What is consciousness
Everything you are thinking about right now
What are altered states of consciousness
- Being asleep
- Having a dream
- Hypnosis
- Meditation
- Anesthesia
Conscious awareness (2 components)
- State of consciousness- level of awareness for our external surroundings and internal states
- Contents consciousness- specific thoughts we are aware if about our internal states or external surroundings
Inattentional blindness
Failure to notice things around us to which we are not paying attention
Damage affects to Intralaminar nuclei and midline nuclei of the thalamus
Damage bilaterally- coma
Damage unilaterally- loss of awareness
What is conscious awareness
- Being aware of what has caught our attention
- Self develops seems to develop around 18 months. Ex. After hours of driving, that person may suddenly realize that they have no memory of the past few hours
What is Preconsciousness
Level of awareness in which information can become readily available to consciousness if necessary. Ex. One may not be thinking (conscious) of his address but readily recalls it when asked
What is Unconsciousness state
State in which information is not easily accessible to conscious awareness
2 types of memories
Explicit memory- involves pieces of knowledge that we are fully aware of
Implicit memory- knowledge that we have stored in memory that we are not typically aware of or able to recall at will
Adaptive Theory of sleep
Theory that organisms sleep for the purpose of self - preservation, to keep away from predators
Restoration theory
Holds that sleep restores our brain and bodies
Circadian ryhthm
24 hour cycle of which of the sleep/wake cycle is one. The sleep/wake cycle is controlled by suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus
Sleep cycles
90-100 minute per cycle
We have up to five cycles a night
Stage 1 of sleep- 5 min
-Transition into sleep
- HR, slows ,BP decreases
Stage 2- harder to wake up 15-20 min
- More relaxed
- burst of brain waves(spindles)
- insomnia may occur
Stage 3 deeper sleep- 5-15 min
- Theta waves and delta waves
Stage 4 deepest sleep 20-30 min
- Slow HR, brain and body in total relaxation
- Deepest sleep
- Mostly delta waves
- Sleepwalking and bedwetting more likely
Freudian dream theory
Dreams represent the expression of unconscious wishes or desires
Chronic sleep loss results in…
Depressed state
Lower immune system
Lower ability to concentrate
Higher incidence of accidenrs
Lower productitivy and higher likelihood of making mistakes
Sleep apnea
Repeatedly stops breathing during night
Narcolepsy
Extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks
Night terrors
Child goes panic; goes back to sleep immediately does not remember the event in the morning
How hypnosis works; 2 possible mechanisms
Social/cognitive theory
- Participant is highly motivated to believe in hypnosis and without awareness works hard to ignore the pain
Divided consciousness theory
- a psychological theory that describes a state where a person’s consciousness is split into separate components
Meditation
A technique designed to turn one’s consciousness away from the outer world toward one’s inner cues and awareness
