Chapter 5: Conciousness Flashcards
Activation-synthesis hypothesis
- Dreams arise from brain activity originating from bursts of excitatory messages from the pons
Chronotype
The tendency to prefer to sleep earlier or later in given 24 hour period
Circadian Rhythms
Internally driven daily cycles of approx 24 hours affecting psychological and behavioral processes
Consciousness
A person’s subjective awareness, including thoughts, perceptions, experiences of the world, and self-awareness
Endogenous Rhythms
Biological rhythms that are generated by our body independent of external cues such as light
Entrainment
When biological rhythms become synchronized to external cues such as light, temperature, or even a clock
Insomnia
A disorder characterized by an extreme lack of sleep
Latent Content
the actual symbolic meaning of a dream built on suppressed sexual or aggressive urges
Jet Lag
The discomfort a person feels when sleep cycles are out of synchronization with the light and darkness
Manifest Content
The images and story lines that we dream about
Narcolepsy
A disorder in which a person experiences extreme daytime sleepiness and even sleep attacks
Night Terrors
Intense bouts of panic and arousal that awakens the individual, typically in a heightened emotional state
Nightmares
Particularly vivid and disturbing dreams that occur during REM sleep
Polysomnography
A set of objective measurements used to examine physiological variables during sleep
Preserve and protect hypothesis
Suggests that two adaptive functions of sleep are preserving energy and protecting the organism from harm
Problem-solving theory
The theory that thoughts and concerns are continuous from waking to sleeping, and that dreams may function to facilitate finding solutions to problems encountered while awake
REM behaviour disorder
A condition that does not show the typical restriction of movement during REM sleep; in fact, they appear to be acting out the content of their dream
REM Sleep
A stage of sleep that characterized by quickening brain waves, inhibited body movement, and rapid eye movements
Restore and repair hypothesis
The idea that the body needs to restore energy levels and repair any wear and tear experienced during the day’s activities
Sleep Apnea
A disorder characterized by the temporary inability to breathe during sleep
Sleep deprivation
Occurs when an individual cannot or does not sleep
Sleep displacement
Occurs when an individual is prevented from sleeping at the normal time although they may be able to sleep earlier or later in the day than usual
Somnambulism
or sleepwalking, a disorder that involves wandering and performing other activities while asleep
How does the sleep cycle work?
- stages from 1-4 then back down again and is followed by a REM stage.
- first sleep cycle lasts approx 90 mins
What stage is the longest in the first half of sleep?
- Deep sleep (stages 3 & 4) is the longest during the first half of the sleep cycle whereas REM phases increase the duration of the second half of the sleep cycle
What are the theories of why we sleep?
- restore and repair hypothesis
- preserve and protect hypothesis
Explain the restore and repair hypothesis
We sleep so the body can recover from stress and strain on the body that occurs during the day
- Waste products are more efficiently removed from the brain during this time
Explain the preserve and product
Sleep has evolved as a way to reduce activity and provide protection from potential threats, and reduce the amount of energy intake required
What was Freud’s theory about why we dream?
- believed that the manifest content of dreams could be used to uncover symbolic, latent content
What is the activation-synthesis theory?
- eliminates the meaning of dream content
- suggests that dreams are interpretations of haphazard electrical activity in the sleeping brain that are then organized to some degree by the cortex
Brain Death
A condition in which the brain, specifically including the brain stem, no longer function
Coma
A state marked by a complete loss of consciousness
Default mode network
A network of brain regions, that is most active when an individual is awake but not responding to external stimuli
Dissociation theory
Explains hypnosis as a unique state in which consciousness is divided into two parts: lower-level system involved with the perception and movement and an “executive” system that evaluates and monitors these behaviours
Hypnosis
A procedure or inducing a heightened state of suggestibility
Locked-in syndrome
When the patient is aware and awake but, because of an inability to move his or her body, appears unconscious