Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
– controlled processing
– executive function
• Planning, problem solving
• Actively focus efforts toward a goal
– requires attention
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Levels of Awareness
Lower-Level Consciousness
– automatic processes
• require little attention/conscious effort
• do not interfere with other ongoing activities
– daydreaming
• wandering thoughts
• fantasy, imagination, rumination
• potentially useful
(reminding, solving)
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Levels of Awareness
Altered States of Consciousness
– drug states
– fatigue, illness, trauma,
deprivation
– meditation, hypnosis
– mental disorders
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Levels of Awareness
• Subconscious Awareness
– incubation
– parallel processing
• No Awareness
– unconscious (censored) thought--Freud
– non-conscious processes
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Meditation
a peaceful state of mind,
not occupied by worry.
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• Meditation is a form of mental training that
can be used to calm the mind, stabilize
concentration, or enhance awareness of the
present moment. Evidence from brain imaging
studies suggests that meditation has lasting
effects on mood, concentration, and learning.
Sleep
• Sleep is important for three major restorative processes: neural growth, memory
consolidation, and the formation of enzymes that protect against cellular damage.
• When teenagers and adults get at least 8 hours of sleep, the benefits include
restored body tissues, body growth, immunity to disease, an alert mind,
processing of memories, and enhance mood.
• The circadian rhythm of sleep is a natural rhythm of sleep and waking
programmed by a group of brain cells in the hypothalamus called the
suprachiasmatic nucleus.
• A typical night of sleep involves cycling through two states of sleep: Non-REM
sleep which progressively relaxes the person, and REM (rapid-eye-movement)
which is very active, also occurs only during stage 1 sleep when most dreaming
occurs.
• The most common sleep problems is insomnia or the inability to get to sleep or
stay asleep. It is the most common sleep disorder.
• Other sleep disorders include sleep apnea, in which a person stops breathing
while asleep, and a rarer condition called narcolepsy, in which a person falls asleep
during alert times of the day (Pastorino, & Doyle-Portillo, 2013).
Dreams
Contents of Dreams
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Theories of Dreaming
• Cognitive Theory of Dreaming proposes that we
can undertand dreaming by applying the same
cognitive concepts we use in studying the waking
mind. The theory rests on the idea that dreams
are essentially subconscious cognitive processing.
• Activation-Synthesis Theory proposes that
dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex
synthesizes neural signals generated from activity
in the lower brain and that dream results from
the brain’s attempts to find logic in random brain
activity that occurs during sleep.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is marked by…
– unusual receptiveness
to suggestions
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Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a state of mind that occurs
naturally and established by compliance with
instructions. It is characterized by focused
attention, suggestibility, absorption, lack of
voluntary control over behavior, and
suspension of critical faculties of mind. People
may be more easily hypnotized if they are
relaxed, but they can be hypnotized without
relaxation.
Psychoactive Drugs
Act on nervous system to:
– alter consciousness
– modify perceptions
– change moods
– Tolerance has to do with the amount of a drug required to produce its effect.
After repeated use, it is usually the case that more and more of it is needed to
achieve the same effect.
– Substance dependence occurs when someone is either physically or
psychologically reliant on a drug’s effect. Typically, dependence is evident
when the person stops using the drug and experiences withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms may include physical symptoms such as vomiting,
shaking, sweating, physical pain, hallucinations, or headaches.
– Substance abuse or overindulgence in an addictive substance, especially
alcohol or drugs
Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Barbiturates and Sedatives
– Barbiturates, commonly known as “downers”, are a category of
depressants that are typically prescribed to reduce or to induce sleep.
Well-known barbiturate drugs include Nembutal and Seconal.
– Sedatives or tranquilizers are also prescribed to reduce anxiety. They
include a class of drugs called the benzodiazepines, including Valium
and Xanax.
• Both types of depressants have effects similar to alcohol. In small
dosages, they slow the nervous system, promoting relaxation. In
high dosages, though, they severely impair motor functioning,
memory, and judgment. Like alcohol, these drugs influence the
functioning of the neurotransmitter GABA. When these drugs are
taken in combination with alcohol, they are potentially lethal
because they can cause suppression of those brain areas that
control breathing and heart rate, which can lead to
unconsciousness, coma, or death.
Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Opiates (Narcotics): Morphine, Codeine, Opium, and Heroin
The opiates, or narcotics, are drugs that are used to treat pain
by mimicking pain-inhibiting neurotransmitters in the body such as
endorphins. In addition to blocking pain, they produce a feeling of
pleasure that is almost like floating. The opiates are extremely
addictive, causing dependence within a few weeks. When you take
opiates, your brain recognizes an abundance of pain inhibitors in
the body and decreases its own production of endorphins. So when
the effect of the opiate wears off, you feel your earlier pain and the
absence of pleasure, and will want another, larger dose.
• Stimulants
The stimulants include drugs that interfere with the brain
functioning by speeding normal brain activity.
Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Caffeine is a psychoactive drug because of its effects on the brain. It is perhaps
the most frequently used psychoactive drug in the world. Caffeine is and
active ingredient in coffee, tea, sodas, some energy drinks, chocolate,
migraine headache medications, and some diet pills. It stimulates the brain by
blocking neurotransmitters (adenosine) that slow down our nervous system
and cause sleep. In small doses, caffeine gives us a boost, keeping us more
alert and helping us focus. It helps problem solving and decreases reaction
time. However, in large doses, caffeine can “wire” you, causing insomnia,
upset stomach, racing heartbeat, nervousness, and irritability.
• Nicotine, the active ingredient in tobacco and the source of a smoker’s craving
for cigarette, is a powerful stimulant. Tobacco use has been linked to lung
cancer, throat cancer, emphysema, and heart disease. Nicotine affects several
neurotransmitters. It influences acetylcholine and glutamate such that in low
doses, nicotine improves attention and memory. Nicotine also elevates
dopamine levels, leading to feelings of pleasure and reward. In high doses,
nicotine causes vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, and dizziness.
Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Cocaine and its derivative, crack, are powerful and dangerous stimulant
drugs. Snorted, smoked, or injected, cocaine is quickly absorbed into the
body and thus reaches the brain rapidly. Crack is powdered cocaine mixed
with water and other additives that is then boiled until a solid mass
performs. It is broken into rocks and smoked with a long glass tube called
crack pipe. Inhaling the smoke delivers large quantities of the drug to the
lungs and produces an intense and immediate high.High doses of cocaine
can cause paranoia, sleeplessness, delusions, seizures, strokes, and
potentially cardiac arrest.