Consciousness, Sleep, and Altered States

failure to notice a change in a stimulus event

cyclical biological changes that take place on a roughly 24-hour schedule

subjective awareness of one's internal mental states and external environment

psychoactive drugs that reduce neural activity and slow bodily functions

theory that hypnosis represents an altered state in which consciousness is split into two components: a hypnotized component (the hypnotized self) and a nonhypnotized component (the hidden observer)

attending to multiple sources of information at once

reduced response to a drug following repeated use

theory that divides consciousness into an implicit system and explicit system

psychoactive drugs that distort perceptions and may trigger hallucinations

altered state of consciousness in which a person becomes highly suggestible

failure to notice an unexpected object or event when one's attention is focused on something else

disorder in which a person has a hard time falling or staying asleep

sleep phenomenon in which dreamers are aware they are dreaming and may be able to exert some control over dreams

chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to control sleep-wake cycles

episodes of screaming, intense fear, and flailing while still asleep

sleep stages in which rapid eye movements do not occur

psychoactive drugs that reduce pain

type of information processing in which some or all processes involved in a cognitive task occur simultaneously

drugs that alter consciousness

stage of sleep associated with dreaming, characterized by rapid eye movements

powerful urge to move the legs when lying down, sitting, or falling asleep

choosing certain stimuli in the environment to process while ignoring the rest

type of information processing in which some or all processes involved in a cognitive task occur one after the other

sleep disorder in which breathing interruptions occur frequently during sleep

inability to move the body just before falling asleep or just after waking up

walking about while still asleep

theory of hypnosis suggesting that hypnosis is a social role in which people hand over responsibility for their actions to the hypnotist and maintain a highly focused state of attention in which they are only dimly aware of what is happening around them

psychoactive drugs that increase neural activity and accelerate bodily functions

physiologically unpleasant symptoms that occur after a person abruptly reduces or stops long-term use of a drug