STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS THE AWARENESS OF SELF AND ENVIRONMENT

STUDYING THE BRAIN John Watson (1913) encouraged his colleagues to study behavior of humans, NOT inner thoughts, feelings, & emotions (introspection) advances in neuroscience & technology allowed study of consciousness to re-emerge in 2nd half of 20th Century  cognitive neuroscience

CONSCIOUS PROCESSING CONSCIOUS AWARENESS  ability to voluntarily control our behavior & communicate our mental states to others AKA: Waking Consciousness State of awareness, wakefulness & alertness  consists of all sensations, perceptions, memories, & feelings you are aware of at any instant.

LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Preconscious Subconscious Unconscious Nonconscious slow & sequential – novel tasks require a great deal of it info that’s easily conscious but not always available b/c not important non-attended stimulation; gets registered without knowing it huge mental storehouse; terrible urges & threatening memories are kept out no need to think (breathe, heartbeat)

MEMORIES EASILY RECOVERED PRECONSCIOUS LEVEL MEMORIES EASILY RECOVERED TURN TO PG. 9 IN YOUR NOTEBOOK NONCONSCIOUS LEVEL BREATHING HEARTRATE

WHY IS DAYDREAMING GOOD? Video  WHY IS DAYDREAMING GOOD? not as dramatic or escapist as some believe  it’s healthy, you’re supposed to! Daydreaming: mild form of consciousness  attention shifts to memories, expectations, desires, or fantasies & away from immediate situation; a substitute for impulsivity imagining or rehearsing upcoming or previous actions allows us to think about what we need to do

BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS CIRCADIAN RHYTHM: bodily patterns that repeat every 24 hrs. Sleep/wake habits Eating Digestive movements Can be interrupted (e.g. jet lag)

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PURPOSE OF SLEEP 1. preservation & protection – animals, hunter-gatherers 2. restoration – restore depleted resources & dissipate accumulated waste, repair tissues, consolidate memories 3. growth process – pituitary gland releases growth hormone (older  less sleep)

STAGES OF SLEEP 90-100 minutes cycle Stage 1: transitional – easily woken, some hallucinations Stage 2: periodic appearance of spindles (bursts of rapid rhythmic brain activity), clearly asleep, spend MOST TIME asleep in this stage; sleeptalk Stage 3: 20-50% delta waves; 3+4 = Slow Wave Sleep Stage 4: 50% + delta waves, difficult to wake, sleep walking, night tremors, bedwetting, (older  stage 4 diminishes)

REM REM (Rapid Eye Movement)  eyes move, vivid dreams occur (emotional & story-like too) heart rate rises, breathing rapid & irregular, genital arousal, brainstem blocks messages of motor cortex muscle relaxation, not easily wakened Paradoxical Sleep – internally aroused, externally calm

ORDER OF SLEEP CYCLE Round 1: stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, stage 4, stage 3, stage 2, REM, stage 1 Remainder of sleep time: stage 1, REM, stage 2, REM, stage 3, REM, stage 4, REM, stage 3, REM…etc. Stages 1, 2, 3, 4 are known as N-REM or non- REM

SLEEP DEPRIVATION Is a biological need, but won’t kill you directly Other associated problems can be lethal: Fatigue Weakened immune system Mood swings Hormonal fluctuations Obesity Memory impairment Hallucinations