Consciousness Outline
I. Levels of consciousness
   1. consciousness: being aware of our inside & outside
   2. preconsciousness: outside of awareness but can be brought in
   3. subconscious : outside awareness with little access
II. Evidence for an subconscious (unconscious)
   1. unconscious patients presented with word pairs
   2. priming experiments
   3. hemi-neglect (ignore one side of their body)
   4. HM showed practice effects in games
   5. prosopagnosia
   6. blindsight
III. Sleeping & Dreaming
   1. electroencephalograph (EEG)
      A. beta waves: (low amp. high freq.) alert & aroused
      B. alpha waves: resting quietly & stage 1 of sleep
      C. theta waves: occurs in stage 1 of sleep
      D. delta waves: more frequent during slow wave sleep
   2. Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep
      A. stage 1: some alpha & mostly theta waves
      B. stage 2: mixed EEG with sleep spindles & K complexes
      C. stage 3: delta waves (slow wave sleep: reduced HR. breathing, etc)
      D. stage 4: delta waves (slow wave sleep) deepest sleep
   3. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep (paradoxical sleep)
      A. EEG, heart rate, & breathing resemble an awake person
      B. very little muscle tone but dreaming occurs
      C. infants spend more time here
      D. alternates with slow wave sleep (90 min cycles)
   4. Sleep disorders
      A. insomnia: tired during the day due to sleep problems
         a. sleeping pills are not a good solution
      B. narcolepsy: quickly go from awake state to REM sleep
         a. cataplexy: loss of muscle tone but still conscious
      C. sleep apnea: person stops breathing during sleep
         a. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
      D. nightmares: bad dreams in REM sleep
      E. night terrors: horrific NREM images (in stage 4)
      F. sleepwalking: occurs in NREM sleep & common in children
      G. REM sleep disorder: person acts out their dreams
   5. Why do we sleep
      A. circadian rhythm (biological cycles of about 24 hr)
         a. a biological clock in the suprachiasmatic N (hypothalamus)
      B. sleep may have evolved for survival
      C. sleep may restore us
         a. NREM e.g., increases with exercise
      D. REM may be involved in neuronal upkeep & learning
   6. Dreams (last from a few sec. to a few minutes)
      A. we all dream during a normal night of sleep
      B. daytime activities influence dreams
      C. Freud said they are wish full-fillment (manifest & latent meaning)
      D. they may be a meaningless product of REM sleep
IV. Hypnosis: some debate here
   1. state theory: an altered state of consciousness
   2. role theory: not an altered state
V. Psychoactive drugs (psychopharmacology)
   1. the effects of drugs that gain access to the brain depend on
      A. which neurotransmitter (NT) system is involved
      B. how does the drug effect the NT (agonist or antagonist)
      C. all drugs have desired & undesired effects
   2. why are some drugs abused
      A. deprived environment
      B. characteristics of the individual
         a. genetic tendency
         b. upbringing (the way we are raised)
      C, characteristics of the drug
         a. psychological dependence: rewarding
         b. physical dependence: use drugs to prevent withdrawal
         c. tolerance: larger dose to produce the desired effect
VI. Classes of Drugs
   1. depressants: reduce CNS activity (they are synergistic)
      A. alcohol: (gains access to all parts of the body)
         a. women break this down more slowly
         b. gradual tolerance, moderate risk for physical & psych. dependence
         c. heavy prolonged abuse causes nonreversible brain damage
             (Koraskoff’s Disease)
      B. sedatives (e.g., barbiturates)
         a. rapid tolerance, risk is high for phys. & psych. dependence
      C. anxiolytics (e.g., Valium)
         a. tolerance & both types of dependence can occur
   2. stimulants: increase CNS activity
      A. amphetamine: (e.g., uppers or speed)
         a. it increases concentration (e.g., ritalin)
         b. psych dependence is high; tolerance & phys dependence low
      B. cocaine: (used as a local anesthetic & was used in Cola)
        a. psychological dependence is high
        b. tolerance & physical dependence is low
      C. caffeine: (worlds most popular psychoactive drug)
      D. nicotine: physical dependence is debated
   3. Narcotics (e.g., heroin, morphine)
      A. rapid tolerance, risk is high for phys. & psych. dependence
      B. relieves pain, induces sleep, & can cause euphoria
   4. hallucinogens: (LSD, PCP, marijuana)
      A. tolerance gradual if at all; no phys & little psych. dependence
      B. LSD: visual sensations, flashbacks
      C. PCP: causes insensitivity to pain (animal tranquilizer)
      D. marijuana: active ingredient is THC which collects in fat
         a. reduces testosterone & sperm count
         b. health hazards low when moderate doses
         c. myths about MJ

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