Psychology 101 Week 9 - Consciousness

How a hypnotist brings a participant to a state of hypnosis?

-While there are variations, there are four parts that appear consistent in bringing people into the state of suggestibility associated with hypnosis (National Research Council, 1994). These components include: 1) The participant is guided to focus on one thing, such as the hypnotist's words or a ticking watch. 2) The participant is made comfortable and is directed to be relaxed and sleepy. 3) The participant is told to be open to the process of hypnosis, trust the hypnotist and let go. 4) The participant is encouraged to use his or her imagination. These steps are conducive to being open to the heightened suggestibility of hypnosis.

Two types of Sleep Apnea

1) Obstructive sleep apnea - individuals airway becomes blocked during sleep, and air is prevented from entering the lungs 2) Central sleep apnea - disruption in signals sent from the brain that regulate breathing cause period of interrupted breathing

2 changes that underlie drug tolerance

(1) Metabolic tolerance: Results from changes that reduce the amount of drug getting to its site of action (liver enzymes may change amount of drug that reaches CNS) (2) Functional tolerance: Results from changes that reduce the reactivity of the sites of action to the drug

How much sleep do we need for monophasic sleep?

-5-6 hours minimum of sleep per night

Hallucinogens

-A hallucinogen is one of a class of drugs that results in profound alterations in sensory and perceptual experiences. -In some cases, users experience vivid visual hallucinations. It is also common for these types of drugs to cause hallucinations of body sensations (e.g., feeling as if you are a giant) and a skewed perception of the passage of time. -As a group, hallucinogens are incredibly varied in terms of the neurotransmitter systems they affect. -Mescaline and LSD are serotonin agonists, and PCP (angel dust) and ketamine (an animal anesthetic) act as antagonists of the NMDA glutamate receptor. -In general, these drugs are not thought to possess the same sort of abuse potential as other classes of drugs discussed in this section.

Parasomnia

-A parasomnia is one of a group of sleep disorders in which unwanted, disruptive motor activity and/or experiences during sleep play a role. -Parasomnias can occur in either REM or NREM phases of sleep. -Sleepwalking, restless leg syndrome, and night terrors are all examples of parasomnias

Narcolepsy

-A person with narcolepsy cannot resist falling asleep at inopportune times -These sleep episodes are often associated with cataplexy, which is a lack of muscle tone or muscle weakness, and in some cases involves complete paralysis of the voluntary muscles. -This is similar to the kind of paralysis experienced by healthy individuals during REM sleep. -Narcoleptic episodes take on other features of REM sleep. For example, around one third of individuals diagnosed with narcolepsy experience vivid, dream-like hallucinations during narcoleptic attacks. -Narcoleptic episodes are often triggered by states of heightened arousal or stress. -The typical episode can last from a minute or two to half an hour. -Once awakened from a narcoleptic attack, people report that they feel refreshed. -Regular narcoleptic episodes could interfere with the ability to perform one's job or complete schoolwork, and in some situations, narcolepsy can result in significant harm and injury (e.g., driving a car or operating machinery or other potentially dangerous equipment).

Restless Leg Syndrome

-A person with restless leg syndrome has uncomfortable sensations in the legs during periods of inactivity or when trying to fall asleep. -This discomfort is relieved by deliberately moving the legs, which, not surprisingly, contributes to difficulty in falling or staying asleep. -Restless leg syndrome is quite common and has been associated with a number of other medical diagnoses, such as chronic kidney disease and diabetes. -There are a variety of drugs that treat restless leg syndrome: benzodiazepines, opiates, and anticonvulsants.

Hypnagogia

-Accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations e.g: knock on front door that never actually happened

Areas of brain that control sleep-wake cycles

-Act in conjunction with one another -Thalamus -Hypothalamus - contains SCN (biological clock of body) in addition to other nuclei that in conjunction with the thalamus, regulate slow-wave sleep -Pons - regulates rapid eye movement sleep (REM)

Drug metabolism and elimination

-Action of most drugs are terminated by liver enzymes: Drugs converted from active to inactive forms from enzyme in liver -Other sites of inactivation include the gastrointestinal tract, the lungs, and the kidneys -Drugs are excreted in urine, sweat, feces, breath, mother's milk

Substance Use Disorder

-Addictive disorders, and the criteria of specific substance use disorders are described in the DSM-5 -A person who has a substance use disorder often uses more of the substance than they originally intended to and continues to use that substance despite experiencing significant adverse consequences. In individuals diagnosed with a substance use disorder, there is a compulsive pattern of drug use that is often associated with both physical and psychological dependence.

Drug Tolerance

-After you consume a drug repeatedly, you may become tolerant to some of its behavioural effects: Drug tolerance is a state of decreased sensitivity to a drug that develops as a result of exposure to it -Tolerance to psychoactive drugs is largely functional and can result from any of several sorts of changes: Exposure to a psychoactive drug can reduce the number of receptors for it, decrease the efficiency with which it binds to those receptors, etc.

Factors that contribute to insomnia

-Age -Drug use -Exercise _Mental status -Bedtime routines

Body temperature during alertness vs. sleepiness

-Alertness = higher body temperature -Sleepiness = lower body temperatures -Body temperatures fluctuate cyclically over a 24 hour period e.g: 12 am - 8 am = lower body temperatures. Peaks in the afternoon and falls during sleep with lowest point occurring during very early morning hours

Amphetamines

-Amphetamines have a mechanism of action quite similar to cocaine in that they block the reuptake of dopamine in addition to stimulating its release. -While amphetamines are often abused, they are also commonly prescribed to children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). -It may seem counterintuitive that stimulant medications are prescribed to treat a disorder that involves hyperactivity, but the therapeutic effect comes from increases in neurotransmitter activity within certain areas of the brain associated with impulse control.

Opioids

-An opioid is one of a category of drugs that includes heroin, morphine, methadone, and codeine. -Opioids have analgesic properties; that is, they decrease pain. -Humans have an endogenous opioid neurotransmitter system—the body makes small quantities of opioid compounds that bind to opioid receptors reducing pain and producing euphoria. -Opioid drugs, which mimic this endogenous painkilling mechanism, have an extremely high potential for abuse. -Natural opioids, called opiates, are derivatives of opium, which is a naturally occurring compound found in the poppy plant. -There are now several synthetic versions of opiate drugs (correctly called opioids) that have very potent painkilling effects, and they are often abused. -For example, the National Institutes of Drug Abuse has sponsored research that suggests the misuse and abuse of the prescription pain killers hydrocodone and oxycodone are significant public health concerns (Maxwell, 2006). -In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended tighter controls on their medical use.

Cognitive function of sleep

-Another theory regarding why we sleep involves sleep's importance for cognitive function and memory formation. -Indeed, we know sleep deprivation results in disruptions in cognition and memory deficits, leading to impairments in our abilities to maintain attention, make decisions, and recall long-term memories. -Moreover, these impairments become more severe as the amount of sleep deprivation increases. -Furthermore, slow-wave sleep after learning a new task can improve resultant performance on that task and seems essential for effective memory formation. -Cramming all night for a test may be not effective and can even prove counterproductive. -Sleep has also been associated with other cognitive benefits. -Research indicates that included among these possible benefits are increased capacities for creative thinking. -It is possible that even the processing of emotional information is influenced by certain aspects of sleep (Walker, 2009).

Randy Gardner: Human sleep deprivation case study

-As part of a science fair project in 1965, a then 17-year-old Randy Gardner tried to break the previous world record of 260 hours of consecutive wakefulness. -Randy did not sleep for 264 hours and 12 minutes. -There have been mixed reports of the symptoms he experienced. -Did not die -No serious physiological or psychological impariments

Opioid Withdrawal

-Aside from their utility as analgesic drugs, opioid-like compounds are often found in cough suppressants, anti-nausea, and anti-diarrhea medications. -Given that withdrawal from a drug often involves an experience opposite to the effect of the drug, opioid withdrawal resembles a severe case of the flu. -While opioid withdrawal can be extremely unpleasant, it is not life-threatening.

Circadian rhythm

-Biological rhythm that takes place over a period of 24 hours e.g: sleep-wake cycle, temperature fluctuation -Sleep-wake cycle is linked to our environment's natural light-dark cycle -Also have fluctuations in heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and body temperature -Some circadian rhythms play a role in changes in our state of consciousness

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

-Brain's clock mechanism = located in an area of the hypothalamus known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus -The axons of light-sensitive neurons in the retina provide information to the SCN based on the amount of light present, allowing this internal clock to be synchronized with the outside world -Output rhythm: Physiology and behaviour

Caffeine

-Caffeine is another stimulant drug. -Most commonly used drug in the world, the potency of this particular drug pales in comparison to the other stimulant drugs described in this section. -Generally, people use caffeine to maintain increased levels of alertness and arousal. -Caffeine is found in many common medicines (such as weight loss drugs), beverages, foods, and even cosmetics. -While caffeine may have some indirect effects on dopamine neurotransmission, its primary mechanism of action involves antagonizing adenosine activity.

Wakefulness

-Characterized by high levels of sensory awareness, thought, and behaviour

Jet lag

-Circadian clock gets out of synchrony with the external environment -Travel across different time zone -Collection of symptoms that result from the mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and our environment -Symptoms = fatigue, sluggishness, irritability, insomnia (consistent difficult in falling or staying asleep for @ least 3 nights a week over a month's time)

Cocaine

-Cocaine can be taken in multiple ways. While many users snort cocaine, intravenous injection and ingestion are also common. The freebase version of cocaine, known as crack, is a potent, smokable version of the drug. Like many other stimulants, cocaine agonizes the dopamine neurotransmitter system by blocking the reuptake of dopamine in the neuronal synapse.

Codeine

-Codeine is an opioid with relatively low potency. -It is often prescribed for minor pain, and it is available over-the-counter in some other countries. -Like all opioids, codeine does have abuse potential. In fact, abuse of prescription opioid medications is becoming a major concern worldwide

Insomnia

-Consistent difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep -Most common sleep disorder -Individuals with insomnia often experience long delays between the times that they go to bed and actually fall asleep. -In addition, these individuals may wake up several times during the night only to find that they have difficulty getting back to sleep. -One of the criteria for insomnia involves experiencing these symptoms for at least three nights a week for at least one month's time -It is not uncommon for people suffering from insomnia to experience increased levels of anxiety about their inability to fall asleep. -This becomes a self-perpetuating cycle because increased anxiety leads to increased arousal, and higher levels of arousal make the prospect of falling asleep even more unlikely. -Chronic insomnia is almost always associated with feeling overtired and may be associated with symptoms of depression.

Crack Cocaine

-Crack is often considered to be more addictive than cocaine itself because it is smokable and reaches the brain very quickly. -Crack is often less expensive than other forms of cocaine; therefore, it tends to be a more accessible drug for individuals from impoverished segments of society. -During the 1980s, many drug laws were rewritten to punish crack users more severely than cocaine users. -This led to discriminatory sentencing with low-income, inner-city minority populations receiving the harshest punishments. -The wisdom of these laws has recently been called into question, especially given research that suggests crack may not be more addictive than other forms of cocaine, as previously thought.

How much of the population suffers from a sleep disorder>

-Depending on the population and sleep disorder being studied, between 30% and 50% of the population suffers from a sleep disorder at some point in their lives

Types of Psychoactive meds

-Depressants -Antipsychotics -Stimulants -Hallucinogens

Non-REM dreams

-Despite the appeal of a REM = Dreaming equation, it is an oversimplification 1) NREM dreams exist. You just have the ask the correct questions. Do not ask "What were you dreaming? " ask "What were you thinking about?", you will get a difference in the report -IN initial stage 1: 80-90 percent of wake-ups report dreams (but shorter than REM dreams, hypnagogic-like) -IN stages 2,3, and 4: 50-70 percent of awakenings result in report of a dream (early in the night: shorter, more thought-like, less vivid, less visual, and less conceptual; later in the night: longer and hallucinatory -- generally indistinguishable from REM dreams). 2) Dreaming and REM sleep can become dissociated under the effects of brain lesion: -Forebrain lesions can abolish dreaming but spare REM sleep -Brainstem lesions can eliminate REM sleep, but do not abolish dreams

Addiction

-Drug-addicted persons are habitual drug users who continue to use a drug despite its adverse effects (e.g., health, social life) and despite their repeated efforts to stop using. -Drug addiction should not be equated with physical dependence: Many drug addicted individuals will resume use of a drug long after they have recovered from the withdrawal syndrome associated with cessation of use of the drug.

Psychoactive drugs

-Drugs that influence subjective experience and behaviour by acting on the CNS

Emergent stage 1 EEG sleep

-Emergence of rapid eye movements (REMs) -Loss of muscle tone -You spend more and more time is stage 1 sleep as time progresses

Adaptive function of sleep

-Evolutionary psychology --> natural selection -Variations and adaptations in cognition and behaviour make individuals more or less successful in reproducing and passing their genes to their offspring -Sleep may be essential to restore resources that are expended during the day -Bears hibernate in the winter when resources are scarce, perhaps people sleep at night to reduce their energy expenditures -Little research that actually supports this -There is no actual research that supports this explanation --> it's been suggested that there is NO reason to think that energetic demands could not be addressed with period of rest and inactivity: some research finds a negative correlation between energetic demands and time spent sleeping -Another evolutionary hypothesis is that sleep patterns evolved as adaptive responses to predatory risks, which increase in darkness (we sleep in safe areas to reduce chance of harm) -Perhaps our ancestors spent extended periods of time asleep to reduce attention to themselves from potential predators. -Comparative research indicates, however, that the relationship that exists between predatory risk and sleep is very complex and equivocal. -Some research suggests that species that face higher predatory risks sleep fewer hours than other species, while other researchers suggest that there is no relationship between the amount of time a given species spends in deep sleep and its predation risk. -Likely that diff species have evolved diff patterns of sleep in response to unique evolutionary pressures

Initial stage 1 sleep

-First stage of stage 1 sleep that you go through -No striking changes in EOG or EMG, only EEG -No eye or muscle tension movement

Problems with Circadian Rhythms

-For most people, our circadian cycles are aligned with the outside world -Most people sleep during night and are awake during day -There are individual differences with regards to our sleep-wake cycle. -For instance, some people would say they are morning people (lark), while others would consider themselves to be night owls. -These individual differences in circadian patterns of activity are known as a person's chronotype, and research demonstrates that morning larks and night owls differ with regard to sleep regulation. -Sleep regulation refers to the brain's control of switching between sleep and wakefulness as well as coordinating this cycle with the outside world.

Freud and Dreams

-Freud was convinced that dreams represented an opportunity to gain access to the unconscious -By analyzing dreams, Freud thought that people could increase self-awareness and gain valuable insight to help them deal with the problems they faced in their lives -Freud made distinctions between the manifest content and the latent content of dreams. -Manifest content is the actual content, or storyline, of a dream. Latent content, on the other hand, refers to the hidden meaning of a dream. For instance, if a woman dreams about being chased by a snake, Freud might have argued that this represents the woman's fear of sexual intimacy, with the snake serving as a symbol of a man's penis. -Freud was not the only theorist to focus on the content of dreams. The 20th century Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that dreams allowed us to tap into the collective unconscious. -The collective unconscious, as described by Jung, is a theoretical repository of information he believed to be shared by everyone. According to Jung, certain symbols in dreams reflected universal archetypes with meanings that are similar for all people regardless of culture or location.

Treatment of Narcolepsy

-Generally, narcolepsy is treated using psychomotor stimulant drugs, such as amphetamines. -These drugs promote increased levels of neural activity. -Narcolepsy is associated with reduced levels of the signaling molecule hypocretin in some areas of the brain, and the traditional stimulant drugs do not have direct effects on this system. -Therefore, it is quite likely that new medications that are developed to treat narcolepsy will be designed to target the hypocretin system.

Heroin

-Historically, heroin has been a major opioid drug of abuse. -Heroin can be snorted, smoked, or injected intravenously. -Like the stimulants described earlier, the use of heroin is associated with an initial feeling of euphoria followed by periods of agitation. -Because heroin is often administered via intravenous injection, users often bear needle track marks on their arms and, like all abusers of intravenous drugs, have an increased risk for contraction of both tuberculosis and HIV.

Suspicious view of Hypnosis

-Historically, hypnosis has been viewed with some suspicion because of its portrayal in popular media and entertainment. -Therefore, it is important to make a distinction between hypnosis as an empirically based therapeutic approach versus as a form of entertainment. -Contrary to popular belief, individuals undergoing hypnosis usually have clear memories of the hypnotic experience and are in control of their own behaviours. -While hypnosis may be useful in enhancing memory or a skill, such enhancements are very modest in nature.

Protoconsciousness

-Hobson (2009) suggests that dreaming may represent a state of protoconsciousness. In other words, dreaming involves constructing a virtual reality in our heads that we might use to help us during wakefulness.

Hpynosis

-Hypnosis is a state of extreme self-focus and attention in which minimal attention is given to external stimuli. -In the therapeutic setting, a clinician may use relaxation and suggestion in an attempt to alter the thoughts and perceptions of a patient. -Hypnosis has also been used to draw out information believed to be buried deeply in someone's memory. -For individuals who are especially open to the power of suggestion, hypnosis can prove to be a very effective technique, and brain imaging studies have demonstrated that hypnotic states are associated with global changes in brain functioning.

Drug Withdrawal

-If an animal has been on a drug for a significant period of time, the subsequent removal of the drug will produce a withdrawal syndrome. -Nature of withdrawal and severity depends on drug -Drug withdrawal includes a variety of negative symptoms experienced when drug use is discontinued. -These symptoms usually are opposite of the effects of the drug. -For example, withdrawal from sedative drugs often produces unpleasant arousal and agitation. -In addition to withdrawal, many individuals who are diagnosed with substance use disorders will also develop tolerance to these substances. -Psychological dependence, or drug craving, is a recent addition to the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder in DSM-5. This is an important factor because we can develop tolerance and experience withdrawal from any number of drugs that we do not abuse. In other words, physical dependence in and of itself is of limited utility in determining whether or not someone has a substance use disorder.

Microsleeps

-If you sleep deprive someone for 2-3 days, they start to experience microsleeps: brief periods of sleep (2-3 s) during which their eyelids droop and they become less responsive to external stimuli. These can occur even while they are standing. -There is also evidence of psychomotor and cognitive slowing, and deficits on tests of working memory and executive function (e.g., assimilating changing information, updating plans, innovative thinking; though there is disagreement about this sort of impairment... Other higher order cognitive functions can also be affected, but this is likely mediated by the deficits in sustaining wakefulness, alertness, attention, and response times (which may also apply to executive function deficits, can be secondary deficits))

Efficiency of Sleep and Sleep Deprivation

-Important effect of sleep deprivation: Individuals who are sleep deprived become more "efficient" sleepers. -They display more slow-wave sleep (SWS) and more intense SWS. -Accordingly, many believe that SWS is the restorative factor. 1. Sleep regained following deprivation is primarily SWS. 2. Short sleepers get as much SWS as long sleepers. 3. People who reduce their sleep, get less stage 1 or 2 sleep, but their SWS stays about the same. 4. Waking people during SWS has major effects on sleepiness. -If people become more efficient sleepers as the result of sleep deprivation, then studies of sleep deprivation are not necessarily the best way of trying to figure out how much sleep we need.

Gradual Long-Term Reduction (monophasic) findings

-In a study by Friedman et al. (1977), participants reduced nightly sleep by 30 min every 2 weeks until they reached 6.5 h/night; then by 30 min every 3 weeks until they reached 5 h/night; then by 30 min every 4 weeks. -Once a participant indicated a lack of desire to reduce sleep further, they slept for 1 month at their shortest duration, then for 2 months at the shortest duration plus 30 min; then for a year at whatever duration they wanted. -Durations achieved: 5.5 h (n=2) 5 h (n=4), 4.5 h (n=2) -All participants experienced increases in daytime sleepiness after they reduced their sleep below 6 h/night; but there were no notable changes in mood, physical health, or performance on tasks of vigilance or memory. -After 1 year, all participants had reduced their sleep duration by between 1-2.5 h/night with no excessive sleepiness. (maintained a long-term sleep reduction of 1-2.5 hours) -Subjective responses were often not in line with the objective measures, nor with their performance at work or school. -"I am noticeably less efficient, less energetic; e.g., I can't seem to study as long as I used to, I get discouraged more easily, slightly depressed about overcoming difficulties, very much like I feel when I am sick with a cold." -Participants reported more emotional difficulties, less productive and energetic, more psychological difficulties (but both objective and subjective examinations did NOT reveal a significant decline in functioning.) -Other studies of gradual nightly sleep reduction have reported comparable results--though one study did report a decline in performance of cognitive tasks (in 1 of 2 participants) when sleep was reduced below 5 hrs/night.

In between Wakefulness and Sleep

-In between the extremes are daydreaming, intoxication as a result of alcohol or other drug use, meditative states, hypnotic states, and altered states of consciousness following sleep deprivation -Also drug-induced (anesthesia) unconscious states

Alcohol/Ethanol and other depressants

-In class of psychoactive drugs known as depressants. -A depressant is a drug that tends to suppress central nervous system activity. -Other depressants include barbiturates and benzodiazepines. -These drugs share in common their ability to serve as agonists of the gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter system. -Because GABA has a quieting effect on the brain, GABA agonists also have a quieting effect; these types of drugs are often prescribed to treat both anxiety and insomnia. -Acute alcohol administration results in a variety of changes to consciousness. -At rather low doses, alcohol use is associated with feelings of euphoria. As the dose increases, people report feeling sedated. -Generally, alcohol is associated with decreases in reaction time and visual acuity, lowered levels of alertness, and reduction in behavioural control. -With excessive alcohol use, a person might experience a complete loss of consciousness and/or difficulty remembering events that occurred during a period of intoxication. -In addition, if a pregnant woman consumes alcohol, her infant may be born with a cluster of birth defects and symptoms collectively called fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) or fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

Methamphetamine

-In recent years, methamphetamine (meth) use has become increasingly widespread. -Methamphetamine is a type of amphetamine that can be made from ingredients that are readily available (e.g., medications containing pseudoephedrine, a compound found in many over-the-counter cold and flu remedies). -Despite recent changes in laws designed to make obtaining pseudoephedrine more difficult, methamphetamine continues to be an easily accessible and relatively inexpensive drug option.

Sleepwalking

-In sleepwalking, or somnambulism, the sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviors ranging from wandering about to driving an automobile. -During periods of sleepwalking, sleepers often have their eyes open, but they are not responsive to attempts to communicate with them. -Sleepwalking most often occurs during slow-wave sleep, but it can occur at any time during a sleep period in some affected individuals. -Historically, somnambulism has been treated with a variety of pharmacotherapies ranging from benzodiazepines to antidepressants. -However, the success rate of such treatments is questionable. -Guilleminault et al. (2005) found that sleepwalking was not alleviated with the use of benzodiazepines. -However, all of their somnambulistic patients who also suffered from sleep-related breathing problems showed a marked decrease in sleepwalking when their breathing problems were effectively treated. -Homicidal sleepwalking may be possible

SIDS

-In sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) an infant stops breathing during sleep and dies. -Infants younger than 12 months appear to be at the highest risk for SIDS, and boys have a greater risk than girls. -A number of risk factors have been associated with SIDS including premature birth, smoking within the home, and hyperthermia. -There may also be differences in both brain structure and function in infants that die from SIDS. -The substantial amount of research on SIDS has led to a number of recommendations to parents to protect their children. -For one, research suggests that infants should be placed on their backs when put down to sleep, and their cribs should not contain any items which pose suffocation threats, such as blankets, pillows or padded crib bumpers (cushions that cover the bars of a crib). Infants should not have caps placed on their heads when put down to sleep in order to prevent overheating, and people in the child's household should abstain from smoking in the home. -Recommendations like these have helped to decrease the number of infant deaths from SIDS in recent years.

Rotating shift work

-Individuals who do rotating shift work often experience disruptions in circadian cycles -Refers to a work schedule that changes from early to late on a daily or weekly basis -Individual's schedule changes so much that it becomes difficult for a normal circadian rhythm to be maintained -This often results in sleeping problems, and it can lead to signs of depression and anxiety. -These kinds of schedules are common for individuals working in health care professions and service industries, and they are associated with persistent feelings of exhaustion and agitation that can make someone more prone to making mistakes on the job -Rotating shift work has pervasive effects on the lives and experiences of individuals engaged in that kind of work, which is clearly illustrated in stories reported in a qualitative study that researched the experiences of middle-aged nurses who worked rotating shifts (hard to spend time with partners, effects relationships with family)

Biological rhythm

-Internal rhythms of biological activity e.g: women's menstrual cycle: recurring, cyclical pattern of bodily changes. One complete menstrual cycle = 28 days - a lunar month - but many biological cycles are much shorter like body temperature (24 hour period)

Mode of Action of LSD

-LSD shows a strong affinity for serotonergic receptors, with particularly strong excitatory effects at the serotonin type 2a receptor

Therapeutic Uses of LSD

-LSD was outlawed in the 1960s after a series of unfortunate events that included @ least one death associated with LSD, although it was never confirmed that it was LSD that caused the death -It became very difficult for researchers to conduct work on LSD -Recently has been a resurgence in work on LSD -Growing number of clinical trials investigating the use of LSD to treat a wide variety of ailments: > Anxiety in patients with threatening diseases > Cluster headaches > Addiction to alcohol and other substances

Leonardo Sleep Schedul

-Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the most famous polyphasic sleeper. It is believed, based in part on his journals, that Leonardo napped 15 min every 4 hours--thus sleeping ~1.5 h/day. -This sleep schedule has been replicated in several studies by the researcher Claudio Stampi. Claudio Stampi has studied this Leonardo sleep schedule in a very motivated individual. So they aren't experimental studies, they're more case studies. -Claudio Stampi had sailors participating in around the world sailing competitions --> reduced sleep using polyphasic sleep pattern, and those individuals that reduced their sleep had no ill effects reported

Insomnia treatment

-Limit use of stimulant drugs (caffeine) -Increase amount of physical exercise during day -Take OTC prescribed sleep medications (but done sparingly so no dependence occurs and nature of sleep cycle may be altered, and insomnia may be increased over time) -Those who continue to have insomnia, particularly if it affects their quality of life, should seek professional treatment. -Some forms of psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, can help sufferers of insomnia. -Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on cognitive processes and problem behaviors. -The treatment of insomnia likely would include stress management techniques and changes in problematic behaviors that could contribute to insomnia (e.g., spending more waking time in bed). -Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been demonstrated to be quite effective in treating insomnia.

Lucid Dreams

-Lucid dreams are dreams in which certain aspects of wakefulness are maintained during a dream state. -In a lucid dream, a person becomes aware of the fact that they are dreaming, and as such, they can control the dream's content -Hobson cites research on lucid dream to better understand dreaming

Classic Sleep Stages

-Lying in bed awake -Once your eyes shut and you prepare to go to sleep, alpha waves (brief bursts of 8-12 Hz EEG waves) begin to appear: during this stage, we see Hypnagogia -Stage 1 sleep -Stage 2 sleep -Stage 3 sleep -Stage 4 sleep -distinguished from one another by frequency and amplitude of brain waves

LSD

-Lysergic acid diethylamide is a psychedelic hallucinogen (recreational psychoactive drug class) -LSD blotters = piece of paper with LSD soaked into it --> put it on your tongue and allow it to dissolve then swallow it so it's absorbed through the membranes of your mouth and gastrointestinal system -Dr. Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist, was the first to synthesize LSD. In 1938, he synthesized it while seeking a new drug therapy for migraine. -On April 16, 1943 while attempting to re-synthesize LSD, he accidentally absorbed LSD, leading to the first recorded LSD trip. He described it as scary and enlightening -He likened it to certain symptoms associated with schizophrenia -Hoffman's employer, Sandoz pharmaceuticals, subsequently made the drug freely available for research purposes. -Saw LSD as having potential use on research for schizophrenia

Tetris study

-Made participants play Tetris 3 hours per day over period of 3 days and measure hypnagogia hallucinations during that time. Each subsequent day playing Tetris, more and more likely to show an increase in the number of reports of images related to Tetris -What happen to you during the day tends to influence what is in the content (images) of your hypnagogic hallucinations -There were also an increase in THOUGHTS about the game Tetris like strategies. but there is also a line where there is no significant increase in thoughts of Tetris, which corresponds to medial-temporal lobe amnesiacs, and they are incapable of forming new memories for material that they've encountered (anterior grade amnesia), but amnesics do report hyponagogic hallucinations that involve images of tetris even though they cannot recall ever playing tetris (but still not explicit thoughts related ot tetris) -There is a dissociation between daytime experience on implicit vs. explicit memory

Benefits of adequate amounts of sleep

-Maintains healthy weight -Lower stress levels -Improves mood -Increases motor coordination -Cognition and memory formation benefits

Meditation

-Meditation is the act of focusing on a single target (such as the breath or a repeated sound) to increase awareness of the moment. -While hypnosis is generally achieved through the interaction of a therapist and the person being treated, an individual can perform meditation alone. -Often, however, people wishing to learn to meditate receive some training in techniques to achieve a meditative state. A meditative state, as shown by EEG recordings of newly-practicing meditators, is not an altered state of consciousness per se; however, patterns of brain waves exhibited by expert meditators may represent a unique state of consciousness. -Although there are a number of different techniques in use, the central feature of all meditation is clearing the mind in order to achieve a state of relaxed awareness and focus. -Mindfulness meditation has recently become popular. -In the variation of meditation, the meditator's attention is focused on some internal process or an external object. -Meditative techniques have their roots in religious practices, but their use has grown in popularity among practitioners of alternative medicine. -Research indicates that meditation may help reduce blood pressure, and the American Heart Association suggests that meditation might be used in conjunction with more traditional treatments as a way to manage hypertension, although there is not sufficient data for a recommendation to be made. -Like hypnosis, meditation also shows promise in stress management, sleep quality, treatment of mood and anxiety disorders and management of pain

Hormones released during sleep

-Melatonin (released by pineal gland) --> regulates biological rhythms and immune system -Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) --> pituitary gland -Luteinizing hormone (LH) --> pituitary gland secretes both FSH and LH (reproductive system) -Growth hormone --> pituitary gland (physical growth and maturation and metabolic processes)

Melatonin

-Melatonin = important regulator of our sleep-wake cycles -Pineal gland, endocrine structure in brain releases melatonin, and is thought to be involved in regulation of various biological rhythms and of the immune system during sleep -Melatonin release is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light

Long-Term Reduction by Napping findings

-Most mammals and human infants regularly sleep more than once per day: They display polyphasic sleep cycles. -These days, most adult humans display monophasic sleep cycles: We sleep once per day. -Still, we regularly display polyphasic cycles of sleepiness: with periods of sleepiness often occurring in the later morning and late afternoon.

Stage 4 sleep

-Mostly delta waves -Slow wave sleep (delta waves)

Nicotine

-Nicotine is highly addictive, and the use of tobacco products is associated with increased risks of heart disease, stroke, and a variety of cancers. -Nicotine exerts its effects through its interaction with acetylcholine receptors. Acetylcholine functions as a neurotransmitter in motor neurons. -In the central nervous system, it plays a role in arousal and reward mechanisms. -Nicotine is most commonly used in the form of tobacco products like cigarettes or chewing tobacco; therefore, there is a tremendous interest in developing effective smoking cessation techniques. -To date, people have used a variety of nicotine replacement therapies in addition to various psychotherapeutic options in an attempt to discontinue their use of tobacco products. -In general, smoking cessation programs may be effective in the short term, but it is unclear whether these effects persist.

Night terrors

-Night terrors result in a sense of panic in the sufferer and are often accompanied by screams and attempts to escape from the immediate environment. -Although individuals suffering from night terrors appear to be awake, they generally have no memories of the events that occurred, and attempts to console them are ineffective. -Typically, individuals suffering from night terrors will fall back asleep again within a short time. -Night terrors apparently occur during the NREM phase of sleep -Generally, treatment for night terrors is unnecessary unless there is some underlying medical or psychological condition that is contributing to the night terrors.

Drug

-No precise definition 1) Drug assumed to affect physiological functioning in some way 2) It is exogenous rather than endogenous (insulin is exogenous and endogenous)

How much sleep do we need for polyphasic sleep pattern?

-Number reduces substantially -Feasible if one assumes a very regimented sleep schedule, to reduce their sleep to around 1.5 hours per night

Sleep Deprivation study with rats

-Often said in popular media that no sleep will kill you -Derived from studies done on rat using apparatus known as carousel apparatus, which is a technique that deprives rats of SLEEP and uses a system whereby you have a yoked control -2 rats are placed on a rotating disk, one in each separate cage, and when one rat falls asleep, the experimental rat--being monitored via EEG-- the disk will start to rotate and it will be put into the water and woken up. -So this essentially deprives the experimental rat of about 90% of its sleep. -The yoked control rate also gets some amount of sleep deprivation, if it happens to be asleep at same time the experimental rap is asleep, it also gets plopped in water and woken up but usually only gets 30-40 percent of sleep deprivation -In this experimental paradigm: the experimental rat loses body weight and increases food intake over a period of time (e.g: 28 days), and after 28 days it will die -This has NOT been replicated using other methods of sleep deprivation other than carousel apparatus (rats don't die with other methods) -Other species placed in carousel apparatus will not necessarily die from sleep deprivation -From post-mortem analyses of the rats themselves, they seem severe signs of stress: Enlarged adrenal glands, ulcers in stomach, and internal bleeding --> sever physiological stress -Sleep deprivation confounded with stress (like many studies of sleep deprivation)

Drug Penetration of the CNS

-Once a drug enters the bloodstream; it is carried in the blood to blood vessels of the CNS -The Blood-Brain-Barrier only allows some blood-borne substances to pass into the CNS

Stage 1 sleep

-Once you fall asleep -Transitional phase that occurs between wakefulness and sleep -Period during which we drift off to sleep -Slowdown of respiration and heartbeat -Marked decrease in overall muscle tension and core body temperature -If you wake someone in this stage of sleep -Associated with both alpha and theta waves -Early portion of stage 1 sleep produces alpha waves, which are relatively low frequency (8-13 Hz), high amplitude patterns of electrical activity (waves) that become synchronized -This pattern of brain wave activity resembles that of someone who is very relaxed, yet awake. -As an individual continues through stage 1 sleep, there is an increase in theta wave activity. -Theta waves are even lower frequency, higher amplitude brain waves than alpha waves. It is relatively easy to wake someone from stage 1 sleep; in fact, people often report that they have not been asleep if they are awoken during stage 1 sleep. -Slightly slower signal than alert wakefulness; appearance of theta waves (3-7 Hz) in EEG

After stage 4 sleep

-Once you reach stage 4, you stay there for some time and then you cycle back through stages: 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> 1 -Rest of sleep time is pent going back and go through between the various stages of sleep and wakefulness sometimes as well -Each persons sleep varies night to night, in stages they go through and the time spent in them -At end of sleep, there are brief period where the person appears to be awake/is awake, but usually NO memory of these period of wakefulness when sleep is over

Treatment of sleep apnea

-One of the most common treatments for sleep apnea involves the use of a special device during sleep. -A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device includes a mask that fits over the sleeper's nose and mouth, which is connected to a pump that pumps air into the person's airways, forcing them to remain open. -Some newer CPAP masks are smaller and cover only the nose. -This treatment option has proven to be effective for people suffering from mild to severe cases of sleep apnea. -However, alternative treatment options are being explored because consistent compliance by users of CPAP devices is a problem. -Recently, a new EPAP (expiratory positive air pressure) device has shown promise in double-blind trials as one such alternative.

Do all birds and mammals sleep?

-Only about 60 of ~60,000 vertebrate species have been closely examined for sleep-like behaviour. -Of those, some do not meet the criteria for 'sleep' at any time in their lives (e.g., harbor porpoise = no sleep or cessation of activity during lifetime). -Some go for long periods without any evidence of sleep (e.g., some neonatal marine mammals (no sleep in first few months of life and their mothers), migratory birds (no sleep during migration)) or rebounds following such periods of sleeplessness. --> No evidence that following ___ months of sleep, they increase sleep later on to make up for lost amount of sleep

Consciousness

-Our awareness of internal and external stimuli -Awareness of internal stimuli = pain, hunger, thirst, sleepiness, and being aware of our thoughts and emotions -Awareness of external stimuli = seeing light from sun, feeling warmth of the room, and hearing the voice of a friend -We experience different states of consciousness and different levels of awareness on a regular basis -Consciousness = continuum that ranges from FULL awareness to a DEEP SLEEP

Circadian Sleep Cycles

-Our world cycles between light and dark, and most surface dwelling animals have adapted to this regular change by developing a variety of circadian rhythms -The cues that can entrain those rhythms are called zeitgebers ("time givers"). -In the absence of all zeitgebers, we have free-running rhythms that last about 25 hours. (Put you in a darkened room with no external cues as to what time of day it is, your sleep-wake cycle would change to 25 hours instead of 24 hours) -The fact that we have regular free-running regulation of sleep, provides support for the dominance of circadian factors over recuperative factors in the regulation of sleep.

Methadone

-People experiencing opioid withdrawal may be given methadone to make withdrawal from the drug less difficult. -Methadone is a synthetic opioid that is less euphorigenic than heroin and similar drugs. -Methadone clinics help people who previously struggled with opioid addiction manage withdrawal symptoms through the use of methadone. -Other drugs, including the opioid buprenorphine, have also been used to alleviate symptoms of opiate withdrawal.

Therapeutic benefits of hypnosis

-People vary in terms of their ability to be hypnotized, but a review of available research suggests that most people are at least moderately hypnotizable. -Hypnosis in conjunction with other techniques is used for a variety of therapeutic purposes and has shown to be at least somewhat effective for pain management, treatment of depression and anxiety, smoking cessation, and weight loss. -Some scientists are working to determine whether the power of suggestion can affect cognitive processes such as learning, with a view to using hypnosis in educational settings. -Furthermore, there is some evidence that hypnosis can alter processes that were once thought to be automatic and outside the purview of voluntary control, such as reading. -However, it should be noted that others have suggested that the automaticity of these processes remains intact.

Physical Dependence

-Physical dependence involves changes in normal bodily functions—the user will experience withdrawal from the drug upon cessation of use. -In contrast, a person who has psychological dependence has an emotional, rather than physical, need for the drug and may use the drug to relieve psychological distress. -Tolerance is linked to physiological dependence, and it occurs when a person requires more and more drug to achieve effects previously experienced at lower doses. -Tolerance can cause the user to increase the amount of drug used to a dangerous level—even to the point of overdose and death.

Subjective experience of taking LSD

-Profound, can last from 8-12 hours -Nature of the effects of LSD change as a function of the time since administration -Peak experience associated with LSD consumption: experience of unity with surroundings, spirituality, blissful state, increased insightfulness, disembodiment, impaired cognition and control, anxiety (few), complex imagery --> objects around them moving in a swaying fashion, elementary imagery, audio-visual synthesia, changed meaning of percepts

REM Sleep Behaviour DIsorder

-REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) occurs when the muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase does not occur. -Individuals who suffer from RBD have high levels of physical activity during REM sleep, especially during disturbing dreams. -These behaviors vary widely, but they can include kicking, punching, scratching, yelling, and behaving like an animal that has been frightened or attacked. -People who suffer from this disorder can injure themselves or their sleeping partners when engaging in these behaviors. -Furthermore, these types of behaviors ultimately disrupt sleep, although affected individuals have no memories that these behaviors have occurred. -This disorder is associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. -In fact, this relationship is so robust that some view the presence of RBD as a potential aid in the diagnosis and treatment of a number of neurodegenerative diseases. -Clonazepam, an anti-anxiety medication with sedative properties, is most often used to treat RBD. It is administered alone or in conjunction with doses of melatonin (the hormone secreted by the pineal gland). -As part of treatment, the sleeping environment is often modified to make it a safer place for those suffering from RBD.

Does REM Sleep = Dreaming?

-REM sleep was characterized by students in the Kleitman lab in 1953, they immediately saw the potential for it being a physiological correlate of dreaming -They began waking subjects in the middle of REM episodes and asked them if they had been dreaming -They found that 74 to 80 percent of REM sleep awakenings led to dream recall, whereas only 7 to 9 percent of non-REM sleep awakenings led to dream recall -This strong relationship between REM sleep and dreaming allowed them to test common beliefs about dreaming

Physician sample of LSD

-Researcher contact Sandoz Pharmaceuticals --> get free vial of LSD on mail (Delysid) for research purposes

Drug sensitization

-Sensitized to behavioural effects -State of increased sensitivity to a drug that develops as a result of exposure to it

Sleep apnea

-Sleep apnea is defined by episodes during which a sleeper's breathing stops. -These episodes can last 10-20 seconds or longer and often are associated with brief periods of arousal. -While individuals suffering from sleep apnea may not be aware of these repeated disruptions in sleep, they do experience increased levels of fatigue. -Many individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea first seek treatment because their sleeping partners indicate that they snore loudly and/or stop breathing for extended periods of time while sleeping. -Sleep apnea is much more common in overweight people and is often associated with loud snoring. -Surprisingly, sleep apnea may exacerbate cardiovascular disease. -While sleep apnea is less common in thin people, anyone, regardless of their weight, who snores loudly or gasps for air while sleeping, should be checked for sleep apnea.

NREM sleep (Non-REM sleep)

-Sleep associated with all other stages other than REM sleep -4 stages distinguished from each other and from wakefulness by characteristic patterns of brain waves -First 4 stages of sleep = NREM sleep

REM sleep

-Sleep associated with emergent Stage 1 EEG -Rapid eye movements (darting movement of eyes under closed eyelids) -Brain waves during REM sleep is similar to brain waves during wakefulness -Loss of muscle tone -Low amplitude, high frequency EEG similar to waking state -Activity increases to waking levels in many brain structures (brain becomes almost as active as when one is awake) -Paralysis of muscle systems in body with the exception of those that make circulation and respiration possible, no voluntary muscle movement occurs during REM sleep in a normal individual -Paradoxical sleep b/c of high brain activity and lack of muscle tone -Like NREM sleep, REM has been implicated in various aspects of learning and memory, but disagreement about how important NREM and REM sleep are for normal learning and memory -General increase in autonomic nervous system activity -Some muscle activity (very restricted, only small twitches of muscles) -Some degree of clitoral or penile erection -Dreaming (disproportionately represented in REM sleep) -Fifth and final stage of sleep is REM sleep

Effects of sleep debt/deprivation

-Sleep debt and sleep deprivation have significant negative psychological and physiological consequences. -Lack of sleep can result in decreased mental alertness and cognitive function. -Sleep deprivation often results in depression-like symptoms. -These effects can occur as a function of accumulated sleep debt or in response to more acute periods of sleep deprivation. -Sleep deprivation is associated with obesity, increased blood pressure, increased levels of stress hormones, and reduced immune functioning. -Can also cause symptoms similar to ADHD, impaired immune system, risk of diabetes 2, hallucinations, yawning, impaired moral judgement, memory lapses/losses, irritability, more heart rate variability + heart rate disease, increased reaction time, decreased accuracy, tremors, aches -A sleep deprived individual generally will fall asleep more quickly than if she were not sleep deprived. -Some sleep-deprived individuals have difficulty staying awake when they stop moving (example sitting and watching television or driving a car). That is why individuals suffering from sleep deprivation can also put themselves and others at risk when they put themselves behind the wheel of a car or work with dangerous machinery. Some research suggests that sleep deprivation affects cognitive and motor function as much as, if not more than, alcohol intoxication.

REM-Sleep Deprivation

-Sleep researchers have specifically deprived people of REM sleep by waking them up each time a bout of REM sleep begins (Monitoring EEG/EOG/EMG) -REM-sleep deprivation has two consistent effects: 1. With each successive night of REM deprivation, there is a greater tendency for the person to initiate REM (they have to be woken more and more frequently). 2. Following REM deprivation, a person will have a greater than normal amount of REM sleep during subsequent nights of sleep. (REM rebound) Suggests that REM sleep is also homeostatically regulated. REM rebound may actually represent an adaptive response to stress in non depressed individuals by suppressing the emotional salience of aversive events that occurred in wakefulness -Consequences of REM deprivation are less profound --> may be beneficial in SOME circumstances, REM sleep deprivation has been demonstrated to improve symptoms of people suffering from major depression and man effective antidepressant medications suppress REM sleep

Sleep rebound

-Sleep-deprived individual takes a shorter time to fall asleep during subsequent opportunities to sleep

Stage 2 sleep

-Slightly higher amplitude waves -Deep relaxation -Theta waves still dominate, but interrupted by brief bursts of activity (sleep spindle --> rapid burst of higher frequency brain waves that may be important for learning and memory) -Has presence of sleep spindles (high frequency wave forms) and K complexes (high amplitude, low frequency brief wave forms) -K complex = high amplitude that in some cases may occur in response to environmental stimuli (might serve as bridge to higher levels of arousal in response to what is going on in our environments)

Mechanisms of Drug Action

-Some Drugs (alcohol) act diffusely on neural membranes throughout the CNS -Others act in more specific ways: >Binding to particular synaptic receptors >Influencing synthesis, transport, release, or deactivation of particular neurotransmitters >Influencing the chain of chemical reactions elicited in postsynaptic neurons by the activation of their receptors on their membranes

Slow wave sleep

-Stage 3 and 4 -Named after slow delta waves characteristic of these stages -You spend less and less time in these stages as time progresses through your sleep -First 1/3 of sleeping session = majority of slow wave sleep

Stage 3 sleep

-Stage 3 sleep is characterized predominantly by delta waves (largest and slowest EEG waves recordable, 0-3 Hz) -Deep sleep -Low frequency (up to 4 Hz), high amplitude delta waves -Heart rate and respiration slow dramatically, much more difficult to awaken someone from sleep during stage 3 and 4 than earlier stages -Interestingly, individuals who have increased levels of alpha brain wave activity (more often associated with wakefulness and transition into stage 1 sleep) during stage 3 and stage 4 often report that they do not feel refreshed upon waking, regardless of how long they slept -Slow wave sleeps (delta)

Sleep

-State that is marked by relatively low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory awareness that is distinct from periods of rest that occur during wakefulness

Stimulants

-Stimulants are drugs that tend to increase overall levels of neural activity. -Many of these drugs act as agonists of the dopamine neurotransmitter system. -Dopamine activity is often associated with reward and craving; therefore, drugs that affect dopamine neurotransmission often have abuse liability. -Drugs in this category include cocaine, amphetamines (including methamphetamine), cathinones (i.e., bath salts), MDMA (ecstasy), nicotine, and caffeine.

Repeated use of Stimulants

-The cocaine, amphetamine, cathinones, and MDMA users seek a euphoric high, feelings of intense elation and pleasure, especially in those users who take the drug via intravenous injection or smoking. -Repeated use of these stimulants can have significant adverse consequences. -Users can experience physical symptoms that include nausea, elevated blood pressure, and increased heart rate. -In addition, these drugs can cause feelings of anxiety, hallucinations, and paranoia. -Normal brain functioning is altered after repeated use of these drugs. -For example, repeated use can lead to overall depletion among the monoamine neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin). -People may engage in compulsive use of these stimulant substances in part to try to reestablish normal levels of these neurotransmitters.

Biological clock

-The hypothalamus (above pituitary gland) is a main center of homeostasis (maintains balance, or optimal level, within a biological system)

Cartwight and Dreams.

-The sleep and dreaming researcher Rosalind Cartwright, however, believes that dreams simply reflect life events that are important to the dreamer. -Unlike Freud and Jung, Cartwright's ideas about dreaming have found empirical support. -For example, she and her colleagues published a study in which women going through divorce were asked several times over a five month period to report the degree to which their former spouses were on their minds. -These same women were awakened during REM sleep in order to provide a detailed account of their dream content. There was a significant positive correlation between the degree to which women thought about their former spouses during waking hours and the number of times their former spouses appeared as characters in their dreams -(Cartwright, Agargun, Kirkby, & Friedman, 2006). Recent research (Horikawa, Tamaki, Miyawaki, & Kamitani, 2013) has uncovered new techniques by which researchers may effectively detect and classify the visual images that occur during dreaming by using fMRI for neural measurement of brain activity patterns, opening the way for additional research in this area.

McCarty's case study of woman with narcolepsy

-There is a tremendous amount of variability among sufferers, both in terms of how symptoms of narcolepsy manifest and the effectiveness of currently available treatment options. -McCarty's case study of a 50-year-old woman who sought help for the excessive sleepiness during normal waking hours that she had experienced for several years. -She indicated that she had fallen asleep at inappropriate or dangerous times, including while eating, while socializing with friends, and while driving her car. -During periods of emotional arousal, the woman complained that she felt some weakness in the right side of her body. -Although she did not experience any dream-like hallucinations, she was diagnosed with narcolepsy as a result of sleep testing. -In her case, the fact that her cataplexy was confined to the right side of her body was quite unusual. Early attempts to treat her condition with a stimulant drug alone were unsuccessful. -However, when a stimulant drug was used in conjunction with a popular antidepressant, her condition improved dramatically.

Long-Term Sleep Reduction (2 sorts of studies)

-Two sorts of studies on long-term sleep reduction: 1) Studies in which subjects sleep nightly (monophasic) 2) Studies in which subjects only nap (polyphasic)

How hypnosis works

-Two theories attempt to answer this question: 1) Hypnosis viewed as dissociation 2) Hypnosis viewed as the performance of a social role. -According to the dissociation view, hypnosis is effectively a dissociated state of consciousness, much like our earlier example where you may drive to work, but you are only minimally aware of the process of driving because your attention is focused elsewhere. This theory is supported by Ernest Hilgard's research into hypnosis and pain. -In Hilgard's experiments, he induced participants into a state of hypnosis, and placed their arms into ice water. Participants were told they would not feel pain, but they could press a button if they did; while they reported not feeling pain, they did, in fact, press the button, suggesting a dissociation of consciousness while in the hypnotic state. -Taking a different approach to explain hypnosis, the social-cognitive theory of hypnosis sees people in hypnotic states as performing the social role of a hypnotized person. -People's behavior can be shaped by their expectations of how they should act in a given situation. Some view a hypnotized person's behavior not as an altered or dissociated state of consciousness, but as their fulfillment of the social expectations for that role.

How to realign biological clocks with external environment (avoid disruptions in circadian rhythms)

-Use bright light to alleviate problems experienced by individuals with jet lag or rotating shift work -Biological clock = driven by light, so exposure to bright light during working shifts and dark exposure when not working can help combat insomnia and symptoms of anxiety and depression

Sleep debt

-When people have difficulty getting sleep due to their work or the demands of day-to-day life, they accumulate a sleep debt. -Sleep debt adjusts accordingly over lifespan as amount of time we sleep varies -A person with a sleep debt does not get sufficient sleep on a chronic basis. =The consequences of sleep debt include decreased levels of alertness and mental efficiency. -Interestingly, since the advent of electric light, the amount of sleep that people get has declined. -While we certainly welcome the convenience of having the darkness lit up, we also suffer the consequences of reduced amounts of sleep because we are more active during the nighttime hours than our ancestors were. -As a result, many of us sleep less than 7-8 hours a night and accrue a sleep debt. -While there is tremendous variation in any given individual's sleep needs, the National Sleep Foundation (n.d.) cites research to estimate that newborns require the most sleep (between 12 and 18 hours a night) and that this amount declines to just 7-9 hours by the time we are adults. -If you lie down to take a nap and fall asleep very easily, chances are you may have sleep debt.

Caffeine negative side effects

-While caffeine is generally considered a relatively safe drug, high blood levels of caffeine can result in insomnia, agitation, muscle twitching, nausea, irregular heartbeat, and even death. -In 2012, Kromann and Nielson reported on a case study of a 40-year-old woman who suffered significant ill effects from her use of caffeine. -The woman used caffeine in the past to boost her mood and to provide energy, but over the course of several years, she increased her caffeine consumption to the point that she was consuming three liters of soda each day. -Although she had been taking a prescription antidepressant, her symptoms of depression continued to worsen and she began to suffer physically, displaying significant warning signs of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. -Upon admission to an outpatient clinic for treatment of mood disorders, she met all of the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence and was advised to dramatically limit her caffeine intake. -Once she was able to limit her use to less than 12 ounces of soda a day, both her mental and physical health gradually improved. -Despite the prevalence of caffeine use and the large number of people who confess to suffering from caffeine addiction, this was the first published description of soda dependence appearing in scientific literature.

Consequences of Sleep Apnea

-While people are often unaware of their sleep apnea, they are keenly aware of some of the adverse consequences of insufficient sleep. -Patient who believed that as a result of his sleep apnea he "had three car accidents in six weeks. They were ALL my fault. Two of them I didn't even know I was involved in until afterwards" (Henry & Rosenthal, 2013, p. 52). -It is not uncommon for people suffering from undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea to fear that their careers will be affected by the lack of sleep, illustrated by this statement from another patient, "I'm in a job where there's a premium on being mentally alert. I was really sleepy... and having trouble concentrating.... It was getting to the point where it was kind of scary".

Medical Marijuana

-While the possession and use of marijuana is illegal in most states, it is now legal in Washington and Colorado to possess limited quantities of marijuana for recreational use. -Medical marijuana use is now legal in nearly half of the United States and in the District of Columbia. -Medical marijuana is marijuana that is prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of a health condition. For example, people who undergo chemotherapy will often be prescribed marijuana to stimulate their appetites and prevent excessive weight loss resulting from the side effects of chemotherapy treatment. -Marijuana may also have some promise in the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. -While medical marijuana laws have been passed on a state-by-state basis, federal laws still classify this as an illicit substance, making conducting research on the potentially beneficial medicinal uses of marijuana problematic. -There is quite a bit of controversy within the scientific community as to the extent to which marijuana might have medicinal benefits due to a lack of large-scale, controlled research. -As a result, many scientists have urged the federal government to allow for relaxation of current marijuana laws and classifications in order to facilitate a more widespread study of the drug's effects. -Until recently, the United States Department of Justice routinely arrested people involved and seized marijuana used in medicinal settings. In the latter part of 2013, however, the United States Department of Justice issued statements indicating that they would not continue to challenge state medical marijuana laws. This shift in policy may be in response to the scientific community's recommendations and/or reflect changing public opinion regarding marijuana.

Repeated use of central system depressants result in..

-With repeated use of many central nervous system depressants, such as alcohol, a person becomes physically dependent upon the substance and will exhibit signs of both tolerance and withdrawal. -Psychological dependence on these drugs is also possible. Therefore, the abuse potential of central nervous system depressants is relatively high. -Drug withdrawal is usually an aversive experience, and it can be a life-threatening process in individuals who have a long history of very high doses of alcohol and/or barbiturates. This is of such concern that people who are trying to overcome addiction to these substances should only do so under medical supervision.

3 commons tools used in psychophysiological study of sleep

1) Electroencephalogram (EEG) --> Measures electrical activity of the surface of scalp, which is indicative of electrical activity in cortex and other structures below it (to a lesser degree) 2) Electrooculogram (EOG) --> eye activity 3) Electromyogram (EMG) --> muscle tension

Drug administration

1) Ingestion: Advantages = easy and relatively safe. Disadvantages = unpredictable effects (e.g: eat large meal can affect absorption) 2) Injection: Either subcutaneously (SC; into fatty tissue below the skin), intramuscularly (IM;into the muscle), or intravenously (IV; into vein). Advantages: Speedy and predictable effects. Disadvantages: Speedy effects, infection potential (using used syringes and needles or from injecting repeatedly at same site) 3) Inhalation: Drugs are absorbed via capillaries in the lungs. Advantages: Speedy effects (smoke marijuana or tobacco) Disadvantages: Unpredictable effects 4) Absorption through mucous membranes (nose, mouth, rectum). Disadvantage: can damage mucous membranes

Why do we Dream?

1) It is our brain trying to make sense of it's own sleep-related activity: Hobson's (1989) activation synthesis hypothesis. During REM sleep, many brainstem cells become active and send random signals to the cerebral cortex. These signals result in a dream that is the cortex's best effort to make sense of them: The cortex, receiving all these random signals from the brain stem, is trying to make its best sense of them. It will find imagery and sounds within those signals. 2) Dreams are simply left overs from a mind designed for a day job (Flanagan, 2001). Related to Hobson's hypothesis 3) Dreams are a virtual trainer. The act of dreaming has a major role in early development (stimulation and simulation) and throughout life (simulation for prediction). --> NEW hypothesis by Hobson, thought his old one was not very correct -In the womb, infants spend a larger proportion of their time in REM-like sleep (active sleep) and as we age, REM sleep gets smaller and smaller and NREM sleep = relatively constant. -While we are in womb --> no external stimuli, our brain is generating external/visual stimuli for us in a time that it is crucial for our brain to receive visual stimulation. -Later in our live, dreaming creates simulation for protection: Events happened to us during the day are used during a dream state to predict what might happen in the future and influences our behaviour in subsequent days and weeks, and months, and years 4) Dreams result from the sleeper's mind attempting to organize unconsciously reactivated memories. It organizes those reactivations into a narrative e.g: series of images confronted with during dream like state --> create a narrative of various memories

Serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia

1) Psychological effects of LSD are mediated by the serotonin type 2a receptor (and magic mushrooms) 2) Serotonin type 2a receptor abnormalities are evident in the brains of patients with schizophrenia and at-risk individuals 3) Serotonin type 2a receptor antagonism is known to contribute to the effects of atypical antipsychotics (clozapine, risperidone) used for treatment of schizophrenia

2 sorts of theories proposed about why we sleep

1) Recuperation (homeostatic theories of sleep): Being awake disrupts your body's homeostasis; sleep acts to restore it. Sleep fixes the damage/dysregulation that accumulates when we are awake 2) Adaptation/circadian theories of sleep: Focus on WHEN we sleep. In these theories: Sleep is the result of an internal timing mechanism -- we are programmed to sleep at night (regardless of what happens to use during the day). We evolved to sleep at night because it protects us. Sleep keeps us out of trouble and conserves energy.

Commonly held beliefs about dreaming and how Kleitman tested it

1. Many people believe external stimuli can become incorporated into their dreams. -Spraying water on sleeping subjects caused about half of the subjects to incorporate the water into their dreams. -However, most stimuli are neither incorporated into dream content nor elicit a behavioural response. Certain stimuli are more likely to be incorporated in other stimuli : spray of water, pressure on limbs, and meaningful words.' 2) Most people believe that sleep-talking and sleep-walking (somnambulism) occur during dreams -Sleepwalking is MOST frequent during stage 4 sleep -Sleep-talking can occur in any stage of sleep; but usually transitions into wakefulness

Comparative Analysis of Sleep

1. The fact that many mammals and birds sleep suggests that it serves some important physiological function. Some species risk predation to sleep (e.g., antelopes); others have adaptations to allow them to sleep (e.g., some marine mammals "sleep" with only half their brain --> 2 hemispheres sleep at diff times: sleep while surfacing for air and while avoiding predation). "All mammals and birds sleep, and their sleep is much like ours—characterized by high-amplitude, low-frequency EEG waves punctuated by periods of low-amplitude, high-frequency waves...Even fish,reptiles,amphibians, and insects go through periods of inactivity and unresponsiveness that are similar to mammalian sleep..." (Pinel, 2007) 2. The large between-species differences in sleep time suggests that although sleep may be essential for survival, it is not necessarily required in large quantities. (many diff species sleep diff hours) 3. There is no clear relationship between the length of time a particular species sleeps and its level of activity, body size, etc. -Daily sleep time of a species does seem to be related to how vulnerable they are. For example, herbivores generally sleep less than omnivores, and omnivores generally sleep less than carnivores.

Default Theory of REM sleep

According to this theory, it is difficult or dangerous to stay continuously in NREM sleep, so the brain periodically switches to one of the other states (e.g., REM): 1. REM is a break between bouts of NREM sleep. 2. REM maintains a certain level of alertness that would not be possible in continuous NREM (REM keeps you alert to external stimuli). 3. REM prepares us for wakefulness (hence the prominence of REM towards the end of a night's sleep).

Tony Wright: Sleep Deprivation

In May of 2007, 42-year-old Tony Wright beat Randy Gardner's record. -Tony didn't sleep for 266 hours. -No signs of severe physiological/psychological impairment, showed tendency to fall asleep (got very sleepy), and mood was not very good -There is a blog site that documented the entire experience. *this can't be applied to everyone since there's great inter-individual variability in terms of the effects of sleep deprivation*

Human experiments of sleep deprivation findings

Moderate amounts of sleep deprivation--3-4 hours in one night--have been found to have 3 consistent effects: 1. Subjects display an increase in sleepiness: They report feeling sleepier and fall asleep quickly if given the chance. 2. They display disturbances on written tests of mood. 3. They perform poorly on tasks that require sustained attention

FUNCTION of REM sleep

Numerous theories have been proposed for the function of REM sleep: (1) Those that say REM sleep is important for one's mental health. (2) Those that say REM sleep is necessary for the processing of memories. -REM --> learning and memory, emotional processing and regulation -These theories share one problem: Explaining why tricyclic antidepressant drugs are not debilitating. Tricyclics selectively block REM sleep. So patients taking these drugs in sufficient doses might not have any REM sleep for months, but they do not show any declines in mental health or deficits in processing of memories -Certain research found that sleep deprivation that is not limited to REM sleep is just as effective or more effective at alleviating depressive symptoms among some patients suffering from depression. -In either case, why sleep deprivation improves the mood of some patients is not entirely understood. -Recently, however, some have suggested that sleep deprivation might change emotional processing so that various stimuli are more likely to be perceived as positive in nature