Transcript Consciousness - Options

Consciousness
What is Consciousness?
• It is the awareness of
things inside and
outside ourselves
• It cannot be seen,
touched, or looked at
directly
• There are different
ways of looking at
consciousness
• There are different
levels of
consciousness
Meanings of Consciousness
• Sensory awareness – you
are aware of the sights,
sounds, noises, and smells
around you
• Selective attention – being
able to screen out some
stimuli to focus on a
particular stimulus (paying
attention in class)
• Direct inner awareness –
you are aware of thoughts,
emotions, images, and
memories without using
your senses – they are
inside of you
• Sense of self – you are
aware of yourself and your
existence as a unique
individual
Levels of Consciousness
•
•
•
•
Conscious
Preconscious
Unconscious
Non-conscious
Conscious
• People are aware of
themselves, their
thoughts, and
perceptions
• You are conscious
when you are aware of
your awareness
Preconscious
• Your preconscious is where
all of the information goes
that you can recall if
necessary
• This is where you store
memories, experiences,
random bits of information,
etc.
• They are not always in your
awareness, but you can
become aware of them by
focusing your attention on
them
Unconscious
• Sometimes called the
subconscious
• This is where information gets
stored that you are not able to
become aware of
• You may repress painful
memories here, or socially
unacceptable urges and
impulses
• Freud believed your actions
were heavily influenced by the
information you store in your
unconscious
Non-Conscious
• Most of your biological
functions happen at this
level – you do not have to
think about them for your
body to continue doing them
• You may not even be aware
they are happening
• Heartbeat, pupils dilating,
your fingernails growing,
breathing
Altered States of Consciousness
• Occurs when a person’s sense of self or sense
of the world changes
• You may no longer be aware of what is going
on around you
• Sleep, hypnosis, drug-induced state
Sleep and Dreams
Some Background Information
• Humans spend about 1/3
of their lives asleep
• The amount of time we
spend asleep depends on
our circadian rhythms,
or biological clocks
• Body temperature, brain
activity, and blood
pressure change
significantly when we are
sleeping
The Stages of Sleep
• Every stage of sleep has a
different brain wave pattern
• When we are alert, the brain
emits beta waves (short and
quick)
• When we are relaxed, the
brain emits alpha waves (a
little longer and slower)
• Stage 1 (light sleep) – brain
waves slow down more to
theta waves
– People might see vivid images
that they can recall if they are
awakened
– Lasts about 30-40 minutes
The Stages of Sleep (cont.)
• Stage 2 (moderate sleep) – brain
waves continue to slow more,
becomes harder to wake people
up
• Stage 3 (deep sleep) – brain
waves slow down to delta waves,
pretty hard to wake someone up
• Stage 4 (deepest sleep) – brain
waves are at their slowest, it is
very hard to wake someone up
at this level
• After about 30 minutes at stage
4, people begin to move back up
the stages to 3, then 2 and 1
• People will return to stage 1
about 90 minutes after they fall
asleep
REM Sleep
• REM – Rapid Eye Movement
• Occurs after people complete a
sleep stage cycle, brain
produces waves similar to those
made in stage 1
• Blood pressure goes up,
breathing becomes irregular,
heart beats faster, and eyes
move quickly from side to side
• People complete about 5 sleep
cycles when they sleep for 8
hours – REM sleep becomes
longer with each cycle
Why Do We Sleep?
• Sleep helps the body
recover physically by
reviving tired muscles
and organs as well as
boosting resistance to
infection
• Sleep also helps people
deal with psychological
health, like stress
• People sleep more when
they are under more
stress
Randy Gardner
• 17 year old who stayed up
for almost 11 days without
any sleep
• Became very irritable
• Could not focus his eyes
and had difficulty speaking
• Had memory lapses,
hallucinations, and
delusions
• Took Gardner several days
to return to normal
circadian rhythm
Dreams
• EVERYONE dreams, but some
people have more difficulty
remembering their dreams
than others
• We have the most vivid
dreams during REM sleep
• People can dream in black &
white or in color
• Many dreams have plots and
vivid images and often involve
people we know
• Scientists and psychologists
are not sure why we dream
and they disagree about the
meaning of dreams
What Do Dreams Mean?
• Freud thought that dreams
reflected your unconscious
urges and desires – because
some of the things in our
unconscious are painful or
undesirable, we symbolize
them in our dreams
• Biological psychologists
believe we dream because our
neurons fire at random during
sleep and our brain tries to
make sense of this jumble of
messages
• There is no agreed-upon set of
rules for interpreting dreams
Insomnia
• This is the inability to
sleep, people tend to
experience it when going
through periods of anxiety
or tension
• It can worsen if you try
too hard to fall asleep
• Occasional insomnia is
pretty common and
usually goes away on its
own
Nightmares and Night Terrors
• Most people have had
nightmares, and certain
themes in nightmares are fairly
common
• People who are anxious or
depressed tend to have more
nightmares – they occur during
REM sleep
• Night terrors are more severe
than nightmares and occur
during stage 3 & 4 sleep –
people usually do not fully
wake up during night terrors
• They usually occur in young
children whose nervous
system has not developed
Sleepwalking
• Many children walk
during stages 3 and 4
of the sleep cycle
• They may hold
conversations with
people, but if
awakened they will
not remember what
they said or did
• Most people outgrow
sleepwalking
Sleep Apnea
• Occurs when people stop
breathing temporarily
during sleep because
their air passages are
blocked
• Causes the body to jolt
out of deep sleep, though
people may not wake up
• Can lead to tiredness
throughout the day, high
blood pressure, heart
attacks, and strokes
Narcolepsy
• Is very rare, occurs
when people fall
asleep any time,
anywhere
• Can be extremely
dangerous and is
usually treatable with
drug therapy and
frequent naps
Drugs and
Consciousness
How Do Drugs Affect the Body?
• Different types of drugs
affect the body in different
ways
• All drugs cause the
nervous system to
function abnormally
• Some drugs are
addictive, causing the
body to crave them just to
feel normal
• Some drugs are
connected to the
development and
progression of serious
diseases
Depressants Alcohol
• Depressants slow the activity
of the nervous system and
generally make people feel
relaxed
• Alcohol and narcotics are
depressants
• Alcohol causes intoxication,
which can include slurred
speech, blurry vision, balance
problems, and lack of
concentration
• Causes a lack of judgment and
impaired coordination
• Long-term alcohol addiction
can lead to liver failure, cancer,
and heart problems
Depressants - Narcotics
• Used to relieve pain and induce sleep – decrease the activity
of the CNS while stimulating pleasure receptors, are very
addictive
• Morphine, heroin, and codeine are narcotics
• Withdrawal symptoms from narcotics often include, nausea,
chills, vomiting, tremors, rapid heartbeat, and physical pain
Stimulants - Nicotine
•
•
•
•
Stimulants speed up nervous
system activity
Nicotine is a very common
stimulant that reduces
appetite and boosts
metabolism
Nicotine is as addictive as
heroin but its effects and
withdrawal symptoms are not
as severe
Cigarettes are responsible for
more deaths per year in
America than suicide,
homicide, alcoholism, car
accidents, drug overdoses,
and AIDS combined
Stimulants - Amphetamines
• Amphetamines help people
stay awake and cause a
reduction in appetite by
making the body produce
more neurotransmitters
and slowing their
absorption
• High doses can have
effects that last for several
days, after which a person
crashes both physically
and psychologically
• Some people experience
terrifying hallucinations and
delusions while taking
amphetamines
Stimulants - Cocaine
• Cocaine produces feelings of pleasure and reduces hunger – it
deadens pain and makes people feel more self-confident
• It also causes insomnia, headaches, body tremors, nausea,
hallucinations, convulsions, and delusions
• Puts a major strain on the heart
Hallucinogens - Marijuana
• Hallucinogen is a drug
that produces
hallucinations
• Marijuana produces
mild hallucinations and
feelings of relaxation by
slowing the CNS
• It also decreases
coordination, impairs
judgment and memory,
and can cause anxiety
and confusion
• Often raises blood
pressure and heart rate
greatly
Hallucinogens - LSD
• Much stronger than marijuana
and produces more intense
hallucinations – causes neurons
in brain to send messages to the
wrong destination, overloads the
brain with messages
• Hard to predict the effects LSD
will have when someone takes it
• Side effects include violent
outbursts, self injury, panic
attacks, and flashbacks that
occur sometimes years after use
• Can permanently change the
chemistry of the brain
Drug Abuse Treatments
• Detoxification – removal of the
drug from the body, helps to
wean addicts off of the drug while
restoring health to the body
• Maintenance programs – people
are given a less dangerous
substance to substitute the more
harmful drug (methadone clinics)
• Counseling – can be conducted
individually or in a group setting
• Support groups – people meet in
groups for emotional and moral
support (AA, NA, etc.)