Unit 3

States of Consciousness & the Two-Track

Mind
 PLEASE DO NOW!
*Answer True or False to the following:
1. People can dream in black & white
2. Some people never dream
3. Sleep is not necessary & with practice people can do without it
4. It’s dangerous to wake a sleep walker
5. If someone has nightmares it means they have serious emotional problems
6. All dreams have underlying meanings
7. We can learn during sleep
8. Scientists agree on why we dream
9. In general, teens need more sleep than adults
10. Scientists agree that hypnosis can make the subject do things he/she normally
would not
11. Sleepwalkers are acting out their dreams.
12. Sleep experts recommend treating insomnia with an occasional sleeping pill.
13. Some people dream every night; others seldom dream.
14. When people dream of performing some activity, their limbs often move in
concert with the dream.
15. Older adults sleep longer than younger adults.
Overview of Topics in this Chapter

 the definition and nature of consciousness

 the consequences of having a dual-track mind
 the rhythms and functions of sleep and
dreams
 the nature and effects of hypnosis
 the substances that affect consciousness
 drug dependence and abuse
 Consciousness is…
 alertness; being awake
vs. being unconscious In the text, consciousness
 self-awareness; the is defined as:
ability to think about “our awareness of
self ourselves and our
 having free will; being environment.”
able to make a
“conscious” decision
 a person’s mental Aren’t animals aware of their
content, thoughts, and environment?
imaginings
If so, is our awareness different?...
To explore the nature of Possibly…because we have
consciousness, it helps (uniquely?) a narrative experience
to first choose a of that awareness.
definition.
The central theory of conscious
behavior can be found in:
 Conscious

Subconscious

Unconscious
Chapter Topics
This chapter is concerned with:
the quality our mental experience.
the role of the brain in that experience.
the way that experience is affected by the
two tracks of mental experience.
the way that experience is altered by
 sleep.
 hypnosis.
 psychoactive drugs.
 Forms of Consciousness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAIfGYAhwQA
Psychology’s Relationship to this Topic
Psychology was once defined as
“the description and
explanation of states of
consciousness.”
Now, consciousness is just one
topic among many for
psychologists.

Cognitive
neuroscience
allows us to
revisit this topic
and see how the
brain is involved.
 Brain and Debate
Consciousness: What is going on
in the brain that
generates our
Findings and Debates experience of
consciousness?
Finding
Some rare
“unconscious” patients
have brain responses
to conversation.

One View
Synchronized,
Implication coordinated brain activity
Don’t judge a book generates consciousness,
by its cover when it or at least is a sign that
comes to conscious activity is
consciousness. occurring.
 While out for a bike ride, you can
think about what you’ll make for
dinner rather than concentrate on how
to operate the bicycle. This illustrates:
A. parallel processing.
B. Sigmund Freud’s concept of the unconscious.
C. the function of delta waves.
D. somnambulism.
 Conscious vs. Unconscious Activity:
The Dual-Track Mind
Conscious “high” track: Unconscious “low” track:
our minds take deliberate our minds perform automatic
actions we know we are actions, often without being aware
doing of them
Examples: problem solving, Examples: walking, acquiring
naming an object, defining a phobias, processing sensory details
word into perceptions and memories

Example in the book (borrowed from the Sensation

and Perception topic:
Automatic processing:
Conscious “high” track
says, “I saw a bird!”
Unconsciously, we
see:
And now, to
SLEEP--
perchance,
to Dream
 10 Most Common Dreams
(reported by 18-35 yr. olds)
1. Falling (79%)
2. Seeing loved one in danger or dead (60%)
3. Being chased or attacked (56%)
4. Having a sexual experience (54%)
5. Accomplishing something great (52%)
6. Flying or floating (45%)
7. Paralyzed/unable to move or run (42%)
8. Preparing for an event (31%)
9. Missing an event/bus/plane (28%)
10. Being naked in public (15%)
-Adapted from Faraday & Garfield
Sleep as a State of Consciousness
When sleeping, are we fully
unconscious and “dead to How Do We Learn About
the world”? Sleep and Dreams?
Or is the window to  We can monitor EEG/brain
consciousness open? waves and muscle
movements during sleep.
Consider that:  We can expose the
we move around, but how do we sleeping person to noise
stop ourselves from falling out of and words, and then
bed? examine the effects on the
we sometimes incorporate real- brain (waves) and mind
world noises into our dreams. (memory).
some noises (our own baby’s  We can wake people and
cry) wake us more easily than see which mental state
others. (e.g. dreaming) goes with
which brain/body state.
Sleep and
Biological
Rhythms

 24 hour biological “clock”

 90 minute sleep cycle
.
 Daily Rhythms and Sleep
The circadian (“about a day”) “Larks” and “Owls”
rhythm refers to the body’s Daily rhythms vary from
natural 24-hour cycle, roughly person to person and with
matched to the day/night age.
cycle of light and dark. General peaks in alertness:
evening peak—20-year old
“owls”
morning peak—50-year
old “larks”
What changes during the 24
hours?
Over the 24 hour cycle, the
following factors vary, rising
and falling over the course of
the day and night:
body temperature
arousal/energy
mental sharpness
Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Circadian Rhythm
Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Circadian Rhythm
Sleep Stages and Sleep Cycles:
What is Measured?
Stages and Cycles of Sleep

Sleep stages refer to distinct patterns of brain There

waves and muscle activity that are associated are
with different types of consciousness and sleep. four
types
of
sleep.

Sleep cycles refer to

the patterns of shifting
through all the sleep
stages over the course
of the night. We
“cycle” through all the
sleep stages in about
90 minutes on
average.
Falling Asleep:
From Alert to Alpha

Eyes Closed

Alpha waves are the relatively slow brain

waves of a relaxed, awake state.
Brain Waves During Sleep
Falling asleep
 Yawning creates a brief boost in
alertness as your brain metabolism is
slowing down.
 Your breathing slows down.
 Brain waves become slower and
irregular.
 You may have hypnagogic (while
falling asleep) hallucinations.
 Your brain waves change from alpha
waves to NREM-1.
 Non-REM Sleep Stages
Getting deeper into sleep…
but not dreaming yet
NREM-1

NREM-2

NREM-3
Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Typical Nights Sleep
Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Typical Nights Sleep
Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Typical Nights Sleep
The length of
REM sleep
increases the
longer you
remain asleep.
With age, there
are more
awakenings and
less deep sleep.
 Stages in a Typical Night’s Sleep
Minutes
of Decreasing
25 Stage 4
Stage 4
and
REM 20

15 Increasing
REM
10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Hours of sleep
 Sleep Stages
• There are 5 identified stages of sleep.
• It takes about 90-100 minutes to pass through
the 5 stages.
• The brain’s waves will change according to the
sleep stage you are in.
• The first four sages and know as NREM sleep..
• The fifth stage is called REM sleep.
 Stage One
• This is experienced as falling to sleep and is a
transition stage between wake and sleep.
• It usually lasts between 1 and 5 minutes and
occupies approximately 2-5 % of a normal night of
sleep.
• eyes begin to roll slightly.
• consists mostly of theta waves (high amplitude,
low frequency (slow))
• brief periods of alpha waves, similar to those
present while awake

Hallucinations can occur and feeling of falling.

 Stage Two

• This follows Stage 1 sleep and is the "baseline" of

sleep.
• This stage is part of the 90 minute cycle and
occupies approximately 45-60% of sleep.
 Stage Three & Four

• Stages three and four are "Delta" sleep or "slow

wave" sleep and may last 15-30 minutes.
• It is called "slow wave" sleep because brain activity
slows down dramatically from the "theta" rhythm
of Stage 2 to a much slower rhythm called "delta"
and the height or amplitude of the waves increases
dramatically.
 Stage Three and Four (continued)
• Contrary to popular belief, it is delta sleep that is the
"deepest" stage of sleep (not REM) and the most
restorative.
• It is delta sleep that a sleep-deprived person's brain
craves the first and foremost.
• In children, delta sleep can occupy up to 40% of all
sleep time and this is what makes children unawake
able or "dead asleep" during most of the night.
 Stage Five: REM SLEEP
• REM: Rapid Eye Movement
• This is a very active stage of sleep.
• Composes 20-25 % of a normal nights sleep.
• Breathing, heart rate and brain wave activity
quicken.
• Vivid Dreams can occur.
• From REM, you go back to Stage 2
 REM Sleep What happens during
REM sleep?
Eugene
Aserinsky’s  Heart rate rises and
discovery breathing becomes rapid.
(1953): dreams
occurred during  “Sleep paralysis” occurs
periods of wild when the brainstem blocks
brain activity
and rapid eye
the motor cortex’s
movements messages and the muscles
[REM sleep]. don’t move. This is
sometimes known as
“paradoxical sleep”; the
brain is active but the body
is immobile.
 Genitals are aroused (not
caused by dream content)
and stay this way after REM
is over.
Stages of Sleep
Why do we sleep?
What determines the quantity and rhythm of sleep?
The amount and  Age: in general, newborns need 16 hours of
pattern of sleep sleep, while adults need 8 hours or less
is affected by  Individual (genetic) variation: some people
biology, age, function best with 6 hours of sleep, others with
culture, and 9 hours or more
individual  Culture: North Americans sleep less than
variation. others, and less than they used to, perhaps
because of the use of light bulbs
Light and the  The circadian rhythm is hard to shift (jet lag).
brain regulate  This rhythm can be affected by light, which
sleep. suppresses the relaxing hormone melatonin.
Why do we sleep?
What does sleep do for us?
1. Sleep protected our ancestors from
predators.
2. Sleep restores and repairs the brain and
body.
3. Sleep builds and strengthens memories.
4. Sleep facilitates creative problem solving.
5. Sleep is the time when growth hormones
are active.
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6dt
7_vHKvY
 Effects of
Sleep Loss/
Deprivation
Research shows that
inadequate sleep can make
you more likely to:
 lose brainpower.
 gain weight.
 get sick.
 be irritable.
 feel old.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK
S0GVvoE9I
Sleep Loss Effects
by Body System
Sleep Loss/Deprivation=Accident Risk
Accident
Frequency Sleep loss
results in more
accidents,
probably caused
by impaired
attention and
slower reaction
time.
Sleep Hygiene
How to Sleep Well
1. Turn the lights low and
turn all screens off.
2. Eat earlier, and drink
less alcohol and
caffeine.
3. Get up at the same time
every day.
4. Exercise (late afternoon
is best).
5. Don’t check the clock;
just let it happen.
6. Get counseling for
anxiety and depression.
Sleep Disorders Are these people
dreaming?
 Night terrors refer to
• Insomnia: persistent inability sudden scared-looking
to fall asleep or stay asleep behavior, with rapid
heartbeat and
• Narcolepsy (“numb seizure”): breathing.
sleep attacks, even a collapse
into REM/paralyzed sleep, at  Sleepwalking and
inopportune times sleeptalking run in
• Sleep apnea (“with no families, so there is a
breath”): repeated awakening possible genetic basis.
after breathing stops; time in These behaviors,
bed is not restorative sleep mostly affect
• https://www.youtube.com/wat children, and occur in
ch?v=LbmbQkX7czo NONREM-3 sleep.
They are not
considered dreaming.
Dreams the stream of images, actions, and
feelings, experienced while in REM sleep

What We Dream About

Dreams often include some
negative event or emotion,
especially failure dreams
(being pursued, attacked,
rejected, or having bad
luck).
Dreams do NOT often
include sexuality.
We may incorporate real-
world sounds and other
stimuli into dreams.
Dreams also include
What We Dream About:
images from recent,
(Psychoanalytic Theory)
Sigmund Freud believed there was
traumatic, or frequent often a hidden “latent content”
experiences. (conflicts, worries, and urges)
https://www.youtube.com underneath the symbolic
/watch?v=A4TB8C9G0DQ “manifest content” (the plot,
actions, and images recalled) of
dreams.
 Theories about Functions of Dreams
Theory Explanation
Dreams provide a “psychic safety Lacks any
scientific
Wish fulfillment valve”; they often express otherwise
unacceptable feelings, and contain support;
(psycho- both manifest (remembered) content dreams may be
analytic theory) and a latent content (hidden meaning). interpreted in
many
But different
why do we
ways.
sometimes
Information- Dreams help us sort out the day’s
processing events and consolidate our dream about
memories. This may
things be
we have
true,not
but it
Physiological Regular brain stimulation from does not
experienced?
REM sleep may help develop and explain The
why we
function individual’s
preserve neural pathways. experience
brain is
meaningful
REM sleep triggers impulses that weaving
dreams. the
Activation- evoke random visual memories, stories, which
synthesis which our sleeping brain weaves still tells us
into stories. something
Dream content reflects the Does not
about the
Cognitive- dreamers’ cognitive address
dreamer. the
developmental development—his or her neuroscience of
theory knowledge and understanding. dreams.
Another Possible State of Consciousness:
HYPNOSIS “Your arm
Text definition: Hypnosis is a social may soon
interaction in which one person (the feel so
hypnotist) suggests to another (the light that it
subject) that certain perceptions, rises…”
feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will
spontaneously occur.
Alternate definition: Hypnosis is
a cooperative social action in
which one person is in a state of
being likely to respond to
suggestions from another person.
This state has been called
heightened suggestibility as well
as a trance.
Controversy: does this social
interaction really require an
altered state of consciousness?
Types of Hypnotic Suggestions
The subject perceptions
may be led
into changes (“The headache is fading away.”)
in:

behavior
(“Your arm might rise by itself.”)
emotions
(“You are feeling more relaxed and confident.”)

attitudes
(“I get nutrition from food, and get comfort from friends.”)
memory
(“You got lost in a mall as a child.”)
https://vimeo.com/60670141
Induction Into Hypnosis
Hypnotic induction, the
inducing of a hypnotic state, The Highly
is the process by which a
hypnotist leads someone Hypnotizable
into the state of heightened
suggestibility. 20 Percent
How do some people get so
A swinging watch hypnotized that they can
and recitation of have no reaction to
the words “you ammonia under their noses?
are getting
sleepy” are not • These people seem to be
more easily absorbed in
necessary.
imaginative activities.
• They are able to focus and to
lose themselves in fantasy.
• The hypnotic induction
method may happen to work
just right.
 Theories Explaining Hypnosis
Social Influence Theory
Divided Consciousness Theory Hypnotic subjects may simply
Hypnosis is a special state of be imaginative people who go
dissociated (divided) consciousness of
our dual-track mind. along with the “subject” role
they have agreed to play.
 Benefits of What Hypnosis
Hypnosis for Cannot Do:
Some People:
 work when people
refuse to
cooperate
 bestow
 blocking awareness of pain, even ‘superhuman’
enough for surgery without
anesthesia abilities or
 reducing obesity, anxiety, and strength
hypertension
 improving concentration and
 accurately boost
performance recall of forgotten
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F8lWkKB events (it is more
D90
likely to implant
false recall)
Altering Consciousness
Drugs
Psychoactive drugs are Dependence/Addiction
chemicals introduced Many psychoactive
into the body which alter drugs can be harmful to
perceptions, mood, and the body.
other elements of Psychoactive drugs are
conscious experience. particularly dangerous
when a person develops
an addiction or becomes
dependent on the
substance.
Factors related to
addiction:
 tolerance
 withdrawal
 impact on daily life
of substance use
 physical and
psychological
dependence
Tolerance
Tolerance of a drug
refers to the
diminished
psychoactive effects
after repeated use.
Tolerance feeds
addiction because
users take increasing
amounts of a drug to
get the desired effect.
Withdrawal
 After the benefits of a
substance wear off,
especially after tolerance
has developed, drug
users may experience
withdrawal (painful
symptoms of the body
readjusting to the
absence of the drug).
 Withdrawal worsens
addiction because users
want to resume taking
the drug to end
withdrawal symptoms.
Dependence

In physical In psychological
dependence, dependence,
the body has been a person’s resources
altered in ways for coping with daily
that create life wither as a drug
cravings for the becomes “needed”
drug (e.g. to end to relax, socialize,
withdrawal or sleep.
symptoms).
 Dependence
on a substance (or activity?)
 Tolerance: the need to use more to receive the desired
effect
 Withdrawal: the distress experienced when the “high”
subsides
 Using more than intended
 Persistent, failed attempts to regulate use
 Much time spent preoccupied with the substance,
obtaining it, and recovering
 Important activities reduced because of use
 Continued use despite aversive consequences
Depressants Depressants are chemicals
that reduce neural activity
and other body functions.

Examples:
 alcohol
 barbiturates
 opiates
Effects of Alcohol Use Chronic Use:
Impact on functioning Brain damage
Slow neural processing,
reduced sympathetic nervous
system activity, and slower
thought and physical reaction
Reduced memory formation
caused by disrupted REM
sleep and reduced synapse
formation
Impaired self-control,
impaired judgment, self-
monitoring, and inhibition;
increased accidents and
aggression
 Barbiturates
Barbiturates are
tranquilizers--drugs that
depress central nervous
system activity.
Examples: Nembutal,
Seconal, Amytal
Effects: reducing anxiety
and inducing sleep
Problems: reducing
memory, judgment, and
concentration; can lead to
death if combined with
alcohol
 Opiates:
Highly Addictive Depressants
 Opiates depress
nervous system
activity; this reduces
anxiety, and especially Opiates are
reduces pain. chemicals such
 High doses of opiates as morphine
produce euphoria. and heroin that
 Opiates work at are made from
receptor sites for the the opium
body’s natural pain poppy.
reducers (endorphins).
 Stimulants Stimulants are drugs which
intensify neural activity
and bodily functions.

Some physical effects of stimulants:

dilated pupils, increased breathing and
heart rate, increased blood sugar,
decreased appetite

Examples of stimulants:
 Caffeine
 Nicotine
 Amphetamines,
Methamphetamine
 Cocaine
 Ecstasy
 Caffeine
 adds energy
 disrupts sleep for 3-4
hours
 can lead to withdrawal
symptoms if used daily:
 headaches
 irritability
 fatigue
 difficulty
concentrating
 depression
Nicotine

The main
effect of
nicotine use
is
ADDICTION.
 Why do people smoke?
 Starting to smoke: invited by
peers, influenced by culture
and media
 Continuing: positively
reinforced by physically
stimulating effects
 Not stopping: after regular
use, smokers have difficulty
stopping because of
withdrawal symptoms such as
insomnia, anxiety,
distractibility, and irritability
Cocaine What happens
next?
Euphoria crashes
 Cocaine blocks reuptake (and thus into a state worse
increases levels at the synapse of: than before taking
 dopamine (feels rewarding). the drug, with
agitation,
 serotonin (lifts mood). depression, and
pain.
 norepinephrine (provides energy). Users develop
 Effect on consciousness: Euphoria!!! At tolerance; over
least for 45 minutes… time, withdrawal
symptoms of
cocaine use get
worse, and users
take more just to
feel normal.
Cycles of overdose
and withdrawal can
sometimes bring
convulsions,
violence, heart
attack, and death.
 Methamphetamine
 Methamphetamine triggers the sustained release of dopamine,
sometimes leading to eight hours of euphoria and energy.
 What happens next: irritability, insomnia, seizures,
hypertension, violence, depression
 “Meth” addiction can become all-consuming.

From 1998 to 2002: Extreme Makeover, Meth Edition

 Ecstasy/MDMA
(MethyleneDioxyMethAmphetamine)
 Ecstasy is a synthetic stimulant that
increases dopamine and greatly
increases serotonin.
 Effects on consciousness: euphoria,
CNS stimulation, hallucinations, and
artificial feeling of social connectedness
and intimacy

What Happens Next?

In the short run, regretted behavior, dehydration, overheating, and
high blood pressure.
Make it past that, and you might have:
 damaged serotonin-producing neurons, causing permanently
depressed mood
 disrupted sleep and circadian rhythm
 impaired memory and slowed thinking
 suppressed immune system
Hallucinogens
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
 LSD and similar drugs interfere with
serotonin transmission. Marijuana/THC:
 This causes hallucinations--images What Happens Next?
and other “sensations” that didn’t
come in through the senses.  Impaired motor
Marijuana/THC (delta-9- coordination,
TetraHydroCannabinol) perceptual ability, and
reaction time
 Marijuana binds with brain THC accumulates in the
cannabinoid receptors. body, increasing the effects
 Effect on consciousness: of next use
 amplifies sensations Over time, the brain
shrinks in areas processing
 disinhibits impulses memory and emotion
 euphoric mood Smoke inhalation damage
 lack of ability to sense satiety
Summary: Desired Effects of Drugs
Summary: Aversive Effects of Drugs
Prevalence of Drug Use in the
United States
Nicotine Use as of 2011:
26 percent of high school
dropouts smoke; 6 percent
of people with graduate
degrees smoke

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/mouse
What influences can lead to drug use?
 What can turn drug use into
dependence?
 Biological factors: dependence in relatives, thrill-seeking in
childhood, genes related to alcohol sensitivity and
dependence, and easily disrupted dopamine reward system
 Psychological factors: seeking gratification, depression,
problems forming identity, problems assessing risks and
costs
 Social influences: media glorification, observing peers
 Only 10 to 16 percent of
Are people who try most drugs,
substances even morphine and cocaine,
inherently become addicted.
addictive and
should they
be avoided at Does
all cost? In general,
recovery recovery rates do
require not seem to differ
therapy, or much from people
require a 12- quitting on their
Controversies step group? own.
Related to
Addiction
Labeling it this way can be seen as
Is the making excuses for misbehavior
“addiction” such as gambling or sexual affairs.
concept However, many of the
applicable to dependence criteria are often
repeated met, and there may be a
behaviors that dopamine-based chemical process
do not involve underlying some ‘addictive’
ingesting behavior patterns.
chemicals?