States of Consciousness Flashcards
Consciousness
- Awareness of internal (e.g., pain and hunger) and external stimuli (e.g.,feeling the warmth of a room)
- Continuum that ranges from full awareness to a deep sleep
Biological Rhythm
•Internal rhythms of biological activity (e.g., menstrual cycle)
Circadian Rhythm
- Biological rhythm that takes place for about 24 hours
* Daily fluctuations in heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and body temperature
Pineal Gland
•Releases melatonin that regulates various biological rhythm and immune system during sleep
Melatonin
- Stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light
* Produced during sleep
Chronotype
•Individual differences in circadian patterns of activity
Sleep Regulation
•Brain’s control of switching between sleep and wakefulness – coordinates this cycle with the outside world
Jet Lag
- Mismatch between internal circadian cycles and our environment
- Causes fatigue, sluggishness, irritability and insomnia
Sleep Debt
- Insufficient sleep on a chronic basis
- Decrease levels of alertness and mental efficiency
- Negative physiological consequences – obesity, increase blood pressure and stress hormones, decrease immune functioning
- Negative psychological consequences – depression-like symptoms
Partial Sleep Deprivation
•Occurs when an individual sleep too little for several days or weeks
Total Sleep Deprivation
•Occurs when an individual is being kept awake for at least 24 hours
Sleep
- Interplay of the circadian and the homeostatic mechanisms that regulate sleep
- Essential to restore resources that are expended throughout the day
Sleep Rebound
•Sleep-deprived individuals will take a longer time to fall asleep during subsequent opportunities
Sleep-wake Cycle
- Controlled by multiple brain areas acting in conjunction with one another
- Thalamus – regulates slow-wave sleep
- Hypothalamus – contains suprachiasmatic nucleus
- Pons – regulates REM sleep
Hormones secreted and regulated during sleep
- Melatonin
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) –regulate reproductive system
- Luteinizing Hormones (LH) – regulate reproductive system
- Growth Hormones – physical growth, maturation and metabolic process
Benefits of Sleep
- Maintaining healthy weight
- Lowering stress levels
- Improving mood
- Increasing motor coordination
Stage 1 of NREM Sleep
- Transitional phase that occurs between wakefulness and sleep; relatively east to wake an individual up
- Slowdown in both the rates of respiration and heartbeat
- Decrease in overall muscle tension and core body temperature
- Alpha waves – low frequency (8-13Hz); high amplitude patterns of electrical activity that becomes synchronized
- Theta waves – lower frequency (4-7Hz); higher amplitude brain waves as compared to alpha waves
Stage 2 of NREM Sleep
- Body goes into a state of deep relaxation
- Theta waves – dominates the activity of the brain however, they are interrupted by brief burst of activity known as sleep spindles
Sleep Spindles
•Rapid burst of higher frequency brain waves that may be important for learning and memory
K-Complex
- Occurs during NREM sleep
- Very high amplitude pattern of brain activity that in some cases occur in response to environmental stimuli
- A bridge to higher level of arousal in response to what is going on in our environment
Stage 3 of NREM Sleep
- Referred to as deep sleep or slow-wave sleep
- Low frequency (up to 4Hz); high amplitude delta waves
- Heart rate and respiration slows dramatically
- Much more difficult to be awaken
REM Sleep
- High brain activity; similar to those when a person is awake
- Dreaming occurs
- Associated with paralysis of the muscle system in the body; exception of those that make circulation and respiration possible
- Homeostatically regulated; involved in emotional processing and regulation
REM Sleep Deprivation
- Appear to be less profound in negative consequences
* Demonstrated to improve symptoms of people suffering from major depression
REM Sleep Rebound
- Individuals will spend more time in REM sleep to recoup the lost time when allowed to sleep without disturbance
- Adaptive response to stress in non-depressed individuals
Dreams (Freud)
- Convinced that dreams represented an opportunity to gain access to the unconscious
- Believe people could increase self-awareness and gain valuable insight to help them deal with the problems they faced in lives
- Manifest Content – actual content or story line
- Latent content – hidden meaning of a dream
Dreams (Jung)
- Believed that dreams allowed us to tap into the collective unconscious
- According to him, certain symbols in dreams reflected universal archetype with meanings that are similar for all people regardless of cultures and location
Dreams (Cartwright)
- Rosalind Cartwright is a sleep and dreaming researcher
* Believed that dreams simply reflect life events that are important to the dreamer
Insomnia:
definition, symptoms and treatments
- Consistent difficulty of falling/staying asleep
- Symptoms last for at least 3 nights a week (one month)
- Increase levels of anxiety; overtired; associated with symptoms of depression
- Solution – limit use of stimulant drugs (e.g., caffeine), increase the amount of physical exercise, turn to OTC/prescribed medications
- Persistent insomnia – cognitive-behavioral therapy: focus on cognitive processes and problematic behaviors
Parasomnias
•Unwanted, disruptive motor activity and/or experiencing unusual behaviors of the nervous system during sleep
Sleepwalking or Somnambulism:
definition, symptoms and treatments
- Sleeper engages in a relatively complex behaviors
- Often have their eyes open; unresponsive to attempts to communicate with them
- Treatment – variety of pharmacotherapy ranging from benzodiazepines to antidepressants
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD):
definition, symptoms and treatments
- Occurs when the muscle paralysis associated with REM sleep phase does not occur
- High levels of physical activities during REM sleep
- No memories of behavior occurred
- Injure themselves or disrupts sleep
- Associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s disease)
- Treatment – Clonazepam, administered alone or in conjunction with doses of melatonin
Restless Leg Syndrome
- Uncomfortable sensations in the legs during periods of inactivity or when trying to fall asleep
- Treatment – benzodiazepines, opiates and anticonvulsants
Night Terrors
- Sense of panic in the sufferer; often accompanied by screams and attempts to escape from the immediate environment
- Appear to be awake; generally have no memories
- Will fall back asleep within a short time
- Usually occurs during NREM of sleep
Sleep Apnea
- Defined by episodes during which a sleeper’s breathing stops
- Last 10-20 seconds or longer
- Associated with brief periods of arousal and loud snoring
- Increase levels of fatigue
- Treatment – Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): a device the includes a mask that fits the individual’s nose and mouth, connected to a pump that pumps air into the person’s airways, forcing them to remain open
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
•Individual’s airway becomes blocked during sleep and air is prevented from entering the lungs
Central Sleep Apnea
- Disruption in signals sent from the brain that regulates breathing
- Cause period of interrupted breathing
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Infant stops breathing and dies during sleep
- Higher risks – infants younger than 12 months, premature birth, smoking within home and hyperthermia
- Recommendations – place on their backs when put to sleep, people in the household to abstain from smoking
Narcolepsy:
symptoms and treatments
- Individuals cannot resist falling asleep at inappropriate times
- Associated with cataplexy – lack of muscle tone or complete paralysis of the voluntary muscles
- Associated with the reduced levels of the signalling molecule hypocretin in some areas of the brain
- Triggered by states of heightened arousal or stress (last a minute to 30 minutes)
- Interfere the ability to perform one’s job
- Treatments – psycho-motor stimulant drugs: increase level of neural activity
DSM-5
•Used by clinicians to diagnose individuals suffering from various psychological disorders
Drug Use Disorders
- Addictive disorders
- Uses more of the substance than they originally intended
- Continuation despite experiencing significant adverse consequences
Physical Dependence
- Changes in normal bodily functions
* Withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of use – negative symptoms or opposite effects of the drugs
Psychological Dependence
- Use the drug to relieve psychological distress
- Tolerance – requires more drugs to achieve effects that were previously experienced at a lower doses; may lead to overdosing and death
Psychoactive Drugs
•Occurs through their interactions with our endogenous neurotransmitter systems
Agonist
•Facilitates the activity of a neurotransmitter
Antagonists
•Impede neurotransmitter activity
Antipsychotics or Neuroleptics
•Class of medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations and paranoia) principally in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Alcohol
- Acute alcohol administration – result in a variety changes to consciousness
- Low dose of alcohol – associated with feelings of euphoria
- Moderate dose of alcohol – individuals feel sedated
- Excessive dose of alcohol – complete loss of consciousness and/or difficulty remembering events that occurred during intoxication
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) – if individual consumes alcohol during pregnancy, infant may be born with a cluster of birth defects
Stimulants
- Increase overall levels of neural activity
- Drugs – cocaine, amphetamine, cathinones, MDMA, nicotine, and caffeine
- Amphetamine – block the reuptake of dopamine in addition to stimulating its release; commonly prescribed for ADHD
- Caffeine – maintain increase levels of alertness and arousal
- Excessive dosage – insomnia, agitation, irregular heartbeat and muscle twitching
•Nicotine – exert its effect through its interaction with acetycholine receptors
•Cocaine, MDMA, cathinones – seek euphoric high, feelings of intense elation and pleasure
•Repeated use:
– nausea, elevated blood pressure and increase heart rate; feeling of anxiety, hallucinations and paranoia
– overall depletion among the monamine neurotransmitter
Opioids
- Analgesic properties – decrease pain
- Found in cough suppressants, anti-nausea, and anti-diarrhea medications
- Drugs – heroin, morphine, methadone, and codeine
- Heroin – initial feeling of euphoria, followed by period of agitation
- Codeine – low potency; prescribed for minor pain
- Methadone – synthetic opioid and less euphoric; may be given to ease opioid withdrawal
Hallucinogens
- Profound alterations in sensory and perceptual experiences
- Cause vivid visual hallucinations
- Mescaline and LSD – serotonin agonists
- Ketamine and PCP – antagonists of the MDMA glutamate receptor
Hypnosis
- State of extreme self-focus and attention; minimal attention is given to external stimuli
- Therapeutic setting – may use relaxation and suggestion in an attempt to alter the thoughts and perceptions of a patient
- Pain management, treatment of depression and anxiety, smoking cessation and weight loss
Meditation
- An act of focusing on a single target to increase awareness of the moment
- Achieve a state of relaxed awareness and focus