Modules 7- 10 States of Consciousness Sleep & Dreams Hypnosis Drugs & Consciousness
Dec 23, 2015
Modules 7-10
States of ConsciousnessSleep & Dreams
HypnosisDrugs & Consciousness
What is Consciousness?
• Awareness of self and environment
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• MRI can detect activity- even if there is no outward appearance of of conscious awareness
• Dual Processing –
• High Road Processing – conscious & deliberate
• Low Road Processing - unconscious/automatic
• “Autopilot” especially when doing routine tasks
Selective Attention
• BE THERE! The FISH! Philosophy (Book /Website / Documentary)
• Distracted Driving – your mind is in one place at a time!
• Cocktail Party Effect – your ability to listen to one person in a noisy room.
• Eye blinks and attention… there is a good book about this: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Inattentional Blindness(gorilla amid the ball passers & pickpockets)
Change Blindness(after visual interruption, person/items change)
Choice Blindness(taste testing)
So what if you don’t get enough sleep?
It is a BIG DEAL! If you don’t get enough sleep, it can cause or worsen mental and physical
health problems.
Need some ZZZZZs?
• College and University age students are especially sleep deprived.
• Sleep Debt cannot be made up easily.
• Sleep loss is a predictor of depression.
• Consequences: difficulty studying, diminished productivity, tendency to make mistakes, irritability, fatigue
• Lack of sleep can make you fatter. Increases hunger hormone and decreases hunger-depressing hormone.
• Increases cortisol – stress hormone
• Can suppress immune cells
• Driver fatigue (DANGEROUS!)
• Sleep apnea – host of health effects
Dreams
• Hallucinations of the sleeping mind
• Many theories…
• Functions of Dreams• Satisfy our own wishes• File away memories• Develop & preserve neural pathways• Make sense of neural static• Reflect cognitive development
• Dreams change as you mature -
Hypnosis
• Can you just hit “replay”?• Nope. We don’t record everything/can’t
retrieve everything we do record.
• Can we make people do what we want? • (against their will) - probably not
• Pain relief??? • Yep. Hypnosis can inhibit pain-related
brain activity.
Module 10
Drugs & Consciousness
Tolerance – neuroadaption – to experience the same effect, more of the substance is needed.
Addiction – person craves and uses substance despite adverse consequences
Withdrawal – side effects from substance absence
Physical dependence vs. psychological dependence…
Types of drugs:Depressants –
AlcoholSlow Neural ProcessingMemory ProblemsReduces self-awareness/self-controlExpectancy Effects – Study from RutgersBarbituatesTranquilizersCan impair judgment/memoryLethal if taken with alcoholOpiatesMorphine/heroinBrain stops producing endorphinsMethadone - substitute
Stimulants – Amphetamines(Caffeine/Nicotine/Cocaine/Methamphetamine/Ecstasy)
Nicotine – one of the most addictive substancesCocaine – fast high to crash – chasing the high – placebo had similar
effect for users. Meth – triggers brain to release dopamine – energy & good mood.
Overtime, reduces dopamine baseline – NEED the high!Ecstasy – stimulant AND Hallucinogen – triggers dopamine release
as well as serotonin – blocks reuptake of serotonin so the high lasts longer – dehydrates you/temp & BP go up – andyou can die. Bummer!
Hallucinogens – Hey did you see that?
LSD – Oops, did I just ingest that? Stream ofconsciousness – Emotional response is not predictable. Could be great – could be panic!
Link to near-death experiences?
Marijuana – THC – mild hallucinogenicTakes longer to exit system than alcoholUser experience variesMemory can be impacted
Brain shrinkage/fetal development*summary on p. 125
Drug Use and Abuse
Biological Influences
Psychological Influences
Social-Cultural Influences