Consciousness

Consciousness is becoming a more common research area due to more sophisticated brain
imaging tools and an increase emphasis on cognitive psychology

Discussion about consciousness centers on the competing philosophical series of dualism and
monism

Dualism
believe humans in the universe in general consists of two materials thought and matter
matter is everything that has substance thought is a non-material aspect that arises from but in
some way is independent of the brain
dualists argue that thought gives humans free will
some philosophers maintain the thought is internal and continues existing after the brain and
body die

Monism
Believe everything is the same substance and thought and matter are aspects of the same
substance
thought is a byproduct of brain processes and stops existing when the body dies

Psychologists define consciousness as our level of awareness about ourselves and our our
environment
we are conscious to the degree that we are aware of what is going on inside and outside
ourselves

Consciousness probably offers a reproductive advantage

perhaps consciousness helps us act in our long-term interests by considering consequences
rather than merely seeking short term pleasure and avoiding pain or perhaps consciousness
promotes our survival by anticipating how we seem to others and help us read their minds

The upper brain stem probably contributes to consciousness because some children born
without a cerebral cortex exhibit signs of consciousness

Consciousness sometimes arrives late to the decision making part

Parallel processing is when you process two things at the same time usually giving more
attention to one
Serial conscious processing is when you focus on one thing
serial conscious processing js slower than parallel processing but is skilled at solving your
problems which require are focused attention
Attention is selective
This is shown because sometimes people exhibit a blindness to a change if they are focused on
something else

The mere exposure effect

occurs when we prefer stimuli we have seen before over novel stimuli even if we do not
consciously remember seeing the old stimuli

Priming
research participants respond more quickly and or accurately to questions they have seen
before even if they do not remember seeing him

Blindsight
some people who report being blind can nonetheless accurately describe the path of a moving
object or can accurately grasp objects that they cannot see
one level of their consciousness is not getting any visual information while another level is able
to “see” as demonstrate by their behavior

Consciousness consists of different levels of layers

Conscious level
of the information about yourself and your environment you are currently aware of

Nonconscious level
body processes controlled by your mind that we are not usually or ever aware of such as
heartbeat

Preconscious level
information about yourself or your environment that you are not currently thinking about but you
could be

Subconscious level
information that we are not consciously aware of but we know must exist due to behavior

Unconscious level
some events and feeling are unacceptable to our conscious mind and Are repressed into our
unconscious mind
many psychologists object to this concept as difficult or impossible to prove
Sleep
to a psychologist referring to sleep as being unconscious is incorrect sleep is one of the states
of consciousness

Sleep cycle
Circadian rhythm
during a 24 hour day are metabolic and thought process follow a certain pattern
Thinking is sharpest and memory most accurate when we are at our daily peak in circadian
arousal
Part of our circadian rhythm is our sleep cycle
Our sleep cycle is our typical pattern of sleep
Bright light in the morning tweaks the circadian clock by activating light-sensitive retinal proteins
these proteins control the circadian clock by triggering signals to the brain in the
suprachiasmatic nucleus the SCN does it’s job in part by causing the brains to decrease its
production of the sleep inducing hormone melatonin in the morning or increasing it in the
evening

Sleep onset
the period when we are falling asleep
We might experience mild hallucinations

The transition between wakefulness and sleep is marked by slow breathing

Stages 1 and 2
Our brain produces theta waves which are relatively high frequency low amplitude waves
These are also produced during wakefulness however the theta waves get progressively slower
and higher in amplitude as we go from wakefulness and through stages one and two
In stage two sleep spindles which are short bursts of rapid braid waves are observed

Stages three and four

sometimes called delta sleep also called slow wave sleep
slower waves are low frequency waves the deeper
the slower the wave the more asleep and less aware we are of our environment
This stage seems to be very important in replenishing the bodies chemical supplies releasing
growth hormones in children and fortifying our immune systems

After a period of time in Delta sleep our brain waves start to speed up and we go back through
stages 3 and 4
however as we enter stage 1 our brain produces a period of intense activity

REM Sleep
our eyes darting back-and-forth and many of our muscles may twitch repeatedly
this is REM-rapid eye movement sleep
this is also called paradox sleep since our brain waves appear as active and intense as they do
when we are awake
While dreams can occur at any time they usually occur during REM sleep and are more detailed
than dream in other stages

REM sleep deprivation interferes with memories

individuals deprived of REM sleep experience REM rebound experiencing more and longer
periods of REM the next time they are allowed to sleep normally the more stress we
experienced during the day the longer our periods of REM sleep

We cycle through these approximately 90 minutes stages about 4 to 7 times during the night
the cycle itself varies during the night babies not only spend more total time asleep than we do
they also spend more time in REM sleep
as we age our total need for sleep declines as does the amount of time we spend in REM sleep

Why do we sleep?

Sleep protects from the dark.

Sleep helps us recharge.
Sleep helps us make memories.
Sleep feeds creative thinking.
Sleep please a role in growth process.

Sleep disorders
Insomnia
and insomniac has persistent problems getting to sleep or staying asleep at night

Narcolepsy
Narcoleptics suffer from periods of intense sleepiness and may fall asleep at unpredictable and
inappropriate times

Sleep apnea
apnea causes a person to stop breathing for short periods of time during the night the body
causes the person to wake up slightly and gasp for air and then sleep continues
this process robs the pursuit of deep sleep and causes tiredness and possible interference with
attention and memory these individuals do not remember waking up during the night

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation diminishes productivity increases tendency to make mistakes makes you
irritable fatigued and fatter and more stressed.
The brain keeps an accurate count of sleep debt for at least two weeks
Dreams
dreams are the series of story like images we experience as we sleep
Sigmund freud consider dream an important tool in his therapy
Fraud said that dreams were wish fulfilling in our dreams we act out our unconscious desires
Manifest content
the literal meaning of our dreams
Latent content
the unconscious meaning of the manifest content

Our ego protected us from the material in the unconscious mind (thus the term protected sleep)
by presenting these repressed desires in the form of symbols
This theory is difficult to validate or invalidate

Activation synthesis theory

looks at dreams first as biological phenomenon
researchers know that our minds are very good at explaining events even when the events have
a purely psychological causes
dreams may be a story made up by a literary part of our mind caused by the intense activity
during REM sleep the

information processing theory

fall somewhere in between the freudian and activation synthesis theory
stress during the day would increase the number and intensity of our dreams
this theory states that perhaps the brain is dealing with daily stress and information during REM
sleep
babies may need more REM sleep because they process so much more new information in a
day

For both women and men 8 in 10 dreams are marked by at least one negative event or emotion

Sensory stimuli in our sleeping environment such as sound or order may intrude our dreams

Why do we dream?

To satisfy wishes
To file away memories
To develop and preserve neural pathways
To make sense of neural static
To reflect cognitive development

Hypnosis
Hypnosis powers do not reside in the hypnotist but in the subjects openness to suggestibility

Hypnotically refreshed memories combine fact with fiction without either person being aware of
what is going on

Posthypnotic amnesia
when people report forgetting events that occurred while they were hypnotized
post hypnotic suggestion
a suggestion hypnotize person behave in a certain way after he or she is out of hypnosis

Role Theory
states that hypnosis is not an alternate state of consciousness at all
some people are more easily hypnotized than others. A characteristic called Hypnotic
suggestibility
people with High hypnotic suggestibility share some other characteristics as well they tend to
have richer richer fantasy lives, are good at following instructions and, able to focus intensely on
a single task for a long period of time
these factors may indicate that hypnotism is a social phenomenon
people are acting out the role of a hypnotized person and following the suggestions of the
hypnotist because that is what is expected of the role

state theory
points out that Hypnosis meets some parts of the definition for an altered state of consciousness

dissociation theory
hypnosis causes us to divide our conscious voluntarily
one part or level of our consciousness response to the suggestions of the hypnotist what
another part or level retains awareness of reality

Drugs

Some people may be biologically vulnerable to a particular drugs

especially for teenagers drug use also has social roots

People who’s beginning use was influenced by their peers are more likely to stop using drugs
when friends stop or the social network changes

Drugs are chemicals that change the chemistry of the brain and induce an altered state of
consciousness
some of the behavioral and cognitive changes caused by these drugs are due to psychological
processes but some are due to expectations about the drug
normally the brain is protected from harmful chemicals in the bloodstream by thicker wall
surrounding the brain‘s blood vessels
this is called the blood brain barrier

however the molecules that make up psychoactive drugs are small enough to pass through the
blood brain barrier
these molecules either mimic or block naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the brain
agonists
mimic neurotransmitters these drugs fit in the receptor sites on a neuron that normally receive
the Neurotransmitter and function as the Neurotransmitter normally would
antagonists
drugs that block Neurotransmitters
these molecules also fit into receptor sites but instead of acting like the Neurotransmitter they
simply prevent the neural neurotransmitter from using the receptor sites

other drugs prevent natural neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed back into a neuron
creating an abundance of the neurotransmitter in the synapse

the brain will produce less of a specific neurotransmitter if it is being artificially supplied by the
psychoactive drug tolerance
a psychological change that produces a need for more of the same drug in order to achieve the
same effect tolerance will eventually cause withdrawal symptoms in users

Dependence on psychoactive drugs can be either psychological or physical or can be both

psychological dependence
and intense desire for the drug due to conviction that the person needs it in order to perform or
feel a certain way physical dependence
having a tolerance for the drug and will experience withdrawal symptoms without it

Stimulants
speed up body processes including autonomic nervous system functions such as heart and
respiration rate
provide a sense of euphoria
examples caffeine cocaine nicotine

Depressants
slow down the same body systems that stimulants speed up
provide a sense of euphoria examples include alcohol and tranquilizers or anxiety drugs
Note that the inhibition of different brain regions causes behavioral changes
Hallucinogens or psychedelics
do not necessarily speed up or slow down the body

These drugs cause changes in perception of reality including sensory hallucinations loss of
identity and vivid fantasies

some amount of these drugs may remain in the body for weeks this is a problem because if
consumed the new dose of the chemical is added to the lingering amount creating a more
profound and potentially dangerous affect

this effect is sometimes called reverse tolerance because the second dose may be less than the
first but cause the same or greater effect

examples include marijuana and LSD

Opioids
all opioids have similar chemical structure to Opium a drug derived from poppy plant
opiates act as agonists for endorphins and thus are powerful painkillers and mood elevators
opioids cause drowsiness and or euphoria associated with elevated endorphin levels
The opioids are some of the most physically addictive drugs because they rapidly change brain
chemistry and create tolerance and withdrawal symptoms
include morphine Heroin and Codeine

Near Death Experiences

In studies of those who have come close to death through cardiac arrest or other physical
trauma 12 to 40% recalled a near death experience

the near death experience is best understood as hallucinatory activity of the brain

people who have experienced both hallucinations and a near death experience typically deny
their similarity moreover a near death experience may change people in ways that a drug trip
does not they may become kinder and more spiritual more believing in life after death and they
tend to handle stress well