Chapter 5 Flashcards
Consciousness
Our perception of what is going on in our minds.
- perception of what’s going on around us
- sense of time passing
- sense of being aware
- recollection of past events
- imaginings about the future
- (covert behavior; things you can’t see)
Easy problem of consciousness
Determining the particular pattern of brain activity that underlies a relatively simple conscious experience.
Hard problem of consciousness
The question of how brain processes result in our personal conscious experience
Biological rhythm
A periodic, more or less regular fluctuation in a biological system.
Endogenous
Generated from within rather than by external cues.
Circadian rhythm
A biological rhythm with a period of about 24 hours.
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
An area of the brain containing a biological clock that governs circadian rhythms.
Melatonin
A hormone secreted by the pineal gland; it is involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms.
Internal desynchronization
A state in which biological rhythms are not in phase with one another.
Seasonal affective disorder
A controversial disorder in which a person experiences depression during the winter and an improvement of mood in the spring.
Rapid eye movement
Sleep periods characterized by eye movement, loss of muscle tone, and vivid dreams.
Sleep apnea
A disorder in which breathing briefly stops during sleep, causing the person to choke and gasp and momentarily awaken.
Narcolepsy
A disorder involving sudden and unpredictable daytime attacks of sleepiness or relapses into REM sleep.
REM behavior disorder
A disorder in which the muscle paralysis that normally occurs during REM sleep is absent or incomplete, and the sleeper is able to act out his or her dreams.
Consolidation
The process by which a memory becomes durable and stable.
