State of Consciousness
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37 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 consciousness | our awareness of the outside world and of ourselves, including our own mental processes, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. EEGs: alpha and beta waves. |
| attention | a state of focused awareness |
| preconscious | level of consciousness that is outside of awareness but contains feelings and memories that can easily be brought into conscious awareness |
| unconscious | aka subconscious; level of consciousness that includes often unacceptable feelings, wishes, and thoughts not directly available to conscious awareness |
| nonconscious | the level of consciousness devoted to processes completely inaccesible to conscious awareness |
| hypothalamus | controls biological clock, regulates changes in blood pressure, body temperature, pulse, blood sugar, hormones, activity levels, sleep, and wakefulness over 24 hours in normal environment (25 hours in a place without normal night-day) |
| circadian rhythms | daily patterns of changes over 24-hour periods |
| reticular formation | reticular activating system; neural network in brainstem (medulla and pons) and midbrain essential to the regulation of sleep, wakefulness, arousal, and attention |
| states of consciousness | normal waking consciousness, daydreaming, sleep, hypnosis, meditation, drug-induced |
| sleep | complex combination of states of consciousness, each with its own level of consciousness, awareness, responsiveness, and physiological arousal |
| Stage 1 sleep | quick sleep stage w/ gradual loss of responsiveness to outside, drfting thoughts, and images (the hypnagogic state). EEG: theta wave |
| Stage 2 sleep | about 50% of sleep time. EEG: high-frequency sleep spindles and K complexes |
| Stage 3 sleep | deep sleep stage. EEG: some high amplitude, low-frequency delta waves |
| Stage 4 sleep | deepest sleep stage. EEG: mostly delta waves. Slowed heart rate and respiration, lowered temperature and lowered blood flow to the brain. Growth hormone secreted. |
| REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement sleep) | sleep stage when eyes dart about. About 80% dreaming, 5 to 6 times each night (about 20% sleep time). Called paradoxical sleep because EEG similar to stage 1 and wakefulness (theta, alpha, beta wave), but we are in deep sleep with skeletal muscles paralyzed |
| NREM (non-REM sleep) | sleep stages 1 through 4 without rapid eye movements |
| insomnia | the inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep |
| narcolepsy | sudden and uncontrollable lapse into sleep (usually REM) |
| sleep apnea | temporary cessations of breathing that awaken the sufferer repeatedly during the night |
| night terrors | sleep disruption characterized by bloodcurdling screams and intense fear in children during stage 4 sleep |
| sleepwalking (somnambulism) | children during stage 4 sleep |
| Freudian view on dreams | to psychoanalysts, dreams are a safety valve for unconscious desires |
| manifest content | according the Freud, the remembered story line of a dream |
| latent content | according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream |
| activation-synthesis theory | during REM sleep the brainstem stimulates the forebrain with random neural activity, which we interpret as a dream |
| cognitive information processing theory | dreams are the interplay of brainwaves and psychological information of interpretive parts of the mind |
| daydreaming | a state with focus on inner, private realities, which can generate creative ideas |
| hyponsis | state with deep relaxation and heightened suggestibility. The hidden observer provides evidence for dissociation of consciousness |
| meditation | set of techniques used to focus concentration away from thoughts and feelings in order to create calmness, tranquility, and inner peace |
| psychoactive drug | a chemical that can pass through the blood/brain barrier to alter perception, thinking, behavior, and mood |
| depressants | reduce activity of CNS and induce sleep. Barbituates, tranquilizers (benzodiazepines - Valium, Xanax, Rohypnol), alcohol. |
| narcotics | depress the CNS, relieve pain, induce feelings of euphoria. Opiates (heroin, morphine, opium). |
| stimulants | activate motivational centers; reduce activity in inhibitory centers of the CNS. Amphetamines, Ritalin, Ephedra, ecstasy (MDMA) |
| hallucinogens | distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input. LSD, PCP, marijuana (THC), psilocybin (mushrooms), mescaline (Peyote) |
| psychological dependence | person has intense desire to achieve the drugged state in spite of adverse effects |
| physiological dependence (addiction) | blood chemistry changes from taking a drug necessitate taking the drug again to prevent withdrawal symptoms |
| withdrawal symptoms | typically intense craving for drug and effects opposite to those the drug usually induces |
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