CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

T HE B RAIN & C ONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness: Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

1. Minimal consciousness
o Low-level sensory awareness: the mind inputs sensations and may output behavior
o Ex. When were in deep sleep
2. Full consciousness
o You know and are able to report your mental state
3. Self-consciousness
o Attention is drawn to the self as an object, almost completely

It brings varied information to the surface, enable us to reflect and plan; helps us focus our
concentration on more important matters
It enables us to exert voluntary control and to communicate our mental states to others.
We register and react to stimuli we do not consciously perceive.
i.e. we perform well-learned tasks automatically
we change our attitudes an reconstruct our memories with no awareness of doing so
we instantly and unconsciously react to gender age, appearance when meeting new people

Difference between humans and other animals
It is believed that animals do not have as much self-consciousness as we do

Properties of Consciousness

Intentionality: Consciousness is about something
Unity: Consciousness resists being divided
Selectivity: Capacity of consciousness to include some things but not others
o The main visual stimulus is a cube, not your neighbours YouTube video
Transience: Consciousness has a tendency to change its focus
o Once you get used to it, you can choose which cube has your attention
Image: Necker cube
We make things conscious by paying attention to a few things in a teeming world
There are so many stimuli
Humans have a very limited capacity

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Cognitive Neuroscience:
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking,
memory, and language)

DUAL PROCESSING AND THE TWO- TRACK MIND:

How we do (and dont) pay attention

Dual Processing
Information is simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious levels
o Ex. When you brush your teeth, youre paying little attention to making sure you get all parts of
your mouth clean, and probably thinking about something else (or checking your reflection in the
mirror)

Two minds:
1. Conscious, deliberate, aware
2. Unconscious, automatic, unaware
! More than one brain mechanism involved in any sensations / perception / interpretation of the world

Much (almost all?) sensory information is ignored & outside our attention...
Some is simply not available to consciousness
Some is suppressed (ignored) because so much else is going on
Human bit processing rate about 20-100 bits/second
Neural input rate about 10 million bits/ second

The Two-Track Mind
Serial conscious processing: solving problems with focused attention
Unconscious parallel processing: automatic pilot taking care of routine business
o Walking
o Avoiding pedestrians

Paying Attention

Selective Attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
The cocktail-party effect: ability to tune in to one message while filtering out other (even louder)
messages nearby
Were good at focusing, but not good at sharing attention between tasks
The pool of attention resources is limited: we can multi-task, but only if the total task requirements
are within our small capacity
o If we have 3 tasks at the same time, it is likely that none of them will be done exceptionally well
o It takes a certain amount of time from one to the other, so it is not particularly effective
o Pilot video: doing an unrelated task like count backwards was easy and still completed the mission,
but when asked to describe everything he was doing proved to be a distraction because a lot of his
flying skills were embedded as automatic skills after practice the talking slowed him down

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

o

Ex. If you play sports, you dont think about things like here comes the ball, I better move back to
get it; should I use forehand or backhand these things are almost automatic once you are skilled
at the sport

Selective Inattention
Inattentional blindness: failure to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere
o Gorilla on the court: people who were trying to count the number of basketball passes didnt notice
Change blindness: failure to notice obvious changes in our environment
o Piecing things together: most people didnt notice that there were two different people behind the
desk (one switched with the other)

Pay Attention!
Consciousness demands that we remain unaware of much of what is going on in the world
Video: Apollo Ribbins, The Master Pickpocket

S LEEP

AND

D REAMS

BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS AND SLEEP

Circadian rhythm
The regular bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24-hour period; the biological clock

Regulated by the brains suprachiasmatic nucleus, which responds to light and triggers the pineal gland
to decrease melatonin
o Light activates light-sensitive retinal proteins, which trigger signals to the suprachiasmatic nucleus
o It causes the pineal gland to decrease (in morning) or increase (in the evening) its production of the
sleep-inducing hormone melatonin
o (Dont have to know what suprachiasmatic means)
Primarily driven by light levels in day/night cycles, which also drives changes in body temperature
o Ex. If there is more or less daylight where you are, it affects the amount of light youre exposed to
o 2:30pm body temperature starts to cool down and we get drowsy

Changes with:
o Age: owls and larks some people are more alert in the morning, others more alert at night
o Environment: Shift work wreaks havoc with rhythms especially if your work shifts are
alternating; must be alert early in the morning, and then next day must be alert in the middle of
the night
o Culture: Tradition of siesta in Spanish-speaking countries

The longer we are awake, the more our active brain produces and accumulates the chemical adenosine,
which inhibits certain neurons, making us sleepy (caffeine blocks this). During sleep, adenosine
concentration declines
Adjusting sleep schedules resetting biological clocks
Video:
Circadian rhythms are known to produce highs and lows of mental acuity that vary throughout the
day. In what ways can you use this information to improve efficiency in your lives?

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Does our North American nine to five model fit what we now know about circadian rhythms? Do
other cultures handle this better?

Myths about dreams:
When people dream of performing some activity, their limbs often move in concert with the dream
Older adults sleep more than young adults
Sleepwalkers are acting out their dreams
Sleep experts recommend treating insomnia with an occasional sleeping pill
Some people dream every night; others seldom dream

WHY WE SLEEP

Protective role in human evolution

Brain restoration and repair of damaged neurons
Store and rebuild memories of days experiences
Promotes creative problem-solving
Encourages growth through pituitary gland secretion of growth hormone

5-Stage Sleep Pattern
Sleep occurs in a repeating 5-stage pattern that occurs over 90 minutes.
Yawning stretches neck muscles, which increases heart rate, and increases alertness

Alpha waves: the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state - i.e. when you are in a bed with
your eyes closed.
Sleep: periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness as distinct from unconsciousness resulting
from coma, general anaesthesia, or hibernation.
We are unaware of when we actually fall asleep
REM sleep: rapid eye movement sleep
o A recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur.
o Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches)
but other body systems are active
NREM sleep: non-rapid eye movement sleep
o First 4 stages; each stage can last from 5-15 mins
o During deep stages of NREM, the body repairs and regenerates tissues, builds bone and
muscle, and appears to strengthen the immune system

EEG Graph:

Waves of activity that sweep through your cortex
Electrodes placed on your head (attached by a paste that conducts electricity from your brain)
Dont have to remember names of waves (beta, alpha, k) wont be tested on that, just understand how
the waves change

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Stage
NREM Stage 1

Description
Nearly awake stage
Hallucinations: during stage 1, false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the
absence of an external visual stimulus.
Hypnagogic sensations such as a sudden jerk sense of falling or a sense of weightlessness
may later be incorporated into memories.
Transitional state into full sleep
NREM Stage 2 20 minutes, you are asleep
Characterized by periodic appearance of sleep spindles bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain wave
activity.
During this stage you are clearly asleep even though you could be awakened easily.
Sleep-talking: garbled, nonsensical speech can occur in this stage, or any other sleep stage
NREM Stage 3 Few minutes,
Transitional stage from stage 2 (mix of EEG waves) to deep sleep, Stage 4 (deep rhythmic
waves; hard to awaken sleeper)
NREM Stage 4 Your brain emits large slow delta waves (increasing from stage 3)
Delta waves: the large, slow brainwaves associated with deep sleep
At end of this stage, children may sleepwalk, or wet the bed
During sleep, brain still processes certain stimuli. The brains auditory cortex responds to
sound stimuli even during sleep (we process most information outside our conscious
awareness)
REM sleep
Paradoxical sleep: body is externally calm (snoring even diminishes) but internally aroused
Similar to stage 1 sleep
Unlike Stage 1 sleep, your heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid and irregular, and every
half-minute your eyes dart around in momentary burst of activity.
Researchers think that these rapid eye movements are not related to the dreams, but to the
overflow of the active nervous system.
Genitals are aroused regardless of whether the dreams content is sexual.
Brains motor cortex is still active, but brainstem blocks its messages, leaving muscles relaxed
you are essentially paralyzed.
Visual and auditory areas are highly active during REM and inactive during other sleep stages

REM (rapid-eye- movement) Sleep
Dreaming sleep
Voluntary muscle activity suppressed...but there is still twitching of muscles

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Fast brain-wave activity

Physiological arousal
Length of REM period increase as sleep progresses

The Stages in a Typical Nights Sleep
Most people pass through the five-stage sleep cycle several times
o Periods of Stage 4 sleep and then Stage 3 sleep diminishing
o REM sleep periods increasing in duration
Increasing REM sleep and decreasing deep sleep
o (See graph to the right; based on data from 30 young adults)

Sleep Over the Life Span

Shorter sleep cycles in infancy
90-minute cycle emerges around age 5
From childhood to late adulthood, total sleep time decreases
Over life span, stages 1 and 2 increase, stages 3 and 4 decrease
REM sleep decreases in late adulthood

Sleep latency: time to go from waking state to full sleep
WASO: wake after sleep onset
SWS: slow-wave sleep (deep sleep)

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Graph

Stage 1: tends to be stable

Stage 2: tends to decrease over the life span
Stages end to stabilize around the age of 35
SWS: Slow wave sleep (deep, restful sleep) when pituitary releases hormones to help you grow, so
much higher when youre young and growing

Sleep in other mammals
All mammals have REM sleep and similar cycles to humans
o ...but we dont know if they dream
Huge differences in sleep amounts
o Dogs: 12-18 hours/day
o Large herbivores (e.g., cows, horses) about 1-2hours/day , must be eating most of the day
Survival: sleeping with one eye open
o Some animals sleep with only one side of brain asleep at one time
o Sea mammals, many birds, reptiles
o Birds have REM cycles of 2-3 seconds vs. human 30 minutes

About 1/3 of the human life is spent asleep: why?
If we dont sleep enough, we get really cranky and start to hallucinate
Sleep deprivation is one of the most effective interrogation techniques
If we dont sleep at all, we die
Sometimes you can be sitting with your eyes open, but youre so sleep deprived you skip the initial steps
of sleep and you sleep with your eyes open


SLEEP THEORIES

Sleep protects: Darkness precluded our ancestors hunting and good gathering and made travel
dangerous, they were better off asleep in a cave out of harms way. Those who didnt try to navigate
their way through the night were more likely to leave descendents
Sleep helps us recuperate (restore and repair): restore and repairs brain tissue. Animals produce lots of
molecules called free radicals that are toxic to neurons when they are burning calories. Sleep gives
resting neurons time to repair themselves, while allowing unused connections to weaken.
Remembering: sleep restores and rebuilds our fading memories of the days experiences. Tasks are
more easy to remember after a nights sleep. Neural activity during slow-wave sleep re-enacts and
promotes recall of prior experiences.
Growth process: during deep sleep, the pituitary gland releases a growth hormone. As adults grow
older, they release less of this hormone, and they spend less time in deep sleep.

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

SLEEP DEPRIVATION & DISORDERS

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Causes slow reaction times, increased errors on

visual tasks
Fatigue
Lead to driving and piloting accidents
Impairment of concentration, creativity,
Suppression of the immune system. It
communication
suppresses immune cells that fight of viral
infections and cancer, which explains why
Can lead to obesity, hypertension,
suppressed immune system
those with longer sleep patterns live longer.
Can lead to irritability and slowed
When an infection sets in, we tend to sleep
performance
more, boosting our immune cells.

Chronic sleep debt also alters metabolic and
Less energized, malaise
hormonal functioning in ways that mimic aging
and are conducive to obesity, hypertension,
For students: difficulty studying, diminished
and memory impairment.
productivity, tendency for mistakes, irritability,
fatigue
Other effects: irritability, slowed performance,
impaired creativity, concentration, and
Daylight savings time: lots of accidents are a
communication.
cause of the time change less hours of sleep

Persistent inability to fall asleep/stay asleep.
Most common complaint.
Insomnia
Often over-estimated by sufferers: but still a significant problem.
Drugs/alcohol usually make it worse (interfere with REM sleep), as does stress, irregular
sleep schedule, caffeine, exercise, and TV/Internet
Suddenly falling asleep, without warning (no Stage 1, dont feel drowsy)
The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.
Lasting 5 minutes or less
Loss of muscular tension occurs when this happens
Narcolepsy
Studies show that September babies are 37 % less than average risk for narcolepsy and
March babies 45% more. This is probably due to the fall cold and flu season, which
occurs during critical second trimester of development.
Gene was discovered in dogs: a relative absence of hypothalamic neural center that
produces hypocretin, an alerting neurotransmitter.
Characterised by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified
NREM dreams during Stage 4 sleep
Night terrors
Within 2-3 hours of falling asleep, rarely remembered.
Most common in children.
Breathing stops during sleep, and repeated momentary awakenings
Up to > 100 times/night
Decreased blood oxygen causes sleeper to awaken and snort in air for a few seconds,
Sleep apnea
depriving person of slow-wave sleep
Given mask-like device with air pump that keeps airway open and breathing regular.
Common if overweight, genetics, etc.
NREM activity during Stage 4 sleep, rarely remembered.
Sleepwalking
Most common in children.
Genetic component

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

DREAMS

Unfolding sequences of thoughts, perceptions, images, and emotions that typically occur during
REM sleep;
Notable for fantastic imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities that the dreamer delusion ally accepts,
but has later difficulty remembering.
o 4-5 dreaming episodes per night: most have some negative imagery
o Longest episodes occur during longest REM stages, typically early morning
o Dependent on brain activity related to REM sleep
o Dreams are primarily visual

Lucid dreams: when people in dreams realize that they might be dreaming.
Blind people dream by using their non-visual senses hearing, touching, smelling, tasting. And even
congenitally, blind people can experience visual images in dreams.
We spend 6 years of our life in dreams 80% of which involve negative emotions.
We dream of:
o Repeatedly failing in an attempt to do something
o Being attacked, pursued, or rejected
o Experiencing misfortune.
o Events in our daily lives a meeting at work, an exam, or relating to a family member or friend.

Do animals dream? Do sightless people dream? Most dreams are about sex?
Because of the presence of REM sleep in animals and the presence of perception and memory, it seems
likely...but they wont tell us.
Studies of people blind from birth or from an early age reveal that they report dreams based on their
nonvisual senses: sound, taste, smell, and touch.
Dreams of a sexual nature are less common than is thought: about 1 in 10 dreams among young men
and 1 in 30 among young women.

Do we dream in colour? Can you die in your dreams? Do dreams predict the future?

10 CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Up to 80 percent of our dreams are in color.

How would we know what you were dreaming if you died? Second, people have experienced their own
deaths in dreams...and have lived to tell the tales.
Dreams can predict everything. If you have enough dreams, some of the predictions have to become
true.

Dream Theories

Why do we dream?
To satisfy our own wishes: Freud argued that by fulfilling wishes, a dream provides a psychic safety
valve that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings
o According to Freud, a dreams manifest or apparent content is a censored, symbolic version of
its latent content, which consists of conscious and unconscious drives and wishes that could be
threatening if expressed directly.
To file away memories: Researchers see dreams as information processing. They believe that dreams
may help to sort, and fix the days experiences in our memory.
o Its also true that people tested the next day generally improved on a learned task after a night
of memory consolidation. But after two days, those deprived of both slow-wave and REM sleep
didnt do as well as those who slept undisturbed on their new learning.
o Studies have confirmed that we experience REM sleep, in part, to remember. The brain regions
that are activated as rats tried to navigate through a maze or as people learn to perform a
visual-discrimination task are activated again during REM sleep. These activities were so
precise that researchers could determine where in the maze the rats would be if awake.
o Deep slow-wave sleep helps stabilize our memories of experiences.
o REM sleep helps convert memories into long-term learning.
o Therefore a night of solid sleep and learning is important to sleep is to remember.
To develop and preserve neural pathways: Dreams also serve a physiological function. Perhaps dreams
provide the sleeping brain with periodic stimulation that may help develop the brains neural pathways.
To make sense of neural static: Dreams may erupt from neural activity that spreads upwards from the
brainstem.
o The activation synthesis theory neural activity is random, and dreams are the brains attempt
to make sense of it. Much as a neurosurgeon can produce hallucinations as different parts of
the brain are stimulated, so can stimulation originating within the brain.
o Internal stimuli will activate areas of the brain that process visual images not the visual cortex
area, which receives raw input from eyes.
o The limbic system had increased activity as well contributing to dreams. Frontal lobe regions
associated with inhibition and logical thinking seem to be idle and therefore explaining why
dreams sometimes dont make sense.
To reflect cognitive development: Some believe that dreams are part of brain maturation and cognitive
development.
o In children, their dreams are more like slideshows instead of an active story.
o Dreams also overlap with waking cognition. They feature coherent speech and draw on our
concepts and knowledge. Moreover some dreams appear outside REM sleep, when brainstem
activation is minimal.
People need REM sleep. Deprived of it, they will go back to REM sleep more and more.
o REM rebound: the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
(created by awakenings during REM sleep).

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

11

No one explanation fits all could be part of the explanation
If we dont dream (if someone wakes us up every time we go into REM sleep), well start to hallucinate
(re-enter REM sleep) during waking moments

Properties of Consciousness
Manifest Content: elements of a dream that are consciously experienced and remembered
Latent Content: the unconscious thoughts, wishes, and urges that are concealed in the manifest
content of a dream; its underlying meaning

Summary Chart:

Theory
Explanation
Critical Considerations
Dreams provide a psychic safety
Lacks any scientific
valve expressing wise
support; dreams may be
Freuds wish-
unacceptable feelings
interpreted in many
fulfillment
different ways.
Contain manifest (remembered)
content and a deeper layer of latent
content a hidden meaning.
Dreams about us sort out the days
But why do we sometimes
events and consolidate our
dream about things we
Information-
memories.
have not experienced?
processing
We remember best when we`ve slept
well: disturbing REM will reduce
memory ability.
Regular brain stimulation from REM
This may be true, but it
sleep may help develop and preserve
does not explain why we
Physiological
neural pathways.
experience meaningful
function
dreams.
Dreaming stops our brain from going
completely away physiologically,
keeps a certain level of awareness
REM sleep triggers neural activity
The individuals brain is
that evokes random visual memories,
weaving the stories, which
which our sleeping brain weaves into
still tells us something
stories.
about the dreamer.
Activation-synthesis
Our brain/mind likes to make sense of
the world (even when we are asleep).
Dreams are just our brain`s way of
making sense of neural static
Dream content reflects dreamers
Does not address the
cognitive development their
neuroscience of dreams.
knowledge and understanding.
Dreaming is part of cognitive
Cognitive theory
development: rather than being driven
by bottom-up (physiological)
processes, dreaming reflects top-down
control of dream process.

12 CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

H YPNOSIS

Cooperative social interaction in which the participant responds to suggestions made by the hypnotist,
that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviours will spontaneously occur
Sensory and perceptual changes (temporary blindness, loss of sensation)
Susceptibility to posthypnotic suggestions
Changes in memory through suggestion: posthypnotic amnesia or hyperamnesia (an enhancement of
memories, e.g., remembering childhood events)
Is hypnosis:
o The workings of normal consciousness and the powers of social influence?
o A special state of consciousness marked by a dual-processing state of disassociation?

Hypnosis Theories

1. Social influence theory: the workings of normal consciousness and the powers of social influence.
o An authoritative person especially one who is trusted can induce people to perform unlikely
acts, even when theyre not hypnotized.
o The more the subjects trust and like the hypnotist, the more they allow that person to direct
their attention and fantasies.
o Social influence theory: hypnotic phenomena are not unique to hypnosis. Hypnotic phenomena,
like other behaviours associated with other supposed altered states, such as the dissociative
identity disorder and spirit and demon possession, are an extension of everyday social
behaviour.
o They may just be imaginative actors caught up in playing the role of a hypnotic subject.

2. Divided consciousness theory: a special state of consciousness marked by a dual-processing state of
disassociation
o Dissociation of our two- track mind(s)
o Neural changes accompany hypnotic state
o Hypnosis is a strong form of selective attention

However, some people think that hypnosis is an extension of both theories

Video Review:
What makes some people more hypnotizable:
o People who are anxious dont respond well to hypnosis like how they also dont respond well to
anesthetic drugs

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

13

Limitations and Applications of Hypnosis

Can anyone experience hypnosis?
To some extent, nearly everyone is suggestible.
Those who are highly hypnotizable frequently become deeply absorbed in imaginative activities.
Many researchers refer to hypnotic susceptibility as hypnotic ability the ability to focus attention
totally on a task, to become imaginatively absorbed into it, ti entertain fanciful possibilities.
Anyone will experience hypnotic responsiveness if led to expect it. If you believe that it works, you are
more susceptible to being influenced by the hypnotists words.

Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events?
People believe that everything that has happened to us are recorded in our brain and that we will be
able to recall them if our defences are broken down.
Age-regressed people act as they believe children would act, but they usually outperform real children
of the specified age.
They will act like children, but they do so without change in their adult brain waves, reflexes and
perceptions.
Hypnotically refreshed memories could mix fact with fiction as well.

Can hypnosis force people to act against their will?
People could be induced to perform an apparently dangerous task. When interviewed the next day,
they usually have no memory of it.
An experiment was done where people were asked to pretend that they were hypnotized. A researcher
who didnt know that they werent hypnotized treated the subjects all the same. The participants all
followed the researchers instructions, maybe thinking that the laboratory context assured safety. They
acted like those who were hypnotized.
Therefore, an authoritative person in a legitimate context can induce people hypnotized or not to
perform some unlikely acts.

Can hypnosis be therapeutic?
Hypnotherapists simply try to help patients harness their own healing powers.

14 CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Posthypnotic suggestions: a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the
subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and
behaviours.

Can hypnosis alleviate pain?
Yes it can.
When unhypnotized people put their hands in an ice bath they feel pain. When hypnotized people did
it, they feel no pain.
10% of us can become deeply hypnotized that we dont feel the pain.
Half of us can gain at least some pain relief from hypnosis.
Hypnotized patients required less pain medication and recovered sooner.
Dissociation: a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviours to occur
simultaneously with others.
Hypnosis can dissociate the sensation of pain stimulus (of which the subject is still aware) from the
emotional suffering that defines our experience of pain. Therefore the ice water would feel very cold,,
but not painful.
Another theory is that hypnotic pain relief results from selective attention.
PET scans reveal that hypnosis reduces pain activity in a region that processes pain stimuli, but not in
the sensory cortex that receives the raw sensory input. Therefore, hypnosis doesnt block sensory
input, but it may block our attention to those stimuli.

D RUGS & C ONSCIOUSNESS

DEPENDENCE & ADDICTION

Compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequence

Do addictive drugs quickly corrupt? Do they always lead to addiction?
o No, and no
o Also depends on the persons personality some people are more likely to become addicted than
others; some people try an addictive drug but dont get addicted, they simply stop
Can addictions be overcome voluntarily, without therapy?
o Yes, frequently
Should the concept of addiction be extended beyond drug dependence? e.g. sex addiction, Internet
addiction, exercise addiction
o Still an open question
o Addiction: physical affect in the brain

How our body reacts in stages to (some) drugs
Tolerance. Brain chemistry adapts to offset the effect of the drug. With continued use, more drug is
needed to achieve the same effect
o Tolerance can build up
Withdrawal: the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug;
symptoms include physical pain and intense cravings, indicating a physical dependence
Dependence. For some drugs and some users, two forms:
1. Physiological need marked by withdrawal symptoms (physical pain)
2. Psychological need to use a drug, e.g. reduce negative emotions

CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

15

Addiction. Compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequence

o Physical symptoms include aches, nausea and distress following withdrawal

Some misconceptions concerning addictions:
1. Addictive drugs quickly corrupt; for example, morphine taken to control pain is powerfully addictive
and often leads to heroin abuse
o After taking a psychoactive drug, some people (10%) have a hard time using the drug in
moderation or stopping altogether
o People typically dont become addicted when using drugs to medically; those given morphine
to control pain rarely develop cravings of an addict who uses morphine as a mood altering drug
2. Addictions cannot be overcome voluntarily; therapy is required
o Some addicts benefit from treatment programs (Alcoholics Anonymous) but critics point out
recovery rates of treated and untreated groups differ less than one might suppose; therapy or
group support may be helpful but people often recover on their own
o Viewing addiction as a disease can undermine self-confidence and will change to cravings that,
without treatment, one cannot fight
3. We extend the concept of addiction to cover not just drug dependencies but a whole spectrum of
repetitive, pleasure-seeking behaviours
o Addiction as a diseases needing treatment idea has been suggested for a number of driven
behaviours including overeating, shopping, exercise, sex, gambling, work
o This use of an addictive behaviour may become an all purpose excuse
o Sometimes, behaviours such as gambling or cybersex, do become compulsive and
dysfunctional, much like abusive drug taking

Neural pathways for drug tolerance
How tolerance develops
o Brain chemistry adapts to offset the effect of the drug
o With continued use, more drug is needed to achieve
the same effect
Video: The Brains Reward Centre
o Body adapts: I dont need my own endorphins so Im
going to shut down my receptors
o Things that normally give you pleasure such as food or
exercise, dont give you as much pleasure because of the
lack of receptors
o The only thing that will make you happy is to re-
administer the drug

P SYCHOACTIVE D RUGS

A chemical substance that alters perception and mood

Includes legal substances found in caffeine, cigarettes, Botox, diet pills, wine, Tylenol, beta-blockers,
Viagra, libido patches, Adderall, etc.

1. Depressants
2. Stimulants
3. Hallucinogens

16 CHAPTER 3: STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

DEPRESSANTS

Slowing down/calming of neural activity, and of bodily functions

o All depressants have these similar functions in brain
Depressant simply means depressing/ dampening of neural response

1) ALCOHOL

Reduces control of judgment/inhibitions: paradoxical effect loss of
impulse control (both positive and negative)
o When alcohol comes into bloodstream, it slows down the frontal cortex that tends to suppress
activity so youre more talkative, louder, and fun
o It does not excite you, it is still a depressant
Slows sympathetic nervous system activity: slower reaction time, slurred speech, loss of balance
Memory disruption: disrupts REM sleep
Reduces self-awareness and self-control
Social/cultural influence on alcohol consumption: expected behaviour
o Ex. Most of Europe does not have high alcohol consumption like in Canada or USA, but in Italian
culture it is common to get drunk in a bar on Saturday night and even fight/yell
Across all demographics sectors, alcohol a great revenue source for governments

2) BARBITURATES & TRANQUILIZERS

Depress the activity of the central nervous system

Reduces anxiety but impairs memory and judgment
Usually ingested in pill or capsule form, minor tranquilizers are commonly abused
Like alcohol, but faster/more powerful
Used to treat severe mental illnesses (anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia) like the sleeping pill
o Lose voluntary movement
o Parasympathetic nervous system slows down, neurotransmitters wont go
o If abused, eventually you stop breathing
o Used to be a common form of suicide

3) OPIATES

Depress neural activity

Temporarily relieve pain, produce feelings of euphoria
Includes: opium, morphine, heroin, methadone, prescription painkillers
Effects as for other depressants, plus:
o More immediate effect on reducing pain/ anxiety
o Opiates mimic naturally occurring endorphins: our own brains stop producing, so withdrawal
leads to high levels of pain
o Overdose death more common than with alcohol, esp. with relapsed users (e.g., Hoffman)

4) INHALANTS

Chemical vapors that people inhale on purpose to get high (ex. paints, glues, gasolines, aerosols)
The vapors produce mind-altering, and sometimes disastrous, effects

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STIMULANTS

Excite neural activity and speed up body functions

Strong stimulants increase heart and breathing rates, cause pupils to dilate, appetite to diminish
(because blood sugar increases), and energy and self-confidence rises
Used to stay awake, lose weight or boost mood or athletic performance
Most common stimulants are alkaloids (chemical compounds) that taste bitter.
About 25% of all plants contain alkaloids as protection against predators
Most are toxic to other organisms (e.g., strychnine poison, most poison toad darts)
Opposite of depressants; also usually equally addictive, but they dont kill you as easily as depressants

1) AMPHETAMINES

Stimulate neural activity, causing sped-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes
Powerful drug with many uses (medical uses like Adderall prescribed to treat ADHD)
Not addictive at low doses

2) METHAMPHETAMINES

A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with sped up body functions
and associated energy and mood changes
Similar to parent drug, amphetamine
Over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels
Doesnt have many uses besides recreational drug use
Can be orally injected, snorted or smoked
Example: crystal meth

3) CAFFEINE

Produces tolerance if used regularly and in heavy doses: stimulating effects lessen
Discontinuing heavy intake often produces withdrawal symptoms (headache, fatigue)
Can be found in coffee, tea, soda, and even fruit juices, mints, energy drinks, soap

4) NICOTINE

Primary ingredient in tobacco products

Very fast acting impact on brain: immediate
release of adrenaline (epinephrine)
Increases activity of sympathetic nervous system
The most commonly used stimulant
Possibly the most addictive of all stimulants
30% become regular users vs. 15% for alcohol
No immediate and obvious negative effects
Difficult to stop: socially acceptable (almost), not
expensive, legal

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5) COCAINE

Enters bloodstream quickly (sniffed/snorted, and especially when injected or smoked)

Rush of euphoria that depletes brains supply of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and
norepinephrine
Crash of agitated depression follows as drugs effect wears off (within 15-30 mins)

6) ECSTASY (MDMA)

Synthetic stimulant (and mild hallucinogen)

Produces a euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to
serotonin-producing neurons
Commonly used at dance clubs, parties, raves

HALLUCINOGENS (PSYCHEDELICS)

Result in radical distortions of a users perception of reality

Interfere with the brain and central nervous system
Vivid hallucinations; alter mood and thinking

1) LSD

Perceptual distortions and hallucinations

o At peak: often feel separated from body and experience dream-like scenes (can feel so real that
they become panic-stricken or harm themselves)
Users current mood and expectations colour the emotional experience
Emotions of LSD trip vary from euphoria to detachment to panic
Also known as: acid

2) MARIJUANA

THC: major active ingredient (triggers variety of effects including mild hallucinations)
Leaves and flowers of the hemp plant
Mild hallucinogen: amplifies sensitivity to colors, sounds, tastes, smells
Like alcohol: relaxes, disinhibits, and may produce high (but different because its by-products linger in
the body for a month or more)
Therapeutic for those who suffer the pain, nausea, and severe weight loss associated with AIDS
o Brain has THC-sensitive receptors
o Discovery of cannabinoid receptors ! found naturally occurring THC-like moelcules
o These molecules may naturally control pain

3) CLUB DRUGS

Ecstasy (MDMA): A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen (see Stimulants section)
Dissociative anesthetics (PCP, ketamine)
Synthetic stimulants/hallucinogens used at dance clubs, parties, raves

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DRUG USE

Biological Influence:
Genetic tendencies
Variations in
neurotransmitter systems

Drug Use

Social-cultural Influence:
Urban environment
Belonging to a drug-using cultural group
Peer influences

Psychological Influence:
Lacking sense of purpose
Significant stress
Psychological disorders, such depression

Genetic tendencies: some people who have alcohol addiction may have parents or relatives who also have
the same addiction
Social Attitudes: some cultures consider consuming alcohol a sin

Near-death experience:
An altered state of consciousness reported after close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest)
Often similar to drug-induced hallucinations
Closely parallels typical hallucinogenic experience: replay of old memories, out-of-body sensations,
visions of tunnels or funnels and bright lights or beings of light
Stimulation of the crucial temporal lobe area of a female patient induced sensations of floating near
the ceiling and seeing herself from above lying in bed
Solitary sailors/polar explorers had out of body sensations while enduring monotony, isolation and cold
Oxygen deprivation turns off the brains inhibitory cells and increases neural activity in the visual cortex,
which leads to growing patch of light which looks like what you would see as you moved through a
tunnel