Chapter 5: Variations in Consciousness
Characteristics of REM sleep: rapid eye movement(side to side), irregular breathing + pulse, relaxed muscles, high frequency beta waves, dreaming is most frequent, vivid and memorable.
Sleep Deprivation: can cause rapid changes to REM sleep, extra time in REM sleep.
Sleep Restriction: Can affect individuals’ attention, reaction time, cognitive speed and accuracy, motor coordination, and decision making
Narcolepsy: sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking periods - from alertness to REM sleep for a short amount of time, dangerous, but not many people have it (likely genetic), treated w/ stimulants.
Somnambulism:sleep-walking; usually occurs when individuals are in slow-wave sleep (stages 3-4). (15% of kids, 3% of adults)
Hypnosis: a systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened sense of suggestibility
Meditation: a family of practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control; most common in US; roots from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism
William James described stream of consciousness
Cocaine is classified as a stimulant
Simulants: side effects include=restlessness, anxiety, paranoia, and insomnia
Electroencephalograph (EEG)- a device that monitors the electrical activity of the brain over time by means of recording electrodes attached to the surface of the scalp (summarizes the rhythm of cortical activity by tracing brain waves); from broad swaths of the cortex
Melatonin: plays a major role in adjusting biological clocks/ sleep
Stage 1
Takes 10-12 min; Light sleep; Breathing and heart rate is slow, body temp is low; Alpha/theta brain waves; Hypnic jerks
Stages 2, 3, and 4
Respiration rate, heart rate, muscle tension, and body temp all decline
Stage 2
10-25 min; High amplitude, slower frequency brain waves
Stages 3 and 4
Slow wave sleep- high amplitude, low frequency delta waves become prominent; Lasts about 30 min
Stage 5
EEG readings similar to when you're awake, vivid dreaming occurs (get progressively longer as you cycle through the stages and back to REM)
Insomnia: most common sleep disorder
Sleeping pills: carryover effects(drowsy and sluggish); overdose in combination w/ alcohol or opiate drugs; gradually less effective(dependency & sluggishness)
Dissociation- the ability to separate aspects of perception, memory, or identity from mainstream conscious awareness
Night terrors- abrupt awakening from NREM sleep accompanied by intense autonomic arousal and feelings of panic
Consciousness- the awareness of internal and external stimuli
Attributes of Consciousness: External events (My professor just asked me a question); Internal Events (My heart is racing); Yourself being unique to these experiences (Why me?); Your thoughts about these experiences (I’m going to make a fool of myself)
Circadian rhythms- the 24-hour biological cycles found in humans and many other species; rhythmic flow for sleep as well as blood pressure, urine production, hormonal secretion, and other physical functions. Also describes alertness, short term memory, and other aspects of cognitive performance
Time in REM sleep: 20-25% for young adults; 50% of babies sleep declining to 30% vs 20% of adults sleep
Dream content: most mundane, consisting of friends, family, and colleagues; 81.5=chased or persued
Hypnosis- a systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened sense of suggestibility; Effects=Analgesia- being able to withstand things that normally cause pain; Sensory distortion and hallucinations- seeing or hearing stimuli that isn’t there; Disinhibition- doing things that are normally considered unacceptable (rare); Posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia- suggestions that influence later behavior
Meditation Benefits: Lowers stress hormones, enhanced immune responses, Improve cardiovascular health, Reduce chronic pain, Improve concentration, Heighten awareness, Foster moral maturity, Build emotional resilience
Hallucinogens- a diverse group of drugs that have powerful effects on mental and emotional functioning, marked by prominent distortions in sensory and perceptual experience
Brain structures: pons, medulla, thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system (i.e. helping to generate REM sleep); a "constellation" of brain centers