Variations in Consciousness Flashcards
What is consciousness?
The awareness of internal and external stimuli
Why is it called the stream of consciousness?
it rarely stops, is in constant flux, endless flow of ideas in all directions
What is mind wandering? Example?
people’s experience of thoughts that are unrelated to a task
daydreaming in lecture
What processes and structures in the brain are involved in mind wandering?
default mode network, frontoparietal network
What are some potential benefits of mind wandering?
facilitate future planning, produce creative thoughts, capture meaning in our personal experiences, relieve boredom
What does consciousness arise from?
activity in distributed networks of neural pathways
What are EEG?
device that monitors the electrical activity of the brain over time by recording electrodes that are attached to the surface of the scalp
How does EEG summarize the rhythm of activity in the brain?
line tracings called brain waves
How is human brain-wave activity divided? How many cycles per second are in each category?
beta (13-24 cps)
alpha (8-12 cps)
theta (4-7 cps)
delta (under 4 cps)
What brain waves are dominate when you are alert and solving a problem? When relaxed?
beta waves
alpha waves
What are biological rhythms? Examples?
periodic fluctuations in physiological functioning
Alertness, core body temperature, secretion of growth hormones
What are circadian rhythms? What do they influence particularly in humans?
24-hour biological cycles
regulation of sleep
What is a chronotype?
a persons optimal time to fall asleep (night owl, morning person)
What happens when you ignore your biological clock?
quality of sleep suffers, can cause jet lag
How can you estimate the readjustment process for jet lag?
1 day for each time zone crossed when going east and 2/3 of a day for each time zone when flying west
What have studies linked to rotating shift work?
productivity, relationships, mental health, physical diseases (cancer, ulcers, diabetes, high blood pressure), elevated mortality
What are some way to realign your circadian rhythm?
giving people small doses of melatonin, timed exposure to bright light, careful planning of rotation schedules
What devices are people hooked up to during sleep studies? What do they monitor?
EEG (electrical activity)
EMG (muscular activity and tension)
EOG (eye movements)
What is the structure of consciousness?
conscious, preconscious, subconscious, Freud’s unconscious, non-conscious
What are some characteristics of the conscious?
controlled and logical, you are aware of it (thoughts, emotions, memories, imagination, a sensation)
What are some characteristics of the preconscious?
easily retrieved information, stored knowledge (someone’s birthday, what you had for breakfast)
What are some characteristics of the subconscious?
spontaneous, automatic processing of sounds/sights/sensations, things you don’t notice that are happening (hair on neck, pressure of shoes on feet)
What are some characteristics of Freud’s unconscious?
repressed memories, impulses, difficult to retrieve but accessible in dreams, things you don’t want to see or face, early experiences
What are some characteristics of the non-conscious?
physiological processes not available to awareness, can be influenced through conscious intent
What is stage 1 of sleep? What happens during? What wavelength is dominant?
brief, transitional stage of light sleep that usually lasts a few minutes
breathing and heart rate slow and muscle tension and temperature decline, where hypnic jerks happen
theta waves
What happens during stage 2 of sleep?
typically lasts 30-60 min, there are brief bursts of higher frequency brain waves called sleep spindles
What happens during stage 3 of sleep? What is another name for it? What wavelength is dominant?
deeper form of sleep, lasts about 30 min
slow-wave sleep
high amplitude low frequency delta waves
What happens after slow-wave sleep?
cycle reverses itself and the person sleeping moves back towards lighter sleep stages, and once they reach what should be stage 1 they usually go into stage 5, REM sleep
What does REM stand for?
rapid eye movement
What is REM sleep characterized by?
relatively hard to wake people up from it, irregular breathing and pulse, muscle tone is relaxed (almost paralyzed), EEG activity is dominated by high-frequency beta waves that resemble those that are seen when people are awake
What is REM sleep associated with usually? Why
dreaming
probably because the waves observed are similar to ones when we are awake
What does NREM stand for? What does it consist of?
non rapid eye movement
stages 1-3
How many times do people repeat sleep cycle a night?
about 4
What changes about REM sleep throughout the night? What about NREM?
get longer
get shorter and shallower
What is the main difference about babies vs adult sleep cycle?
more REM sleep for babies
What is the ascending reticular activating system? (ARAS)
consists of afferent fibres that run through reticular formation that influence physiological arousal (regulate sleep and waking)
What structures other than ARAS are involved in regulating sleep and waking?
pons and area of midbrain (REM), areas of the hypothalamus, specific areas of the medulla and thalamus
What is the relation between sleep and cerebrospinal fluid?
when asleep there is less blood flow to the brain and therefore there is more room for cerebrospinal fluid and it allows us to more effectively remove wastes from CSF
What are the negative effects of sleep deprivation?
impair attention, reaction time, motor coordination, decision making, negative affects on endocrine and immune system, can increase hunger
What are the effects of REM deprivation?
little impact on daytime functioning and task performance, but affects sleeping patterns (go into REM sleep more frequently)
What do some studies suggest REM and slow wave sleep contribute to?
memory consolidation
What is insomnia?
chronic problems with getting enough sleep that result in daytime fatigue and impaired functioning
What are the three basic patterns of insomnia?
- difficulty falling asleep
- difficulty falling asleep
- persistent early morning awakening
How many canadians suffer from insomia? Who is it more common in?
17%
women
How is insomnia treated?
over the counter sleep meds, weed, alcohol, benzodiazepine sedatives
What is narcolepsy?
disease characterized by sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking hours
go directly from alertness to REM
What is sleep apnea?
frequent, reflexive, gasping for air that awakens a person and disrupts their sleep (stop breathing for around 10 sec and snore loud)
What are night terrors?
abrupt awakening from NREM sleep that is accompanied with feelings of panic and autonomic arousal
What is somnambulism?
sleep walking, occurs when person get up and moves while still sleeping
What is REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD)?
characterized by potentially troublesome dream enactments during REM
What are nightmares?
anxiety-arousing dreams that awaken someone usually from REM sleep
What are some typical contents of dreams?
typically mundane, also can be about sex, attacked, chased, falling, misfortune, school etc
What did Freud label day residue?
contents of waking life spilling into dreams
Can dreams be affected by external stimuli?
yes people reported being in bath when touching water, hearing alarm as siren in dream etc
In many non-western cultures dreams are viewed as?
important sources of information about oneself, the future, or spiritual world
What did Freud think the purpose of dreams were? What about other theories?
wish fulfillment (dreams express unconscious motives and desires)
Problem solving view (reflect an attempt to solve problems)
Biological view (by product of bursts of activity in subcortical areas of brain)
What is the difference between manifest and latent content of dreams?
manifest content is the surface level plot of a dream
latent content is the hidden r disguised meaning of the events in the plot
What is hypnosis?
systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility
What is hypnosis?
systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility
What effects can hypnosis have?
anesthesia, sensory distortions, disinhibition, and posthypnotic amnesia
What are the different theories of hypnosis?
- it produces a normal state of consciousness where people act out the role of a hypnotized subject (role playing view)
- it produces an altered state of awareness that is characterized by dissociation (altered state view)
What is meditation?
a family of practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control
What are the main styles of meditation?
Focused attention (zen, transcendental meditation)
Open monitoring (mindfulness, loving kindness)
What are opioids? Example?
drugs derived from opium, heroin
What are sedatives? Example?
sleep-inducing drugs that decrease CNS activation, barbiturates
What are stimulants? Example?
drugs that increase CNS activation, cocaine, amphetamines
What are hallucinogens? Example?
drugs that produce sensory distortions and diverse mental and emotional effects, LSD and mescaline
What is cannabis?
hemp plant that marijuana and THC are derived from
What are some factors affecting drug effects?
age, mood, personality, weight, expectations, potency, method of administration, tolerance
What does tolerance refer to in relation to drugs?
progressive decrease in a person’s responsiveness to a drug as a result of continued use
What are some mechanisms of drug action? Why are they addictive?
psychoactive drugs selectively alter neurotransmitter activity, increased activation in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway may be responsible for addictiveness of drugs
What are some risks associated with drug use?
physical dependence, psychological dependence, overdose, health issues via tissue damage, behavioural effects
What should you do when validating a definition?
look at where definition came from
What is susceptibility to hypnosis associated with?
Daydreamer, vivid imagination, and rich fantasy life
What can hypnosis not do?
Age regression, make people act against their will, recover lost memories
What is unification mean in hypnosis?
Hypnosis is alterations in consciousness that are also influence by role expectations
what is dissociation?
Splitting of consciousness
What are the effects of narcotics?
Euphoria, relaxation, pain relief, lethargy, nausea, impaired coordination and functioning
What are the effects of sedatives?
Relaxation, anxiety reduction, reduced inhibitions, lethargy, severely impaired coordination, mood swings
What are the effects of stimulants?
Elation, increased alertness, increased energy, increased heart rate, talkative, insomnia, aggressive
What are the effects of hallucinogens?
Euphoria, altered perception, hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia
What are symptoms of addiction?
Taking more than intended, failing at cutting back, life revolves around getting drug, failing to meet role expectations, tolerance, withdrawal
