Variations in Consciousness

1
Variations in Consciousness

• Chapter 5

2
On the Nature of Consciousness

• consciousness- the awareness of internal and
  external stimuli
• three levels of awareness
• Nonconscious (biological functions)
• Preconscious (not current awareness)
• Unconscious (below conscious thought)

3
Consciousness and Brain Activity

• Consciousness arises from activity in networks of
  neural pathways
• Brain wave patterns are measured by EEG
  (electroencephalograph)
• beta- normal waking thought, alert problem
  solving
• alpha- deep relaxation, blank mind, meditation
• theta- light sleep
• delta- deep sleep

4
Biological Rhythms and Sleep

• circadian rhythms- the 24 hour biological cycles
  found in humans and other species
• regulate sleep, BP, hormonal secretion, urine
  production, body temp
• persist even when external cues are eliminated

5
The Sleep and Waking Cycle
Cycle REPEATS about 4 times/night
6
Problems in the NightSleep Disorders

• Unit 4

7
Insomnia

• chronic problems in getting adequate sleep
• difficulty falling asleep
• difficulty remaining asleep
• persistent early morning awakening
• Associated with
• daytime fatigue, impaired concentration,
  depression, increased health problems

8
Sleep Disorders

• Narcolepsy
• sudden and irresistible onset of sleep during
  normal waking periods
• directly from wakefulness to REM
• Episodes lasts about 10 - 20 minutes

• Sleep Apnea
• frequent, reflexive gasping for air that awakens
  a person and disrupts sleep
• breathing ceases for minimum of 10 seconds
• accompanied by snoring

9
Sleep Disorders

• Nightmares
• anxiety arousing dreams leading to awakening from
  REM sleep
• Vivid dreams resulting in difficulty getting back
  to sleep
• Emotional disturbances in children

• Night terrors
• abrupt awakenings from NREM accompanied by
  intense autonomic arousal and feelings of panic
• Inconsolable, no recollection of incident
• common in children 3-8 years old

10
The World of Dreams
11
The Contents of Dreams

• Familiar settings with cast of characters
  dominated by friends, family
• Certain dreams more common than others
• misfortune, aggression, flying, falling, teeth,
  failing test, chased
• Self centered around internal conflicts and
  resolutions

12
Wish Fulfillment

• Freuds theory
• People fulfill ungratified needs from waking
  hours through wishful thinking in dreams
• manifest content- the plot of a dream at a
  surface level
• latent content- hidden or disguised meaning of
  the events in the plot

13
Problem- Solving View

• dreams provide opportunity to work through
  everyday problems and emotional issues in ones
  life
• connection exists between waking and sleeping
  thought

14
Activation Synthesis Model

• dreams are by-product of bursts of activity
  stemming from subcortical areas in the brain
• dreams are the side effects of neural activation
  that produces wide awake brain waves during REM
  sleep