ex. sexually frustrated more likely to hav emore erotic dreams
* The manifest content consists of the plot of a dream at the surface level.
* The latent content refers to the hidden or disguised meaning of the events in the plot.

Question 34

What is the “problem solving view” theory of dreaming

Answer 34

• we mull over major problems in our lives with reduced logical constraints
  ◦ problems could be dealt with through dreams (partly)
  ◦ considerable continuity between waking and sleep thought

Question 35

What is the “Activation-synthesis model” theory of dreaming?

Answer 35

Activation-synthesis model (Hobson)
* The cortex constructs a story to make sense of internal signals form lower brain centres
◦ simply piecing together activity in the brain - suggests there is nothing meaningful about dreams
◦ dreams are simply side effects of neural activation that produces “wide-awake” brain waves during REM sleep

Question 36

What is hyponsis?

Answer 36

a systematic procedure that increases suggestibility

Question 37

What did Mesmer do in terms of hypnosis?

Answer 37

• Animal magnetism
• moved bars over people’s bodies and say animal magnetism would help them.
  ◦ people suggests they felt better
  ◦ people were “mesmerized”
• People eventually didn’t believe it

Question 38

What did Braid (a scottish physician) do in terms of hypnosis?

Answer 38

• took what Mesmer was doing by called it neurypnology —> then switched back to the popularized term hypnotism
  ◦ some therapeutic uses

Question 39

Is everyone the same likely to be hypnotized?

Answer 39

Differences in hypnotic susceptibility

• Different people are more susceptible than others high scores = very suggestible = hypnotized very easily
  ◦ could also just be a personality trait

Question 40

what are the four effects produced through hypnosis?

Answer 40

• anesthesia - drugs are more reliable but hypnosis can be surprinsly effective in the treatment of both acute and chronic pain (dental surgery, hypnotized to not feeling pain, drugs easier to control )
• sensory distortions and hallucinations - hypnotized participants may be led to experience auditory or visual hallucinations (this sour thing tastes sweet, people believed it)
• Disinhibition - hypnosis can reduce inhibitions that would normally prevent participants from acting a certain way. (some people do things they wouldn’t typically do otherwise, more likely to do it, they aren’t in control but there are boundaries - not going to kill others)
• Posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia - suggestions made during hypnosis may influence a participant’s later behaviour(stop smoking and you are going to forget I told you this)

Question 41

What is happening during hypnosis?

Answer 41

• same EEG activity between hypnosis and regular wakefulness
  ◦ maybe people are just playing a role (ex. drawing 6 year old birthday and doesn’t line up)
  ◦ altered state of consciousness (sometimes people continue even when not being observed)
  ◦ dissociation of consciousness (hidden observer, part of consciousness interacting with the external world isn’t feeling it “breaking of the consciousness)

Question 42

What is mediation?

Answer 42

• practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control
  ◦ rooted in eastern religious practices (zen, yoga)
  ◦ western cultures are divorced from the religious practices
  ‣ decreased heart-rate, respiration rate decreases, relaxed EEG, lower levels of stress hormones, benefit happiness and self-esteem.

Question 43

What are the two meditation strategies discussed?

Answer 43

• Focused attention meditation (focus on sound, object and spend time thinking about that thing)
  ◦ Mindfulness or open monitoring (sit quietly, register thoughts and let them pass)
  ◦ these approaches have been used in cognitive behavioural therapy

Question 44

What are psychoactive drugs?

Answer 44

◦ chemical substances that modify mental, emotional, or behavioural functioning
◦ we are assuming are taken recreationally (and why they would be used)

Question 45

What are the six categories of psychoactive drugs?

Answer 45

Narcotics, Sedatives, Stimulants, Hallucinogens, Cannabis, Alcohol

Question 46

What are narcotics?

Answer 46

1) Narcotics (opiates) - natural or synthetic substances that are capable of relieving pain
◦ Drugs:opioids (morphine, herion, oxycodone)
◦ Principle medical uses: pain relief
◦ Desired effects: euphoria, relaxation, anxiety, reduction, pain relief
◦ Potential short-term side effects: lethargy, drowsiness, nausea, impaired coordination, impaired mental functioning, constipation.
* highly addictive

Question 47

What are sedatives?

Answer 47

2) Sedatives - sleep inducing durgs that tend to decrease central nervous system (CNS) activation and behavioural activity
◦ Drugs: barbiturates (eg. Seconal), non-barbiturates (eg. Qaalude)
◦ Principle medical uses: sleeping pill, anticonvulsant
◦ Desired effects:euphoria, relaxation, anxiety reduction, reduces inhibitions
◦ Potential short-term side effects: lethargy, drowsiness, nausea, impaired coordination, impaired mental functioning, emotional swings, dejection

Question 48

What are stimulants?

Answer 48

3) Stimulants - tend to increase CNS activation and behavioural activity
◦ Drugs: amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, crack, meth
◦ Principle medical uses: treatment for hyperactivity and narcolepsy, local anesthetic (cocaine only)
◦ Desired effects: Elation, excitement, increased alertness, increased energy, reduced fatigue.
◦ Potential short-term side effects: increased blood pressure and heart rate, increased talkativeness, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, reduced appetite, increased sweating and urination, anxiety, paranola, increased aggressiveness, panic.

Question 49

What are hallucinogens?

Answer 49

4) Hallucinogens - have powerful effects on mental and emotional functioning, marked most prominently by distortions in sensory and perceptual distortions
◦ Drugs: LSD, MEscaline, Psilocybin
◦ Principle medical uses: none (not many, could be some)
◦ Desired effects: Increased sensory awareness, euphoria, LSD altered perceptions, hallucinations, insightful experiences
◦ Potential short-term side effects: Dilated pupils, nausea, emotional swings, paranoia, jumbled thought processes, impaired judgment, anxiety, panic reaction

Question 50

What is cannabis?

Answer 50

5) Cannabis - mild, relaxed europhia
◦ Drugs: Marijuana, Hashish, THC
◦ Principle medical uses: Treatment of glaucoma and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, other uses under study
◦ Desired effects: Mild euphoria, relaxation, altered perceptions, enhanced awareness
◦ Potential short-term side effects:Elevated heart rate, bloodshot eyes, dry mouth, reduced short-term memory, slug- gish motor coordination, sluggish mental functioning, anxiety

Question 51

What is alcohol?

Answer 51

6) Alcohol - relaxed euphoria, decreases inhibitions
◦ Drugs: Alcohol
◦ Principle medical uses: None
◦ Desired effects: Mild euphoria, relaxation, anxiety reduction, reduced inhibitions.
◦ Potential short-term side effects: Severely impaired coordination, impaired mental functioning, increased urination, emotional swings, depression, quarrelsome- ness, hangover

Question 52

What is the other drug the textbook mentions?

Answer 52

Textbook also mentions MDMA (ectasy or molly) which is a compound drug related to both amphetamines and hallucinogens, especially mescaline. It is sometimes referred to as a psychedelic amphetamine.

Question 53

what are some things we should pay attention to in terms of alcohol?

Answer 53

◦ blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
‣ 21 yrs of age - drink 21 shots - people would die - provided a bucket
◦ Alcohol poisoning
◦ sobering up (lots of myths, time is the only thing that decreases it over time)
◦ Driving 0.05 - police take you off the road - people think you can have higher

Question 54

What are the factors that influence drug effects?

Answer 54

• expectations
• age (older need less). body size (large size, larger dose), mood
• tolerance - the progresssive decrease in a person’s responsiveness to a drug. (repeated use = same dose becomes less effective)

Question 55

What is endocannabinoid?

Answer 55

• Endocannabinoid receptors - activate receptors and thereby influence activity at GABA and glutamate synapses (muchies - hugner)
  ◦ drugs have varied effects

Question 56

What is the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic pathway?

Answer 56

• pathways used dopamine
• if you implant electrodes in these pathways - participant keeps wanting to receive stimulation of these pathways
• many abused drugs tend to involve these pathways
• why these drugs are addictive

Question 57

What is physical dependence to drugs?

Answer 57

physical dependence
* When a person must continue to take a drug to avoid withdrawal illness
◦ become ill, dangerous side effects, life-threatening
◦ requires management to ween off
‣ low level high to return to normal life

Question 58

What is psychological dependence to drugs?

Answer 58

psychological dependence
* when a person must continue to take a drug to satisfy intense mental and emotional craving for the drug.
◦ I feel lonely or anxious when i don’t use it
‣ cutback on cigarettes - need to keep going

Question 59

What are some types of damage that can occurs to your health in relation to drugs?

Answer 59

Overdose
* any drug can be fatal if a person takes to much
◦ respiratory system stops
◦ brain damage
◦ coma
not overdoes but…

Physiological damage
◦ cocaine nostrils - issues with mucus membranes
◦ crack - phemonia

Health-impairing behaviours
◦ alcohol - put at risk of an STI/pregnancy