Consciousness (Sleep and Altered States)

Question 1

Insomnia    

Answer 1

The most common sleep disorder.     
Insomniacs have persistent problems getting to sleep or staying asleep at night. 
   
Usually treated with suggestions for changes in behavior: reduction of caffeine or other stimulants, exercise at appropriate times during the day (not right before bedtime), and maintaining a consistent sleep pattern.
     
Insomniacs are advised to use sleeping pills only with caution, as they disturb sleep patterns during the night and can prevent truly restful sleep.  

Question 2

Dependence and Withdrawal     

Answer 2

Occurs as a consequence of drug use.    
Symptoms vary from drug to drug.  
  
Dependence on psychoactive drugs can be psychological, physical, or both.  
   
Psychologically dependent individuals feel an intense desire for the drug; they are convinced they need it in order to perform or feel a certain way.
 
Physically dependent individuals have a tolerance for the drug, experience withdrawal symptoms without it, and need the drug to avoid the withdrawal symptoms     

Question 3

Sleep Cycles      

Answer 3

A sleep cycle is a typical pattern of sleep. Researchers using EEG machines record how active our brains are during sleep. 
   
We cycle through different stages of sleep during the night.

Our brain waves slow down and our level of awareness lessens as we cycle down from sleep onset through stages 1 to 4.  

After a period of time in deep stage 3 and 4 sleep, our brain waves start to speed up, and we go back through stages 3 and 2.

As we reach stage 1, our brain produces a period of intense activity, our eyes dart back and forth, and many of our muscles may twitch repeatedly.

This is REM-rapid eye movement-sleep.  

Question 4

Hypnosis    

Answer 4

An altered state of consciousness in which a person is highly suggestible. 
   
Some people are more hypnotizable than others.  

Hypnotic phenomena include:

posthypnotic amnesia (forgetting events that occurred during hypnosis)

posthypnotic suggestion (a suggestion that a hypnotized person behaves in a certain way after brought out of hypnosis.  

Question 5

Sleep Apnea 

Answer 5

May be almost as common as insomnia.      
Causes a person to stop breathing for short periods of time during the night. 

The body causes the person to wake up slightly and gasp for air, and then sleep continues.      

This process robs the person of deep sleep and causes tiredness and possible interference with attention and memory.   
 
Overweight men are at a higher risk for apnea.  

Can be treated with a respiration machine that provides air for the sleeper.  

Question 6

Sleep Disorders   

Answer 6

Identified and diagnosed by sleep researchers.  

The most common sleep disorders are insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, night terrors, and somnambulism (Sleepwalking).     

Question 7

Depressants

Answer 7

Slow down body processes, including our reactions and judgment, by slowing down brain processes (central nervous system processes). 

Common depressants include alcohol, barbiturates, and anxiolytics (also called tranquilizers or antianxiety drugs) like Valium.    
 
Euphoria accompanies the depressing effects of depressants, and continued use leads to tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.   

Question 8

Dissociation Theory of Hypnosis     

Answer 8

Theory based on research by Ernest Hilgard.     

Suggests that hypnosis causes us to divide our consciousness voluntarily. One part or level of our consciousness responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist; another part or level retains awareness of reality.      

Hilgard’s experiments indicate the presence of a hidden observer, a level of our consciousness that monitors what is happening while another level obeys the hypnotist’s suggestions.     

Question 9

Hallucinogens (also called Psychedelics)  

Answer 9

Cause changes in perceptions of reality, including sensory hallucinations, loss of identity, and vivid fantasies. 

Common hallucinogens include LSD, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana.  
    
May remain in the body for weeks. If an individual ingests the hallucinogen again during this time period, the new dose of the chemical is added to the lingering amount, creating more profound and potentially dangerous effects.

This effect is sometimes called reverse tolerance.    

Effects are less predictable than those of stimulants or depressants.   

Question 10

Role Theory of Hypnosis 

Answer 10

Theorizes that hypnosis is not an alternate state of consciousness at all,    

Some people are more easily hypnotized than others, which is called hypnotic suggestibility.

People with high hypnotic suggestibility tend to have richer fantasy lives, follow directions well, and be able to focus intensely on a single task for a long period of time. 
     
These factors may indicate that hypnotism is a social phenomenon. 

During hypnosis, people may act out the role of a hypnotized person and follow the suggestions of the hypnotist because that is what is expected of them.   

Question 11

Information-Processing Dream Theory 

Answer 11

The brain may be dealing with daily stress and information during REM dreams. 

Stress during the day will increase the number and intensity of dreams during the night.  

Most people report that their dream content relates somehow to daily concerns.   
   
The function of REM sleep may be to integrate the information processed during the day into our memories.   

Babies may need more REM sleep than adults because they process so much new information every day.    

Question 12

Agonists

Answer 12

Drugs that mimic neurotransmitters. 

Fit in the receptor sites on a neuron that normally receive the neurotransmitter.   

Function as that neurotransmitter normally would. 

Question 13

Narcolepsy

Answer 13

A rare sleep disorder, occurring in less than 0.001 percent of the population.  
    
Narcoleptics suffer from periods of intense sleepiness and may fall asleep at unpredictable and inappropriate times.    

Narcoleptics may suddenly fall into REM sleep regardless of what they are doing at the time.    

Narcolepsy can be successfully treated with medication and a change in sleep patterns. 

Question 14

Levels of Consciousness 

Answer 14

That consciousness consists of different levels or layers is well established.
      
Not all researchers agree about what the specific levels are.  
   
The most frequently mentioned levels are:

conscious level
nonconscious level
preconscious level
subconscious level
unconscious level.   

Question 15

Psychoactive Drugs      

Answer 15

Chemicals that change the chemistry of the brain (and the rest of the body) and induce an altered state of consciousness. 
    
Some of the behavioral and cognitive changes caused by these drugs are due to physiological processes, but some are due to expectations about the drug.     

All psychoactive drugs change our consciousness through similar physiological processes in the brain. 

Drugs that mimic neurotransmitters are called agonists.     

Drugs that block neurotransmitters are called antagonists.  

Drugs gradually alter the natural levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.   

The brain will produce less of a specific neurotransmitter if it is being artificially supplied by a psychoactive drug. 

Question 16

Freudian Dream Interpretation 

Answer 16

According to Freudian psychoanalysis, dream interpretation is a method to uncover the repressed information in the unconscious mind.    
  
Freud said that dreams were wish fulfilling, meaning that we act out our unconscious desires in our dreams. 

Manifest content is the literal content of our dreams.   
   
Latent content is the unconscious meaning of the manifest content.  
    
The ego protects dreamers from the material in the unconscious mind (protected sleep) by presenting these repressed desires in the form of symbols.   

Question 17

REM Sleep   

Answer 17

Sometimes called paradoxical since our brain waves appear as active and intense as they do when we are awake.  
   
The purposes of REM sleep are not clear, but dreams usually occur in REM sleep.  

REM sleep deprivation interferes with memory.  
 
The more stress we experience during the day, the longer our periods of REM sleep will be.  
    
Babies spend more total time sleeping than we do (up to 18 hours), and they spend more time in REM sleep.

As we age, our total need for sleep declines as does the amount of time we spend in REM sleep.    

Question 18

Dreams

Answer 18

A series of story-like images we experience as we sleep. 
   
A difficult research area for psychologists because they rely almost entirely on self-report.   

If people are awakened during or shortly after a REM episode, they often report they were dreaming.  
 
Validating theories about the purposes and meanings of dreams is difficult because researchers currently have limited access to dreams.   

Question 19

Sleep Stages      

Answer 19

Sleep onset-The stage between wakefulness and sleep. We might experience mild hallucinations (such as falling or rising) during this stage. 
    
Stages 1 and 2-Stage in which the brain produces theta waves, which are relatively high-frequency, low-amplitude waves. 

Stages 3 and 4, sometimes called delta sleep-Stage where the body’s chemical supplies are replenished.

The slower the wave, the deeper the sleep and the less aware we are of our environment. People who are deprived of delta sleep will be more susceptible to illness and will feel physically tired.   

Stages 1-4 are called Non-REM sleep.      
After a period of time in deep stage 3 and 4 sleep, our brain waves start to speed up, and we go back through stages 3 and 2.

As we reach stage 1, our brain produces a period of intense activity, our eyes dart back and forth, and many of our muscles may twitch repeatedly. This is REM-rapid eye movement-sleep.  

Question 20

Opiates

Answer 20

Common opiates include morphine, heroin, methadone, and codeine, all of which are similar in chemical structure to opium. 
    
Act as agonists for endorphins and thus are powerful painkillers and mood elevators.   
   
Cause drowsiness and a euphoria associated with elevated endorphin levels.  
  
Opiates are some of the most physically addictive drugs because they rapidly change brain chemistry and create tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.     

Question 21

Tolerance

Answer 21

The brain will produce less of a specific neurotransmitter if it is being artificially supplied by a psychoactive drug. 

This physiological change produces tolerance, a need for more of the same drug in order to achieve the same effect. 
    
Will eventually cause withdrawal symptoms in users.   

Question 22

Antagonists

Answer 22

Drugs that block neurotransmitters. 

Fit into receptor sites on a neuron.   
   
Instead of acting like the neurotransmitter, they prevent natural neurotransmitters from using the receptor site. 

Question 23

Stimulants

Answer 23

Speed up body processes, including autonomic nervous system functions such as heart and respiration rate.  
 
Caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, and nicotine are common stimulants.  
  
All stimulants produce tolerance, withdrawal effects, and other side effects (e.g., disturbed sleep, reduced appetite, increased anxiety, and heart problems).    

Question 24

Sleep

Answer 24

A state of consciousness in which we are less aware of ourselves and our environment than we are when we are in our normal awake state.  
 
A sleep cycle is a typical pattern of sleep. Researchers using EEG machines can record how active our brains are during sleep and describe the different stages of sleep we progress through each night.    

We cycle through different stages of sleep during the night. Our brain waves and level of awareness change as we cycle through the stages.      

Question 25

State Theory of Hypnosis      

Answer 25

Hypnosis meets some parts of the definition for an altered state of consciousness.  

Hypnotists seem to be able to suggest that we become more or less aware of our environments.    

Some people report dramatic health benefits from hypnosis, such as pain control and reduction in specific physical ailments.

Question 26

Activation-Synthesis Dream Theory   

Answer 26

Theory that proposes dreams are nothing more than the brain’s interpretations of what is happening physiologically during REM sleep.      

Dreams are seen as biological phenomena.  
Brain imaging proves that our brain is very active during REM sleep.  

Question 27

Consciousness     

Answer 27

Our level of awareness about ourselves and our environment. 

We are conscious to the degree that we are aware of what is going on inside and outside ourselves.    

Consciousness is not an on/off switch; we are not conscious or unconscious.  
 
Psychologists refer to different levels and different states of consciousness.