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1. The two most general functions of NREM sleep are conservation and
restoration
a) Sleep helps conserve energy because it often occurs when
foraging for food, searching for mates, or moving about is
unnecessary or dangerous
b) Sleep serves a restorative function because neurotransmitters
and neuromodulators may be synthesized and their balance
restored during sleep
2. The function of REM sleep appears to be related to the maintenance of
mood and emotion, storing memories, and fitting recent experiences
into existing memories. REM sleep may also restore the balance of the
brain after NREM sleep.
D. Sleep Disorders
1. Insomnia is the inability to get a satisfactory amount or quality of sleep
and is characterized by an inability to fall asleep, frequent arousal, or
early morning awakening
2. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by a periodic compulsion
to sleep during the daytime
3. Sleep Apnea is an upper respiratory sleep disorder in which the person
stops breathing while asleep, which causes the sufferer to awake
immediately and begin breathing again
4. Excessive Daytime Sleepiness is the major complaint of individuals
evaluated at sleep disorder centers. About one-third of adults report
excessive sleepiness during the daytime.
E. Dreams: Theater of the Mind
1. Most dreams take place during REM sleep. Dreams that take place
during NREM sleep tend to be full of specific thoughts but devoid of
dramatic content or vivid sensory imagery.
2. NREM dreams are recalled less often than REM dreams, but NREM
dreaming is enhanced during the very late morning hours.
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3. Most cultures instill the belief that dreams have meaning, but they do
so in diverse ways
a) The most prominent Western theory of dreams was proposed
by Sigmund Freud
b) Freud believed dreams to be “the royal road to the
unconscious”
c) In The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud made dreams a
cornerstone of psychoanalysis. Dreams, to Freud, were “wish
fulfillment” of powerful, unconscious desires that were
disguised in dream form.
d) The latent content of a dream referred to the hidden wish or
meaning of the dream
e) This latent content is transformed into a disguised form, or
manifest content, through the process of dream work
f) Dream work takes forbidden wishes and transforms them into
often bizarre but acceptable forms that are experienced as
dreams
g) The interpretation of dreams requires working backward from
the manifest content to the latent content, to revealing the
unconscious wishes expressed in the dream
h) Freud’s theory of dream interpretation relates dream symbols,
which may have both universal and personal meanings, to
his explicit theory of psychology
4. Non-Western Approaches to Dream Interpretation
a) In many non-Western cultures, dream interpretation is part of
the fabric of the culture
b) In the Mayan culture, shamans function as dream interpreters
and play a central role in Mayan interpersonal relations and
in tying the Mayan culture to their ancestral roots
c) In other cultures, such as the people of the Ingessana Hills
(bordering Ethiopia and Sudan) and the Kapolo Indians of
Brazil, dreams represent visions of the future
F. Physiological Theories of Dream Content
1. Represent the greatest challenge to the Freudian Theory of Dreams
2. The Activation–Synthesis Model of Dreams suggests that dreams are
the brain’s attempt to make sense of essentially random neural firings
that occur during sleep. In an inexorable quest for meaning, the brain
weaves random neural activity into a strange but comprehensible
narrative based on memories, beliefs, values, goals, and expectations.
G. Nightmares
1. Nightmares are dreams that make the dreamer feel helpless or out of
control
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2. Nightmares are often triggered by stress, especially fear of harm and
desertion, and usually only occur a few times each year
3. Traumatic events may make individuals more likely to have
nightmares that force them to relive some aspect of the traumatic event
IV. Alerted States of Consciousness
A. Lucid Dreaming
1. Lucid dreaming involves conscious awareness while an individual is
dreaming, that they are dreaming
2. Research suggests that the ability to lucid dream can be taught
3. Some researchers, such as LaBerge, argue that lucid dreaming
enhances self-esteem and generates positive experiences by giving
individuals control over the often uncontrollable events of dreams and
nightmares
4. Others argue that lucid dreaming interferes with and distorts the
natural process of dreaming
B. Hypnosis
1. Hypnosis is an alternative state of awareness characterized by the
special ability some people have of responding to suggestion with
changes in perception, memory, motivation, and sense of self-control
a) Some researchers believe that hypnotized individuals enter a
trance, although research suggests that this is not the case
b) Some believe that hypnosis is a kind of placebo response,
although some research suggests an added benefit beyond
that derived from a placebo
2. Hypnotic Induction and Hypnotizability
a) A hypnotic induction is a preliminary set of activities that
minimizes external distractions and encourages the
participant to enter a hypnotic state
b) Hypnotizability refers to the degree to which an individual is
responsive to standardized suggestions to experience
hypnotic reactions
c) Hypnotizability varies widely from person to person, is
relatively stable over time, and may have some genetic
determinants, although it is not correlated with any
personality trait
3. Effects of Hypnosis
a) One undisputed value of hypnosis is pain reduction (hypnotic
analgesia). Hypnotic analgesia has proved especially
valuable to surgery patients that are allergic to anesthesia, to
mothers in natural childbirth, and to cancer patients learning
to endure chronic pain associated with their disease.
b) Self-hypnosis is the best approach to controlling pain because
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individuals can essentially self-medicate whenever pain
arises
c) Research on hypnotic pain reduction suggests that hypnosis
segregates consciousness into two levels. One level is a full,
but hypnotic, consciousness. The second level is a Hidden
Observer, a concealed nonconscious awareness that monitors
the hypnotized consciousness.
d) People cannot be made to do anything that they do not wish
to do under hypnosis
C. Meditation
1. Meditation is a form of consciousness change designed to enhance self-
knowledge and well-being by reducing self-awareness
a) Critics argue that there is little difference between a normal
resting state with the eyes closed and the state entered
through meditation
b) Advocates argue that meditation reduces stress, can improve
IQ, and can even lead to enlightenment
D. Hallucinations
1. Hallucinations are false perceptions that occur in the absence of
objective stimulation and can be caused by the following:
a) Heightened arousal
b) States of intense need
c) Inability to suppress threatening thoughts
d) Abnormal brain functioning caused by fevers, seizures, and
migraine headaches
e) Psychoactive drugs, such as LSD and peyote, can also
produce hallucinations by acting directly on the brain
2. In some cultural and religious settings, hallucinations play an
important mystical or spiritual role
E. Religious Ecstasy
1. Religious ecstasy is a unique psychological state characterized by a
sense of oneness and connectedness often brought on by meditation,
prayer, fasting, and spiritual communication
2. During religious ecstasy, some individuals can do remarkable things
that they ordinarily may not be able to do, such as handling deadly
snakes, drinking poison, and handling fire
F. Mind-Altering Drugs
1. Although mind-altering drugs have been used for centuries during
religious ceremonies, today they are associated more often with
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recreational usage
2. Dependence and Addition
a) Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that affect mental processes,
such as perception, memory, mood, and behavior by
temporarily changing conscious awareness
b) Tolerance may be developed to psychoactive drugs in which
more and more of the drug is needed to produce the same
change in consciousness
c) Physiological dependence is a process in which the body
becomes accustomed to the presence of a drug and begins to
depend on its presence to function properly
3. Varieties of Psychoactive Drugs
a) Hallucinogenic or psychedelic drugs, including LSD, mescaline,
psilocybin, and PCP, can produce profound alterations of both
perception and inner awareness. They often lead to a loss of
boundary between self and non-self and to confusion.
b) Cannabis, including both marijuana and hashish, can create
mild, pleasurable highs, distortions of space and time,
euphoria, and, occasionally, hallucination. Possible negative
effects include fear, anxiety, paranoia, confusion, and
retardation of motor function.
c) Opiates, such as heroin and morphine, suppress physical
sensation and stimulation and produce a rush of euphoria.
Because of this rush, any use is likely to lead to serious
addiction.
d) Depressants, such as barbiturates and alcohol, tend to depress
the mental and physical activity of the body by inhibiting the
transmission of nerve impulses in the central nervous system
(i) Barbiturates, such as Valium and Xanax, are
particularly dangerous, accounting for half of drug
overdoses
(ii) Although often socially accepted, alcohol is a major
health and social problem. Alcohol use can lead to
alcoholism, which can disrupt social and
professional relations, and to serious health
problems.
e) Stimulants, such as amphetamines, cocaine, and crack (a purified
form of cocaine), induce a sense of euphoria, self-confidence,
and hyperalertness. Possible negative effects include
paranoid delusions, cycles of euphoric highs and painful
lows, and social isolation.
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(i) Caffeine and nicotine are often unrecognized
stimulants that act on the brain much like other
stimulants. Nicotine is a dangerous drug that has a
greater impact on health than that of all other
psychoactive drugs combined.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The class should now be familiar with dualism and monism, through both the text and
lectures. Ask them which of these they think best describes the relationship between the
brain and the mind. Why?