1. Chapter 5: Variations in Consciousness

2. Consciousness: Personal Awareness
Includes:
Awareness of external events
Your awareness of internal sensations
Your awareness of the uniqueness of having these experiences
Your awareness of the thoughts of these experiences

3. Consciousness: Personal Awareness
Levels of awareness
James 1902 – stream of consciousness- an endless flow of ideas
Freud – unconscious- was one of the first theorists to recognize that consciousness is not an all or none phenomenon…rather there are levels of awareness
Sleep and dreaming researchers also showed that awareness is different during sleep and dreaming, but mental processes occur that are quite similar to waking thought and surprisingly sophisticated
Consciousness, or our awareness of internal and external stimuli (including events, internal sensations, thoughts, etc.), is constantly changing. This was recognized by William James in 1902 when he discussed the “stream of consciousness”…an endless flow of ideas.
Sigmund Freud was also interested in consciousness, particularly in what was going on just below the surface of the stream. He was one of the first theorists to recognize that consciousness is not an all or none phenomenon…rather there are levels of awareness.
Sleep and dreaming researchers also showed that awareness is different during sleep and dreaming, but mental processes occur that are quite similar to waking thought and surprisingly sophisticated.

4. The Electroencephalograph: A Physiological Index of Consciousness
EEG – monitoring of brain electrical activity
Brain-waves: across large areas of the cerebral cortex. It is basically a physiological index of consciousness
Amplitude (height)
Frequency (cycles per second)
Beta (13-24 cps): alertness and problem solving
Alpha (8-12 cps) resting and relaxation
Theta (4-7 cps): low alertness and sleep
Delta (<4 cps): deep, dreamless sleep
The electroencephalograph is an instrument used to measure brain electrical activity (brain waves) across large areas of the cerebral cortex. It is basically a physiological index of consciousness.
Brain wave activity is divided into four different bands; beta waves, which are correlated with alertness and problem solving; alpha waves, which are correlated with resting and relaxation; theta waves, which are correlated with low alertness and sleep; and delta waves, which are correlated with deep, dreamless sleep.

5. Table 5.1 EEG Patterns Associated with States of Consciousness

7. Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Circadian Rhythms – 24 hr biological cycles
These daily cycles are particularly important in the regulation of sleep, but also in the regulation of temperature, blood production, hormone production, and other bodily processes.
Our bodies are set-up on a 24.2 hour sleep cycle
Humans and other animals operate on a 24-hour biological cycle. These daily cycles are particularly important in the regulation of sleep, but also in the regulation of temperature, blood production, hormone production, and other bodily processes.
Circadian rhythms vary from person to person, and different people may have different optimal times to fall asleep, have a good night’s sleep, etc.

9. Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Physiological pathway of the biological clock:
The pathway for regulation of the human biological clock appears to be based in light levels, which go from the eye to an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (in the hypothalamus).
This nucleus tells the pineal gland to secrete melatonin, a hormone that adjusts biological clocks
Light levels  retina  suprachiasmatic nucleus of hypothalamus (in the hypothalamus) pineal gland  secretion of melatonin
The pathway for regulation of the human biological clock appears to be based in light levels, which go from the eye to an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (in the hypothalamus). This nucleus tells the pineal gland to secrete melatonin, a hormone that adjusts biological clocks.
Melatonin supplements are sold in the U.S. as nutritional supplements, but many researchers worry that people are taking too high doses of this substance, when long-term effects have not been tested. Melatonin is a regulated drug in Canada, Great Britain, and many other countries. Research shows that may be helpful in the treatment of jet lag, but timing is very important and hard to get right. Studies also show that melatonin may be useful as a mild sedative, more so in the daytime than at night, when melatonin levels are naturally higher.

10. Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Sleep and Work (or school for you)
Your body likes a set schedule
Shift rotation is hard on the body and leads to more fatigue, lower production, and more accidents
40% rise in cardio. Disease
Irregular menstrual cycles
increase in premature deaths
Lower fertility

11. Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Melatonin and circadian rhythms
Melatonin supplements are sold in the U.S. as nutritional supplements, but many researchers worry that people are taking too high doses of this substance, when long-term effects have not been tested.
Research shows that may be helpful in the treatment of jet lag, but timing is very important and hard to get right. Studies also show that melatonin may be useful as a mild sedative, more so in the daytime than at night, when melatonin levels are naturally higher

12. Sleep/Waking Research
Instruments:
Electroencephalograph – brain electrical activity
Electromyograph – muscle activity
Electrooculograph – eye movements
may also record heart rate, breathing rate, temperature, etc., as well as videotape the person sleeping through a window
people get used to the wires and cameras after only one night
Psychologists who conduct sleep research use the following instruments a great deal: the EEG, which records brain electrical activity; the EMG, which records muscle activity and tension; and the EOG, which records eye movements.
They may also record heart rate, breathing rate, temperature, etc., as well as videotape the person sleeping through a window. Believe it or not, people get used to the wires and cameras after only one night.

13. Sleep Stages: Cycling Through Sleep
Stage 1: brief, transitional (1-7 minutes)
moves from predominately alpha waves, when the person is just about to fall asleep, to more theta activity
Hypnic jerks, those brief muscle contractions that occur when one is falling asleep, occur in stage 1 sleep.
Stage 2: (10-25 minutes)
characterized by more mixed brain wave activity with brief bursts of higher-frequency brain waves, called sleep spindles
Sleep researchers have discovered 5 distinctly different stages of sleep, based on physiological recordings.
Stage 1 is a brief, transitional stage of light sleep that lasts between 1 and 7 minutes. The EEG moves from predominately alpha waves, when the person is just about to fall asleep, to more theta activity. Hypnic jerks, those brief muscle contractions that occur when one is falling asleep, occur in stage 1 sleep.
Stage 2 is characterized by more mixed brain wave activity with brief bursts of higher-frequency brain waves, called sleep spindles.

14. Sleep Stages: Cycling Through Sleep
Stages 3 & 4: slow-wave sleep (30 minutes)
characterized by low frequency delta waves; 30 minutes to reach stage 4, and usually people stay there for about 30 minutes
Then the cycle reverses. When stage 1 should be next in line in the cycle, something interesting happens…rapid eye movement (REM) sleep begins.
REM sleep was accidentally discovered by Nathaniel Kleitman in the spring of 1952
Stages 3 and 4 are characterized by low frequency delta waves.
It takes about 30 minutes to reach stage 4, and usually people stay there for about 30 minutes. Then the cycle reverses. When stage 1 should be next in line in the cycle, something interesting happens…rapid eye movement (REM) sleep begins. REM sleep was accidentally discovered by Nathaniel Kleitman in the spring of 1952 – see chapter opening story.
REM sleep is characterized by an EEG that looks awake and alert…and by rapidly moving eyes behind the lids, an irregular pulse and breathing rate, and loss of muscle tone. When someone is awakened from REM sleep, they report vivid dreaming.
Infants spend much more time in REM than do adults. During adulthood, sleep changes continue with the percentage of slow-wave sleep declining and the percentage of time spent in stage 1 increasing.

15. Sleep Stages: Cycling Through Sleep
Stage 5: REM
EEG that looks awake and alert…and by rapidly moving eyes behind the lids, an irregular pulse and breathing rate, and loss of muscle tone
someone awakened from REM sleep often reports vivid dreaming
Developmental differences in REM sleep:
Infants spend much more time in REM than do adults.
During adulthood, sleep changes continue with the percentage of slow-wave sleep declining and the percentage of time spent in stage 1 increasing
REM sleep is characterized by an EEG that looks awake and alert…and by rapidly moving eyes behind the lids, an irregular pulse and breathing rate, and loss of muscle tone. When someone is awakened from REM sleep, they report vivid dreaming. .

17. Figure 5.5 An overview of the cycle of sleep

18. The Neural Bases of Sleep
Brain Structures:
Ascending reticular activating system
a system of afferent fibers running through the reticular formation that influence physiological arousal. When these fibers are cut, animals will sleep continuously. If they are stimulated, arousal and alertness result
Pons (REM sleep), medulla, thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system
The brain structure that is most involved in sleep appears to be the ascending reticular activating system. This is a system of afferent fibers running through the reticular formation that influence physiological arousal. When these fibers are cut, animals will sleep continuously. If they are stimulated, arousal and alertness result.
Other brain structures are also involved in sleep, such as the pons (critical in generation of REM sleep), the medulla, thalamus, hypothalamus, and limbic system.

20. The Neural Bases of Sleep
Neurotransmitters:
Acetylcholine and serotonin (sleep itself)
Also norepinephrine, dopamine, and GABA (involved in arousal and the course of sleep)
Basically, no one center or chemical is at work; sleep is rather an interplay of many neural centers and neurotransmitters.
The neurotransmitters that appear to be most influential in sleep are acetylcholine and serotonin, although norepinephrine, dopamine, and GABA are also involved in arousal and the course of sleep.
Basically, no one center or chemical is at work; sleep is rather an interplay of many neural centers and neurotransmitters.

21. Figure 5.7 The ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)

23. Sleep evolved to conserve organisms’ energy Hypothesis 2:
Why Do We Sleep?
Hypothesis 1:
Sleep evolved to conserve organisms’ energy
Hypothesis 2:
Immobilization during sleep is adaptive because it reduces danger
Hypothesis 3:
Sleep helps animals to restore energy and other bodily resources
There are three main hypotheses regarding the evolutionary significance of sleep. To conserve energy, to be immobilized (and therefore out of danger), or to restore energy and other resources used during waking hours.
Of the 3, number 3 has the most evidence, but the issue is still hotly debated.

24. Sleep Deprivation Complete deprivation
Sleep deprivation studies indicate that people can function surprisingly well when sleep deprived; although effects on mood and performance are present, these are modest
3 or 4 days max
Sleep deprivation studies indicate that people can function surprisingly well when sleep deprived; although effects on mood and performance are present, these are modest. Effects would be more severe, except most people have a hard time going without sleep for more than 3 or 4 days max.

25. Sleep Deprivation
Partial deprivation or sleep restriction (very common)
impaired attention, reaction time, coordination, and decision making
accidents: Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez
Selective deprivation
When researchers wake subjects up whenever they go into REM sleep, thus depriving them of this one particular stage, they find that soon, the person will try to go back into REM faster
REM and slow-wave sleep: rebound effect
Sleep restriction, or partial deprivation, occurs when people make do with less sleep than normal…very common…can cause negative effects, particularly in performance, with long-lasting, difficult, or monotonous tasks...can be very, very costly…Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the Exxon Valdez were all ecological disasters caused in part by sleep deprivation on the part of workers.
When researchers wake subjects up whenever they go into REM sleep, thus depriving them of this one particular stage, they find that soon, the person will try to go back into REM faster. Pretty soon, the researchers have to wake them up almost constantly. The increasing frequency of movement into REM within the sleep cycle is termed REM rebound, and it suggests that the body, for some reason, needs REM. The same rebound effect has been found for slow-wave sleep.

27. Featured Sleep Study
College kids and standardized tests (both intelligence and moods)-
What were the results?

28. Figure 5.9 Effect of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance

29. Featured Study
Those who were deprived of sleep did much worse, but predicted they did much better (and their attitudes/moods were still good)…

30. 50% more common in women than in men
Sleep Problems
Insomnia – trouble falling asleep, trouble remaining asleep, and persistent early morning awakening.
Difficulty falling asleep is most common among young people, while early morning awakening and trouble staying asleep are more common among middle-aged and elderly people
34-35% of adults report problems with insomnia and about 15-17% have severe or frequent insomnia
50% more common in women than in men
Sleep disorders are quite varied. The most common, however, is insomnia.
Insomnia occurs in 3 different patterns…trouble falling asleep, trouble remaining asleep, and persistent early morning awakening. Difficulty falling asleep is most common among young people, while early morning awakening and trouble staying asleep are more common among middle-aged and elderly people.
Estimates of the prevalence of insomnia vary, but it appears that about 34-35% of adults report problems with insomnia and about 15-17% have severe or frequent insomnia. The prevalence increases with age and is 50% more common in men than in women. Some people think they have insomnia, when they really have sound patterns of sleep – pseudoinsomnia or sleep state misperception.

31. Sleep Problems
Narcolepsy – falling asleep uncontrollably during normal waking hours
person with Narcolepsy goes directly into REM sleep
Sleep Apnea – reflexive gasping for air that awakens
the person literally stops breathing for 15 to 60 seconds…can cause heart and lung damage
Narcolepsy is marked by sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking hours. Interestingly, the person with Narcolepsy goes directly into REM sleep.
Sleep apnea involves frequent, reflexive gasping for air that periodically occurs, waking the person who has it. With sleep apnea, the person literally stops breathing for 15 to 60 seconds…can cause heart and lung damage.

32. Sleep Problems Nightmares – anxiety arousing dreams - REM
Night Terrors – intense arousal and panic - NREM
Somnambulism – sleepwalking
Nightmares usually occur in REM sleep and are anxiety-arousing dreams.
Night terrors are associated with non-REM sleep and are characterized by intense autonomic arousal and feelings of panic…more common in children…not indicative of emotional disturbance.

33. Figure 5.12 Sleep problems and the cycle of sleep

34. Figure 5.11 The vicious cycle of dependence on sleeping pills

35. Dreams and Dreaming: Content and Significance
mental experiences during REM sleep that are often based in vivid imagery, have a storylike quality, are often bizarre, and seem real to the dreamer
people dream in non-REM too, although the dreams are less story-like and vivid in imagery, recent research shows that content is usually not bizarre, and that dreamers are often aware that they are dreaming
Dreams are conventionally defined as mental experiences during REM sleep that are often based in vivid imagery, have a storylike quality, are often bizarre, and seem real to the dreamer. Many recent theorists have, however, questioned almost every aspect of this definition. We know now that people dream in non-REM too, although the dreams are less story-like and vivid in imagery. Also, recent research shows that content is usually not bizarre, and that dreamers are often aware that they are dreaming. Thus, the scientific conceptualization of dreaming is changing.

36. Dreams and Dreaming: Content and Significance
Content usually familiar
Common themes: include things like falling, being pursued, trying repeatedly to do something, school, sex, being late, eating, being frightened, etc
Children’s dreams appear to differ from those of adults, with preschool children reporting bland images with no story lines when awoken from REM sleep (if they recall dreaming at all – children under the age of 9-11 report dreaming only 20-30% of the time when awoken from REM sleep, as opposed to an adult’s 80% of the time).
Research shows that the content of dreams is usually familiar. Common themes in dreams include things like falling, being pursued, trying repeatedly to do something, school, sex, being late, eating, being frightened, etc. Children’s dreams appear to differ from those of adults, with preschool children reporting bland images with no story lines when awoken from REM sleep (if they recall dreaming at all – children under the age of 9-11 report dreaming only 20-30% of the time when awoken from REM sleep, as opposed to an adult’s 80% of the time). Between 5 and 8, children begin to report dream narratives, but these are not well developed. Adultlike dreams develop at around 11-13, suggesting that dreaming is a cognitive ability that develops gradually.
Freud said that the contents of waking life tend to spill into dreams; he called this day residue.
People in Western cultures pay little attention to dreams as meaningful messages in their lives, while people from many non-Western cultures are likely to view dreams as important information about themselves, the future, or the spiritual world.

37. Dreams and Dreaming: Content and Significance
Between 5 and 8, children begin to report dream narratives, but these are not well developed. Adultlike dreams develop at around 11-13, suggesting that dreaming is a cognitive ability that develops gradually.
Waking life spillover – day residue- Freud said that the contents of waking life tend to spill into dreams; he called this day residue
Western vs. Non-Western interpretations

38. Figure 5.14 Three theories of dreaming

40. Hypnosis: Altered State of Consciousness or Role Playing?
Hypnosis = a systematic procedure that increases suggestibility- as well as relaxation, narrowed attention, and enhanced fantasy.
Hypnotic susceptibility: individual differences- 10% of people are especially easy to hypnotize, 10% especially difficult
Susceptibility linked to higher levels of absorption in a task and in a person’s imaginativeness…greatly depends on expectations.
Hypnosis is a systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility as well as relaxation, narrowed attention, and enhanced fantasy.
People differ in how easily they can be hypnotized…this is termed hypnotic susceptibility…10% of people are especially easy to hypnotize, 10% especially difficult…can be reliably measured with the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale.
Susceptibility linked to higher levels of absorption in a task and in a person’s imaginativeness…greatly depends on expectations. Research shows that people who are highly susceptible to hypnosis are just as responsive to suggestion without being hypnotized – Kirsch and Braffman (1999) call this imaginative suggestibility and argue that future research should focus on this broader trait.

42. Hypnosis: Altered State of Consciousness or Role Playing?
Effects produced through hypnosis:
Anesthesia
Sensory distortions and hallucinations
Disinhibition
Posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia
Researchers argue about whether hypnosis is really an altered state of awareness or if it is simply people doing what they think they are supposed to do when they are hypnotized…the dissociation hypothesis holds that hypnosis splits consciousness into two streams…divided consciousness
Phenomena that can be produced through hypnosis are many, including experiences such as anesthesia during medical or dental procedures, hallucinations (seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, or smelling something that is not there), disinhibition (doing things you would normally be more inhibited about doing, like taking off your clothes in public), and posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia- influences of suggestions made during the hypnosis session on subjects’ later behavior (“you will remember nothing that occurred during your hypnotized state”).
Researchers argue about whether hypnosis is really an altered state of awareness or if it is simply people doing what they think they are supposed to do when they are hypnotized…the dissociation hypothesis holds that hypnosis splits consciousness into two streams…divided consciousness.

44. Meditation
Meditation = practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control
Some of the most widely practiced forms of meditation are yoga, Zen, and transcendental. All three of these are rooted in Eastern religions; however, many who meditate do so separately from religious practice
Effects of meditation include decreased heart rate, respiration rate, etc., and a relaxed EEG, with predominant theta and alpha rhythm patterns
Meditation is an ancient discipline which has recently become an area of growing interest.
Some of the most widely practiced forms of meditation are listed here. All three of these are rooted in Eastern religions; however, many who meditate do so separately from religious practice.
Effects of meditation include decreased heart rate, respiration rate, etc., and a relaxed EEG, with predominant theta and alpha rhythm patterns.

45. Yoga, Zen, transcendental meditation (TM)
Potential physiological benefits
Similar to effective relaxation procedures
research using the CT scan to track blood flow in the brain in experienced Tibetan Buddhist meditators shows high activity in the prefrontal cortex (an area important for focused attention) and low activity in parts of the parietal lobe that are known to process information about the body’s location in space
New research using the CT scan to track blood flow in the brain in experienced Tibetan Buddhist meditators shows high activity in the prefrontal cortex (an area important for focused attention) and low activity in parts of the parietal lobe that are known to process information about the body’s location in space…this may explain some of the transcendent experiences reported by many meditators.
Meditation results in a potentially beneficial physiological state whereby bodily arousal is suppressed, but it is unclear how meditation differs from other systematic relaxation training procedures which produce very similar effects.

46. Psychoactive drugs
Psychoactive drugs: modify mental, emotional, or behavioral functioning…
Recreational drug use: pleasurable alterations in consciousness.
Narcotics (opiates) – pain relieving; morphine, codeine, Demerol, and methadone…high doses produce an overwhelming sense of euphoria
Sedatives – sleep inducing; barbiturates…downers
Stimulants – increase CNS activity; caffeine and nicotine, as well as much stronger drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines
Psychoactive drugs: modify mental, emotional, or behavioral functioning…
Recreational drug use: pleasurable alterations in consciousness.
The 6 categories of drugs listed on the slide are frequently used recreationally.
Narcotics include heroin, morphine, codeine, Demerol, and methadone…high doses produce an overwhelming sense of euphoria… a “who cares” quality.
Sedatives include barbiturates…downers…used in higher doses than are prescribed for medical purposes.
Stimulants include mild drugs such as caffeine and nicotine, as well as much stronger drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines. Cocaine and amphetamines have similar effects, except amphetamines last longer. The euphoria created by these drugs is very different from a “who cares,” very relaxed state - more like an “I can conquer the world,” very alert state of being.

47. Alcohol – produces relaxed euphoria, decreases in inhibitions
Psychoactive drugs
Hallucinogens – distort sensory and perceptual experience; Hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin
Cannabis – produce mild, relaxed euphoria; Cannabis is the hemp plant from which marijuana, hashish, and THC
Alcohol – produces relaxed euphoria, decreases in inhibitions
MDMA – produces a warm, friendly euphoria; ecstasy
Hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin have similar effects including producing euphoria, increasing sensory awareness and a distorting sense of time. These experiences may be pleasant, but they can also produce nightmarish feelings of anxiety and paranoia…a bad trip.
Cannabis is the hemp plant from which marijuana, hashish, and THC are derived. THC, the active chemical ingredient, causes a mild,relaxed euphoria and enhanced sensory awareness. Unintended effects can be anxiety, sluggish mental functioning, and memory impairment. New research shows that long-term marijuana use may impair some aspects of cognitive functioning, even when users are no longer high.
Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive drug. When people drink heavily, the effect is a relaxed euphoria that temporarily boosts self-esteem and decreases inhibitions.
MDMA (ecstasy) is a compound drug related to both amphetamines and hallucinogens – became popular in the U.S. in the 1990s at raves and dance clubs. Research shows that ecstasy use may have long-term cognitive and emotional effects, but more research is needed.

48. Table 5.3 Psychoactive Drugs: Tolerance, Dependence, Potential for Fatal Overdose, and Health Risks

49. Drug Effects
Tolerance: you need more of the drug to gain the same pleasure
Physical Dependence: must take the drug to avoid withdrawal symptoms
Psychological Dependence: must take the drug to satisfy mental and emotional cravings
Many physiological and mental symptoms: vary based on the type of drug