Consciousness

what is consciousness ?
Different concepts of consciousness
why do we sleep?
Why do we dream?
Sleep stages and EEG changes
Altered states of consciousness
Substance abuse

Consciousness

Sensory awareness of environment.

State of being awake and aware of what
is going on around you
Clear perception
Proper orientation
Attention and concentration
Comprehension
Ability to respond and communicate

ConsciousnessConsciousness as direct inner awareness

Direct inner awareness :
Knowledge of ones own thoughts, feelings, and
memories without use of sensory organs.
Sigmund Freuds concept :
Unconscious : ideas and feelings that are not
available to awareness by simple focusing of
attention
Preconscious : ides and feelings that are not in
awareness but can be brought into awareness by
focusing ones attention
Conscious : Thoughts and feelings, we are aware

Why Do We Sleep?
Two main theoretical approaches :
Recuperation theories suggest that wakefulness
somehow disturbs some aspect the bodys balance or
homeostasis and some aspect of sleep helps to restore
it
Circadian theories suggest that a neural mechanism has
developed to encourage sleep during those periods of
the day when an animal is least active to conserve
energy and to make them less vulnerable during this
time.

Dreams

We dream in color and/or Black & White

Dreams are more frequently disturbing and unpleasant rather

than pleasant.

The most common setting for dreams is indoors rather than

outdoors.

Dreams usually involve motion and action.

Can increase awareness with recordings or immediate writing of

them to a note pad.

1st dream is about 10 minutes, they increase length over time

last one is about 60 minutes.

They must be close to REM to remember them.

Why do we dream?

Freud - Road to unconscious, symbolic

representations of wishes and fears we
cannot express in consciousness.
Manifest Content - obvious but superficial
meaning of dreams
Latent Content - true meaning of dreams

Why do we dream?

Activation-Synthesis Theory (Hobson &

McCarley, 1977)
1. Brainstem bombards higher brain centers
with random neural activity
2. Cerebral cortex interprets activity and
creates a dream.

Why do we dream?

Information Processing (Cartwright)-

.Dreams are an Extension of Waking

Life and that in our dreams we express
our emotional concerns and most
private thoughts.

Sleep disorders
Insomnia: Chronic difficulty in falling
asleep
Narcolepsy: Sudden, uncontrollable
sleep attacks
Sleep apnea: Breathing stops and
restarts during sleep
Sleepwalking

Stages of Sleep

During the various stages of sleep, the

brain emits waves with different
frequencies (number of waves per
second) which can be recorded in EEG.
AWAKE:
--beta waves , high frequency, low
amplitude
JUST BEFORE SLEEP:
alpha waves, medium frequency, medium
amplitude

Stages of sleep
NON RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP (NREM):

Stages of sleep 1 through 4.

Stage 1 :
low frequency, some theta waves
(higher amplitude)

Stage 24 : lower frequency, higher amplitude.

Delta waves at
stage 4. Very low frequency and high
amplitude
RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP (REM) :

A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye

movements, which have been linked to dreaming.

Return to awake like condition

Brain Waves
Awake
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4

Stages of Sleep

REM sleep

Slow wave/non-REM sleep

Eye movement rapid

Slow/no eye movement

Loss of core muscle tone (i.e.

paralysis)

Muscle tonus moderate

EEG desynchronised

EEG synchronised

Cerebral energy use equal to or

higher than waking

Cerebral energy use below that of

waking

Increased ANS activity

ANS unchanged

Penile/clitoral erection

No genital activity

"Typical" dream contact

No Dreams

Altered states of
consciousness

Hypnosis
A condition in which people appear to be highly
suggestible and behave as though they are in a
trance.
Meditation
Thinking deeply
Rituals and exercises or activities that alter the
normal relationship between the person and his or
her environment.

Substance abuse and

dependence

Substance Abuse : Persistent use of a substance even

though it is causing problems in meeting the demands of life
Tolerance : Habituation to a drug, with the result that
increasingly higher doses of the drug are needed to achieve
similar effects
Substance dependence : Normal functioning of body and
mind depends on regular intake of drug
Substance withdrawal Syndrome : A characteristic cluster
of symptoms that results from sudden decrease in an
addictive drug level of usage

Common drugs of abuse

Opiates
Alcohols
Cannabis
Stimulants
Tranquilizers
Nicotine
Caffeine
Hallucinogens