Learning Objectives
- Describe consciousness and circadian rhythms
- Explain disruptions in biological rhythms, including sleep debt
- Explain blindsight and what it reveals about consciousness
- Describe areas of the brain and hormone secretions involved in sleep
- Describe several theories (adaptive and cognitive) aimed at explaining the function of sleep
- Differentiate between REM and non-REM sleep
- Describe the stages of sleep
- Describe and differentiate between theories on why we dream
- Describe the symptoms and treatments for insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy
- Describe how substance abuse disorders are diagnosed
- Explain how depressants impact nervous system activity
- Identify stimulants and describe how they affect the brain and body
- Identify opioids and describe how they impact the brain and behavior
- Describe hallucinogens and how they affect the brain and behavior
- Compare and contrast between depressants, stimulants, opioids, and hallucinogens
- Describe hypnosis and meditation
Figure 1. Sleep, which we all experience, is a quiet and mysterious pause in our daily lives. Two sleeping children are depicted in this 1895 oil painting titled Zwei schlafende Mädchen auf der Ofenbank, which translates as “two sleeping girls on the stove,” by Swiss painter Albert Anker.
Our lives involve regular, dramatic changes in the degree to which we are aware of our surroundings and our internal states. While awake, we feel alert and aware of the many important things going on around us. Our experiences change dramatically while we are in deep sleep and once again when we are dreaming. Sometimes, we seek to alter our awareness and experience by using psychoactive drugs; that is, drugs that alter the central nervous system and produce a change of consciousness or a deep meditative state. Consciousness is an awareness of external and internal stimuli. As discussed in the module on the biology of psychology, brain activity during different phases of consciousness produces characteristic brain waves, which can be observed by electroencephalography (EEG) and other types of analysis.
This module will discuss states of consciousness with a particular emphasis on sleep. You’ll learn about the different stages of sleep, sleep disorders as well as the altered states of consciousness produced by psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, and meditation.
