chapter 3 consciousness and the two-track mind recall

Question 1

consciousness

Answer 1

our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Question 2

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 2

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Question 3

dual processing

Answer 3

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

Question 4

blindsight

Answer 4

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.

Question 5

selective attention

Answer 5

the focusing of conscious awareness on particular stimulus.

Question 6

inattentional blindness

Answer 6

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Question 7

change blindness

Answer 7

failing to notice changes in the environment.

Question 8

circadian rhythm

Answer 8

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

Question 9

REM sleep

Answer 9

rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.

Question 10

Alpha waves

Answer 10

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.

Question 11

Sleep

Answer 11

periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness-as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation.

Question 12

hallucinations

Answer 12

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

Question 13

delta waves

Answer 13

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

Question 14

Insomnia

Answer 14

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.

Question 15

narcolepsy

Answer 15

a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

Question 16

sleep apnea

Answer 16

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.

Question 17

Night terrors

Answer 17

a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terror occur during NREM-3 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered.

Question 18

Dream

Answer 18

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

Question 19

manifest content

Answer 19

according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content).

Question 20

latent content

Answer 20

according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content).

Question 21

REM rebound

Answer 21

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep).

Question 22

hypnosis

Answer 22

a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

Question 23

posthypnotic suggestion

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

dissociation

Answer 24

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

Question 25

psychoactive drug

Answer 25

a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods.

Question 26

tolerance

Answer 26

the diminishing effect with regular use of the some dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger does before experiencing the drug’s effect.

Question 27

addiction

Answer 27

compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences.

Question 28

withdrawal

Answer 28

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

Question 29

physical dependence

Answer 29

a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued.

Question 30

psychological dependence

Answer 30

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

Question 31

depressants

Answer 31

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

Question 32

alcohol dependence

Answer 32

(popularly known as alcoholism). Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal if suspended, and a drive to continue use.

Question 33

Barbiturates

Answer 33

drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment.

Question 34

Opiates

Answer 34

opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessoning pain and anxiety.

Question 35

Stimulants

Answer 35

drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, and methamphetamine) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Question 36

Amphetamines

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Nicotine

Answer 37

a stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco.

Question 38

Methamphetamine

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Ecstasy (MDMA)

Answer 39

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.

Question 40

hallucinogens

Answer 40

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

Question 41

LSD

Answer 41

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

Question 42

Near-death experience

Answer 42

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

Question 43

THC

Answer 43

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