brain states and consciousness Flashcards
what are inattentional blindness and change blindness?
inattentional- failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere (ex: missing things on the sides of the road cause you’re so focused on driving on the road)
change- failing to notice changes in the environment due to selective attention (ex: asking the wrong waiter for a check)
how does light affect the SCN, and how are the pineal gland and melatonin involved in our sleep-wake cycle?
gets darker –> SCN tells pineal gland to secrete melatonin
gets lighter –> SCN tells pineal gland to stop secreting melatonin
when the pineal gland is activated it produced melatonin which causes drowsiness and continues to be emitted through night when its dark.
what is REM sleep? what happens during REM sleep?
rapid eye movement. brain waves resemble wakefulness. eyes move back and forth. heart rate, blood pressure, breathing-rapid or irregular. sleep paralysis could happen. a person’s eyes often dart around, even though they are closed. brain waves become rapid. you dreammmmm. you are essentially paralyzed in this state.
what are the 3 stages of N-REM sleep? when is growth hormone released from the pituitary gland?
n1- light sleep. brief. you may experience images resembling hallucinations and your brain may later treat them as real memories (ex: you’re convinced you got abducted by aliens after going to sleep)
n2- true sleep, reductions in heart rate and muscle tension, brain activity slows. you could be waken up somewhat easily but you’re clearly asleep.
n3- deep sleep. further slowing of brain activity. hard to awaken, disoriented when awakened. growth hormones released from pituitary gland. your brain emits delta waves. you would be hard to wake in this state. (ex: someone asks if you heard the thunder last night and you didn’t, you were in n3 sleep)
