Chapter 3 Flashcards
Constructs
concepts that require a belief in something that cannot be seen or touched, but seem to exist because of their effect on behavior - ex: love, hate
Consciousness
the subjective awareness (or perception) of environment and of one’s own mental processes (External and Internal components)
○ Some psychologists (such as Behaviorists - Watson) believe that the science of Psychology should not deal with the question of consciousness at all
○ Now, psychologists view the unconscious track as one that operates without awareness
Consciousness as Sensory Awareness
experiencing you environment through perception of sensory stimulation (in watered down terms: awareness of the world around us)
i. We adapt to our environment by learning what stimuli must be attended to and which can be ignored
Consciousness as Direct Inner Awareness
knowledge of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and memories without using sensory organs such as touch or smell; the subjective self
Consciousness as an Altered State
states other than normal waking awareness, including daydreaming, sleep, meditation, the distorted perceptions produced by drugs, or [debated] hypnosis
Preconscious
material that is not in awareness but can be brought into awareness by focusing one’s attention; easy to retrieve/bring to mind
Subconscious
unavailable to awareness under most circumstances
i. Freud called this ‘unconscious’
Nonconscious
incapable of being experienced either through sensory awareness or direct inner awareness
Hypnosis
an altered state of consciousness during which people respond to suggestion and behave as though they are in a trance
i. Not everyone can be hypnotized
ii. Today, it is used in areas from entertainment to surgery to cessation therapy
i. Not valid for use in courtroom testimony, and sketchy as treatment for psychological disorders
Sleep
a periodic, natural reduction of consciousness
○ Sleeping alters our consciousness by reducing alertness, awareness, and perception of events around us
circadian rhythms
Much of how people, animals and even plants function is governed by *(Latin for ‘around the day’) (aka “biological clocks”)
humans- a cycle of change (such as temperature or wakefulness) which occur about every 24 hours
EEG - sleep
Sleep researchers have discovered that we sleep in stages (determined by brain wave patterns measured by *)
electrodes that measure brain activity
Pre-sleep/sleep onset
When we close our eyes to relax before falling asleep, our brain slows
Stage 1 [NREM-1]
lightest stage of sleep from which you can be easily awakened
i. May be accompanied by a dreamlike state where we experience brief hallucinatory, dreamlike images
ii. This is when you may also experience that sensation of falling (at which moment, your body may suddenly jerk) or floating weightlessly - these are called hypnagogic sensations
Stage 2 [NREM-2]
has medium brain waves with short bursts of activity abt every 15 seconds
i. Sleep spindles - short bursts of neural activity. May possibly be tied to memory consolidation
Stage 3 [NREM-3]
is deep sleep
i. If/when awakened from this deep sleep, a person is groggy and confused
ii. It takes about an hour to go through the stages, then they cycle reverses itself (back to 2 and 1, then REM)
REM sleep
characterized by rapid eye activity under closed eyelids; brain waves resemble the waking state (aka paradoxical sleep) the body also typically experiences temporary paralysis
i. We tend to experience about 5 trips through the sleep staged each night (8 hours of sleep)
ii. As the night goes on, Stage 3 sleep gets shorter and REM grows longer
Sleep Functions
○ Helps us recuperate
○ Sleep helps store/restore memories (Consolidation)
Consolidation
○ Sleep helps store/restore memories
i. During sleep, recent experiences stores in the hippocampus are shifted to permanent storage in the cortex - good or bad
ii. Deprivation of REM sleep -> REM sleep appears to be linked to learning or memory retrieval
REM rebound
following REM deprivation, the tendency for REM sleep to increase
Activation-synthesis theory
i. We tend to dream about the events of the day because the most current neural activity of the cortex would be that which represented the events or concerns of the day
Insomnia
the inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep
i. Sleep-onset: difficulty falling asleep
ii. Difficulty remaining asleep through the night
iii. Shown to have more anxiety; have more muscle tension; are more depressed
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
i. Condition in which person physically and/or vocally acts out dreams during REM sleep; typically wake up easily and remember dream
Narcolepsy
i. Sufferers fall asleep suddenly into REM sleep (usually less than 5 min) at unpredictable and/or inappropriate times
ii. Medications (amphetamines) have helped some sufferers, but there is no known cure
iii. Happens more at emotional (good or bad) times
Apnea
i. Sleepers stop breathing (from seconds to minutes) repeatedly through the night
ii. Can be treated with a CPAP nasal mask or surgery
Sleepwalking
(Somnambulism)
i. Excursions the person does not remember because they take place in very deep stages of sleep (not REM); tends to run in families
Agonist
molecule that mimics/increases a neurotransmitter’s action
Antagonist
molecule that inhibits/blocks a neurotransmitter’s action
Psychoactive drug
a chemical substance that alters perception or mood; has psychological and physiological effects
Addiction
the body’s desire/need for a drug, just to feel ‘normal’
Tolerance
habituation to a drug so that with regular use, higher doses are required to achieve similar effects
Withdrawal
discomfort and distress that follows discontinuing an addictive drug or behavior; psychological and/or physiological symptoms
Depressants
○ Increase GABA (an inhibitory NT) reduced activity in neural circuits
○ Act by slowing body functions and reducing neural activity
○ Alcohol
Alcohol
i. Can serve as a relaxant in low doses
ii. Most abused drug in America
Effects:
i. Directly affects cerebellum. Hence the drunken stagger and slur after a few drinks
ii. Large doses can cause blackouts - which affects REM sleep (thus memory formation)
iii. Affects hippocampus
Pain Relievers
Opiates
Heroin
Opiates
(Opioid - synthesized in a lab) narcotics derived from the opium poppy
i. When repeatedly flooded with opiate/opioids, the brain stops producing endorphins and dopamine, leading to painful withdrawal… and thus many OD
Heroin
the ‘hero’ to cure dependence on Morphine
Categories of Drugs
Depressants
Stimulants
Hallucinogens
Stimulants
○ Act to speed up body functions and excite neural activity
caffeine and cocain
Caffeine
most widely used stimulant. Found in many foods and drinks (coffee and coca beans, tea leaves)
i. Boosts concentration and speeds up reaction time by activating prefrontal cortex; stimulates release of adrenaline, thus the jitters
cocaine
a powerful stimulant that produces a state of euphoria, deadens pain, and boosts self-confidence
i. By binding to receptor sites and blocking reuptake, extra dopamine remains in the synapse, but when levels finally drop, the user experiences a crash
Hallucinogens
○ Drugs that produce hallucinations by distorting perceptions/producing sensory experiences
○ Marijuana - produced from the cannabis sativa plant
i. The major psychedelic substance in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol); floods dopamine
ii. Impairs cognition, motor coordination, and perceptual functions
