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MCAT psych/soc > chapter 4 > Flashcards

chapter 4 Flashcards

1
Q

consciousness

A

awareness that we have of our surroundings, our internal states, and ourselves

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2
Q

consciousness is important from a medical POV because

A

it’s not a steady state phenomenon; humans aren’t conscious all the time and consciousness can vary in terms of degree and quality

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3
Q

alertness

A

when we are paying especially close attention to the various forms of sensory input that we’re receiving

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4
Q

the structure in the brain most closely associated with alertness is the

A

reticualr formation and its subcomponent the RAS

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5
Q

deeper unconsciousness

A

when a person cannot be easily roused can occur due to loss of oxygen, trauma and drug use (anesthesia)

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6
Q

coma

A

when a person has lost consciousness and does not react normally to stimuli like light, sound, pain and does not make any voluntary motions and is not in a normal sleep/wake cycle

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7
Q

how do we record brain activity during sleep

A

electroencephalogram (EEG)

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8
Q

how do we record muscle activity during sleep?

A

electromyography (EMG)

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9
Q

how do we record eye activity as we sleep?

A
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10
Q

comprehensive sleep study is known as

A

polysomnographic study

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11
Q

when a person is fully awake, an EEG will pick up?

A

beta waves

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12
Q

beta waves have

A

high frequency and low amplitude and are not very sythmic

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13
Q

when we start getting fatigued and close our eyes but aren’t asleep yet, the EEG picks up?

A

alpha waves with a lower frequency

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14
Q

the highest level division of sleep is between what?

A

rapid eye movement (REM) and non rapid eye movement (nonREM)

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15
Q

REM sleep is also called

A

paradoxical sleep and shows brain waves similar to when a person is awake but muscle movement is very low

loosening of homeostasis occurs

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16
Q

majority of dreams happen during which kind of sleep

A

REM sleep

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17
Q

the stages of what become longer as the night progresses

A

REM

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18
Q

REM rebound

A

if we miss REM the night before, this night we catch up on REM

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19
Q

stage 1 of non REM sleep

A

characterized by theta waves which have an even lower frequency than alpha waves and tend to have low amplitudes

stage 1 sleep is quite light

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20
Q

deeper sleep is stage 2 nonREM where

A

eye motion stops and heart rate and breathing rate slow down

theta waves and K complexes and sleep spindles

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21
Q

K complexes

A

are periodic high-amplitude bursts

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22
Q

sleep spindles

A

are occasional high-frequency bursts of activity that are thought to play a role in memory consolidation

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23
Q

stage 3 non-REM is called

A

deep sleep

slow-wave sleep

slow/low frequency waves called delta waves but have high amplitude

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24
Q

stage 3 nonREM sleep is important for

A

memory processing and brain recovery

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25
general schematic of sleep cycle
26
in adults each sleep cycle is about in children it's about
90 minutes and 50 minutes
27
24-hour sleep wake cycle is known as the governed by what hormone
cyrcadian rhythm melatonin promotes drowsiness and cortisol promotes wakefulness
28
insomnia
makes it difficult to fall asleep
29
narcolepsy
involves excessive daytime sleepiness and abormal REM sleep, cataplexy or sudden loss of muscle control, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations
30
sleep apnea
occurs when a person is unable to breathe while sleeping due to physical pbstruction or problems with neural signalling
31
dyssomnias
disorders that interfere with whether or not sleep takes place
32
parasomnias
involve abnormal behaviour during sleep
33
sleepwalking (somnambulism)
during sleepwalking a person can talk, walk and engage in other activities while being fully asleep and not remember it the next day
34
night terrors and nightmares
when a person is suddenly plunged into the fight-or-flight response night terrors last 30sec-3mins
35
Sigmund Freud and dreams
dividing dreams into manifest content and latent content
36
manifest content
refers to the surface-level plotline and details of a dream
37
latent content
the hidden meaning of a dream
38
Freud and dream fulfillment
states that dreams provide a way to resolve a repressed conflict by allowing a person to visualize the satisfaction of a desire
39
activation-synthesis model
states that the activation of neurons in REM sleep results in a synthesis of that experiential input through dreaming
40
problem solving theory
views dreams as a way that the brain inconsciously processes and works through problems encountered in one's day to day life
41
cognitive theory
suggests that dreams reflect cognitive structures that play a role in our everyday lives, such as conceptions of slef, others, and the world
42
hypnosis
involves a practiotioner or hypnotist inducing a hyper-suggestible state in subject in that state the subject may respond normally to most stimuli but is extremely responsive to certain suggestions with effects that may persist even after the hypnosis session
43
meditation
quieting one's mind to focus one's attention more deliberately promotes more alpha and theta waves
44
caffeine
* is a stimulant so it increases the activity in the CNS * has an energizing effect or mimics the sympathetic NS * works by blocking receptors for adenosine (a compound that promotes drowsiness)
45
addiction
pattern of compulsive behaviour that persists despite negative consequences involves repeatedly engaging in some sort of process that triggers the brains reward pathway
46
dependence
do not show patterns of compulsive reward pathway usage of a substance but can have withdrawal symptoms
47
tolerance
heavy users get acustomed to the effects of a drug and need higher doses to get the same effect
48
nicotine
* stimulant * highly addictive
49
amphetamines
* class of stimulants that are derived from amphetamine * increase energy and alertness, promote concentration and focus and reduce appetite * negative side effects such as hypnosis and mood swings * adderall is trade name
50
MDMA/ecstasy/molly
* belongs to amphetamines * promotes empathy and pleasure * releases serotonin, norepinepherine, and dopamine * depression after use
51
cocaine
* a strong stimulant * works by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, dopamine and norepinepherine
52
depressants
reduce activity in the CNS which has psychological and physiological effects
53
alcohol (ethanol)
* depressant found in beer, wine, and spirits * enhances the action of GABA receptors so it makes the brain think its receiving more GABA input than it actually is (makes neurons fire less often slowing the brain down)
54
Karsakoff syndrome
psychiatric condition associated with the chronic alcoholism that involves amnesia (both anterograde and retrograde) * associated with lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine)
55
benzodiazepines and barbiturates
* 2 classes of depressants that increase GABA receptor activity * treats alcohol dependence * high risk of addiction * cannot be combined with alcohol
56
opiods
* cause sedation and sleepiness and respiratory depression, pain relief and euphoria * bind opioid receptors on neurons
57
morphine vs heroin
naturally occuring opiod is morphine while heroin is synthesized in the lab extremely potent endorphin agonists
58
hallucinogens and example
* distort perceptions * enhance sensory experiences * promote introspection * mimic sympathetic nervous system activation * LSD
59
marijuana
* major psychoactive constituent is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) * bind with cannabinoid receptors in the brain
60
reward pathway is also called the
mesolimbic pathway that has dopaminergic neurons
61
habituated
when a person requires a drug to function normally which means they are also dependent on it
62
attention
serves as a crucial link between perception and higher-level congnitive processes involving learning and memory
63
William James
described attention as having a focus, a fringe area we aren't paying attention to and a margin which lies between the focus and the fringe
64
Broadbent model of selective attention
posits that the dozens of input streams of sensory information undergo basic processing for things like colour, shape, etc. that enter a sensory buffer. the mind picks something to focus on, process, and assign meaning to from the sensory buffer and then the rest of the information in the buffer decays
65
shadowing
when subjects are asked to repeat words as soon as they hear them * tests attention a bit more directly * takeaway: we process the information stream that we're focusing on much more than the one we're not focusing on
66
cocktail party effect
describes how if you're in a room with a lot of different groups talking, you can be focused on teh conversation you're having with your group but if someone across the room mentions you by name, you'll immediately notice * in some level we are processing input that we're not directly paying attention to, so that we can immediately notice if something important happens
67
Anne Treismanman's attenuation model
proposed a modification to the Broadbent model according to which instead of passing through an all or nothing buffer, unattended-to-information is attenuated or reduced in intensity affter attenuation, particularly intense or important information might come to our attention
68
inattentional blindness
* when we're working on a focused task, we can definitely miss things happening in the background * found using gorilla experiment
69
change in blindness
* refers to failure to notice changes that take place between 2 stimuli * ex. you don't notice someone got a haircut or changed their shirt
70
multitasking
being able to reliably do multiple things at the same time but is unproductive after a certain point
71
simultaneous attention
Simultaneous Attention is the ability to multitask with success. It is the ability to move attention and effort back and forth between two or more activities when engaged in them at the same time.
72
sequential attention
switching back and forth between tasks
73
Daniel Kahneman model
we have an infinite amount of attention that we can allocate among various tasks, and the more demanding one of those tasks becomes, the less attention we can pay to others * we have a certain capacity for attention that we allocate among tasks, with the attention required for each task depending on our expertise, the difficulty of the task, our level of psychological arousal
74
Allport's module resource theory
* posits that instead of a central structure in the brain that allocates attention among all competing demands, we have distinct, specialized modules * this means we can multitask well as long as the tasks draw from different modules but will run into trouble if we try to do 2 similar tasks at the same time
75
controlled processing
takes place when we consciously focus on exactly how to carry out a task
76
automatic processing
takes place when we can more or less do something on autopilot
77
attention-defecit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
3 subtypes
78
inattentive type ADHD
* relate to difficulties in sustaining attention * symptoms include not paying close attention, having toruble sustaining attention on tasks, being easily distracted

MCAT psych/soc (12 decks)

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