States of Consciousness

ZZZzzzzzz…..

Consciousness

• Can be a weird thing… think about when you are just falling asleep or waking up… Can be hard to understand what is real? What is still a dream?

• Think about when people are under conscious sedation (Ex. Nitrous Oxide). They are not aware of what is going on but can still respond to doctor requests.

• Think about when doing a repeated task (Ex. Ringing up a customer at your job). You can still ring up the customer, while thinking about something different.

• Having an oral conversation while texting. Y’all are experts at that!

• Consciousness an awareness of ourselves and our environment.

• Various levels: • Conscious level – This level includes information about yourself and your

environment that you are currently aware of. For example, right now you are focusing on the words and the meanings that you are reading.

• Non-conscious level – This level includes the body processes that are controlled by your mind that you are not aware of. For example, your heart rate, your breathing, your digestion.

• Pre-conscious level – This level includes information about yourself and your environment that you aren’t currently thinking about but you could be if you needed to. For example, at this moment you are probably not thinking about what you did last night, but you might be thinking about that now.

• Sub-conscious level – This level includes the information that we are not consciously aware of but we know that it exists because of our behavior. For example, we tend to prefer things that we have seen before over new things, even if we can’t consciously remember seeing the things before. This is called the mere exposure effect. Another example is called priming. This is when we respond quicker to questions that we have seen before, even if we don’t consciously remember seeing them before.

• Un-conscious level – This level includes the information that is unacceptable to our conscious mind. For example, this could include memories of traumatic events that we have chosen to forget.

• All of the above levels of consciousness occur when we are awake. But we can temporarily lose waking consciousness by nodding off or going to sleep. We have naturally occurring body rhythms that affect our wakefulness and our sleep.

States of Consciousness

• States of consciousness

• Sleep

• Wake

• Altered states

Sleep and Dreams

Sleep – The Equalizer of Seniors and Second Graders

• Even when deeply asleep, your perceptual window is not completely shut. You are able to move around your bed, but manage not to fall out. Some sounds do not wake you up (Ex. Hum of traffic), while others jolt you awake (Ex. Beeping of your alarm).

• EEG recordings show that the brain auditory cortex responds to sound stimuli, even when in deep sleep. (Ex. Hearing your name).

• Processing of information outside of our conscious awareness occurs in wakefulness and sleeping.

Research in Sleep Studies

• Able to record brain waves and muscle movements during sleep.

• Some of the questions raised… all turned out to be false.

• 1) When people dream of performing some activity, their limbs often move in concert with the dream.

• 2) Older adults sleep more than younger adults.

• 3) Sleepwalkers are acting out their dreams.

• 4) Sleep experts recommend treating sleep disorders with the occasional sleeping pill.

• 5) Some people dream every night; others seldom dream.

Sleep IQ Test / Sleep Deprivation Test

• Notes for Mrs. Connor

• Go to National Sleep Foundation Test - PPT

• Go to Sleep Deprivation Test -PPT

Research on Sleep Deprivation

• Lack of sleep decreases the levels of hormones that are necessary for your immune system to function properly.

• Lack of sleep increases the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, which is responsible for learning and memory.

• Lack of sleep increases the number of car accidents because people fall asleep at the wheel.

• Lack of sleep (even one hour when the clocks change) affects the number of accidents.

• Lack of sleep has an effect on concentration and being irritable.

• Lack of sleep has an effect on cancer-fighting immune cells.

• Lack of sleep has an effect on premature aging.

Biological Rhythms and Sleep

• Circadian Rhythm the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle.

• What could interfere with this rhythm?

• 24 hour cycle

• Temperature changes- rises as morning approaches, peaks during the day, dips for a time early afternoon and drops again in the evening. Therefore, thinking/memory is the most sharp when we are at our daily peak of the circadian cycle.

• Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is triggered when bright light in the AM triggers light sensitive retinal proteins. This decreases the release of the sleep inducing hormone, melatonin.

• Bright light that is continuous through the day keeps melatonin production down. However, it is a cycle, which can be disturbed with too much or too little sleep.

• Artificial lights may have permanently changed our circadian cycles by delaying sleep. (ex. Pulling an all nighter).

• Light striking the retina signals the SCN the suprachiasmatic nucleus to suppress the pineal gland’s production of the sleep hormone melatonin.

• At night the SCN quiets down, allowing the pineal land to release melatonin into the bloodstream.

Using Melatonin to Help with Insomnia

• Melatonin induced sleep is remarkably normal

• The stages of both non REM sleep and REM sleep occur at the usual hours and for the usual amount of time.

• Most users do not seem to feel drowsy or experience side effects.

• Melatonin seems to promote sleep at any time of the day.

• Repeated doses at certain times of day or night can alter circadian body rhythms.

• Helpful for people who need to sleep during the day, who are taking drugs which inhibit normal melatonin synthesis and who are patients with diseases that cause insomnia.

Sleep Stages • Several 90 minute cycles over the period of sleep.

• Discovered while testing an EEG machine on a sleeping child.

• AWAKE : Alpha waves the relatively slow waves of a relaxed, awake state. – conscious

• Define sleep as REM Sleep Rapid Eye Movement ;; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams occur. AKA paradoxical sleep b/c of relaxed muscles, only minor twitches, but all other body systems active.

• STAGE 1: Sleep Periodic, natural loss of consciousness – as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia or hibernation.

• Slow breathing, irregular brain waves.

• Hallucinations ( false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of external visual stimuli) can take place.

• Ex. Sense that you are falling (jerk your body) or floating – hypnagogic sensations

• Hallucinations can lead to memories – Ex. Abduction by aliens.

• STAGE 2 – 20 minutes long

• Sleep spindles – bursts of rapid, rhythmic brainwave activity.

• Easy to wake up in this stage, but you are asleep at this point.

• Sleep talking is common.

• STAGE 3 – transitional, start of delta waves large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

• STAGE 4 – deep sleep.

• Delta waves in full effect for 30 minutes – hard to wake up.

• Sleepwalking and bed wetting common in this stage.

Biological Rhythms and SleepSleep Stages

REM vs NREM Sleep

• NREM sleep non-rapid eye movement sleep, encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep.

• 1 hour after you fall asleep, you cycle back through stage 3 and 2 of the sleep cycle then to REM sleep.

• For about 10 minutes, brain waves mimic those of stage 1. However, heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid and irregular and eyes dart every 30 seconds. These announce the beginning of a dream. Dreams in this stage are the most sensation filled.

• REM sleep causes genital arousal even if the dream is not sexual in context.

• Men’s morning erection is usually from the last REM period, before waking.

• Brain cortex is active in REM but brainstem blocks messages, so you remain relaxed.

• As the night wears on, stage 4 becomes shorter, REM and stage 2 periods get longer.

• You dream every night, even if you don’t remember it.

Biological Rhythms and SleepTypical Nights Sleep

Why Do We Sleep?

• Individual sleep times vary greatly.

• Cultural influences play a role. Ex. NA – 8 hours per night, Siesta time in Spain, etc.

• If left undisturbed, most adults get 9 hours on average a night.

• Sleep debt is kept around for around 2 weeks, so 1 full night after a few short nights is not enough.

The Effects of Sleep Loss

• When the going gets boring… the student get snoring.

• Teenagers are averaging 2 hours less per night than they did 80 years ago.

• Sleep debt makes you stupid… literally. Leads to difficulty studying, concentrating, etc.

• Sleep debt makes you fatter… literally. Leads to an increase in the hunger boosting hormone ghrelin and decrease in the hunger inhibiting hormone leptin.

• Sleep debt makes you sicker…literally. Leads to suppression of immune cells that fight off cancer and viruses.

• Daylight savings time… increase in accidents.

Why Do We Sleep?The Effects of Sleep Loss

Why Do We Sleep?The Effects of Sleep Loss

Why Do We Sleep?The Effects of Sleep Loss

What is sleep’s function?

• Sleep theories:

• Sleep protects- better off asleep in a cave than out in the open

• Sleep helps recuperation – restore in repair brain tissue and neurons and eliminate free radicals.

• Memory storage – restore and rebuild our memories from the day.

• Sleep and creative thinking – boost to thinking and learning.

• Sleep and growth – pituitary gland releases growth hormone.

Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia Recurring problems falling or staying asleep. Treated with sleeping

pills. However more natural uses, like exercise have been encouraged.

• Narcolepsy A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune time. Due to the lack of neurotransmitter orexin.

• Sleep Apnea A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings. Associated with obesity.

• Night terrors A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified. Unlike nightmare, night terrors occur during stage 4 sleep, within 2-3 hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered. Target mostly children.

• Sleep walking / Sleep talking – Runs in families.

Other Sleep Problems• Somnambulism or sleepwalking

• This occurs during the deeper stages of NREM sleep. They can walk and talk but rarely remembers doing so.

• Bruxism

• This is teeth-grinding that occurs while sleeping.

• Enuresis

• This is bed-wetting while sleeping.

• Myoclonus

• This is a sudden jerking of the body during Stage 1 or 2.

Sleep and Dreams

Measuring sleep activity

Narcoleptic Dogs

Sleep Terror Disorder

Dreams

• Dream Sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruences and for the dreamer’s delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it.

• Manifest Content According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from it’s latent, or hidden content).

• Latent Content According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as district from it’s manifest content)

• Dreams are influenced by what you did before you went to sleep (ex. Played a video game), what you experienced that day (ex. Trauma leads to nightmares) and what your hobbies are (ex. Musicians have musical dreams).

• Sensory stimuli in your sleeping environment may play a role. A smell or noise from the ‘outside’ world can make it into your dream.

• What’s the craziest dream you can remember having? DISCUSS!

Why We Dream

• To satisfy our own wishes – latent content

• To file away memories – sift, sort and fix the day’s experiences into our memory.

• To develop/preserve neural pathways – periodic stimulation, exercise for your resting brain.

• To make sense of neural static – neural activity spreading upward from the brainstem. Brain attempts to make sense of it without outside stimuli.

• To reflect cognitive development – brain maturation.

• REM Rebound The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep). More restful sleep.

A Lifetime of Sleep

Critical Considerations: Lacks any scientific support; dreams may be interpreted in many different ways.

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

Critical Considerations: This may be true, but it does not explain why we experience meaningful dreams.

Critical Considerations: The individual’s brain is weaving the stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer.

Critical Considerations: Does not address the neuroscience of dreams.

Hypnosis

• Hypnosis A social interaction in which 1 person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviours will spontaneously occur.

• Hypnotic induction - The processing of hypnotizing someone.

• Hypnosis as an altered state?

Facts and Falsehoods• Can Anyone Experience Hypnosis?

• Postural sway –eyes closed, will sway when told they are swaying.

• Susceptibility – hypnotic ability – the ability to focus completely on a task. Also, if you expect it to happen, it will.

• Can Hypnosis Enhance Recall of Forgotten Events?

• Age regression – the supposed ability to relive childhood experiences.

Facts and Falsehoods

• Can Hypnosis Force People to Act Against Their Will? – An authoritative person in legitimate context can influence people – hypnotized or not – to perform unlikely acts. (Ex. Acid experiment)

• Can Hypnosis Be Therapeutic?

• Hypnotherapists – power of the mind and suggestion.

• Posthypnotic Suggestion a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.

• Can Hypnosis Alleviate Pain?- Yes! 10% of people can have surgery without anesthesia if hypnotized correctly.

Explaining the Hypnotic StateHypnosis as a Social Phenomenon

• “Good hypnotic subjects” – The more the subject likes and trusts the hypnotist, the more they allow that person to direct their attention and fantasies.

• Social influence theory – hypnosis is simply an extension of everyday social behavior, not something unique to hypnosis.

Explaining the Hypnotic StateHypnosis as Divided Consciousness

• Hilgard – Researcher who believed that hypnosis involves not only social influence but also a special state called Dissociation a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

• Saw it as a mind split. Like doodling while listening to a teacher. Lower a hand into an ice bath, mind split allows the pain to take the backseat.

• Unified account of hypnosis – both the social influence and the dissociation theories together.

Hypnosis: An Altered Mental State

Drugs, drugs, drugs… Which are good? Which are bad? Drugs, drugs, drugs… Ask your Mom or ask

your Dad!

• Psychoactive Drugs a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods.

• Difference between legal (caffeine, Tylenol, diet pills, etc) and illegal drugs (cocaine, meth, heroine, etc).

• Using both, can still be drug dependant.

• Tolerance the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect.

• Alcoholic versus someone who only drinks occasionally. Will take more alcohol for the alcoholic to feel the effects.

• Withdrawal the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug.

• Can be both physical and psychological effects. Some drugs can be cut ‘cold turkey’, others need to be gradually diminished.

• Physical Dependence a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

• Psychological Dependence a psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions.

Effects of Psychoactive Drugs

• All psychoactive drugs have certain things in common.

 

• 1. They are able to cross the blood/brain barrier. In order for a psychoactive drug to affect consciousness, it must get through the biological filter that prevents other substances from reaching the brain.

• 2. They alter brain chemistry at the level of the neuron. Most psychoactive drugs act on neurotransmitters by;

• Blocking re-uptake. This intensifies the neurotransmitter’s effects in the synapse,

• Blocking receptor sites. This prevents the neurotransmitters from binding. This doesn’t allow neurotransmission to occur.

• Interfering with synthesis.

• Mimicking their effect. This causes the neurons to fire in the absence of the neurotransmitter.

• Altering the permeability of the cell membrane. This interferes with the metabolic processes in the neurons.

• 3. The effect of psychoactive drugs depends on dosage. There are varied degrees to the changes that are seen in behaviour. The range is from no change, with a low dosage, to toxicity or poisoning, with a high dosage.

 

• 4. Their effects are altered by prior experience with the psychoactive drug. Few of them produce the same effects in experienced users as they do in beginners.

• 5. Their effects depend on what the user expects will happen. This is especially so with alcohol and marijuana.

• 6. They can be habit forming. If a psychoactive drug produces pleasurable effects, some people choose to repeat the experience. During this time their bodies adapt to the presence of the psychoactive drug.

• 7. Psychoactive drugs sometimes stay attached to receptor sites and bind better to these sites than normal neurotransmitters. This is why some psychoactive drugs have an intense impact on the body and bodily processes.

Misconceptions About Addiction

• Addiction compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences.

• Myths

• Addictive drugs quickly corrupt. – Ex. If you take morphine for pain, it will lead to heroine addiction over time.

• Addictions cannot be overcome voluntarily without therapy. – Some treatment options may be required but can be overcome on their own.

• The concept of addiction applies to all pleasure-seeking behaviors. – Line between enjoying yourself and becoming and addiction.

Drug Classifications

Five categories of psychoactive drugs:

• 1. Depressants like alcohol and sedatives

• 2. Opiates (type of depressant) like heroin, morphine, methadone and codeine

• 3. Stimulants like caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and amphetamines

• 4. Hallucinogens like LSD and Ecstasy

• 5. Marijuana

3 Types of Psychoactive Drugs

• 1) Depressants drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

• Examples Include:

• A) Alcohol:

• Alcohol is the most familiar drug in our society. Ethyl alcohol or ethanol is the type of alcohol that is found in alcoholic drinks. It is a depressant. This means that it slows down your brain functioning. It can be man-made or produced when fruits, vegetables, and grains ferment. 

• Another kind of alcohol is called methyl alcohol or methanol. It is found in some household and industrial products like hairspray and antifreeze. It is poisonous to drink.

• Did you know that it takes one to two hours for an adult liver to break down the alcohol in one drink? If a person drinks more than this, the alcohol builds up in the body. If you have two drinks in one hour, then it could take up to four hours for the body to get rid of the alcohol.

• The short term effects of alcohol use may make a person:

• Feel more relaxed and sociable.

• Feel drowsy, dizzy and flushed.

• Do things that they would not normally do.

• Make poor decisions.

• Have trouble walking or moving.

• Have slurred speech and blurred vision.

• Have lowered blood pressure, breathing and pulse rates.

• Show aggressive or violent behaviour.

• Not be able to remember what they did or said. This is called a blackout.

• Pass out becoming unconscious.

• The long term effects of alcohol use may make a person:

• Have skin problems and stomach ulcers.

• Have vitamin deficiencies.

• Have decreased sperm production, impotency (the inability to have sexual intercourse), and infertility (the inability to have children).

• Experience mood and emotional changes.

• Have brain damage and memory loss.

• Have liver damage, heart problems and

circulatory problems.

• Drinkers can become psychologically dependent because they feel that they need the alcohol in order to function. They can also become physically dependent because their body reacts adversely to the absence of alcohol. Tolerance builds up the more the person drinks.

• When mixed with other drugs, alcohol can be very dangerous. Drinking a lot of alcohol very quickly is called chugging. This is usually done in drinking games. Drinking five or more drinks for males and four or more drinks for females is called binge drinking. Both of these can cause alcohol poisoning that results in vomiting, passing out and sometimes death. Immediate medical care is needed if a person shows signs of alcohol poisoning.

• B) Barbiturates drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment.

• Sedatives, also called hypnotics and tranquilizers, are drugs that reduce the activity level of neurons. This results in sluggish movement, relaxed muscles, and a sleepy state of consciousness.

• The drugs that belong in this category include:

• PCP (angel dust),

• Barbiturates which were used in sleeping pills, and

• Methaqualone or Quaaludes which are muscle relaxants.

• Because barbiturates can be lethal, interact with alcohol, impair memory and judgment, and are highly addictive, they have been replaced with newer forms of sedatives known as benzodiazepines. Valium and Xanax are examples. These are safer than barbiturates, but can still create dependency.

• The short term effects of benzodiazepine use may make a person:

• Have an irregular heartbeat

• Have a fever

• Feel drowsiness/tiredness

• Feel weakness

• Have blurred vision

• Have dry mouth

• Have diarrhea, upset stomach or constipation

• Have difficulty breathing or swallowing

• Experience changes in appetite

• Experience restlessness or excitement

• Have tremors or the inability to sit still

• Have difficulty urinating

• Have a severe skin rash

• The long term effects of benzodiazepine use may make a person:

• Experience poor memory

• Experience depression

• Feel confusion and disorientation

• Have the inability to feel emotional pleasure or pain

• If benzodiazepines are combined with other depressant drugs, like alcohol, a fatal overdose can occur.

• C) Opiates opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety.

• Opiates come from the poppy or are synthetically made.

• Examples of drugs that are in this category are:

• Heroin,

• OxyContin

• Morphine,

• Methadone and

• Codeine.

• Opiates are also called narcotics.

• Opiates depress neural activity and temporarily lesson pain and anxiety. If they are used correctly, they can relieve pain without after effects.

• The active ingredient in opium is morphine. Morphine is a strong sedative and pain relieving drug. Morphine works by preventing neurons from firing and releasing pain-signaling neurotransmitters into the synapse. This is why the pain messages can’t travel to the brain.

• Your body naturally produces endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that are linked to pain control and to pleasure. Our bodies naturally release endorphins when we experience trauma or long-term strain.

• Morphine acts as an agonist for endorphins. This means that opiates boosts the effects of the neurotransmitter, making them strong painkillers and mood elevators. Opiates cause drowsiness and euphoria associated with the endorphin levels.

• The short term effects of opiate use may make a person:

• Feel relief from pain

• Have very small pupils

• Have slowed breathing

• Feel drowsiness

• Have increased urination

• Have feelings of euphoria

• Experience nausea, vomiting, and constipation

• Have impaired judgment and coordination

• The long term effects of opiate use may make a person:

• Have chronic constipation

• Have muscle weakness

• Have weight loss and malnutrition

• Experience impotency, decreased sperm production, menstrual irregularities

• Have lung congestion

• Have heart and circulatory problems

• Opiate overdose can be lethal and can occur after the first use. This is as a result of the heart and lung functions slowing down to the point of stopping completely. People who inject opiates are at risk for HIV, AIDS, and hepatitis.

• The opiates are some of the most physically addictive drugs because they rapidly change brain chemistry and create tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms may include about a week’s worth of intense pain, hyperventilation, depression, high blood pressure, and diarrhea.

• OxyContin is a Central Nervous System depressant. It is used medically as a prescription painkiller to control moderate to severe pain, chronic pain, and pain related to cancer. If it is taken at the same time as alcohol it can cause serious and potentially fatal problems.

• Tolerance to OxyContin develops quickly and physical dependence on the drug is possible.

• 2) Stimulants drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

• Stimulants are drugs that raise the general level of activity in the nervous system. Commonly known stimulants are:

• Caffeine,

• Energy drinks,

• Nicotine,

• Cocaine, and

• Amphetamines drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes.

• Stimulants increase alertness and activity. In large amounts they cause nervousness, shaking movements or jitters, insomnia, and irregular heartbeats. Sometimes they cause anxiety or panic states that are accompanied by hyperventilation and lightheadedness. The heart rate increases, nerve cells fire more easily, and a person reacts more quickly or intensely to challenging situations.

• Stimulants mimic the function of the adrenal cortex in the brain that secretes adrenaline or epinephrine into the bloodstream,

• Caffeine

• Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant drug. Heavy coffee drinking (more that 5 cups a day) can lead to irregular heartbeats, insomnia, and nervousness. Did you know that if you drink grapefruit juice and coffee at the same time, the juice actually prevents an enzyme that normally removes caffeine from the blood from doing its job?

• Caffeine produces a state of wakefulness and alertness. When you are awake you accumulate the chemical adenosine in your body. What adenosine does is inhibit the arousal-producing neurons in the brainstem. Adenosine has a direct role in making us drowsy and inattentive when we are deprived of sleep. Caffeine has a molecular shape that is similar to adenosine. It occupies the same receptor sites so caffeine cuts the effects of adenosine and restores alertness.

 

• Like other psychoactive drugs sensitization and tolerance occur. Tolerance occurs when caffeine is taken in regular, high doses. The effect of the caffeine is reduced when this happens. Caffeine has the largest effect if it is used only occasionally or moderately. In a heavy user, it produces less effect. That is why a person who seldom drinks coffee may experience insomnia after having a cup of coffee at dinner, while a person who drinks a lot of coffee may be able to have a cup before bed with little effect.

• Nicotine

• Nicotine is the active ingredient in tobacco. The stimulating effects of nicotine are the same as for caffeine. Because nicotine is a stimulant it increases energy and alertness. When smokers haven’t had a cigarette for a while, they may go into withdrawal and feel jumpy. Smoking makes them feel calm – it gets rid of the withdrawal symptoms.

Psychoactive DrugsStimulants - Nicotine

• The short term effects of nicotine use may make a person:

• Have a short high, which lasts a few minutes to a half an hour, and is then followed by a period of relaxation

• Have increased heart rate and faster breathing due to higher levels of carbon monoxide in the blood. This makes the heart work harder because it can’t carry oxygen.

• Have an increased ability to concentrate

• Feel relief of depressed feelings

• Experience dizziness, coughing, diarrhea and vomiting

• Have a reduced appetite

• The long term effects of nicotine use may make a person:

• Experience mood swings and lack of energy

• Experience illness from various cancers

• Have chronic bronchitis and emphysema

• Have heart disease and stroke

• Have a weakened immune system

• Have digestive system problems

• Have problems with the healing of cuts and wounds

• Smokers can be psychologically dependent as well as physically dependent on nicotine. People who smoke do not develop a tolerance for nicotine. This means that they don’t need more to get the same effect.

• Withdrawal symptoms may include a loss of energy, feelings of depression, trouble concentrating, nervousness, irritability, headaches, and sleeping problems

• Amphetamines:• Amphetamines• Amphetamines are referred to as speed and uppers. A derivative of

amphetamine is methamphetamine or crystal meth.

• They stimulate neural activity, speed up body functions and are associated with energy and mood changes. Some people have reported that they could stay awake for 12 days at a time, eat very little and engage in nervous activity. After that they would crash and sleep for days on end. Most users have thin arms and legs because of the lack of nutrition. In fact what their bodies are doing is actually digesting their own muscles.

• Amphetamines mimic the effects of adrenaline. This is a neurotransmitter that stimulates body functions. Amphetamines force the release of adrenaline which would naturally be stored up for a time that it is needed.

•  • Repeated use of methamphetamine is associated with violent behaviour

and paranoia. This can cause long lasting decreases in dopamine and serotonin in the brain which are never restored to normal.

• The short term effects of amphetamine use may make a person:

• Feel an intense rush after smoking or injecting• Have more energy and be more alert• Feel extremely happy and excited• Feel less hungry• Have a dry mouth and cracked lips• Have big pupils and rapid eye movements• Have flushed and clammy skin• Have an increased heart rate and blood pressure• Be short of breath• Have trouble speaking• Act aggressively• Have convulsions, high body temperature and blood pressure• Have a stroke which can lead to death

• The long term effects of amphetamine use may make a person:• Have sores on their body from scratching imaginary bugs• Have damage to the inside of the nose• Have blurred vision and dizziness• Have feelings of rage• Experience weight loss • Have anxious feelings and the inability to get to sleep• Have psychotic episodes, paranoia, and hallucinations• Experience hyperalertness

• Continued use of amphetamines depletes the normal level of neurotransmitters. People who use amphetamines can become psychologically and physically dependent on the drug. Tolerance to the drugs occurs quickly, and more and more is needed to get the same effects. Withdrawal symptoms include depression, anxiety, tiredness, paranoia, and feelings of aggressiveness. Psychotic symptoms where the person doesn’t know what is or isn’t real and depressive symptoms may go on for months or even years after drug use has stopped.

• Methamphetamine a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with sped-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels.

• AKA: Speed, or Meth

Ecstasy (MDMA) a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.

• Cocaine

• Cocaine is a stimulant that comes from the coca plant. Cocaine crystals are called crack. Cocaine acts directly on the dopamine using areas of the brain by blocking the reabsorption of dopamine into the sending neurons at the synapse. The cocaine high from the excess of dopamine quickly wears off.

• The dopamine eventually is absorbed by the body. This is not done very quickly though. The neurons that produce pleasure messages no longer work properly. The user becomes instantly dependent and craves more cocaine.

• This has an enormous effect on the cardiovascular system which can in some cases lead to strokes or instant death. Users may also experience feelings of paranoia and suspiciousness.

• The short term effects of cocaine and crack use may make a person:

• Have enlarged pupils, dry mouth, and stuffy nose

• Experience feelings of euphoria

• Have more energy, alertness, less of a need to eat and sleep

• Have increased heart rate, blood pressure and breathing

• Experience anxiety, unpredictable or violent behaviour, and hearing or seeing things that aren’t really there

• Have headaches, chest pain, muscle spasms, nausea and fever

• The long term effects of cocaine and crack use may make a person:

• Have chapped skin under the nose

• Have throat and lung irritations

• Have headaches

• Experience sexual dysfunction

• Have memory, attention and behaviour problems

• Have weight and appetite loss

• Have tooth decay

• Have a weakened immune system

• Experience seizures, heart problems, or stroke

• Experience intense depression

• Experience paranoia and hallucinations

• Regular users of cocaine and crack can rapidly develop a powerful psychological dependence and a physical dependence. Tolerance does occur in some people. The withdrawal symptoms may include excessive sleep, depression, anxiety, hunger, irritability and intense cravings.

• Did you know that Freud prescribed cocaine in the early 1900s as a treatment for depression and chronic fatigue? Did you also know that in the late 1800s CocaCola put 60 milligrams from the coca plant in every serving of Coke? By 1904, CocaCola replaced the cocaine with caffeine.

Psychoactive DrugsStimulants - Cocaine

Psychoactive DrugsStimulants - Cocaine

• Hallucinogens psychedelic (“mind-manifesting”) drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.

• Hallucinogens are also called psychedelic drugs. Examples include:

• LSD

• Ecstasy

• Mescaline which is found in peyote buttons and

• Psilocybin which is found in psychoactive mushrooms.

• Hallucinogens cause a dreamlike state that has dramatic changes in thought and emotion. The state is similar to a waking dream or a temporary psychosis. Hallucinogens sometimes cause hallucinations.

• The effects are caused by the reduction in the neurotransmitter serotonin. Some amount of these drugs remains in the body for weeks. If the user ingests the drugs again, the new dose of the chemical is added to the lingering amount creating more dangerous effects.

• LSD a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid (lysergic acid diethylamide).

• Near Death Experience an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations.

• Marijuana contains THC

• THC the major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations.

Influences of Drug Use – Brainstorm! Pages 208 - 210

• Biological Influences

• Psychological and Social-Cultural Influences

Psychoactive Drugs

Levels of Analysis for Drug Use