You should be able to…

• Know definition of Consciousness and be able to discuss the history of psychological research of Consciousness.

• Describe the functions and characteristics of sleep.

Consciousness through the years…

• late 1800’s…introspection: look inside yourself

• 20th century…scientific study OVERT BEH.• 1950’s…to understand behavior, we must

consider the role of conscious mental processes– ‘cuz now we have more objective ways to study

conscious experiences!– psychological, physiological, social & cultural

influences!

What regulates consciousness?

• circadian rhythms: cyclical daily fluctuations– biological processes– psychological processes– 9 am/pm peak mental alertness vs. 3 am/pm mental slump

(sleepy)

– 11 am/ 7pm peak physical strength

• Entrainment:– synchronization or alignment of the internal biological clock

rhythm, (phase & period), to external time cues (natural dark-light cycle).

– sunlight • detected by photoreceptors which tell SCN to suppress melatonin.

Using Physical Activity to Beat the Afternoon Slump

• It increases oxygen circulation throughout the body, including your brain.

• It increases your body temperature, which combats your biological clock.

• It releases adrenalin, which stimulates your brain.

• If you go outside you'll get a shot of sunlight, which also helps to combat mid-afternoon drowsiness.

Consciousness• The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

(SCN)– Tiny cluster of neurons in the

hypothalamus in the brain– governs the timing of circadian

rhythms– The Body’s Clock

• Melatonin– Hormone of the pineal gland that

produces sleepiness– Decreased light increases the

production of melatonin– "Melatonin tells us what time it is

in the body," – inconsistent schedules =

melatonin goes haywire.

What if there was an absence of light?

• We’d gravitate toward natural rhythm of SCN (25 hour day!)

• lose normal synchronization (body temp & melatonin)

• easier to stay awake 1 hour than get up hour earlier

Other types of Rhythms

• An Infradian rhythm is a biological rhythm with a period longer than 24 hours. Due to the longer time frame for each cycle the frequency of occurrence in these cycles is lower than that of the circadian rhythms.

Examples include:

• female menstrual cycle

• bird migration

• hibernation

• Ultradian rhythms are the regular recurrence in cycles of less than 24 hours from one stated point to another, as certain biologic activities which occur at such intervals, regardless of conditions of illumination.

Examples include: sleep stages

• alpha wave

• Beta wave

• Delta wave

• Theta wave

Consciousness• Jet Lag

– Caused by Circadian Rhythms that are drastically out of sync

– physical mental fatigue, depression, irritability, disrupted sleep & negative effects on thinking, concentration and memory

– Easier to go west than east

SUPRACHIASMATIC (SCN) (139) Where located: ______________________ What is it: ______________________ Function: __________________________________________________________ What key environmental factor affects SCN? _______________________________________ SCN triggers MELATONIN, a hormone that makes us sleepy (or mellow). (139) 1. What gland produces melatonin? ____________________________________ 2. Where is gland located? ____________________________________ 3. When does SCN trigger melatonin? ____________________________________ 4. Where are photoreceptors located? ____________________________________ 5. Where else? ____________________________________ HOW WE WAKE UP 1. Photoreceptors in retina detect light 2. Optic nerve send message to SCN 3. SCN tells pineal to wake up 4. Pineal reduces melatonin production 5. Melatonin in blood decreases, increasing alertness

Functions of Sleep: Why do we sleep?

• Adaptive/Evolutionary: animals in danger

• Consolidate memories:• Creative processing:• Growth:• Restorative theory: physiological processes

restore rejuvenate body & mind– NREM…restore body (physical) – REM…restore mind (mental/emotional and brain

functions)– Biological need: microsleeps & rebounds

Sleep Debt Quiz

Sleep Deprivation

Effects of Sleep Loss fatigue impaired concentration &

performance On even normal tasks

greater vulnerability to accidents & memory errors

Attention, learning, memory radically reduced

emotional depressed immune system

Sleep Deprivation

2,400

2,700

2,600

2,500

2,800

Spring time change(hour sleep loss)

3,600

4,200

4000

3,800

Fall time change(hour sleep gained)

Less sleep,more accidents

More sleep,fewer accidents

Monday before time change Monday after time change

Accident frequency

Sleep and Dreams…EEG

ConsciousnessMeasuring Sleep Changes•Electroencephalogram (EEG)– Electrodes placed on the scalp provide a record of the

electrical activity of the brain

Typical pattern of sleep:

Stages of Sleep• AWAKE… beta

• Before we fall asleep… drowsy, mind wandering– Relaxed state… Alpha waves

• Stage 1 (2-5 minutes)– Lightest stage– theta waves– dream-like images, slow, rolling eye movements– hypnagogic hallucinations– myoclonic jerk (sleep start)

• Stage 2 (20 minutes)– sleep spindles – K complex: Bursts of brain activity that reflect external

stimulation (sounds) or internal stimuli (muscle tightness, etc.)

Stages of Sleep cont.

• Stage 3– Theta & Delta Waves—slow– transition

• Stage 4 (30 minutes)

– Delta Waves hit 50%—deepest level of sleep – gets shorter as night goes on– dreams?– oblivious to world! hard to wake up!

REM Sleep• REM = rapid eye movement & brain waves

– paradoxical sleep– beta waves– Difficult to awaken (but if awoken…act as if awake)

– Heart rate and breathing increase– Body becomes paralyzed– Occurs approximately every 90 minutes– visual cortex & frontal lobes shut down!

So…– amygdala & hippocampus highly active! So…– In training in a particular task…

REM vs. NREM

• Rapid Eye Movement• Increase as the night

progresses• Vivid, colorful, bizarre

Dreams• Paralysis (voluntary

muscles suppressed)• increases as mental

strain increases during day

• Nightmares• Consolidates memories

• Non-Rapid Eye Movement

• Decrease in length as the night progresses

• Vague, partial images and stories (sleep thinking)

• Sleep Walking and Talking (3 and 4)

• increases as physical strain increases during day

• night terrors

Sleep Disorders

• Parasomnias: disorders during arousals from sleep– Nightmares– Night terrors– Sleepwalking (somnambulism)– Confusional arousals

Narcolepsy

• Falling suddenly, irresistibly asleep

– 100,000 in the US

– Runs in families

– Lasts about 15 minutes

– Very refreshing

– Can be dangerous

– Extreme emotions

– watch this…

Rusty the Narcoleptic Dog and VERN…

Cataplexy

• Neurological condition person is paralyzed.

• after a strong emotion (anger, fear, or excitement).

• Can last from seconds to minutes. • Can be a symptom of Narcolepsy (60-100%)• Treated with antidepressants

Sleep Apnea

• cessations of breathing during sleep & consequent momentary re-awakenings.

• Because CNS is depressed & airway passage blocked/small

• Common in men & overweight• In morning restless, as if didn’t get much sleep• Tend to be loud snorers• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine• See a clip of someone with it HERE

Insomnia

• Recurring problems falling asleep or staying asleep

• Sleeping pills tend to inhibit or suppress REM sleep; worsen the problem

• Alcohol suppresses REM sleep; also worsens the problem

• Studies show most people overestimate how long it took them to get to sleep

• Barbiturates are prescribed to reduce insomnia

Restless Leg Syndrome

• Neurological disorder that is characterized by unpleasant sensations of legs and an urge to move them when at the rest.

• Sleep movements can be so severe that causes chronic sleep disturbances and sleep deprivation

• Effects about 12 million Americans.• Causes: Mostly unknown (idiopathic)• Treatment: underlying cause, some meds, and

exercise.

Periodic Limb Movement Syndrome

• Muscle twitches every 20-40 seconds• Disturbs sleep

• Sleep Bruxism– Teeth grinding

• Enuresis– Bed wetting– Nocturnal asleep boys– Diurnal girls– Bell & bed pad

Night Terrors• high arousal & feeling terrified• during stage 4 sleep, hard to wake; mostly children• seldom remember the event• Caused by illness, anxiety, loss of loved one,

negative reactions to medication

Somnambulism (Sleep Walking)

• Starts in the deep stages of N-REM sleep (3 & 4)• Person can walk or talk but remembers nothing of

the experience• CNN

Report on Sleep Deprivation & Sleep Walking (2 min)– May be dangerous to wake up, mostly just confused or

disorientated upon wakening– Can occur when random brain waves hit areas of the

brain that control walking & talking– Tends to run in families (genetic)

Excessive Sleep inertia…

• Sleep Drunkeness– Confusional arousal– Awakened from deep sleep (stage 4) 1st part of night

• Exaggerated slowness upon awakening• Slow transition to clear consciousness after

awakening– React slowly to commands– May have trouble understanding questions

• Associated with irritable & aggressive behavior

REM Behavior Disorders

• A neurological disorder in which a person does not become paralyzed during REM sleep, and acts out dreams his/her dreams.

Sleep Wake Schedule Disorder

• Mismatch between the sleep-wake schedule demanded by a person’s bodily rhythm or environment– Teenagers– College students

Hypersomnia• Excessive sleepiness with one month as evidence

by either sleep episodes or day time sleep episodes that occur almost daily.

• Excessive sleepiness caused clinically significant distress/impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas

• Excessive sleepiness not better accounted for by insomnia, other sleep disorder, or inadequate sleep.

• Not a result of other mental disorder, physical condition, substance use, or medical condition.

• Recurrent: 3 days concurrent several times a year for at least two years.

Stress…

Bruxism• Teeth grinding

Enuresis• Bed wetting

Dreams/Nightmares

Dreams

Why don’t we remember our dreams?

• Serotonin & norepinephrine (memory formation neurons) reduced during REM sleep

Dreams vary by Culture, Gender and Age

*women everywhere commonly dream of children

*men more commonly dream of aggression, weapons, tools

*children more likely dream of animals and they are more likely to be large, threatening, and wild

*college students dream of small animals, pets and tame creatures

*reports from Ghana, dreams feature attacks by cows (Barnouw, 1963)

*Americans find themselves embarrassed by public nakedness

*Mexican American college students dream of images of death more often than AngloAmerican college students.

Dreams tend to reflect life events that are important to the dreamer…..(Rosalind Cartwright research)

Dreams

• Dreams—Imagery in the absence of external stimulation; sequence of images or thoughts– Can be vague or very detailed– Most vivid during REM Tend to take place in “real time”– Black and white and/or color– Most are simple extensions of the activities and problems of the

day– Characters are usually people we know– Approximately 5-40 minutes

Nightmares (REM) & Night Terrors (NON-REM stage 4)

– Myths—incubus, succubus—Middle Ages/Demons

– Can be spawned by traumatic events

– Those who suffer from nightmares are more likely

to suffer from anxiety, depression, etc.

– On average—2 a year

– Has been linked to creativity in children

– Prevalence 10-50% kids 3-5 years old; 3% young adults; 50% adults suffer occasional nightmares.

– Likely to reoccur in children that are exposed to severe psychosocial stressors

What do we dream about?

• Sex- 1 in 30 for women;1 in 10 for men • Women dream about men & women; 65% of men's dreams are about men• Most dreams are about events in our daily lives

• Previous day’s experiences (Day residue)• Forget things that happen 5 minute after we wake up• Do not remember taped info

Have you ever dreamed of…..?

• Falling 83%• Being attacked 77%• School, teacher, studying 71%• Sexual experiences 66%• Arriving late 64%• Eating 62%• A loved person dying 57%• Being locked up 56%

Have you ever dreamed of…..?

• Finding money 56%• Swimming 52%• Snakes 49%• Being inappropriately dressed 46%• Unable to breathe 44%• Being nude 43%• Fire 41%• Failing an Exam 39%• Killing Someone 26%

Dream Theories

Dream Theories: Psychoanalytic

•Sigmund Freud- The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)– Unconscious wishes & urges~ fulfillment

• Sexual, aggressive tendencies

– discharge otherwise unacceptable feelings

•Manifest Content: represents remembered story line•Latent Content: represents underlying meaning of dreams dealing with wishes and drives.

Dream Theories: Problem Solving

As Information Processing

– helps consolidate the day’s memories

– Day residue

– Work through real-life issues• Non-threatening, non-judgmental manner

– Stimulates neural development

*Cartwright

Dream Theories: Activation Synthesis

• Activation Synthesis– dreams are result of brain’s attempt to make sense of

internal random neural activity (limbic system active) • Random neural activity = memories & sensations

– Reflects biological activity– Achetylcholine & Pons activate the RAS (reticular

activating system) which arouses us, but not to the point of waking

– RAS—alertness: stimulates neural activity in cortex that is linked to vision, hearing, & memory.

– The Cortex puts these stimuli together to form dreams

What’s The Meaning of Dreams? Depends Who You Ask?

• Physiological Function of Dreams: periodic brain activity associated with R.E.M. sleep gives the brain needed activity to make neural connections. Also helps facilitate memory.

• Dreams As Part of Cognitive Development: all mammals experience R.E.M. sleep and many researchers believe it helps facilitate cognitive development.

• R.E.M. Rebound: tendency for R.E.M. sleep to increase following deprivation. Replenishing chemicals during the day. May illustrate a biological need for it.

Lucid Dreams

• Lucid Dreams: are dreams in which you become aware that you are dreaming and you can control aspects of your environment in the dream.