This document discusses various levels and states of consciousness including conscious, nonconscious, preconscious, unconscious, and subconscious levels. It also discusses sleep as a state of consciousness characterized by reduced awareness and circadian rhythms. The stages of sleep including alpha waves during onset, theta waves in stage 1, sleep spindles in stage 2, delta waves in slow wave sleep stages 3 and 4, and dreams occurring during rapid eye movement sleep are outlined. Common sleep disorders like insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, night terrors, and somnambulism are also summarized. Finally, the document reviews psychoactive drugs and their effects on consciousness as well as healthier ways to alter consciousness through meditation and hypnosis.

1. Consciousness

2. Levels of Consciousness
Blind Sight

3. Levels of Consciousness
• Conscious Level
• Nonconscious Level
• Preconscious Level
• Unconscious Level
• So what about the Subconscious
Level?

4. Sleep
• Sleep is a state of consciousness.
• We are less aware of our
surroundings.
• Circadian Rhythm

5. Sleep Cycle
• Use an EEG
machine to
measure stages of
sleep.
• When you are the
onset of sleep you
experience alpha
waves.
• Produces mild
hallucinations, like
a feeling of
falling.
• Rhythm
• Period
• Phase

6. Infant and Adult Sleep

7. Neurobiological basis of sleep clock
• Lesion of the Retina – Hypothalamus
connection (RHT)

8. Non-Rapid-Eye Movement
(NREM) Sleep
• Your brain produces Theta Waves.
Stage 1:

9. Non-Rapid-Eye Movement
(NREM) Sleep
• More Theta Waves that get
progressively slower.
• Begin to show sleep spindles…short
bursts of rapid brain waves.
Stage 2

10. Non-Rapid-Eye Movement
(NREM) Sleep
• Slow wave sleep.
• You produce Delta
waves.
• Vital for restoring
body’s growth hormones
and good overall health.
From stage 4, your brain begins to speed up and you
go to stage 3, then 2….then ……
Stages 3 & 4

11. Rapid Eye Movement
• Often called
paradoxical sleep.
• Brain is very active.
• Dreams usually occur
in REM.
• Body is essentially
paralyzed.

12. Stages of Sleep in a Typical Night

13. Sleep & Dreams Over the Life Span

14. Sleep Disorders

15. Insomnia
• Persistent problems
falling asleep
• Effects 10% of the
population
• Primary versus
Secondary Insomnia

16. Narcolepsy
• Suffer from
sleeplessness and may
fall asleep at
unpredictable or
inappropriate times.
• Directly into REM sleep
• Less than .001 % of
population.
Narcoleptic Dog

17. Sleep Apnea
• A person stops breathing during
their sleep.
• Wake up momentarily, gasps for air,
then falls back asleep.
• Very common, especially in heavy
males.
• Can be fatal.

18. Night Terrors
• Wake up screaming
and have no idea
why.
• Not a nightmare.
• Most common in
children (boys)
between ages 2-8.

19. Somnambulism
• Sleep Walking

20. Dreams

21. Freud’s Theory of Dreams
• Dreams are a
roadway into our
unconscious.
• Latent Content
(underlying meaning)

22. Activation-Synthesis Theory
• Our Cerebral Cortex
is trying to interpret
random electrical
activity we have
while sleeping.
• That is why dreams
sometimes make no
sense.

23. Information-Processing Theory
• Dreams are a way to deal
with the stresses of
everyday life.
• We tend to dream more
when we are more
stressed.

24. Psychoactive Drugs
• Chemicals that
change conscious
awareness, mood, or
perception

25. Drugs
blood-brain barrier

26. Drugs are either….
• Agonists
• Antagonists
• Reuptake inhibitors

27. Psychoactive Drugs
• Psychological Dependence:
desire or craving to achieve
effects produced by drug
• Physical Dependence: bodily
processes have been so
modified by repeated drug
use that continued use is
required to prevent
withdrawal symptoms

28. Psychoactive Drugs

29. Psychoactive Drugs
• Tolerance: decreased
sensitivity to a drug brought
about by its continuous use
• Withdrawal: discomfort and
distress experienced after
stopping the use of addictive
drugs

30. Reward Pathway for Psychoactive
Drugs

31. Psychoactive Drugs: Four
Categories
1. Depressants:
act on the CNS
to suppress
bodily
processes

32. Alcohol
• GABA: inhibitory
neurotransmitter
– Allows negative
ions into neuron
• GABA Receptor
agonist
– Keeps receptor
open
– More neg. ions

33. Alcohol

34. Stimulants
• Stimulants: act on
the CNS to increase
bodily processes

35. Nicotine
• Nicotinic Acetylcholine
(Ach) Receptor Agonist
– Affects the release of
Dopamine
• Nicotine substitute
– Blocks nicotine
– Moderates release
of dopamine

36. Opiates
3. Opiates:
act as an
analgesic or
pain reliever

37. Hallucinogens
4. Hallucinogens:
produce sensory or
perceptual distortions
called hallucinations
• Psychedelics
• Causes changes in
perceptions of
reality

38. Upper Paleolithic Cave Art: Indications of
rituals to achieve ASC?

39. Hallucinogens
• No clear connection has
been made between
psychedelic drugs and
organic brain damage.
• Reverse tolerance or
synergistic effect

40. Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness
• Meditation: group of
techniques designed to
refocus attention, block out all
distractions, and produce an
ASC

41. Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness
• Hypnosis:
trancelike state of
heightened
suggestibility,
deep relaxation,
and intense focus

42. Hypnotic Theories
Role Theory
• Hypnosis is NOT an
altered state of
consciousness.
• Different people have
various state of hypnotic
suggestibility.
• A social phenomenon
where people want to
believe.
• Work better on people
with richer fantasy lives.
State Theory
• Hypnosis is an altered
state of consciousness.
• Dramatic health benefits
• It works for pain best.