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Dreams http://www.google.com/imgres?q=dreaming+of+candy&um=1&hl=en&biw=1362&bih=494&tbm=isch&tbnid=8HdXLvf_4-myTM:&imgrefurl=http://xstarfiredragonx.deviantart.com/art/Sweet-Cotton-Candy-Dreams-141437149&docid=XjVE6RGUv7-19M&imgurl=http://www.deviantart.com/download/141437149/Sweet_Cotton_Candy_Dreams_by_xstarfiredragonx.jpg&w=2320&h=1620&ei=BVspUb3_J9GH0QG-z4DYCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=685&vpy=7&dur=54&hovh=188&hovw=269&tx=149&ty=111&sig=114462623658768909279&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=208&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,i:93
Dreams • Dream: sequence of images, emotions, & thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind that generally occur during REM sleep. • Dreams are noted for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, incongruities, & for the dreamer’s delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it. • Our dreams usually consist of ordinary events & everyday experiences. About 80% involve some anxiety and/or misfortune. • Fewer than 10% (less among women) have any sexual content.
Why do we Dream? • Sigmund Freud (Interpretation of Dreams, 1900) • Freud believed that we dream to satisfy our own wishes which provide a psychic safety valve that relieves otherwise unacceptable feelings. • He asserted that the Manifest Content of a dream is censored and is the storyline we remember of the dream. • The Latent Content of the dream consists of the unconscious drives and wishes that would be threatening if expressed directly. • Also most dreams do not have sexual content, Freud believed that most adult dreams can be “traced back by analysis to erotic wishes”.
Why do we Dream? (cont’d) • Information Processing: we dream to help sift, sort, and fix the day’s experiences in our memory. • Research confirms that REM sleep facilitates memory • Criticism: sometimes we dream of things we have not experienced. • Physiological Function: propose that REM induces regular brain stimulation that helps develop and preserve neural pathways in the brain. • Criticism: Does not explain why we experience meaningful dreams.
Why do we Dream? (cont’d) • Activation-Synthesis Theory: During a dream, the pons generates bursts of action potentials to the forebrain (activation). The dream then tries to make sense of the stimulation by creating a storyline (synthesis).. • Criticism: The individual brain is weaving the stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer. • Cognitive Theory: Dreams content reflects dreamers’ cognitive development – their knowledge and understanding. • Criticism: Does not address the neuroscience of dreams
Hypnosis http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hypnosis&um=1&hl=en&biw=1362&bih=494&tbm=isch&tbnid=CPz0oD2SUniStM:&imgrefurl=http://hypnosis.sitegap.com/article-5/&docid=LEe_4aM8tVCEyM&imgurl=http://hypnosis.sitegap.com/i/img01.jpg&w=580&h=315&ei=gF4pUbPgFuu00AGavoH4AQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=694&vpy=211&dur=331&hovh=165&hovw=305&tx=146&ty=110&sig=114462623658768909279&page=5&tbnh=134&tbnw=240&start=79&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,i:422
What is Hypnosis? • Hypnosis: a social interaction in which the hypnotist suggests to the subject that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts or behaviors will spontaneously occur. • Psychologists now agree that hypnosis is a state of heightened suggestibility in which people are subject in varying degrees. • Research indicates that the strength, stamina, learning, and perceptual abilities of hypnotized people may be matched by those of motivated unhypnotized people. The Amazing Hypnotized Human Plank: unhypnotized people can perform this feat as well.
Facts and Falsehoods • Power of hypnosis resides in the suggestibility of the subject. • Any person who can turn attention inward and imagine is able to experience some degree of hypnosis. • Hypnosis does NOT enhance recall of forgotten events and may evoke false memories. • Both hypnotized and unhypnotized people may perform outlandish acts when told to do so by an authoritative person. • Post hypnotic suggestions have helped people harness their own healing powers in the reduction of headaches and can contribute to significant pain relief. • Hypnosis has NOT been effective in treating addictions.
Hypnosis: An Altered State of Consciousness? • The idea that hypnosis produces a dissociation (split between normal sensations & conscious awareness is supported by the following: • Hypnotized people may carry our posthypnotic suggestions when no one is watching. • Brain scans of hypnotized people told to “see things that are not there” show activity in brain areas that usually light up only when there is real stimuli. • People who are hypnotized for pain relief show activity in areas that receive sensory information but not in areas that interpret that information. • Posthypnotic Amnesia: inability to recall events or information obtained while in a hypnotic state
Hypnosis: An Altered State of Consciousness? • Those who reject the notion that hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness suggest that hypnosis is a by-product of normal social and cognitive processes • The hypnotized person is unknowingly acting out the role of the “good subject”.
Meditation • Meditation: a series of techniques used to focus concentration away from thoughts & feelings in order to create calmness, tranquility, & inner peace. • Popular in Asia where Zen Buddhists medicate. • EEGs indicate shows that meditators have alpha brain waves (relaxed wakefulness). • Physiological changes during meditation include decreases blood pressure, lowered heart & breathing rates, warming of hands, suggesting activation of the parasympathetic nervous system which is not under our conscious control. • Meditators often report a sense of well-being • Psychologists disagree as to whether meditation is a state of altered consciousness.
Drugs and Consciousness http://www.google.com/imgres?q=drugs+and+consciousness&um=1&hl=en&biw=1362&bih=494&tbm=isch&tbnid=lkJsqHzLPWa6RM:&imgrefurl=http://blog.lib.umn.edu/graz0029/ponderingpsychology/2012/01/consciousness-in-chapter-5.html&docid=cMYkd7jhIgLPUM&imgurl=http://blog.lib.umn.edu/graz0029/ponderingpsychology/do-adhd-drugs-take-a-toll_1.jpg&w=320&h=320&ei=c18pUcGjLYLr0gGDuYGQCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=918&vpy=100&dur=58&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=114&ty=107&sig=114462623658768909279&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=154&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,i:96
Definitions • Psychoactive Drugs: chemical substances that alter perceptions and moods. • Addiction: compulsive drug craving and use. • Tolerance: the diminishing effect with regular sue of the same does of a drug, requiring the user to take large doses of the drug in order to experience the drug’s effect. • Withdrawal: the discomfort and stress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug. • Withdrawal symptoms include intense craving, for the drug & effects usually opposite to those the drug usually induces. • Physical Dependence: a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued. • Psychological Dependence: A psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions.
Misconceptions about Addiction • Addictive drugs quickly corrupt. In particular people typically do not become addicted when using drugs medicinally. • Addictions cannot be overcome voluntarily; therapy is required. • We can extend the concept of addiction to cover not just drug dependence but a whole spectrum of repetitive, pleasure –seeking behaviors. • If we use the model of addiction as a disease needing treatment, it can provide an excuse for people to explain away their behaviors. • In some cases, certain behaviors can be considered compulsive and dysfunctional such as gambling or cybersex. • The debate to use the addiction concept to cover certain social behaviors is ongoing.
Psychoactive Drugs Depressants • Drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates, & opiates that reduce neural activity and slow body functions. • Alcohol: • Increases neuroinhibitor GABA, decreases transmission of ACh, & increases the production of beta-endorphins. • Low doses relax the drinker , decrease inhibitions by depressing activity in the frontal lobes, impairs concentration, slows reflexes, impairs reaction time, & reduces coordination. • Medium doses produce slurred speech, drowsiness, & altered emotions. • High doses induce vomiting, depressed breathing, unconsciousness, coma, & possibly death. • Withdrawal symptoms include tremors, sleep problems, hallucinations and sometimes seizures. • Girls & young women can become more quickly addicted to alcohol than boys & young men; they also suffer lung, brain and liver damage at less extreme consumption levels.
Depressants (cont’d) • Barbiturates • Sedatives : taken to induce sleep or prevent seizures. Examples include Seconal and phenobarbital (Luminal). • Tranquilizers: relieve anxiety, induce sleep & prevent seizures . Examples include Valium, Xanax, Rohypnol (“roofies” dubbed the date –rape drug), & Quaaludes. • Mimic the effects of alcohol, also depressing nervous system activity • In larger doses can lead to impaired memory and judgment. • In combination with alcohol, the results can be lethal. • In large enough doses, barbiturates can also be deadly.
Narcotics Narcotics: analgesics (pain reducers) which work by depressing the central nervous system & have chemical properties similar to the endorphins the brain produces. • Include opiates, & synthetic opiates: codeine, heroinm, morphine, opium, Percodan, Dilaudid, methadone, and Demerol all which are highly addictive. • Addiction leads to intense craving for another fix, the need for progressively larger doses, the pain of withdrawal, and for some, death from overdose. • When repeatedly flooded with artificial opiate, the brain stops producing endorphins. When the drug is withdrawn, the brain lacks the normal levels of endorphins and the person goes through withdrawal.
Simulants Stimulants: drugs such as caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, cocaine, & Ecstasy excite neural activity & speed up body functions. • Often used to lose weight, stay awake, boost mood or athletic performance. • All strong stimulants dilate pupils, increase heart & breathing rates, appetite to diminish, & energy & self-confidence to increase. • Can be addictive & may induce a crash into fatigue, headaches irritability, & depression. • With continued used, methamphetamine appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels, leaving with user with permanently depressed functioning.
Simulants (cont’d) • Cocaine: • The rush of cocaine depletes the brain’s supply of dopamine, serotonin, & norepinephrine., causing an agitated crash when the drug wears off. • Crack is a more potent form of cocaine which produces a more intense high & a more intense crash.
Stimulants (cont’d) • Cocaine(cont’d) • Cocaine that is sniffed, smoked, swallowed, and injected is highly addictive & its risks include cardiovascular stress, neurological & behavioral problems, depression, anxiety, & insomnia. • Ecstacy (both a stimulant & mild hallucinogen) • A derivative of amphetamine, it stimulates the release of dopamine. • Main effect is to release stored serotonin & prevent re-uptake, it produces euphoric high & feelings of intimacy. • Repeated use may supress the immune system, distrup the circadian clock, destroy serotonin producing neurons, & permanently destroy mood & memory. • Combined with physical activity, Ecstasy can cause dehydration, leading to potentially fatal overheating.
Hallucinogens Hallucinogens: psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions & evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input. • Examples include: LSD, PCP, marijuana (THC), psilocybin from mushrooms, & mescaline (Peyote). • LSD: Chemically similar to one type of serotonin • The user’s mood & expectations influence the effects of LSD, but common components of LSD “trips” vary from euphoria to panic. • Marijuana : leaves & flowers of the hemp plant. • Active psychoactive ingredient is THC, which triggers a variety of effects including mild hallucinations, disinhibition, euphoria, feeling of relaxation, pain relief, & may amplify sensitivity to taste, colors, sounds, & smells. • May also amplify anxiety, depression, impair motor coordination & reaction time, disrupt memory formation, & damage lung tissue.
Near Death Experiences • Near Death Experiences: al altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death. • Often involve out-of –body sensations & seeing or travelling toward a bright light. • Dualists interpret these experiences as evidence of immortality. • Monists point out that such experiences often parallel reports of hallucinations and may be the product of the brain under stress.
