Download Consciousness

States Of
Consciousness
.
Our Unconscious mind performs
most of our processing

Processes almost all the sensory data that
enters our nervous system:10, 999, 960 bits of
data per second

Processes data on parallel tracks

Evaluates, analyzes & makes decisions based
on previous learning without our awareness
Examples of Processing without
Awareness

Blindsight: a man can sense the emotions of faces he
cannot consciously see

Repeated motor routines that do not require our
conscious attention

Routine sensory data that no longer are perceived by our
conscious mind
Conscious Mind is for Learning
New Skills & Concepts

Processes sensory data sequentially: 40
bits of data per second

Effective learning occurs when conscious
mind is alert

Requires focused & engaged practice
Our Conscious Mind has
Selective Attention

Explains why driving and texting result in
significant increase in accidents

Why magicians can perform ‘sleight of
hand’ by directing our attention elsewhere

Why some miss the gorilla in the room!
Altered States of
Consciousness

Altered state: a significant increase or decrease
in the number of brain neurons firing.

Our activities & thought patterns, sleep and
psychoactive drugs impact level of brain activity.

And, vice versa, level of brain activity influences
our mood, thoughts and behaviors.
The EEG or electroencephalograph measures our
level of brain activity
Electrodes are placed on the scalp to detect number of
electric impulses coming from the surface of our brain. It
then transforms electric impulses
into brain waves. More frequent
electric impulses create more
frequent brain wave patterns

These Brain Waves Show Lots of Alpha:
Inattentiveness lead to low levels of learning
A Brain that predominates in Beta brain waves has
a pretty good allocation of brain resources
An excessive amount of beta waves shows that a
person is overly aroused and anxious
Some Activities increase our level
of brain activity

Aerobic exercise

Working on a challenging, engaging task

Helping others

Engaging social interactions

Experience novelty—as travel, learn new skills, meet
new people.
When involved in challenging &
stimulating activities, they report
feeling good!
Social Involvement Crucial
Low levels of physical activity
decreases brain activity and over time
will make us bored and depressed
Being a couch potato has shortterm gains—long term losses
Sleep alters consciousness

Stages of sleep during Non-REM

We move through light sleep to deeper
sleep to very deep sleep

After deep sleep, brain moves back up into
REM sleep where brain is very active
Level of brain activity during our
stages of sleep

Brain waves become less frequent as we move through
the 3 stages of Non-REM sleep. Then our brain
becomes very frequent during REM
Sleep and Dreams
In every cycle, after our brain moves through the
stages of Non-REM sleep, it then enters REM.
During REM sleep our brain is very active.
This high level of activity causes our brain to
produce dreams—as it needs to make sense out
of the firing of our neurons in our visual &
emotional centers.
We move through stages of Non-REM and REM
4 or 5 times a night. Each time we move through
stages of non-REM and REM is a sleep cycle
Cycles change as go through our
night’s sleep

We only experience deep sleep during our first two
cycles of sleep. At the end of cycle one, our REM is very
short. Bit with each successive cycle our time in REM
gets longer and longer.
Purpose of Sleep

Rejuvenation of mind and body

Repairing of tissue damage
Purpose of REM Sleep

High level of brain activity enables us to be
alert to nocturnal predators

Hippocampus is sending memories to
cortex for permanent storage

Dreams create sense out of nonsense
Activation-Synthesis Theory of
Dreaming

High level of brain activity during REM induce
our brain to create dreams in order to make
sense of all the brain activity

Content of dreams sometimes random

Clearly though dreams borrow on our memories
and knowledge of the world
Sleep Disorders

Narcolepsy: Fall asleep during the day

Sleep Apnea: Obstruction of airwaves so
wake up and gasp for air many times a
night

Night Terrors: Waking up during deep
sleep in a panic
Narcolepsy & Apnea
Psychoactive Drugs: Influence
brain activity so mood & behavior

Depressants slow down neural activity &
increase levels of GABA

All depressants cause people to feel relaxed,
calm & less inhibited

All depressants, including alcohol, marijuana,
xanax and opiate-like substances, disrupt our
ability to learn & form memories
Sedatives can all also reduce pain but
opiates are by far the most effective

Vicodine and Codeine: legally prescribed
opiate-like pain killers

Stronger opiates like morphine and heroin
are stronger pain-killers as well as more
addictive
Major Problem of all Sedatives:
Develop Tolerance
All sedatives increase the level of GABA by inhibiting the
reuptake of this neurotransmitter
But the dosages of all sedatives need to be steadily
increased to obtain the initial impact
Alcohol and opiates also reduce the reuptake of dopamine,
thereby leaving more dopamine in our synapses,
causing addiction to the sense of pleasure
Symptoms of Consuming
Depressants

Initially relaxed, less inhibited and happy

Slower processing, poorer memory formation, poorer
judgment and slower motor responses

People can experience black-outs as hippocampus no
longer can make memories

Becomes a far more serious problem when different
sedatives are used simultaneously
Stimulants: Increase our arousal
neurotransmitters

By increasing serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine,
they increase our alertness and ability to learn and form
memories
How do stimulants affect our mood
and behavior?

Stimulants energize, excite and provide a
sense of empowerment

We become more active and productive

An over-dose can cause anxiety and
panic, especially for a person who is
already anxious or overly-hyped up.
Stimulants reduce the reuptake of our major
arousal neurotransmitters, serotonin and
norepinephrine
Dangers of Drugs

Overdose of stimulants can cause the
heart to beat too fast and result in a heart
attack—cocaine addiction, e.g.

Overdose of depressants can result in
death as the medulla is overwhelmed and
ceases to function: far more dangerous
Who are the most likely candidates
for drug dependency?

Lack of purpose and drive

Need to escape state of boredom,
loneliness or high stress

Provided few effective more productive
coping skills to deal with life’s challenges
We become addicted to the
pleasurable feelings produced by drugs

Drug abuse is a learned pattern vs. a disease

Drug use is not a compulsive, out-of-control
behavior as is often portrayed

We do have choices but need to STOP and take
the time to decide what choices will take us
where we want to go—and get support for
healthy choices
Biofeedback enables us to alter our brain activity
levels: Why do we not use this more!!??
Neurofeedback or electroencephalography (EEG). This
measures brain waves. It may be used for attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), epilepsy and other seizure disorders.

People can learn to decrease brain waves to significantly reduce
seizures
People can learn to increase brain waves to significantly increase
ability to maintain attention and focus