Consciousness

Nature of consciousness Sleep and dreams Psychoactive drugs RA 9165 Comprehensive dangerous drug act of 2002

Consciousness: an organisms awareness of its own self and surroundings

Alternate/Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs): mental states, other than ordinary waking consciousness, found during sleep, dreaming, psychoactive drug use, hypnosis, etc.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action

Circadian Cycles: The Biological Clock

Circadian Rhythms
Ancient adaptation to the 24-hour solar cycle of light and dark Found in all organisms

Biological Clock
A tiny group of neurons in the hypothalamus that responds to levels of proteins in the body
It is self-sustaining

Our body clocks reset themselves to match prevailing cycles of light and dark We dont notice the cycle until it is disturbed
Jet lag, shift work

Sleep

Sleep natural state of rest characterized by:

A reduction in voluntary body movement Decreased awareness of the surroundings Sleep deprivation impairs cognitive skills to a great extent

Research:

Between one-third and one-half of adults fail to get enough sleep

High school and college students on average about 6 hours of sleep a night Research shows losing an hour of sleep every night, week after week, makes it difficult for people to pay attention and remember things One way to reduce sleep deprivation is to take short naps; a quick 20 minute nap can increase alertness, and reduce irritability

The Rhythms of Sleep

Going to sleep losing awareness and failing to respond to a stimulus that would produce a response in the waking state Several stages of sleep

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 REM

Stage 1
Brain waves are tight and of very low amplitude Marked by:

Slowing of the pulse Muscle relaxation Side to side rolling movements of the eyes

Stages 2 and 3

Stage 2
Sleep spindles (short rhythmic bursts of activity) appear Breathing and heart rate continue to slow down; there is a slight decrease in body temperature

Stage 3
Delta waves (slow waves with very high peaks) appear The sleeper is harder to awaken and does not respond to stimuli

Stage 4
The brain emits very low delta waves Heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature are as low as they will get during the night Delta sleep lessens with age

Sleep Cycle

About an hour after falling asleep:

The sleeper begins to go from Stage 4 to Stage 3 to Stage 2, and back to Stage 1 The process takes about 40 minutes Brain waves return to the low amplitude of Stage 1 and waking alertness

REM stage

REM Rapid Eye Movement

Characterized by rapid eye movements and increased dreaming

Also referred to as Paradoxical Sleep

Other physiological function resemble those recorded during waking consciousness Person in this stage appears to be deeply asleep; is incapable of moving Heart rate and blood pressure also increase

Why Do We Sleep?
Repair/Restoration Theory: sleep helps us recuperate from daily activities Evolutionary/Circadian Theory: sleep evolved to conserve energy and as protection from predators Cognitive Theory: dreams improve information processing

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action

Sleep Disorders

Sleep talking, Sleepwalking, and Night Terrors

Sleep talking and sleepwalking usually occur during Stage 4
Sleepwalking may represent a temporary disruption of the normal state of deep-sleep paralysis

Night terrors form of nocturnal fright that makes them suddenly sit up in bed, often screaming out in fear
They cannot be recalled the next morning Usually seen in children 4-12 years old

Sleep Disorders

Insomnia, Apnea, and Narcolepsy

Insomnia inability to fall or remain asleep
It may be a part of a larger psychological problem (such as depression) for some people It also may result from an over aroused biological system

Apnea characterized by breathing difficulty during the night; feelings of exhaustion during the day Narcolepsy hereditary disorder characterized by sudden nodding off during the day and sudden loss of muscle tone following moments of emotional excitement
Another symptom immediate entry into REM sleep

Dreams

Dreams vivid visual and auditory experiences that occur primarily during REM periods of sleep
Average person has 4 to 5 dreams a night Accounts for 1 to 2 hours of total time sleeping Dreams consist of a sequential story or series of stories Both external and internal stimuli may modify and ongoing dream; they do not initiate dreams

What do we dream?

Dream content related to:

Where you are in your sleep cycle Activities before sleep Gender Age Socioeconomic status

People from different cultures report dream content consistent with unique cultural patterns

Why Do We Dream?

Dreams as Unconscious Wishes

Sigmund Freud: Dreams represent wishes that have not been fulfilled in reality
Manifest content surface content of the dream Latent content unconscious thoughts or desires that were expressed indirectly through dreams According to Freud: people permit themselves to express primitive desires that are free of moral controls

Dreams and Information Processing

Another theory Dreams reprocess information gathered during the day as a way of strengthening the memory of information crucial to survival During waking hours our brains are bombarded with data; We need time to decide:

What info is valuable Whether it should be filed in long term memory Where it should be filed Whether info should be erased

Dreams and Neural Activity

Activation Synthesis Theory - dreams are the result of neurons misfiring and are meaningless
Neurons in the pons fire at random during REM sleep The neural signals are electrochemical gibberish
Higher brain centers try to make sense of them They create irrational and impossible stories - dreams

Dreams and Waking Life

Another theory is dreams are an extension of the conscious concerns of daily life in altered form
Dream content reflects and individuals conceptions, interests, and concerns Dream content can be influenced by predream events so that it complements for waking experiences

Do We Need to Dream?

In experiments people were awakened just as they entered REM sleep

They became anxious, testy, and hungry They had difficult concentrating Hallucinations occurred during waking hours

The effects ended when they experienced REM sleep

Drug-Altered Consciousness

Psychoactive drugs substances that change peoples moods, perceptions, mental functioning, and behavior
Many of these drugs have been used for thousands of years. Two of the most common:
Marijuana Alcohol

Motives for use have changed

Today they are used for recreation rather then religious or cultural purposes

They have become stronger and more addictive over the years

Substance Use, Abuse, and Dependence

Psychoactive drugs
Substance Abuse: pattern of drug use that diminishes the ability to fulfill responsibilities or results in repeated use of a drug Substance Dependence: also called addiction; pattern of compulsive drug taking that results in tolerance and withdrawal symptoms Tolerance: phenomenon in which higher doses of a drug are required to produce its original effects or to prevent withdrawal symptoms Withdrawal Symptoms: unpleasant physical or psychological effects that follow the discontinuance of a dependence-producing substance Psychoactive Drugs are grouped into three categories
Depressants Stimulants Hallucinogens

Depressants: Alcohol, Barbiturates, and Opiates

Depressants: temporarily slow down activity in the central nervous system; leads to one feeling calm and drowsy
Reduce tension Usually taken to relieve feelings of inadequacy, loneliness,or boredom

Alcohol: depressant that is the intoxicating ingredient in fermented and distilled liquors, wine, beer, etc.
Most frequently used psychoactive drug in Western societies

Effects of Alcohol

Alcohol affects:
Frontal lobes inhibitions, reasoning, judgment Moves to cerebellum motor control and balance Affects spinal cord and medulla- breathing, body temperature, heart rate Alcohol myopia alcohol induced shortsightedness makes drinkers oblivious to many behavioral cues in the environment

Barbiturates

Potentially deadly depressants; first used for sedative and anti-convulsant properties, now used to treat epilepsy and arthritis
Early 20th century - barbiturates were widely prescribed as a sleeping medication 1950s they were discovered to be potentially lethal and highly addictive

Opiates

Drugs derived from the opium poppy:

They dull the senses and induce feelings of euphoria, wellbeing, and relaxation Originated in Turkey, then became popular to smoke in China, where many became addicted A derivative of opium is morphine

Opiates resemble endorphins and occupy the same nerve-receptor sites

Regular use leads to tolerance and physical dependence Advanced stages of addiction - heroin becomes a painkiller to keep off withdrawal symptoms:
sweating, hot flashes and chills, severe cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsive shaking and kicking

Stimulants: Caffeine, Nicotine, Amphetamines, and Cocaine

Stimulants: drugs that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and produce feelings of optimism and boundless energy
They excite the central nervous system Temporarily increase mental alertness Reduce physical fatigue

Caffeine

Occurs naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa, and chocolate

Can become addictive Can possibly cause withdrawal symptoms

Caffeine suppresses naturally occurring sedatives

May interfere with prescribed medications such as tranquilizers

Nicotine

Addictive ingredient in tobacco

Probably most dangerous and addictive stimulant in use today Affects levels of several neurotransmitters:
Norepinephrine Dopamine Serotonin

Symptoms of withdraw from nicotine

Nervousness Difficulty concentrating Insomnia and Drowsiness Headaches Irritability Intense Craving

Amphetamines

Stimulant drugs that initially produce rushes of euphoria often followed by sudden crashes
Increase alertness Chronic users might develop amphetamine psychosis Different Types:
Methamphetamine: speed; produced in laboratories Ecstasy (MDMA): acts as both stimulant and hallucinogen

Cocaine

Drug derived from the coca plant Produces a sense of euphoria by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system
Leads to anxiety, depression, and addictive cravings 1970s - powdered form coke was snorted 1980s - cheaper crystallized form crack was smoked
Blocks reabsorption of neurotransmitter dopamine Excess dopamine intensifies and prolongs feelings of pleasure

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens drugs that distort visual and auditory perception

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) hallucinogenic or psychedelic drug that produces hallucinations and delusions similar to those occurring in a psychotic state

They do not produce withdraw effects

Tolerance develops quickly

Marijuana

Mild hallucinogen that produces a high often characterized by feelings of euphoria, a sense of well-being, and swings in mood
Active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Temporal disintegration - people lose ability to remember and coordinate information

Is Marijuana a dangerous drug?

Some argue that marijuana can be psychologically if not physiologically addicting

However, frequent, long-term use negatively effects learning and motivation

Explaining Abuse and Addiction

Biological Factors:
People whose parents have alcohol-abuse problems are more likely to abuse alcohol
Identical twins are closer in drinking patterns than fraternal twins

Many consider alcoholism a medical disease

It could possibly be inherited based on genetic evidence

Psychological, Social, and Cultural Factors

Expectations influence effects of psychoactive substance Children with alcoholic parents tend to drink heavily
Could be a result of heredity (alcoholism) Could be a result of heavy influence and example

Drug problem is reflection of mainstream cultural norms

Meditation and Hypnosis

Meditation
Any method of concentration, reflection, or focusing of thoughts undertaken to suppress the activity of the sympathetic nervous system
Zen Meditation concentrates on respiration Sufism relies on dancing and prayer Transcendental Meditation repetition of a mantra-sound that relaxes the practitioner

Hypnosis

Trancelike state in which a person responds readily to suggestions

mid-18th century Europe Anton Mesmer began putting people into trances to cure their illnesses Mesmerism Its effectiveness depends upon how suggestible people are Can ease the pain of certain medical conditions

RA 9165 An act instituting the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs of 2002, otherwise known as Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972.

WEB ESSAY: Read articles and researches on psychoactive drugs in the Philipines. Answer the following questions:
What psychoactive drugs are commonly abused in the Philippines? 2. What do you think are the possible causes of drug abuse? 3. What are the effects of drug abuse to the user, the family, and the community? Support your answer by attaching the article/s you have read. Submit on Monday, September 19, 2011.
1.

Dj vu
d- zh- v, - vue\

Dj vu or Already seen
Paramnesia -from the Greeks An individual feels as though an event has already happened or has happened in the recent past.

The feeling of dj vu is usually accompanied by a compelling sense of familiarity and a sense of eeriness
The previous experience is frequently characterized to real life.

mile Boirac

(1851-1917)

French psychic researcher

Dj vu coined after an essay

in his book, "L'Avenir des sciences
psychiques ("The Future of Psychic Sciences)

Literature in past references dj vu, indicating it is not a new phenomenon

Three Types of Dj vu
Dj vecu (already experienced or lived through)
Otherwise known as dj vu, experiences occur more frequently between the ages of 15 and 25
The events are so striking that they are often remembered for years to come

Three Types of Dj vu
Dj senti (already felt)
*Appears in temporal lobe epilepsy attacks
*Primarily--or even exclusively--a mental happening *There are no precognitive aspects in which the person feels he or she knows in advance what will be said or done *It seldom or never remains in the afflicted person's memory afterwards

Three Types of Dj vu
Dj visite (already visited)
Seems to occur more rarely and is an experience in which a person visits a new locality and nevertheless feels it to be familiar Dj visite has to do with geography, with the three spatial dimensions of height, width and depth, while deja vecu has to do more with temporal occurrences and processes

Scientific Research 70% of people report having experienced dj vu at least once

Experiencing dj vu is quite common among adults and children alike Difficult to evoke dj vu experience in laboratory settings Researchers are using science to recreate the sensation of dj vu

F i r s t T h e o r y

Subject to psychological and neuropsychological research

Dj vu is an anomaly of memory Sense of recollection at the time is strong and circumstances of previous experience are uncertain

S e c o n d T h e o r y
Vision is being explored

One eye may record what is seen faster than the other
Creates that "strong recollection" sensation upon the "same" scene being viewed milliseconds later by the opposite eye

Dj vu Linked With Disorders

Pharmacology
Reports say that certain drugs increase the chances of dj vu occurring in the user. Hyperdopaminergic action in the mesial temporal areas of the brain

Memory-based explanations
Memory trace may lead to the sensation. Cryptamnesia: information learned is forgotten yet stored in the brain, and occurrence of similarities invokes the contained knowledge, leading to a feeling of familiarity because of the situation, event or emotional/vocal content

Neural theories
Could be caused by the mis-timing of neuronal firing. Split second re-start to the neural system

Alternative Explanations For Dj vu

Parapsychology - cited for evidence of psychic abilities

Dreams - dj vu may be the memory of dreams

Reincarnation - dj vu may be caused by fragments of past life memories being jarred to the surface of the mind by familiar surroundings or people

Dj vu and its Relatives

1) Jamais vu, zh-me-v{ueligm},

j-m-v{uuml}
never seen in French

Used to describe any familiar situation which is not recognized by the observer
Described as opposite of

Dj vu and its Relatives

2) Presque vu, almost seen in French When one cannot recall a familiar word or name or situation, but with effort one eventually recalls the elusive memory Also called tip of the tongue Sensation of being on the brink of an epiphany 3) L'esprit de l'escalier, (e-SPREE des-kal-i-YE) staircase wit in French Remembering something when it is too late

The Dj Vu Feeling
Dj vu feeling is common among psychiatric patients

Dj vu feeling also frequently precedes temporal lobe epilepsy attacks Experiment in 1955 Electrically stimulated the temporal lobes and found that about 8% of his patients experienced memories With this, he assumed he elicited actual memories

However, these could have been the first signs of artificially stimulated dj vu

How does it work?

There are portions of the brain that are specialized for the past, the present and the future.
The temporal lobes are concerned with the past, the frontal lobes are concerned with the future, and the underlying, intermediate portions (the limbic system) are concerned with the present. The structure that overwhelms our consciousness when we are 'in the present is the amygdala. It assigns an emotional 'tone' to our perceptions. The amygdala also recognizes expressions on people's faces.

How does it work?

Each instance the self is able to manifest a new emotional response, but only if circumstances have changed.
Every 25 milliseconds. The duration of the 'present' in neurological terms is so brief that we don't experience it so much as remember it.

Interesting Facts
The

youngest age of dj vu reported is age 5. This has major theoretical implications for cognitive development. is a complex interchange with age and incidence based on quality of remembering.

There

Interesting Facts
There

is no single theoretical cause of dj vu that can explain its wide variety of clinical manifestations.

Most

instances of associative dj vu are connected with a predisposing milieu of anxiety and are triggered by restricted paramnesia and reintegration.

Interesting Facts
There are 21 kinds of dj vu. There is also a metaphorical journalistic use of the term. The common occurrence of dj vu in the general population stresses the need for the development of specific qualitative features for valuable diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Interesting Facts

There are 7 major phenomenological classifications of the dj vu experience:

disorder of memory disorder of ego state ego defense temporal perceptual disturbance recognition disorder manifestation of epileptic firing subjective paranormal experience

Right now, Im having amnesia and

dj vu at the same time, I think Ive forgotten this before, Steve Wright

Sources

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/5305 http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~mdlee/dejavu.h tm http://www.pni.org/books/deja_vu_info.html http://www.shaktitechnology.com/dejavu.htm http://skepdic.com/dejavu.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9j%C3% A0_vu