The beginning of the chapter discusses the elements involved in analyzing consciousness and on the different perspectives taken on consciousness. Significant study and research didn't begin until the late 1960's. New developments in medical technology, such as MRI's, CAT scans, and PET scans were major contributions to the rise in research. Cognitive science and cognitive psychology are two major fields that deal with the study of the consciousness. Functions and levels of consciousness are also discussed.
             Consciousness is described as an awareness of your senses. Non-conscious, preconscious and unconscious are all different levels of consciousness. Non-conscious is a level of mental activity that is buried and unable to be accessed. Preconscious is something that one may not be currently conscious of, but can be summoned forth at any moment. Consciousness is not something that can be turned on or off; in fact, sometimes people process things in their consciousness and are unaware of it. Within the margins of consciousness there are different states of consciousness. When someone is in a state outside the normal experience of consciousness, they are in a state of altered consciousness. Hypnosis and meditation are relatively little researched subjects in the study of consciousness. The effects produced by hypnosis and meditation both produce states of altered consciousness. Along with the altered states that hypnosis and meditation produce, the ramifications of psychoactive drugs are discussed. The chapter classifies the differences between a wide variety of drugs and the properties that each class of drugs have.
             Sleeping and dreaming is discussed in depth. The purpose of sleep and sleep rhythms are explained. Various stages of sleep and the corresponding mind states during each stage are discussed, as well as the different brain waves that occur. Topics also covered in the sleep section ...