Variations in Consciousness Flashcards
Alcohol
- Drinks containing ethyl alcohol
- Most widely abused drug with the most recorded accidents and fatalities
- Creates sense of euphoria and temporary boost in self-esteem, decreased inhibitions
- Severe mental and motor impairments, mood swings
- Binge drinking
- Moderate risk of dependence
Amphetamines
- Stimulant
- Increases CNS and behavioural activity
- Creates sense of euphoria, increased alertness, elated, energetic mood
- Side effects vary with potency and dosage (restlessness, anxiety, paranoia, insomnia are normal)
- Works on two monoamine neurotransmitters: norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA)
- Increases release
- Influences NE and DA reuptake
Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)
- Influences sleep and awareness (physiological arousal)
- Consists of afferent fibres that run through the reticular formation (structure key to sleep and wakefulness)
Barbiturates
- Sedative
- ie. Seconal
- Withdrawal can produce fever, chills, tremors, convulsions, vomiting etc.
Biological Rhythms
- Fluctuation patterns in physiology
- Contributes to patterns of sleep and wakefulness
- ”Biological Clock”
Cannabis
- Hemp plant that THC, marijuana and hashish are derived from
- Smoke or eat it
- Increases sensory awareness and creates sense of euphoria
- Anxiety, sluggishness and impaired memory
Circadian Rhythms
- 24 hour biological cycle
- Responsible for sleep cycles, hormone fluctuations, urine production etc.
- Influences body temperature (dropping body temperature = sleep, rising = waking)
Cocaine
- Stimulant
- Snorting, “freebasing”
- Works on Norepinephrine (NE) and Dopamine (DA)
- Blocks NE, DA and serotonin reuptake at synapses
Consciousness
- Awareness of both internal and external stimuli
- Influenced by biological rhythms
Day Residue
- Sigmund Freud
- Unresolved thoughts or conflicts throughout the day will seep into dreams as ‘day residue’
Dissociation
- Ability to separate perception, memory and identity from stream of consciousness
- Hypnosis may create dissociation in the conscious
Electroencephalograph (EEG)
- Monitors electrical activity in the brain using electrodes
- Brainwaves vary in amplitude (height) and frequency (cycles per second / cps)
- Four principle bands:
–Beta
=13-24 cps
=used in problem solving
–Alpha
=8-12 cps
=used in meditation, relaxation
–Theta
=4-7 cps
=used in light sleep
–Delta
=>4 cps
=used in deep sleep
Electromyograph (EMG)
- Records muscular activity
- Used to record and study sleep
Electrooculograph (EOG)
- Records eye movement
- Used to record and study sleep
Hallucinogens
- LSD, psilocybin, DMT etc.
- Alters sensory perceptions
- Creates euphoria, dream-like states, increases sensory awareness
- Anxiety, disorganized thought and impaired judgement
Hypnic Jerk
- Muscular contractions that occur as people fall asleep
- Occurs in stage 1 of sleep
Hypnosis
- Used for psychological and physiological treatments, as well as entertainment
- Procedure that creates an increased state of suggestibility
- Responsiveness to hypnosis is a measurable trait
Insomnia
- Consistent, inadequate sleep
- Trouble falling and staying asleep, as well as early wakening
- Most common sleep disorder
- Hyperarousal Model of Insomnia: insomniacs exhibit increased physiological arousal
Latent Content
- Sigmund Freud
- Hidden meaning behind a dream
LSD
- Hallucinogen
- “Acid”
- Taken orally
- Controversial studies, banned in America in 1966
Lucid Dreams
- Realization that one is dreaming, seen with an increase in control over the dream
- Has potential for therapeutic purposes
Manifest Content
- Sigmund Freud
- Literal meaning of the dream
MDMA
- Own class of drug related to amphetamines and hallucinogens
- Causes subtle, long term effects in mental functioning
- Creates euphoric, energetic, friendly mood
- Effects can spill over to the next day as depression
- Overheating, increase in blood pressure, anxiety, restlessness etc.
Meditation
-Procedures that increase attention and focus awareness
- Focused Attention Meditation: brings attention to specific object, feeling etc.
- ie. TM
- Open Monitoring Meditation: allows one to become an observer of ones actions, feelings, thoughts etc. in a nonjudgmental way
- ie. Mindfulness meditation
Melatonin
-Hormone that is released upon exposure to light that resets the circadian rhythm
Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway
- Believed to be how most drugs exert their effects
- “Reward pathway”
- Large, rapid releases of dopamine reinforce the effects of drugs
Mind Wandering
-Thoughts that come and go from the brain that are unrelated to the task at hand
Monoamines
-Norepinephrine and dopamine
Narcolepsy
- Sleep disorder
- One switches directly from wakefulness to REM sleep for about 15 minutes without warning
Narcotics
- Painkilling drugs derived from opium
- High risk of overdose
- Creates euphoria
- Nausea, lethargy, impaired mental and motor functioning
Neurogenesis
- Creation of new brain cells
- Enhances learning and memory consolidation
Night Terrors
- Sleep disorder
- Sudden waking from sleep with a shriek and an upright bolt
- Sufferer will not remember a dream, but a negative feeling
- Easy to fall back asleep
Nightmares
- Sleep disorder
- Normally seen in children
- Nightmares have similar themes in many people
- Anxiety-inducing and hard to fall back asleep afterwords
Non-REM Sleep
-4 stages:
–Stage 1: Theta waves, light sleep, hypnic jerks
–Stage 2: Sleep spindles
–Slow-Wave Sleep: Stage 3 and 4, delta waves
Norepinephrine (NE)
- Monoamine neurotransmitter
- Affected by stimulants
Opiates
-Narcotics
Psuedoinsomnia
- Feeling that one is getting inadequate sleep
- EEG scans show that sleep patterns are normal and fine
Physical Dependence
- Physical withdrawal symptoms must be avoided by taking the drug
- Withdrawal symptoms vary with the type of drug
Psychoactive Drugs
-Drugs that alter mental, emotional or behavioural functioning
Psychological Dependence
-Drugs must be taken to satisfy intense emotional and mental cravings
Rebound Insomnia
-Worsening of insomnia upon ending drug treatment
REM Sleep
- Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
- Important for memory consolidation
- Most vivid dreams occur in this stage
Sedatives
- Sleeping pills, barbiturates
- High risk for addiction, abuse and overdose
- Benzos: developed to reduce anxiety
- Non-Benzos: developed to reduce sleep problems
- Useful in the short term
Sleep Apnea
- Sleep disorder
- Breathing stops consistently throughout the night, interrupting sleep
Sleep Spindles
- Bursts of high frequency brain waves
- Occurs in stage 2 of sleep
Slow-Wave Sleep (SWS)
- Takes up stages 3 and 4 of sleep
- Delta waves
- Takes about 30m to reach SWS, SWS then occurs for about another 30m before the cycle reverses
Somnambulism
- Sleep walking
- Genetic Predisposition
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
- Located in the hypothalamus
- Triggered by light responses in the retina
- Sends signals to the pineal gland to release melatonin
Synergy
- Interaction of two or more substances to produce greater effects
- ie. Alcohol and marijuana increase impairment of motor and mental functioning
Tolerance
- How accustomed one has become to the effects of a drug
- Over time, higher and higher doses are needed to produce the same effect
- Risk of overdose increases with tolerance, as changes in drug administration patterns occur, playing with the gained tolerance
Ultraradian Rhythm
- Cycle that is repeated multiple times a day
- Longer than an hour, shorter than 24 hours
