● What Is Consciousness?
Learning Objectives
● Define consciousness.
● Discuss the role of attention in consciousness.
● Discuss how unconscious processes influence thought and behavior.
● Define automatic and controlled processing in relation to consciousness.
● What Is Consciousness?
● All conscious experience is associated with brain activity.
● Consciousness can be manipulated.
● Conscious experience varies from person to person.
● We are often unaware of the operations of our brain
● What Is Consciousness?
● ____consciousness____: one’s moment-to-moment subjective experience of the world
● ____qualia____: individual and subjective experiences of consciousness
● Each of us experiences consciousness personally.
● We cannot know if two people experience the world in exactly the same way.
● 4.1 Limits to Consciousness
● Consciousness has limits:
● Number of things that can be attended at once
● Mind wandering
● _____change_blindness______: a failure to notice large changes in one’s environment
● Change blindness illustrates how selective an individual’s attention can be.
● Spot the Difference
● Selective Attention Test
● 4.2 Endogenous Versus Exogenous Attention
● _____endogenous_____ attention: Attention that is directed voluntarily
● _____exogenous______ attention: Attention that is directed involuntarily by a stimulus
● E.g. Stimuli that signal danger (e.g. pain) grab your attention involuntarily
● 4.4 Unconscious Processing Can Influence Behavior
● A Freudian slip occurs when an unconscious thought is suddenly expressed at an inappropriate time or in an
inappropriate social context.
● 4.4 Priming
● Priming: A facilitation in the response to a stimulus due to recent experience with that stimulus or a related
stimulus
● Priming can occur when people are unaware of the stimulus that influences behavior
● _____subliminal_____ perception: the processing of information by sensory systems without conscious
awareness
● Advertisers have long been accused of using subliminal cues to persuade people to purchase
products, but effects are very modest
● 4.5 Automatic Processing Reduces Demands on Consciousness
● Automatic Processing: Occurs when a task is so well learned that we can do it without much attention
● Controlled processing: slower than automatic processing, but helps with complex tasks
● 4.5 Stroop Task
● The ____Stroop____ task demonstrates the cost of automaticity
● Stroop Task:
● Identify ink color of presented words as quickly as possible
● Naming the ink color of RED is easy; but naming the ink color of BLUE is harder and slower
● People cannot turn off the automaticity of reading the word itself when naming the ink
color
● What Is Altered Consciousness?
Learning Objectives
● Discuss the effects of meditation on consciousness.
● Compare and contrast theories of hypnosis
● What Is Altered Consciousness?
● A person’s subjective sense of consciousness varies naturally over the course of the day
● Three ways that waking consciousness can be naturally altered:
● meditation
● immersion in an action (i.e., flow)
● hypnosis
● 4.6 Meditation Produces Relaxation by Guiding Attention
● _____meditation_____: a mental procedure that focuses attention on an external object or on a sense of
awareness
● Concentrative meditation: focusing attention on one thing, such as your breathing pattern, a mental
image, or a specific phrase (sometimes called a mantra)
● Mindfulness meditation: letting your thoughts flow freely, paying attention to them but trying not to
react to them
● 4.6 Meditation Produces Relaxation by Guiding Attention
● People report using meditation to expand their mind, bring about feelings of inner peace, and to de-stress.
● Psychologists have studied the health benefits of meditation:
● A large study of heart patients showed that patients performing meditation improved more than
controls on measures like blood pressure and cholesterol level
● Participants in an eight-week meditation course reported less anxiety and brain activity consistent
with a positive emotional state
● 4.7 Does Meditation Change the Structure of the Brain?
● Long-term meditation may change brain anatomy:
● Gray matter volume diminished less in older adults who practice meditation
● It’s important to remember that correlation is not causation:
● Did meditation improve health or are healthy people more likely to meditate?
● Longitudinal designs, which study people over time, can help answer these questions
● 4.9 Hypnosis Is Induced Through Suggestion
● ____hypnosis____: a social interaction during which a person, responding to suggestions, experiences
changes in memory, perception, and/or voluntary action
● induction: hypnotist making a series of suggestions, such as “You are becoming sleepy. Your
eyelids are drooping.”
● posthypnotic suggestion
● Hypnosis works primarily for people who are highly suggestible.
● 4.9 Theories of Hypnosis
● Sociocognitive theory: hypnotized subjects are role-playing (i.e., acting how they believe hypnotized subjects
are supposed to act)
● Neodissociation theory: hypnosis is a trancelike state where conscious awareness is separated from other
aspects of consciousness
● Numerous brain imaging studies have supported the neodissociation theory.
● 4.9 Hypnosis for Pain
● Hypnotic analgesia: Clinical evidence shows hypnosis can be used to treat immediate pain (e.g., surgery,
burns) and chronic pain (e.g., arthritis, cancer).
● clinical evidence: Hypnosis doesn’t reduce the sensation of pain, but rather alters our interpretation
(i.e., perception) of it.
● Hypnosis for Drug Use
● What Is Sleep?
Learning Objectives
● Describe the stages of sleep.
● Discuss the functions of sleep and dreaming.
● Identify common sleep disorders.
● What Is Sleep?
● ______circadian_rhythms______: biological patterns that occur at regular intervals as a function of time of
day
● Circadian roughly translates to “about a day.”
● 4.10 Sleeping Brain
● Information about light detected by the eyes is sent to a small region of the hypothalamus called the
suprachiasmatic nucleus.
● This region then sends signals to a tiny structure called the pineal gland.
● The pineal gland then secretes melatonin, a hormone that travels through the bloodstream.
● Bright light suppresses the production of melatonin, whereas darkness triggers its release.
● 14 Human Sleep Exhibits Different Stages
● 4.10 Sleeping Brain
● EEG reveals the brain is active in sleep.
● beta waves: The EEG shows this activity as short, frequent, irregular brain signals.
● alpha waves: When people really focus their attention on something or when they close their eyes
and relax, brain activity slows and becomes more regular.
● 4.10 REM Sleep
● _____REM_____: the stage of sleep marked by rapid eye movements, paralysis of motor systems, and
dreaming
● The sleep cycle reverses after about 90 minutes, returning to stage 1.
● paradoxical sleep
● Most dreaming occurs in REM sleep.
● About 80 percent of the time when people are awakened during REM sleep, they report dreaming.
● cycle through REM five times per night
● 4.11 People Dream While Sleeping
● ____dreams____: products of an altered state of consciousness in which images and fantasies are
confused with reality
● Only when people wake up do they realize they have been dreaming.
● Everyone dreams unless a particular kind of brain injury or a particular kind of medication
interferes.
● REM dreams: more likely to be bizarre and include intense emotions, visual and auditory
hallucinations, and uncritical acceptance of illogical events
● non-REM dreams: relatively dull
● 4.11 REM Dreams and Non-REM Dreams
● Explanation:
● non-REM dreams: general deactivation of many brain regions
● REM dreams: brain structures associated with motivation, emotion, reward, and vision are active;
the prefrontal cortex is not
● 4.11 What Do Dreams Mean?
● Freud: Dreams contain hidden content that represents unconscious conflicts.
● Sigmund Freud published one of the first theories in his book The Interpretation of Dreams (1900).
● manifest content: the plot of a dream; the way the dream is remembered
● latent content: what a dream symbolizes; the material disguised in a dream to protect the dreamer
from confronting a conflict directly
● no scientific evidence that dreams represent hidden conflicts or for the special symbolic meaning of
dream images
● 4.11 Activation-Synthesis Theory
● Activation-synthesis theory: a theory of dreaming; this theory proposes that the brain tries to make sense
of random brain activity that occurs during sleep by synthesizing the activity with stored memories
● Participants sleeping in an MRI machine show brain activity during dreaming that is similar to awake brain
activity (e.g. brain activity when dreaming about people is similar to brain activity when looking at pictures of
people while awake)
● 4.12 Sleep Is an Adaptive Behavior
● Research suggests sleep is adaptive for three functions:
● restoration
● Following of circadian rhythms
● Facilitation of learning
● 4.12 Restoration and Sleep Deprivation
● Restorative theory: sleep allows the body to rest and repair itself
● Sleep increases after strenuous physical activity.
● growth hormones secreted in sleep
● replenishes the brain’s energy stores
● strengthens the immune system
● Effects of sleep deprivation:
● problems in mood and cognitive performance
● problems with immune system
● death as a result of a compromised immune system
● 4.12 Circadian Rhythm and Sleep
● Circadian rhythm theory:
● Many creatures are quiet and inactive at night because the darkness makes them more vulnerable
to attack.
● reduced risk of exposure to predators
● Humans are adapted to sleeping at night because our early ancestors were more at risk in the
dark.
● 4.12 Facilitation of Learning
● Sleep strengthens neural connections needed for learning to occur.
● Research shows memory in participants who slept was better than those who did not.
● REM and slow-wave sleep (stages 3 and 4) important for learning to take place.
● Participants who completed a complex task and later dreamed about it subsequently performed
better on the task than non-dreaming participants.
● Students spend more time in REM when they study more, such as during exam periods.
● 4.13 Sleep Disorders Interfere with Daily Life
● _____insomnia_____: a disorder characterized by an inability to sleep that causes significant problems in
daily living.
● Obstructive ____sleep_apnea____: a disorder in which a person, while asleep, stops breathing because
his or her throat closes; the condition results in frequent awakenings during the night
● Most common among middle-aged men and is associated with obesity, although it is unclear if
obesity is the cause or consequence.
● 4.13 Sleep Disorders Interfere with Daily Life
● ___narcolepsy___: a sleep disorder in which people experience excessive sleepiness during normal
waking hours, sometimes going limp and collapsing
● During an episode of narcolepsy, a person may experience the muscle paralysis that accompanies
REM sleep, perhaps causing him or her to go limp and collapse.
● 4.13 Sleep Disorders Interfere with Daily Life
● REM behavior disorder: sufferers act out their dreams while sleeping, often striking their sleeping partners
● most often seen in elderly males
● Somnambulism: sleepwalking
● Sleepwalking is most common among young children.
● 4.14 How Can You Get a Good Night’s Sleep?
● Strategies to develop better sleep:
● Plan.
● Know you priorities.
● Stick to the plan.
● Practice saying no.
● Establish a routine to help set your biological clock.
● Avoid alcohol and caffeine just before going to bed.
● Exercise regularly.
● Remember, your bed is for sleeping.
● Relax.
● Get up.
● Do not try to catch up on sleep.
● Avoid electronic devices late at night.
● How Do Brain Injury and Drugs Affect Consciousness?
Learning Objectives
● Describe how different conditions resulting from brain injury affect consciousness
● Describe the neurochemical and psychological effects of stimulants, depressants, opioids/narcotics,
hallucinogens, psychedelics, and other commonly used drugs
● 4.15 Coma
● ________Traumatic_Brain_Injury________ (TBI): impairments in mental functioning caused by a blow to
or very sharp movement of the head
● TBIs can range from mild to severe.
● Concussion is considered to be a mild form of TBI
● Medical advances are enabling a greater number of people to survive traumatic brain injuries.
● Conditions of impaired consciousness provide useful points of contrast to normal consciousness.
● minimally conscious state
● Deliberate movement and communication are possible.
● unresponsive wakefulness syndrome
● full coma that lasts more than a month
● 4.15 Brain Death
● Brain death is the irreversible loss of brain function.
● With brain death, no activity is found in any region of the brain
● 4.16 Drugs Alter Consciousness by Changing Brain Neurochemistry
● Psychoactive drugs: cause changes in mood, awareness, thoughts, feelings, or behavior
● Drugs have been used throughout history to create altered states.
● Around 317 million people use illicit drugs each year (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
2013b).
● Other widely-used drugs include alcohol, prescription medications, caffeine, and nicotine.
● Drugs are useful in the treatment of many medical conditions, but recreational drug use can have
negative consequences.
● 4.17
Psychoactive Drugs
● This section considers a few common psychoactive drugs in more detail. Some of these drugs have
legitimate medical uses, but all of them are frequently abused outside of medical use.
● 4.17 Cocaine
● stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush
● Users experience increased alertness, confidence, and sociability.
● increases concentration of dopamine levels at synapses
● Habitual use of cocaine in large quantities can lead to paranoia, psychotic behavior, and violence.
● Coca-Cola
● 4.17 Amphetamines and Methamphetamine
● long history of use for weight loss, staying awake
● Legitimate medical uses include treatment of narcolepsy and ADHD
● increases dopamine production, blocks reuptake
● 4.17 Opioids
● Opioids: drugs that include prescription medications such as oxycodone and morphine, as well as the illegal
drug heroin
● Opioids have been used to relieve pain and suffering for hundreds of years.
● During the past decade there has been an epidemic of opioid abuse. Most experts view the current
epidemic as resulting from the greater use of prescription opiates for chronic pain.
● 4.17 Marijuana
● most widely used illicit drug
● not easily categorized as a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogen
● produces a relaxed, contented mood, and more vivid perceptions
● The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol.
● operates at cannabinoid receptors
● Heavy long-term use of marijuana is associated with a smaller hippocampus and amygdala, brain regions
involved in processing emotions.
● Medical use is controversial but effective.
● 4.16 Drugs Alter Consciousness by Changing Brain Neurochemistry
● Hallucinogens: sometimes called psychedelics, produce alterations in cognition, mood, and perception
● The most common hallucinogen is lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
● Peyote cactus and psilocybin mushrooms produce hallucinogenic effects.
● 4.17 MDMA
● Ecstasy has gained in popularity since the raves of the 1990s.
● Users feel energized and may hallucinate.
● lowers dopamine; more serotonin activity
● Animal studies showed that MDMA can cause damage to a number of brain regions, particularly the
prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus.
● Studies with humans show evidence of a range of impairments from long-term ecstasy use, especially
memory problems and a diminished ability to perform complex tasks.
● MDMA may have potential for use in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.
● 4.18 Alcohol Abuse Is Responsible
for Many Societal Problems
● Alcohol produces its effects by activating GABA receptors.
● Through its effects on GABA receptors, alcohol inhibits neural activity, which may be why alcohol is
typically experienced as relaxing.
● GABA reception may also be the primary mechanism by which alcohol interferes with motor
coordination and results in slowed reaction time and slurred speech.
● 4.18 Alcohol Abuse Is Responsible
for Many Societal Problems
● On the one hand, moderate drinking is an accepted aspect of social interaction and is associated with longer
life expectancy.
● On the other hand, alcohol is a major contributor to many societal problems, such as fatal traffic accidents
● 4.18 Alcohol Abuse Is Responsible
for Many Societal Problems
● 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
● 52% of College students reported drinking in the past month
● 33% reported binge drinking
● Compared to women, men are more likely to report:
● binge drinking
● chronic drinking
● alcohol intoxication
● Young males are much more likely to be binge drinkers.
● What accounts for observed gender differences?
● Women metabolize alcohol slower than men and can get the same effects while consuming less.
