Psychology 1300: Chapter 4 (consciousness)

Drug dependence

- 1 out of 10 - inability to control over the use of taking a drug - lead to psychological dependence: physical dependence due to repeated use, typically to avoid withdrawal symptoms - Tolerance: habituate to effects of a drug, thus need to consume more to achieve same effect

Narcolepsy

- 1 out of 2000 - sudden sleep attacks

Sleepwalking disorder

- 4% - walking about while sleeping

Insomnia

- 6-10% - difficulty falling and/or staying asleep

Alcohol & College

- Alcohol is leading cause of death among 17-24 years old * 6 out of 10 college students consume at least once a month * 1800 deaths per year in the U.S. * binge drinking (4-5 drinks in one occasion) is associated with lower GPA - Incidents at Texas State *Nov 13th, 2017: Matthew Ellis (20)-BAC 0.38 (died at fraternity initiation event) *2016: Shana Elliot (22)- BAC .199 (plead guilty of intoxicate assault with a vehicle and two felony accounts of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle) *May 3rd, 2011: Airin Hicks (24) (died of head & neck injuries suffered from jumping out a window at an underage drinking party)

Barbiturates & Tranquilizers

- Barbiturates: - calming/sedative drugs - regulate high blood pressure, block pain, and control seizures - induce drowsiness, slurred speech, & impaired motor control - especially dangerous when combined with alcohol (result in asphyxiation (stop breathing)) - Common tranquilizers: valium & Xanax - affect GABA (inhibitory neurotransmitter) which reduces excess nervous system activity

Opponent-process theory of drug use (continue)

- But as the body develops a tolerance, withdrawal symptoms increase (B-process) - This in turn, reduces the perceived A-process ("benefits"/pleasure obtained) - Thus, to elicit the same level, experience achieved from those first few uses, one might have to consume larger quantities of a substance

States of Consciousness

- Focused Awareness - Drifting Consciousness - Divided Consciousness - Sleeping and dreaming - Waking states of Altered Consciousness

Sleep-wake disorders

- Insomnia - Narcolepsy - Sleep apnea - Nightmare disorder - Sleep terror disorder - Sleep walking

Alcohol

- Intoxicant= drunkness (less conscious state/impaired decision making) - effects women more: less body weight and lack enzyme for breaking alcohol down. Thus, higher concentration of BAC can occur - 8 million suffer from alcoholism (typically begins ages 20-40) - moderate use can reduce risk of heart disease and stroke

Sleep and memory

- Jenkins and Dallenbach (1924): - task: learn a list of words - assigned: to either sleep or stay awake - results: people who stayed awake remember less than those who slept after learning the list - explanation: reduced proactive interference- new information encountered through day inferring with memory of older information (ex: the list)

Focused awareness

- Level of alertness/attention: High; fully awake n& alert - Ex: learning a new skill; watching an engrossing movie

sleeping and dreaming consciousness

- Level of alertness/attention: low - ex: during sleep, the person is generally unaware of external surroundings but may respond to certain stimuli

Divided consciousness

- Level of alertness/attention: medium; attention split between two activities - ex: thinking of other things while exercising or driving a car

waking states of altered consciousness

- Level of alertness/attention: variable - changes in consciousness associated with hypnosis, mediation, and drug use

Drifting Consciousness

- Level of alertness/attention: variable or shifting - ex: daydreaming, or letting one's thoughts wander

Mindfulness Training

- Mrazek, Franklin, Philips, Baird, & Schooler (2013) - 48 college students randomly assigned to a two-week mindfulness training course or nutrition class - four 45-minute classes per week led by a professional - before and after "training": working memory test, verbal GRE section, task-unrelated task questionnaire (measures occurrences of mind-wandering) - findings: working memory & GRE score improved & TUT decreased mindfulness training group

Opioids

- Narcotics: - drugs that have pain-relieving & sleep-inducing properties - similar to endorphins (lock into same receptors in brain) - OxyContin & Vicodin - Fentanyl: "very powerful, 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 25 to 50 times more potent than heroine" (Ben Levenson: Founder of Origins Behvaioral Healthcare)

Netflix and sleep

- Netflix in bed bonks your sleep, according to this amerisleep study - findings: - 46% cite addictive nature of watching longer than plan - 25% autoplay makes me watch next episode - 26 minutes later than non-users - 55% of night owls stay up watching Netflix(41% stay up later than planned)

Consciousness and Drugs

- Psychoactive Drugs: alter person's mental & emotional states *ex: depressants- relax and calm *ex: stimulants- increase arousal *ex: hallucinogens- rush or high - Psychopharmacology: scientific study of drugs on the mind & behavior

William James

- Stream of consciousness - continuous process

Sleep apnea

- about 28 million - brief periods without breathing during sleep

Hallucinogens

- alter sensory experiences & produce hallucinations (ex: psychadelics) - relaxation/calmness - but also paranoia/panic - distort perceptions - LSD, PCP, Marijuana

Divided consciousness (multitasking)

- attention is divided between performing more than one task at the same time - saves time but comes at a cost - more demanding task require more attention: "auto- Pilot" for mechanical/ procedural task - can result in inattentional blindness: failure to notice something right before our vary eyes

activation-synthesis hypothesis

- dreams represent the brain's attempt to make sense of the random discharges of electrical activity that occur during REM sleep - less activity in frontal portions of brain (may explain the "randomness" or illogical nature of dreams)

drifting consciousness

- drifting thoughts or mental imagery - daydreaming - occurs more frequently when bored or tired - Harvard study: 47% of time spent mind wandering, people also reported being less happy - lapses in attention can be very costly

Stimulants

- drugs that increase central nervous system activity - caffeine - nicotine - adderall - ritalin - amphetamine - cocain - MDMA (ectasy)

Transcendental Mediation

- focused attention through repeating a mantra - ex: meditating

Mindfulness Mediation

- focusing on being present in the moment - benefits: lower stress, improve dieting, improve attention (less mind-wandering)

Nightmare disorder

- frequent nightmares

Levels of consciousness vary

- fully awake to deep sleep to unconscious - varying degrees of perception - can be selective (ex: attention driven)

focused awareness

- heighted awareness: alert, engaged, full-engrossed in a task, zoning in - Mauri et al (2011): brain activity viewing facebook is different, increased arousal and more focused awareness

Amphetamine

- long-term effects of amphetamines? -addictive: physical and physiological dependence - affect reward-centers in brain - side effects: *loss of appetite *cardiovascular irregularities *high blood pressure *sleeping problems *psychosis: hallucinations & delusions

Amphetamines: Adderall & Ritalin

- low doses can boost mental alertness and concentration, reduce fatigue, and need for sleep - boost dopamine & norephineephrine - american addiction centers (2018): *surveyed 980 students *1/4 of students use without prescription *most common?- To improve academic performance - Weyandt et al. (2018): pilot study (n=13) found that adderall can increase attention, but impair cognitive performance for students who do not have ADHD

Caffeine

- mild stimulant - repeated use can lead to psychological dependence (ex: headaches/sluggishness) - high dosages (200-600mg) can result in jitteriness/nervousness

Nicotine

- mild stimulant, but addictive - repeated use can lead to psychological dependence - speeds-up heart-rate, increased arousal, release of endorphins - Vaping: CDC reported increase in teen consumption (smoke flavors) - no long term health studies - but risk of exposure to known carcinogens (toxic chemicals)

Marijuana

- most widely used illegal drug in USA - 40% people report having used it once - increase heart rate - psychological independence is possible however physiological dependence is still undetermined - might be less addictive, but still impair cognitive performance

Dreams- Can we understand them?

- no one knew why we dream - Activation-synthesis hypothesis - historically, interpreting dreams was important * freud: dreams= wish fulfillment residing in unconscious mind (manifest content (events) vs. latent content (underlying meaning)) - lucid dreams can occur: awareness that one is dreaming

Mediation

- process of focused attention through relaxing and reflective thought - Transcendental Mediation (TM) & Mindful Mediation

REM Sleep

- rapid eye movement - active sleep= more brain activity - dreaming - paradoxical sleep- no muscle movement - move through fast as night progresses

Depressants

- reduce central nervous system activity (slow body functions) - highly addictive - major types: alcohol, barbiturates, opioids (opiates)

Sleep terror disorder

- repeat episodes of intense fear

Drug abuse

- repeated use of chemical substance(s) - interfere with typical daily functions

Sleep & consciousness

- sleep cycles repeat about every 90 minutes - awake/alert: beta waves- fast & low amplitude - as we relax: alpha waves- slower and more rhythmic waves

Stage 2 Sleep

- sleep spindles emerge - spend 50% of the time - deeper sleep, but can easily be awoken

Stage 3 & 4 Sleep

- slow-wave sleep - delta waves emerge- large amplitude, but low frequency

Opponent- Process Theory of Drug use

- this theory could provide an explanation about how tolerance & addiction emerges - Two process occur: * A-process: "benefits"/ pleasurable experience * B-process: withdrawal symptoms - Initially, A-process is companied by few withdrawal symptoms (B-process)

Functions of Sleep

1.Protective- avoid harm from predators and stumbling about in the dark 2. Restorative- help restore the brain functions, feeling restful rather than fatigued 3. consolidation- newly formed memories get stored into more permanent forms

Stage 1 Sleep

Small irregular brain waves

Drug Addiction

chemical dependence accompanied with psychological dependence

Psychological Dependence

compulsive & habitual use of drug to satisfy a psychological need

circadian rhythm (sleep & consciousness)

pattern of fluctuations in bodily process that occur regularly each day (EEG can be used to study sleep)

Consciousness

state of awareness of ourselves and our environments