2. 4.1 Introduction
L01 Define persistent vegetative state
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
3. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
L02 Define consciousness and the continuum of consciousness
L03 Identify and describe the different states of consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
4. The Continuum of Consciousness
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4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
6. Altered States of Consciousness
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
When we meditate, use mind-
altering drugs, sleep, dream,
or are rendered unconscious
we are in an altered state.
7. Unconsciousness
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
Unconsciousness results
in total lack of sensory
awareness and complete
loss of responsiveness.
8. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
L04 Describe the circadian clock and identify where it’s located in the brain
L05 Discuss circadian problems and treatment
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
9. Biological Clocks – Circadian Rhythm
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
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10. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
L06 Describe the stages of sleep and their sequence during a night of sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
11. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
L07 Discuss how much sleep a typical person needs
L08 Explain theories of why we sleep
L09 Describe what happens when we miss sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
13. Theories of Why We Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
Repair Theory Adaptive Theory
14. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
L010 Describe and differentiate the major theories of dream interpretation
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
15. Theories of Dream Interpretation
4.6 Dreaming
Freud’s Theory of Dreams
Activation-Synthesis Theory
Extensions of Waking Life
16. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
L011 Describe the major sleep problems, including insomnia,
sleep apnea, and narcolepsy, and discuss their treatment
L012 Describe other sleep disturbances, including night terrors,
nightmares, sleeptalking,and sleepwalking
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
17. Types of Sleep Problems –
Insomnia
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
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18. Other Types of Sleep Problems
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
19. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
L013 Define hypnosis and explain hypnotic induction
L014 Differentiate between theories of hypnosis
L015 Discuss how hypnosis can influence behaviors
L016 Identify medical and therapeutic applications of hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
20. History of Hypnosis
4.8 Hypnosis
The concept of hypnosis
first came to our attention
in the late 1700s.
21. Can I Be Hypnotized?
4.8 Hypnosis
There is considerable
variation in susceptibility
to being hypnotized.
22. Theories of Hypnosis
4.8 Hypnosis
The explanation of hypnosis
has changed significantly
over the past 40 years.
24. Hypnosis and Surgery Pain
4.8 Hypnosis
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25. 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Continuum of Consciousness
4.3 Rhythms of Sleeping and Waking
4.4 Stages of Sleep
4.5 Questions about Sleep
4.6 Dreaming
4.7 Sleep Problems and Treatments
4.8 Hypnosis
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
L017 Define addiction, tolerance, dependency, and withdrawal symptoms
L018 Discuss how drugs affect the nervous system
L019 Discuss the effects that stimulants, opiates, hallucinogens, alcohol,
and marijuana have on the body and behavior
L020 Discuss the prevention of and treatment for drug abuse
27. Definition of Terms
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
Continued drug use can
have negative effects on
health and relationships.
28. How Drugs Affect the Nervous System
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
Nucleus
accumbens
Ventral tegmental area
Neurotransmitters act like
specific chemical keys.
Neurotransmitters’
keys open or close
chemical locks that
increase or decrease
neural activity.
29. Major Categories of Drugs
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
Stimulants Opiates
HallucinogensDepressants
31. Amphetamine
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
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32. Cocaine
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
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37. Substance Abuse and Treatment
4.9 Psychoactive Drugs
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Editor's Notes
In this chapter we will be discussing the continuum of consciousness and its various states.
Sleeping, dreaming, hypnosis, and effects of drugs will be explored.
Daydreaming is one of those mental activities that don’t require a lot of awareness. We all engage in it and usually when we are doing something else that is an automatic process that may be repetitious or boring.
It usually gets a bad wrap, but can actually be beneficial as a rehearsal mechanism for future planning and as a reminder of important future tasks.
We can enter an “ALTERED STATE of CONSCIOUSNESS” in many ways. When we meditate, use mind-altering drugs, sleep, dream, or are rendered unconscious we are in an Altered State.
People can be rendered UNCONSCIOUS from any number of events.
General Anesthesia for surgery or getting a severe blow to the head like this boxer can cause unconsciousness. There are different levels of unconsciousness ranging from a temporary blackout to an enduring one called a COMA.
We all have BIOLOGICAL CLOCKS that control some of our physical functions.
CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS are one of those, they regulate our brain to respond to an approximate 24 hour cycle of sleeping and waking.
It is controlled by the SUPERACHIASMATIC NUCLEUS in the brain that uses our exposure to light to trigger our responses.
The Pineal Gland also secretes MELATONIN that helps regulate the process.
If this process gets disrupted by jet lag or shift work, it can cause problems in getting to sleep and waking up when we should and our level of alertness during waking hours.
Newborns sleep about 17 hours a day and as we grow that amount decreases, by age 4 we sleep about 10 hours a day.
As teens and young adults the optimal sleep time is between 7 & 8 hours and in our 60’s it drops to about 6.5 hours a day.
Babies and toddlers spend a little more time in REM than do adults.
Depriving ourselves of sleep has negative effects on our health and emotional moods.
There are a variety of theories about why we sleep.
REPAIR THEORY says we sleep to restore the body.
ADAPTIVE THEORY says sleep has evolved to keep us from being exposed to dangerous nighttime predators.
Lots of theories abound about why we experience dreaming.
FREUD believed that our dreams are a way to express our repressed desires in a non-threatening way.
Others feel that dreams are just extensions of our everyday waking life, and the some think the activation-synthesis theory that says we dream because the sleeping brain is stimulated by randomly firing neuronal activity.
Between 50 &70 million people have some kind of sleep disorder in the U.S.
INSOMNIA is not being able to go to sleep or stay asleep once you do. There are many effective treatments for it, including drug treatments when indicated.
SLEEP APNEA is dangerous because the person actually stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer during their sleep. These folks are generally intense snorers, overweight and use alcohol or sedatives. There are devises that can be used to help them keep air passages open as seen in the photo.
NARCOLEPSY is a chronic disorder where the person suffers from “sleep attacks” during the normal waking hours. There is a new drug under development that may soon be available to help with this disorder.
There are also other types of problems we encounter when sleeping:
NIGHT TERRORS are experienced by some children during deep sleep. They wake screaming and in a panic, but when soothed will promptly return to sleep with no recollection of the event in the morning.
NIGHTMARES occur during REM and are dreams that are frightening to us, most people have a nightmare on occasion, and it is not a problem unless prolonged and extreme at which point some type of psychotherapy may prove beneficial.
TALKING in your sleep occurs during REM and although it can be embarrassing, it is not harmful.
WALKING in your sleep occurs in stage 3 or 4 deep delta sleep. It may be seen as normal in children but symptomatic of stress when experienced by adults.
The concept of hypnosis first came to our attention in the late 1700s when Anton Mesmer claimed he could cure certain ailments by using a force he called “animal magnetism”.
Today we call the process he used HYPNOTISM. It is a procedure where a professional will suggest a change in our sensations and perceptions, and even our behaviors.
However, not everyone can be hypnotized. There are different levels of SUGGESTIBILITY and there are tests that can be administered to determine your degree of susceptibility.
HYPNOTIC INDUCTION refers the process of putting someone into a hypnotic state. It requires a sense of trust, and extreme concentration on an object or sound, and then the suggestion as to what you will experience.
It is important to remember that you cannot be made to do something under hypnosis that is against your moral standards.
Some say hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, where the person is disconnected from reality.
Others say it is just a special ability that some have to respond to imaginative suggestions by doing what they feel is expected of them.
There is a wide range of behaviors associated with a hypnotic state.
HYPNOTIC ANALGESIA is the ability to control the sensation of pain.
POSTHYPNOTIC AMNESIA is not remembering what happened during hypnosis if you’ve been directed not to.
IMAGINED PERCEPTION is the process of perceiving a stimuli as totally different for the real one. For instance if you have been told a rose will smell like a skunk you will sniff the rose and recoil in disgust…and vice versa.
The one place that hypnosis seems to have the most success and benefit is the reduction of pain, as will be shown in this video
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS are chemicals that affect our nervous system and may cause us to experience an altered state of consciousness, or influence our thoughts, moods, and behaviors.
There are many psychoactive drugs that are legal, such as coffee, alcohol, and tobacco, and Americans spend over $150 billion a year on both legal and illegal substances.
Continued drug use can have negative effects on health and relationships:
ADDICTION refers to an overwhelming and compulsive desire to get and use the drug of choice. The rate of recidivism is very high for people who try to quit.
TOLERANCE to a drug occurs when you no longer get the desired effect and need to keep using more of the drug to get the “high”
DEPENDENCY means that if you try to quit now, your body will go into withdrawal, because you need it just to maintain a normal state
WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS are painful both physically and emotionally. Physically it usually involves nausea, shaking, cramps, and sleep disturbances.
Drugs are actually MIMICKING the natural neurotransmitters produced in your brain.
They activate the REWARD/PLEASURE CENTER that involves dopamine which is manufactured in the Nucleus Accumbens and ventral tegmental areas.
These areas are activated when we experience normal activities that bring us pleasure.
Drugs are actually MIMICKING the natural neurotransmitters produced in your brain.
They activate the REWARD/PLEASURE CENTER that involves dopamine which is manufactured in the Nucleus Accumbens and ventral tegmental areas.
These areas are activated when we experience normal activities that bring us pleasure.
These are the major categories of drugs:
STIMULANTS
OPIATES
HALLUCINOGENS
And DEPRESSANTS
We will look at each type separately in the next slides
STIMULANTS are drugs that increase activity in the central nervous system. They result in a heightened awareness, arousal, euphoria, and decrease in appetite and include such drugs as:
METHAMPHETAMINE – usually taken in pill form but can be smoked, snorted, or injected when dissolved in a liquid. The highs are very high and fast at first, but then become lower and the lows become even lower. Prolonged use cause weight loss, tooth loss, and organ damage and can result in death.
COCAINE – boasts about 1.9 million users, it can be sniffed, snorted, or converted to “crack” that can be smoked or injected that produces an instant but short term high. It creates a cycle of use that is highly addictive and can lead to death.
CAFFEINE – is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world. In the U.S. alone there are170 million caffeine addicts.
It is a legal substance that combats fatigue and drowsiness, but also produces uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.
NICOTINE - triggers the release of dopamine, so it makes the user feel good, but it also has very serious health affects. Over 400,000 people in the U.S. die each year from tobacco related illnesses. It is extremely addictive and second hand smoke is also responsible for killing thousands of people every year. It is a legal substance but is restricted use in most public places for the obvious reasons.
Opiates are a group of narcotics made from the Poppy Plant. They produce feelings of euphoria, and are analgesic (reduce pain).
Opium, Morphine, and Heroin are all types of Opiates.
Our brains produce ENDORPHINS that are our own natural pain relievers, but those abilities are lessened once a person uses an opiate drug because the brain grows to rely on the artificial supply and stops making it’s own. Opiates are highly addictive.
This video shows the affects of Heroin on the lives of teens.
HALLUCINOGENS are psychoactive drugs that produce strange and unusual perceptions and sensations. In other words, people under the influence of these drugs will see and hear things that do not exist in reality.
The effects of LSD may last up to 10 hours, but flashbacks may occur long after use has stopped for no apparent reason. People under the influence report a wide variety of distorted perceptions and sensations which can be either positive or negative experiences for them…referred to as “a bad trip” or a “good trip”.
MARIJUANA – is the most widely used illegal drug in the U.S. 42% report having tried it, and aver 14 million are current users. The affects produce a sense of euphoria, and higher doses can cause hallucinations and delusions. Not all users become addicted but heavy users experience dependency and withdrawal when they stop using the drug.
PSILOCYBIN – or Magic Mushrooms are native to Mexico. They are chemically related to LSD and have similar effects except they don’t last as long. The major danger with “Shrooms” is the potential to induce psychotic states that persist long after the experience should end, and sometimes accidental poisoning is a concern when people ingest the wrong kind of mushroom by mistake.
MDMA/ECSTASY – the party drug of the RAVE clubs gives a sense of euphoria, and creates feelings of warmth and empathy, but in high doses can cause paranoia and other psychotic like symptoms.
People often think ALCOHOL is a stimulant because at first it gives the user a little rush and decreases inhibitions, but it is actually a depressant. It impairs motor functions and in high doses can depress vital breathing reflexes and can lead to death. Alcohol is a legal substance for adults in the U.S. Because of the major affects on perceptions and motor skills it is always good practice to never drink and drive.
Substance abuse is a pattern of maladaptive behaviors that lead to significant personal problems. It is one of the most difficult behaviors to change, and most people need professional help to overcome their addictions. This video provides a glimpse of what it’s like to have a substance abuse disorder.
