States of Consciousness 1 Flashcards
consciousness
your awareness of everything that is going on around you and inside your own head at any given moment, which you use to organize your behavior, including your thoughts, sensations, and feelings
waking consciousness
most of time awake spent here
thoughts, feelings, and sensations are clear and organized, feel alert
altered state of consciousness
occurs when there is a shift in quality or pattern of mental activity, thoughts fuzzy, disoriented, or more alert
divide awareness
biological rhythms
natural cycles of activity that the body must go through
different lengths
most obvious = sleep-wake cycle
circadian rhythm
cycle that takes about a day to complete
hypothalamus
tiny section of brain that influences glandular system
controls sleep-wake cycle
melatonin
hormone normally secreted by pineal gland
release of it influenced by suprachiasmatic nucleus
helps people know when to sleep and fall asleep
helps with metabolism and shift workers
suprachiasmatic nucleus
in hypothalamus
influences release of melatonin
internal clock that tells people when to wake up and when to fall asleep
sensitive to changes in light, as daylight fades, tells pineal gland to secrete melatonin, tells pineal gland to stop secreting melatonin when daylight begins
jet lag
body’s circadian rhythm has been disrupted by traveling to another time zone
neurotransmitters involved in sleep
serotonin-producing neurons most active during wakefulness
body temperature sleep relationship
higher the body temp, more alert
when asleep, lowest body temp
SCN research clock
SCN may be responsible for resetting body’s biological clock to 24 hour cycle every day
microsleeps
brief sidesteps into sleep lasting only seconds
when people don’t sleep for a while
sleep deprivation
loss of sleep
serious problem, important for memory and clear thinking, mental and physical functioning, form new memories, emotional well-being
adaptive theory of sleep
sleep is a product of evolution
animals and humans evolved different sleep patterns to avoid being present during their predators’ normal hunting times, typically at night
nocturnal animals can sleep during day because sleep high in trees
restorative theory of sleep
sleep necessary to physical health of body
during sleep, chemicals replenished and cellular damage repaired and brain plasticity enhanced
which sleep theory correct
both
adaptive explains why people sleep when they do
restorative explains why people need to sleep
rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
relatively psychologically active type of sleep
most dreaming takes place
voluntary muscles inhibited (move v little)
non-REM (NREM) sleep
lighter to deeper, more restful sleep
body free to move around
beta waves
very small and very fast
wide awake and mentally active
alpha waves
slightly larger and slower
appear as person relaxes and gets drowsy
theta waves
eventually replace alpha waves
even slower and larger
N1 (R and K stage 1)
light sleep
if awakened, don’t believe were asleep
experience hypnogogic images or hallucinations
hypnic jerk
hypnogogic images/hallucinations
vivid visual events in N1/light sleep
alien abductions, ghosts, etc
hypnic jerk
when knees, legs, or whole body gives a big jerk when drifting off to sleep
could be that relaxation of muscles as one drifts into sleep causes falling sensation and body jerks awake to prevent fall from hypothetical tree (evolutionary)
N2 (R and K stage 2)
sleep spindles
body temp drops, heart rate slows, breathing more shallow and irregular
sleep spindles occur
theta waves, if awakened know were asleep
sleep spindles
brief bursts of activity lasting only a second or two
stage 2
N3 (R and K stages 3 and 4)
delta waves
deepest sleep, slow wave sleep (SWS)
growth hormones released from pituitary gland and reach peak
body at lowest level of functioning
very hard to awaken, disoriented, kids sleep deeper and harder to wake up
delta waves
slowest and largest waves
appear in third stage of sleep
R (R and K REM)
in N3, then N2, then body temperature increases, eyes move rapidly under the eyelids, heart faster, beta waves
paradoxical sleep
90% of dreams occur here, more detailed and bizarre than NREM dreams (which are more like common thoughts)
sleep paralysis in REM
sleep paralysis
body unable to act upon dreams in normal conditions because voluntary muscles are paralyzed
purpose of REM vs NREM
REM: emotionally stressful day, way of dealing with stresses of day
NREM: physically exhausting day, recovery of body
REM rebound
if deprived of REM sleep (ex by sleeping pills or other depressant drugs), person will experience greatly increased amounts of REM sleep the next night
REM myth
people deprived of REM sleep will become paranoid, seemingly mentally ill from lack of REM sleep
FAKE
baby vs adult REM
babies = 50% of time in REM, adults = 20%
babies can move around in REM sleep
babies not dreaming but forming new connections connections between neurons
