2. Chapter Overview Brain States and Consciousness Sleep and Dreams
Drugs and Consciousness

3. The Place of Consciousness in Psychology’s History
1880s: Psychology defined as description and explanation of states of consciousness
First half of 20th century: Direct observation of behavior
1960s: Consciousness nearly lost; science of behavior
After 1960s; Study of consciousness altered by hypnosis, drugs, and meditation; importance of cognition
Today: Under the influence of cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience, our consciousness have reclaimed its place as an important area of research.
3-1 What is the place of consciousness in psychology’s history?

4. Brain States and Consciousness
Awareness of self and environment
Inattentional blindness
Failure to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.
INSADCO Photography/Alamy
In addition to normal, waking awareness, consciousness comes to us in altered states, including meditating, daydreaming, sleeping, and drug-induced hallucinating.
ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

5. Different States of Consciousness
Some states occur spontaneously
Daydreaming
Drowsiness
Dreaming
Some are physiologically induced
Hallucinations
Orgasm
Food or oxygen starvation
Some are psychologically induced
Sensory deprivation
Hypnosis
Meditation

6. The Biology of Consciousness
Cognitive neuroscientists
Explore and map conscious cortex function and can sometimes “read” minds
Suggest consciousness arises from synchronized brain activity
Courtesy of Adrian M. Owen, the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University
EVIDENCE OF AWARENESS? When asked to imagine playing tennis or navigating her home, a vegetative patient’s brain (top) exhibited activity similar to a healthy person’s brain (bottom).
Cognitive neuroscience
Interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

7. Dual Processing: The Two-Track Mind
Principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious (explicit) and unconscious (implicit) tracks
Perceptions, memory, attitudes, and other cognitions are affected
Blindsight awareness
Condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it
In everyday life, we mostly function like an automatic camera, but with a manual (conscious) override.

8. When the blind can “see”
In this compelling demonstration of blindsight and the two- track mind, researcher Lawerence Weiskrantz trailed a blind-sight patient down a cluttered hallway.
Although told the hallway was empty, the patient meandered around all the obstacles without any awareness of them.

9. Consciousness and Selective Attention
Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Parallel processing
Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions
Inattentional blindness
Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.
We selectively attend to, and process, a very limited portion of incoming information,
blocking out much and often shifting the spotlight of our attention from one thing to
another.
Parallel processing takes care of the routine business, while sequential processing
is best for solving new problems that require our attention.
Focused intently on one task, we often display inattentional blindness to other events and change blindness to changes around us.

10. Selective Attention and Accidents
Rapid toggling between activities is common today.
Multitasking distracts brain resources allocated to driving; brain activity decreases average of 37 percent when conversation occurs.
Cell-phone use increase accident risk fourfold.
Crashes of near-crashed increase sevenfold when dialing or reaching for phone.

11. What Is Sleep?
Sleep
Periodic, natural loss of consciousness—as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation (Adapted from Dement, 1999).

12. Sleep and Dreams Biological rhythms Circadian rhythm
24-hour biological clock
90 minute sleep cycle for younger adults
Circadian rhythm
Internal biological clock of 24- hour cycle of day and night
As morning approaches, body temperature rises, peaks during day, dips in early afternoon, and begin to drop in evening
Altered by age and experience

13. MEASURING SLEEP ACTIVITY
Sleep researchers measure brain-wave activity, eye movements, and muscle tension by electrodes that pick up weak electrical signals from the brain, eyes, and facial muscles. (From Dement, 1978.)

14. Sleep BRAIN WAVES AND SLEEP STAGES
Beta waves of an alert, waking state and the regular alpha waves of an awake, relaxed state differ from the slower, larger delta waves of deep NREM-3 sleep.
Although the rapid REM sleep waves resemble the near-waking NREM-1 sleep waves, the body is more aroused during REM sleep than during NREM sleep.

15. REM Sleep REM (rapid eye movement) REM rebound
Sleep recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur
REM rebound
Tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
REM: Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active. alpha waves relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

16. Sleep Stages
People pass through a multistage sleep cycle several times each night, with the periods of deep sleep diminishing and REM sleep periods increasing in duration. As people age, sleep becomes more fragile, with awakenings common among older adults (Kamel et al., 2006; Neubauer, 1999).

17. Sleep Alpha waves Hallucinations Delta waves
Relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
Hallucinations
False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
Delta waves
Large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

18. Dreams
Genitals aroused during REM sleep, even when dream content is not sexual.
Brainstem blocks messages from motor cortex
Sleep paralysis
Paradoxical sleep

19. What Affects Our Sleep Patterns?
Sleep patterns are genetically and culturally influenced.
Bright morning light activates light-sensitive proteins that trigger suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to cause decreased production of melatonin in morning and increased production in the evening.
Social jet lag may occur when sleep routines are disrupted during weekends.

20. Why Do We Sleep?
Sleep may have played a protective role in human evolution by keeping people safe during potentially dangerous periods.
Sleep also helps restore and repair damaged neurons.
REM and NREM-2 sleep help strengthen neural connections that build enduring memories.
Sleep promotes creative problem solving the next day.
During deep sleep, the pituitary gland secretes a growth hormone necessary for muscle development.

21. How Sleep Deprivation Affects Us

22. Major Sleep Disorders Sleep deprivation
Causes fatigue and irritability
Impairs concentration, productivity, and memory consolidation
Can also lead to depression, obesity, joint pain, a suppressed immune system, and slowed performance with a greater vulnerability to accidents

23. Major Sleep Disorders Insomnia Narcolepsy Sleep apnea Night terrors
Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
Narcolepsy
Sudden uncontrollable sleep attacks, sometimes lapsing directly into REM sleep
Sleep apnea
Stopping of breathing while asleep; associated with obesity, especially in men
Night terrors
High arousal and appearance of being terrified
Sleepwalking and sleeptalking

24. Sleep Disorders Some Natural Sleep Aids
Exercise regularly but not in the late evening. (Late afternoon is best.)
Avoid caffeine after early afternoon, and avoid food and drink near bedtime. The exception would be a glass of milk, which provides raw materials for the manufacture of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that facilitates sleep.
Relax before bedtime, using dimmer light.
Sleep on a regular schedule (rise at the same time even after a restless night) and avoid long naps.
Hide the time so you aren’t tempted to check repeatedly.
Reassure yourself that temporary sleep loss causes no great harm.
Focus your mind on nonarousing, engaging thoughts, such as song lyrics, TV programs, or vacation travel (Gellis et al., 2013).
If all else fails, settle for less sleep, either going to bed later or getting up earlier.

25. What Do We Dream?
We usually dream of ordinary events and everyday experiences, most involving some anxiety or misfortune.
Daydreams: Familiar details of our life
REM dreams: Vivid, emotional, bizarre
Dreams with negative event or emotion: 8 in 10 dreams
Dreams with sexual imagery: 1 in 10 among young men and 1 in 30 among young women
Dreams incorporating previous days’ experience: Most common
Table 9.1
3-10 What do we dream?

26. Dreams Why we dream To develop and preserve neural pathways
To satisfy our own wishes
To file away memories
To develop and preserve neural pathways
To make sense of neural static
To reflect cognitive development
There are five major views of the function of dreams. (1) Freud’s wish-fulfillment:
Dreams provide a psychic “safety valve,” with manifest content (story line) acting as a
censored version of latent content (underlying meaning that gratifies our unconscious
wishes). (2) Information-processing: Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate
them in memory. (3) Physiological function: Regular brain stimulation may
help develop and preserve neural pathways in the brain. (4) Neural activation: The
brain attempts to make sense of neural static by weaving it into a story line. (5) Cognitive
development: Dreams reflect the dreamer’s level of development.
3-11 What functions have theorists proposed for dreams?

27. Dream Theories Theory Explanation Critical Considerations
Freud’s wish-fulfillment
Dreams preserve sleep and provide a “psychic safety valve”—expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; contain manifest (remembered) content and a deeper layer of latent content (a hidden meaning).
Lacks any scientific support; dreams may be interpreted in many different ways.
Information – processing
Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories.
But why do we sometimes dream about things we have not experienced and about past events?
Physiological function
Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways.
This does not explain why we experience meaningful dreams.
Neural activation
REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories.
The individual’s brain is weaving the stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer.
Cognitive development
Dream content reflects dreamers’ level of cognitive development—their knowledge and understanding. Dreams simulate our lives, including worst-case scenarios.
Does not propose an adaptive function of dreams.
Table 9.2
BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF BEHAVIOR ARE PARTNERS, NOT COMPETITORS.

28. Tolerance and Addiction
With repeated use, the desired effect requires larger doses
Addiction
Compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors (such as gambling) despite known harmful consequences
Withdrawal
Discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing an addictive drug or behavior

29. What Roles Do Tolerance, Withdrawal, and Addiction Play in Substance Use Disorders?
Those with a substance use disorder may exhibit impaired control, social disruption, risky behavior, and the physical effects of tolerance and withdrawal.
Psychoactive drugs alter perceptions and moods.
They may produce tolerance—requiring larger doses to achieve the desired effect—and withdrawal—significant discomfort accompanying attempts to quit.
Continued use may lead to addiction, which is the compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors (such as gambling) despite known adverse consequences.

30. When Is Drug Use a Disorder?
Diminished Control
1. Uses more substance, or for longer, than intended.
2. Tries unsuccessfully to regulate use of substance.
3. Spends much time acquiring, using, or recovering from effects of substance.
4. Craves the substance.
Diminished Social Functioning
5. Use disrupts commitments at work, school, or home.
6. Continues use despite social problems.
7. Causes reduced social, recreational, and work activities.
Hazardous Use
8. Continues use despite hazards.
9. Continues use despite worsening physical or psychological problems.
Drug Action
10. Experiences tolerance (needing more substance for the desired effect).
11. Experiences withdrawal when attempting to end use.
A person may be diagnosed with substance use disorder when drug use continues despite
significant life disruption. Resulting changes in brain circuits may persist after quitting
use of the substance (thus leading to strong cravings when exposed to people and situations
that trigger memories of drug use). The severity of substance use disorder varies
from mild (two to three symptoms) to moderate (four to five symptoms) to severe (six or
more symptoms) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

31. How Has the Concept of Addiction Changed?
Extended to cover many behavior
Degree and scope debated
Addiction-as-disease-needing treatment
Offered for many driven, excessive behaviors that become compulsive and dysfunctional
APA (2013) manual proposes further study of Internet gaming disorder
Psychologists debate whether the concept of addiction has been stretched too far, and
whether addictions are really as irresistible as commonly believed. Addictions can be
powerful, and many with addictions do benefit from therapy or group support. But
viewing addiction as an uncontrollable disease can undermine people’s self-confidence
and their belief that they can change. The addiction-as-disease-needing-treatment idea
has been extended to a host of excessive, driven behaviors, but labeling a behavior
doesn’t explain it. The concept of addiction continues to evolve, as psychiatry’s manual
of disorders now includes behavior addictions such as “gambling disorder” and proposes
“Internet gaming disorder” for further study.
3-13 How has the concept of addiction changed?

32. Types of Psychoactive Drugs
Depressants
Drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates (tranquilizers), and opiates that calm neural activity and slow body functions.
Alcohol acts as disinhibitor
Slows neural processing and potent sedative when paired with sleep deprivation
Disrupts memory and has long-term effect on brain and cognition; impairs growth of synaptic connections
Reduces self-awareness and self-control; produces myopia by focusing on arousing situation at expense of normal inhibitions and future consequence

33. DISORDERED DRINKING SHRINKS THE BRAIN
MRI scans show brain shrinkage in women with alcohol use disorder (left) compared with women in a control group (right).

34. Alcohol Expectancy Effects
Expectations influence behavior
Attribution social behaviors or sexual responses to alcohol releases inhibitions
Fourteen intervention studies with college students lowered positive expectations of alcohol and reduced drinking in the ensuing month
Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism)
Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use

35. Depressants Barbiturates Opiates
Depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment
Can impair memory and judgment; potentially lethal when combined with alcohol
Nembutal, Seconal, and Amytal
Opiates
Include opium and its derivatives, such as codeine, morphine and heroin; addictive
Constricts pupils, slows breathing, causes lethargy
Depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety
Causes withdrawal when ingestion is stopped

36. Stimulants Stimulants drugs
Includes caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, Ecstasy (MDMA), and methamphetamine) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions
Involves dilation of pupils, increase in heart and breathing rates, rise in blood sugar, and drop in appetite
Often involves increase in energy and self-confidence

37. Nicotine
Is the stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco
Signals the central nervous system to release a flood of neurotransmitters
Diminishes appetite, boosts alertness and mental efficiency, calms anxiety, and reduces sensitivity to pain
Involves challenging acute craving and withdrawal symptoms which contribute to relapse

38. Where there’s smoke . . . The physiological effects of nicotine
Nicotine reaches the brain within 7 seconds, twice as fast as intravenous heroin.
Within minutes, the amount in the blood soars.

39. Stimulants Cocaine Produces quick rush of euphoria
Involves crash of agitated depression within 15 to 30 minutes after neurotransmitters drop
Produces psychological effects depended on dosage and form consumed and user’s expectations and personality

40. Stimulants Cocaine Produces quick rush of euphoria
Involves crash of agitated depression within 15 to 30 minutes after neurotransmitters drop
Methamphetamine
Produces psychological effects depended on dosage and form consumed and user’s expectations and personality
Is powerfully addictive
Ecstasy (MDMA)
Is a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen
Produces euphoria, but with short-term health risks and longer term harm to mood and cognition

41. Hallucinogens Hallucinogens Marijuana
Distorts perceptions and call up sensory images without any input from the senses
Marijuana
Has leaves containing THC (delta- 9- tetrahydrocannabinol) which are smoked or eaten to produce increase sensitivity to colors, sounds, tastes, and smells; lingers in body longer
Can also relax, disinhibit, impair motor and perceptual skills, and reaction time

42. Hallucinogens
LSD
Powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid (lysergic acid diethylamide)
Interferes with serotonin neurotransmitter system
HALLUCINATION OR NEARDEATH
VISION? People under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs often see “a bright light in the center of the field of vision…”

43. Hallucination Marijuana and synthetic marijuana (K2 and Spice)
Contains THC and produces mix of effects
Relaxes, disinhibits, and may produce euphoria
Is mild hallucinogen which amplifies sensory sensitivity, impairs motor coordination, perceptual skills, and reaction time
Disrupts memory formation and immediate recall
Impairs brain development with prenatal exposure
Can linger in body for weeks

44. Why Do Some People Become Regular Users of Consciousness-Altering Drugs?
Some people may be biologically vulnerable to particular drugs, such as alcohol.
Psychological factors (such as stress, depression, and hopelessness) and social factors (such as peer pressure) combine to lead many people to experiment with—and sometimes become addicted to—drugs.
Cultural and ethnic groups have differing rates of drug use.
Each type of influence—biological, psychological, and social-cultural—offers a possible path for drug misuse prevention and treatment programs.

45. A Guide to Selected Psychoactive Drugs
Type
Pleasurable Effects
Negative Aftereffects
Alcohol
Depressant
Initial high followed by relaxation and disinhibition
Depression, memory loss, organ damage, impaired reactions
Heroin
Rush of euphoria, relief from pain
Depressed physiology, agonizing withdrawal
Caffeine
Stimulant
Increased alertness and wakefulness
Anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia in high doses; uncomfortable withdrawal
Nicotine
Arousal and relaxation, sense of well - being
Heart disease, cancer
Cocaine
Rush of euphoria, confidence, energy
Cardiovascular stress, suspiciousness, depressive crash
Methamphetamine
Euphoria, alertness, energy
Irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures
Ecstasy (MDMA)
Stimulant; mild hallucinogen
Emotional elevation, disinhibition
Dehydration, overheating, depressed mood, impaired cognitive and immune functioning
LSD
Hallucinogen
Visual “trip”
Risk of panic
Marijuana (THC)
Mild hallucinogen
Enhanced sensation, relief of pain, distortion of time, relaxation
Impaired learning and memory, increased risk of psychological disorders, lung damage from smoke

46. PEER INFLUENCE
Kids don’t smoke if their friends don’t (Philip Morris, ). A correlation-causation question: Does the close link between teen smoking and friends’ smoking reflect peer influence? Teens seeking similar friends? Or both?

47. Drug Prevention and Treatment Programs
Educate young people about the long-term costs of a drug’s temporary pleasures.
Help young people find other ways to boost their self-esteem and purpose in life.
Attempt to modify peer associations or to “inoculate” youths against peer pressures by training them in refusal skills.