Consciousness
What is consciousness?
state of awareness of inner thoughts,
feelings, and sensations as well as of the outer world
What is a vegetative state?
may be able to breathe on their own, open and close the eyes, and have normal sleep-wake cycles
waht are the two basic states of sleep?
1. NREM sleep:
– nonrapid eye movement sleep or “quiet sleep”
– majority of the sleep time
2. REM sleep (rapid eye movement):
– also known as “active sleep” or “dreaming sleep”
– brain becomes much more active
Define sleep cycle.
predictable shifting from NREM to REM
sleep in all humans (and many animals)
– Each period of NREM about 90 minutes
– Each period of REM about 15 minutes
What is hypnosis?
altered state of consciousness associated with a wakeful state of focused attention, heightened suggestibility, and decreased awareness of the outside world. Brain shows different pattern of activity compared to when awake, relaxed, or asleep
What is the unconscious mind?
information about the self that is
hidden from conscious awareness
What is minimally conscious state?
only intermittent signs of arousal and awareness
▪ hypnogogic hallucination – brief sensory misperception
▪ hypnic jerk – sudden movements (kick of a leg, flail of an arm, or a whole-body jolt)
Dyssomnias are sleeping disorders that involve difficulties either falling asleep or remaining asleep. What sleep disorders are under this category?
– Insomnia – difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or waking frequently throughout the night
– Sleep apnea – sleeper stops breathing for several seconds during sleep
– Narcolepsy – chronic neurological disorder in which a person has episodes of sudden and excessive daytime sleepiness also called as sleep attacks
What are the uses of Therapeutic Hypnosis?
• Changing Habits – getting people to lose their unwanted habits
• Psychotherapy – helping people with psychological disorders such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression
• Pain Control – intervention for alleviating pain from cancer and chronic conditions
What are the key properties of consciousness?
dynamic, involves both arousal and awareness, can be altered, produced by brain activity
What is an altered state?
state where pattern of brain activity is significantly different from normal waking consciousness
What are characteristics of stage 2 sleep?
– Breathing and heart rate slow down
– Muscles relax
– Body temperature falls slightly
– Less responsive to the outside world
– Appearance of tiny bursts of activity in the brain
called sleep spindles
– Prepares the body for entering deep sleep
Parasomnias are sleep disorders characterized by unusual or undesirable behaviors during sleep. What disorders are part of this category?
- REM behavior disorder (RBD) – normal REM sleep process in which the large muscle groups are temporarily paralyzed malfunctions and the body is free to act out the dream
– Somnambulism – sleepwalking
– Somniloquy – talking in one’s sleep
– Night terrors – person experiences what looks from the outside like an extreme episode of fear or panic
What is meditation?
– group of techniques that involve relaxation and learning how to focus attention
– requires active mindfulness on the part of the meditator
What are disorders of consciousness (DOCs)?
conditions that involve a change from a state of full awareness to decreased or absent self-awareness
What are examples of an altered state?
sleep, dreams, hypnosis, meditation, starvation, use of psychoactive drugs, etc.
What are the characteristics of stage 3 and 4 sleep?
– Very slow brain waves known as delta waves
– Almost exclusively delta waves during Stage 4 sleep
– Sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, sleep talking,and night terrors may occur
What is the psychological value to dreaming according to Sigmund Freud?
dreams are meaningful and symbolize hidden conflicts and desires
What are the benefits of meditation?
• Relaxation
• Stress relief
• Coping with physical and psychological challenges
• Resolving problems with sleep, stress, and anxiety
What is a coma?
unable to move or respond to the external
world
What are the defining features of a altered state?
Perceptual and cognitive distortions, Hypersuggestibility, Changes in feelings or views
What is the most important stage of sleep and why?
• REM-rebound effect - brain “catching up” on lost REM sleep, if deprived for2-3 consecutive nights
• REM paralysis - brain awakens from REM sleep but the body paralysis messages persist
What are the two types of meaning for dreams?
1. Manifest content – surface meaning or obvious content of the dream (description of the dream after waking up)
2. Latent content – the concealed, buried, or symbolic meaning (psychologically important part of the dream)