Q7: Sleep and Consciousness Flashcards
Consciousness
state of awareness of ourselves and the world around us
Perceptual
awareness of the world around us
introspective
awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions
William James
(father of functionalism) consciousness is always changing, very personal experience, continuous, and selective
Freud
(psychoanalytic) consciousness has levels: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. (Frued)
conscious
part of the mind corresponding to state of present awareness (Frued)
preconscious
part of the mind whose contents can be broight into awareness through focused attention (memories) (Frued)
unconscious
part of the mind that lies outside the range of ordinary awareness and that holds troubling or unacceptable urges, impulses, memories, and ideas. (dreams) (associations) (Frued)
modern thoughts
consciousness shifts throughout the day
focused awareness
high awareness, ex: learning a new skill
divided consciousness
medium awareness, ex: attention split between activities
drifting consciousness
variable awareness, ex: daydreaming, wandering throughts
altered states of consciousness
variable awareness, ex: hypnosis, meditation, drug use
unconsciousness
low awareness, ex: sleep, coma
hypnosis
susceptible to control/changes, suggestability
subliminal perception
2 pictures, don’t know why you like one more
blindsight
can see but not process what you see
meditation
introspection
sleep
reduces alertness, awareness, and perception of events around us
Devices to measure sleep
EEG (brain), EOG (eyes), EMG(muscles)
stage 1
light sleep. 4-5% of night. muscle activity slows, occasional muscle twitching.
awake
eeg has alpha waves. can be different levels of awareness
stage 2
44-55% of night. slightly deeper sleep. breathing and heart slow. eeg has sleep spindles and k-complexes
stage 3
16-21% of night. very deep sleep. rhythmic breathing. limited muscle activity. eeg shows mostly delta waves.
REM
20-25% of night, dreaming occurs. muscles are inhibited. heart rate increases and breathing is rapid and shallow. eeg shows fast waves.
length of sleep cycle
90 minutes
deep sleep in cycle
length of this shortens as the night progresses–start longer
rem in cycle
closer to morning. lengthen as night goes on.
Dreaming
every person dreams every night
perspectives: psychoanalytic (Freud), cognitive, activation synthesis hypothesis (Hobson)
Psychoanalytic Perspective
To types of content: manifest content, latent content
Manifest Content
events that occur in dream–summary
Latent Content
underlying meaning of the dream
circular objects / jewelry
vaginas
oblong object / #3
penis + testicles
an action that separates a part from its whole
castration
an action that resembles sexual behavior
sex
anything yellow
urine
anything brown: chocolate
feces
Cognitive Perspective
dreams help to identify areas of your life that need to be changed, dreams may suggest solutions to real-life problems.
Activation Synthesis Theory/Perspective
dreams are activated via psychological mechanisms in the brainstem, mostly the pons
dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of random patterns of neural activity
arousal neurons
keep us awake. in the brainstem. ACh, NE, 5-HT, Histamines. Inhibits VLPO.
VLPO
puts us to sleep. in the hypothalamus. GABA. Inhibits arousal neurons.
Orexin Neurons
in the hypothalamus. activated by signals that keep us awake–cues tell them to signal arousal neurons. sensitive to energy balance/metabolic cues and emotional state.
Adenosine levels cycle
adenosine builds up while you are awake and breaks down while you sleep. lowest levels right after you wake up, highest levels right before you sleep.
caffeine and adenosine
caffeine bonds to receptors for adenosine and makes us stay awake but causes build up in adenosine so you are more tired when it wears off.
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
cells in the retina signal to SCN located in the hypothalamus. SCN signals to the pineal gland which releases melatonin.
Narcolepsy
falling asleep randomly. lack of orexin neurons or receptors for orexin neurons.
Sleep Deprivation
linked to many issues. not enough sleep.
Insomniac
inability to fall asleep/stay asleep. more common in women and older people.
REM sleep disorder
paralysis doesn’t occur during REM. acting out dreams.
Sleep walking/Somnambulism
common in kids. walking and doing other things while in deep sleep. changes/stress/emotion can be triggers.
Sleep Apnea
breathing stops while sleeping (in short bursts). can be treated by clearing airway, potentially connected to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Sleep Paralysis
loss of muscle control after waking up–stuck paralyzed from REM sleep but awake.
