1. Chapter 3: States of Consciousness 1

2. Consciousness An awareness of ourselves and our environment Selective attention to one’s ongoing thoughts, feelings, and perceptions Levels of information processing: - conscious - subconscious. 2

3. Consciousness - a chief executive Assistants - take care of routine tasks Altered states of consciousness Different Examples: sleep, dreaming, hypnosis, drug induced states, and near death experiences. 3

4. Sleep and Dreaming Stages of sleep - stages 1, 2, 3, 4 & REM What distinguishes these stages? pattern of brain wave activity Electroencephalograph (EEG) - machine for monitoring neuron firing Five different patterns are noted during sleep. 4

5. 5 Brain Wave Activity and Sleep Page 277

6. Sleep Research Subject Researcher monitors brain wave activity, muscle tension, eye movements, genital arousal, and other bodily responses (p.272). 6

7. Dream Research Findings: Stages of Sleep As can be seen, sleep throughout the night has a predictable pattern to it (p. 278). 7

8. 8 Light sleep Lasts up to 5 minutes Some experience fantastic images, resembling hallucinations Example: sensations of falling or of floating weightlessly. Sleep: Stage 1

9. 9 You are clearly asleep Sleep spindles About 20 min. in length Sleep: Stage 2

10. 10 Large, slow delta waves Called slow wave sleep Hard to awaken About 30 minutes End of stage 4, children sometimes walk in sleep Brain still processes information (selective attention) Stage 4 gets briefer as sleep continues. Sleep: Stages 3 & 4

11. 11 After going through stages 1-4, you ascend returning through stage 3 and stage 2 You then enter REM sleep REM - Rapid Eye Movement (1952) Brain waves become rapid Much like nearly awake stage 1 sleep Important sleep; REM rebound. Sleep: REM

12. 12 Stages vary in length - get longer as sleep goes on Breathing rapid and irregular Heart rate rises, genital arousal Body paralyzed, muscles relaxed Motor cortex is active, but brainstem blocks its messages REM called paradoxical sleep. Why? Other Characteristics of REM:

13. One Other Characteristic of REM: 13

14. REM Sleep: Awaken someone during REM, they will usually recall a dream REM dreams are often emotional and story like REM’s protective paralysis Are eye movements due to watching the dream? REM sleep periods (dreams) get longer 20-25% of sleep time is dream time. 14

15. What Do We Dream? We spend 600 hours a year dreaming - 6 years of our lives 8 in 10 dreams - marked by negative emotions Awakened during REM, males report only one in ten dreams as being sexual. Women one in thirty Usually dream about events in daily life 65% of characters in men’s dreams are males. Women 50/50 split. 15

16. Why Do We Dream? Sigmund Freud: manifest and latent content Freud - dreams allow for the expression of unconscious, anxiety-laden material Unconscious emerges in dreams in the form of symbols Wish fulfillment Example. 16

17. Why Do We Dream: Another Theory The activation-synthesis theory Dreams result from random neuron firings Provides periodic stimulation Dreams - brain’s attempt to make sense of random neuron firings Emotion related limbic system active during REM adding emotions. 17

18. Why Do We Sleep? Obviously, we need sleep We sleep 1/3 of our lives, 25 yrs. average But why? Not an easy question to answer Effect of sleep deprivation - sleepiness, diminished productivity, mistakes, fatigue Sleep deprivation “makes you stupid”. 18

19. Other Effects of Sleep Loss: Suppression of the disease fighting immune system Impaired creativity and concentration Slight hand tremors Slowed performance & reaction times Misperceptions on monotonous tasks- makes driving hazardous. 19

20. But Still, Why Do We Sleep? We have very few answers Sleep may have evolved because... Helps us recuperate, restores body tissue, especially brain Brain is active, perhaps, repairing and organizing itself However, unsure what is restored May play a role in the growth process. 20

21. Sleep Disorders Insomnia - recurring problems in falling or staying asleep Narcolepsy - periodic, overwhelming sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, usually lasting less than five minutes Sleep apnea - characterized by temporary cessations of breathing and consequent reawakenings. 21

22. Night terrors - characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified Night terrors - stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep Seldom remembered. 22

23. Hypnosis A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur If instructed to forget once out of the hypnotic state, the subject will have posthypnotic amnesia, a temporary memory loss, like being unable to recall. 23

24. Can anyone experience hypnosis? Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events? Can hypnosis force people to act against their will? Can hypnosis be therapeutic? Can hypnosis alleviate pain? Theory of dissociation Is hypnosis an altered state of consciousness? 24