Biological Rhythms Regular fluctuations in our bodily processes and

in consciousness over time Circadian rhythms—fluctuations that occur in a

single day We have circadian rhythms in body temperature,

hormones, blood pressure, etc. Many people peak in late afternoon or evening;

gets earlier with age Best work done when body temp & internal

processes are at a peak

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) A structure in the hypothalamus that plays

a key role in biological clock Not totally unresponsive to the outside

world. Light is a zeitgeber (time giver)—resets

our clock each morning Our biological clock operates on a 25-hour

cycle, not a 24-hour one.

Morning vs. Night People Morning people feel more active & alert early in the

day; night people feel more active/alert in afternoon or evening.

Morning people have higher overall level of adrenaline & operate at a higher level of activation

Morning people peak in body temp earlier in the day Morning people get higher grades in morning

classes; evening people—higher grades in evening classes

Jet lag Difficulty adjusting your internal clock to a

new location across time zones Harder to fly west to east than east to west;

harder to fly into darkness

Shift work Work that requires you to work at times

when you would normally be sleeping About 20% of U.S. employees work at

night Linked to poorer job performance,

increased accidents, poor health

Controlled vs. automatic processing Two levels of processing in waking

consciousness—controlled & automatic Automatic: takes very little conscious awareness;

occurs seemingly beyond your control; rapid, efficient, inflexible processing

Controlled: more effortful concentration; slower, more deliberate, more flexible than automatic

Automatic & controlled operate on a continuum. They’re not either/or.

Stages of Sleep Four distinct stages, plus REM (rapid eye

movement) sleep With each stage, brain waves become

slower We cycle through all the stages (including

REM) every 90-100 minutes

Stage 1 Sleep Characterized by the relaxed alpha waves

(awake) being replaced by theta waves during stage 1

Lasts up to 5 minutes May experience “hallucinations” during this

stage Hypnogogic sleep—halfway between

wakefulness and sleep

Stage 2 Sleep Lasts about 20 minutes Periodic appearance of sleep spindles

(bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain activity) Can be awakened fairly easily, but you are

clearly asleep in this stage

Stage 3 Sleep Transitional stage between light stage 2

and deep stage 4 Large slow delta waves (at least 20% are

delta waves)

Stage 4 Sleep Stage of deep sleep Together, stages 3 and 4 are known as

“slow-wave sleep” Lasts for 30 minutes; hard to awaken from Bedwetting and sleepwalking usually occur

in this stage At least 50% of brain waves are delta

REM sleep Occurs about an hour after you first fall asleep Brain waves become fast, saw-toothed for 10

minutes or so, similar to stage 1 sleep. Heart rate rises, breathing becomes fast &

irregular, and eyes move rapidly every 30 seconds or so

Genitals become aroused, except during very scary dreams.

Diagram of brain waves during sleep

More on REM sleep Essentially paralyzed because brainstem

blocks messages from the motor cortex Can’t be awakened easily Called “paradoxical sleep”—internal state

is aroused, but external state is calm. Gets longer as the night wears on. Accounts for 20-25% of total night’s sleep

Dreams Can be recalled more than 80% of the time if

you’re awakened during REM. Have to make conscious effort to remember dreams when you first wake up.

Dreams are never acted out because we’re “paralyzed.”

Visual & auditory centers of brain are active when dreaming but inactive during other stages of sleep

Lucid dreaming When you know you’re dreaming Sometimes you even have the ability to

wake yourself up from a dream.

Dream Content 80% of dreams are negative in nature Women dream of males & females equally,

but 65% of the characters in men’s dreams are males.

Manifest content—(Freud)—the story line of a dream

Latent content—(Freud)—the dream’s hidden meaning

Psychoanalytic view of dreams Freud Dreams represent unconscious desires or

impulses Dreams can be interpreted to reveal hidden

meaning (e.g., a tree is a phallic symbol; a bowl is a symbol of female genitalia)

Absolutely no evidence that this view is true.

Activation-synthesis theory Dreams are the subjective experience of

random neural activity in the brain that originates in the pons.

The visual and language centers of the cortex try to make sense of the neural signals and weave a story about it.

Amygdala gets involved and adds emotional content.

Neurocognitive view of dreams Dreams are the cognitive system’s efforts to

interpret activity in our brains while we sleep Children have simpler dreams than adults because

they don’t have the cognitive maturity adults do. Dreams reflect aspects of our memories &

waking experience b/c they represent interpretations of neural activity by our brains.

Dream content is more stable over time and across cultures than what “random neural activity” would predict.

Information-processing view Dreams may help us sort out the day’s

activities and fix the experiences in memory.

REM sleep is known to facilitate memory. If you don’t sleep enough, you won’t learn as well.

Sleep deprivation Results in a “sleep debt” that is related to

decreases in immune system, susceptibility to accidents, lowered glucose tolerance, & increased activity in the sympathetic nervous system.

Insomnia

The most common sleep disorder—40% of adults occasionally experience it, 10-15% of adults have it chronically

Increases with age; more common among women

Sometimes people don’t realize they’re asleep when they really are, and they think they have insomnia when they don’t

Narcolepsy Disorder in which sleep occurs at inappropriate

and unexpected times Sleep attacks lasting for a few minutes at random

times Cataplexy: falling down suddenly when

narcoleptic attacks occur. Person falls into REM sleep, and muscles become paralyzed.

Onset is late teens, early 20s

Living with Narcolepsy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MBCe

Kn0Oeo

Somnambulism Sleepwalking Associated with slow-wave sleep Occurs at least once in 25% of all children

Night terrors Related to sleepwalking People (especially children) awaken from deep sleep,

mainly stage 4, with signs of intense arousal and powerful feelings of fear

No memory of any dreams associated with night terrors

Related, along with sleepwalking, to disturbances in functioning of autonomic nervous system

Nightmares are found during REM sleep; night terrors are in stage 4. Nightmares can be recalled; night terrors aren’t.

Sleep apnea A disorder in which one actually stops

breathing during sleep, causing the person to wake up multiple times a night

1 in 25 people suffer from it, usually overweight men

Associated with decrease in oxygen, which triggers waking

Hypnosis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP8j2OwPwU

c&feature=related A special interaction between two people in

which one induces changes in the behavior, feelings, or cognitions of the other through suggestions

Involves expectations on the part of subjects & their attempts to conform to social roles

Experts still aren’t sure if hypnosis is “real.”

Characteristics of hypnotic ability About 10-15% of adults are highly

susceptible; 10% are highly resistant, and the rest fall somewhere in between

1. Expect to respond to hypnotic suggestion 2. Positive attitudes toward hypnosis 3. Prone to vivid fantasies 4. Able to become deeply involved in

sensory and imaginative experiences

Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events? 60 years of research have failed to establish

a link Hypnotically refreshed memories can’t be

treated as fact, although there have been cases in which one’s recall has definitely been enhanced through hypnosis

Potential for hypnotically refreshed memories to become pseudomemories

Can you hypnotize someone to perform something dangerous or against their will? Orne & Evans (1965)—study with subjects

dipping hand in “acid” & throwing the “acid” in someone’s face

Control Ss who were told to pretend they were hypnotized did the same thing

Even unhypnotized people can be led to perform dangerous acts if told to do so

Can hypnosis be therapeutic or alleviate pain? Yes—hypnosis has helped alleviate headaches,

asthma, stress-related skin conditions, and warts Helps obese people lose weight Definitely helps alleviate pain. 10% of people can

be hypnotized to the point of not needing anesthesia during surgery.

Does not seem to benefit smoking cessation or drug and alcohol addictions

How does hypnosis help alleviate pain? Dissociation theory: We experience a split

between different levels of consciousness. May dissociate the pain stimulus from the actual interpretation and experience of pain

Selective attention theory: We simply don’t focus on the pain.

Is hypnosis really an altered state of consciousness? We don’t know Social influence theory: Hypnotized people

are just behaving (subconsciously or not) as they think the hypnotist expects.

Hilgard’s theory Hilgard (a hypnosis researcher) says that

hypnosis involves not only social influence but also a special state of dissociated or divided consciousness.

Hypnotic dissociation is a vivid form of everyday mind splits. Behavior starts becoming automatically controlled rather than consciously contolled.

The “hidden observer” Hilgard’s view that there’s a “hidden

observer” in your consciousness that passively watches what’s happening in your hypnotized state.

The two splits in consciousness, then, are the “hidden observer” and “autopilot.” No longer in direct contact with each other.

Controversial viewpoint

What’s the bottom line with hypnosis? Remains a mystery Seems to be neither real nor fake Can produce dramatic effects, especially in

pain relief Growing evidence indicates that hypnosis

is not anything special but is simply a modest enhancement of nonhypnotic suggestibility

Consciousness-altering drugs Four categories 1. Depressants 2. Stimulants 3. Opiates/psychedelics 4. Hallucinogens

Depressants Drugs that reduce both behavioral output and activity in

the central nervous system Most common depressant is alcohol Alcohol dulls senses, makes discomfort become less

intense Interferes with coordination & normal functioning of our

senses Lowers social inhibitions Causes accidents Depressant because it prevents neurons from conducting

impulses

Genetic component of alcoholism Two patterns of alcohol abuse—steady drinkers

and binge drinkers Steady drinking seems strongly influenced by

heredity; binge drinking is influenced by both heredity and environment

Binge drinking is related to variations in the ALDH2 gene, which not everyone has.

Presence of ALDH2 related to LESS binge drinking

Ethnic differences in binge drinking Whites are most likely to binge drink; less

common among Koreans, and least common among Chinese

Chinese and Korean students possessed the ALDH2 gene more often.

Barbiturates

Sleeping pills and relaxants Depress activity in the CNS & reduce activation

and mental alertness Reduce the release of excitatory neurotransmitters

by neurons in different locations High doses—initially produce feelings of

euphoria/drunkenness. Then produce confusion, slurred speech, memory lapses, impaired concentration

Dangers of barbiturates Extremely large doses can be fatal Cause paralysis in brain centers that

regulate breathing

Stimulants Drugs that produce feelings of energy and

activation Amphetamines and cocaine Inhibit reuptake of dopamine and

norepinepherines; neurons continue to fire long after they should’ve stopped firing

Raise BP, heart rate, and respiration

More about stimulants Yield short periods (20-40 minutes) of

pleasurable sensations Users then “crash” and experience anxiety,

depression, and fatigue

Cocaine and Crack Cocaine is usually snorted, but it can also be

swallowed (produces weaker effects that way) Crack: cocaine that’s been heated and treated

chemically; can be smoked, which produces immediate effects—powerful high, burst of energy, confidence, excitement

Cocaine isn’t considered technically addictive, but it can create psychological dependence

Opiates Opium, morphine, heroin, and related synthetic drugs Morphine comes from opium; heroin comes from

morphine Produce lethargy, slowing down of almost all bodily

functions Alter consciousness, produce a dreamlike state &

intensely pleasurable sensations Extremely addicting; withdrawal is agony. Brain

stops producing endorphins. Physical addiction occurs very quickly.

Psychedelics/hallucinogens Drugs that alter sensory perception LSD, marijuana, ecstasy

Marijuana Most common psychedelic Dates back to 2500 BC, at least Could be found in drugstores as late as the 1920s,

purchased without prescription Produces moderate effects—increased heart rate,

changes in BP, dilation of blood vessels in eyes (bloodshot eyes)

Heightened sense of sight, sound, creative ideas

More about marijuana Causes inability to carry out tasks

involving attention & memory or to judge distances

Reduced inhibitions, feelings of relaxation or drowsiness, increased hunger & sexual pleasure

Cultural factors influence what the user experiences

LSD Results in profound changes in perceptions of the

external world Objects and people seem to change color and

shape, walls may move, and sensations seem more intense than normal.

May cause paranoia and intense fear of friends and relatives

Extremely dangerous; can result in permanent mental illness

Ecstasy Also known as MDMA A so-called “designer drug” that’s both a

stimulant and mild hallucinogen Triggers release of dopamine, but its main effect

is to release stored serotonin & block its reabsorption.

Increases awareness of emotions, changes visual perceptions, produces feelings of closeness to others.

Dangers of Ecstasy Used by up to 40% of today’s teenagers Prolonged use leads to confusion, fatigue, nausea,

and depression (because it reduces serotonin levels)

Interferes with sleep, suppresses immune system, impairs memory & cognitive functions

Can result in date rape or other unwanted sexual encounters