Consciousness & Dreams

Consciousness

•Our awareness of ourselves & our environment

•Consciousness is the headlines of a newspaper• Summaries of brain activity – not all the many millions of details of what went on behind the scenes

• “The Conscious mind is not at the center of the action in the brain; instead, it is far out on a distant edge, hearing whispers of the activity” – David Eagleman

• Subconscious - information we aren’t consciously aware of but know must exist due to behavior

• Unconscious - thoughts or desires about which we have no direct knowledge

States of Consciousness

some states occur

spontaneouslyday dreaming drowsiness dreaming

some are physiologically

inducedhallucinations orgasm

food or oxygen starvation

some are psychologically

induced

sensory deprivation

hypnosis meditation

Awake, Asleep, Altered StateAwake, Asleep, Altered State

Sleep & Dreams

• Biological Rhythms & Sleep• Circadian Rhythm• 24 hour cycle• temperature changes

Sleep Stages

• Awake - Alpha Waves• Stage 1 - Sleep,

hallucinations• Stage 2 - Sleep

Spindles• Stage 3 - transitional

sleep• Stage 4 - Delta Waves• REM Sleep

REM Sleep

• Rapid Eye Movement• Recurring sleep state during which

vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep because the muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active

• Typical nights sleep is about a 90 minute cycle

Why do we sleep?

• Variations in sleeping patterns• Cultural Influences• Sleep Debt• Age of Sleep Studies• Chronic seep loss• Spring and fall time changes

Sleep Theories

•Sleep protects•Sleep helps recuperation•Memory Storage•Sleep and Creative thinking•Sleep and Growth

Sleep Disorders• Insomnia - problems of getting or

staying asleep

• Narcolepsy - extreme sleepiness (sleep attacks)

• Sleep Apnea - stop breathing during sleep• Night Terrors - usually occur in

children, dreams outside of REM

• Sleepwalking / Sleep talking

Dreams according to Freud• Manifest Content• the remembered story line of a dream -

literal content

• Latent Content• the underlying meaning of a dream -

deeper meaning

Dream Theories

• Freud’s Wish Fulfillment• Dreams provide a ‘psychic safety

valve’ - expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; contain manifest (remembered) content and a deeper layer of latent content (hidden meaning)

• Critical considerations: Lacks any scientific support; dreams may be interpreted many different ways

Dream Theories

• Information-Processing• Dreams help us sort out the day’s

events and consolidate our memories

• Critical Considerations: But why do we sometimes dream about things we have not experienced?

Dream Theories

• Physiological Function• Regular brain stimulation from REM

sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways

• Critical Considerations: This may be true, but it doesn’t explain why we experience meaningful dreams

Dream Theories

• Activation-Synthesis• REM sleep triggers neural activity that

evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories

• Critical Considerations: The individuals brain is weaving the stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer

Dream Theories

• Cognitive Development• Dream content reflects dreamer’s

cognitive development – their knowledge and understanding

• Critical Considerations: Does not address the neuroscience of dreams