Chapter 5: Consciousness Flashcards
Consciousness
A person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind. eg/Alertness, self-awareness etc..
minimal consciousness
low-level sensory awareness and responsiveness that occurs when the mind inputs sensations and may output behaviour
full consciousness
you know and are able to report your mental state
cognitive unconscious
the processing of perception, memory, learning, thought, and language without being aware of it
circadian rhythm
the physical, mental, and behavioral changes an organism experiences over a 24-hour cycle, Light and dark have the biggest influence on circadian rhythms
suprachiasmatic nucleus
affects alertness and sleep by causing the pineal gland to decrease melatonin production in the morning and increase production in the evening
sleep stages
patterns of brain waves and muscle activity that are associated with different types of consciousness and sleep
the sleep cycle
patterns of shifting through all the sleep stages over the course of the night
beta and alpha waves
awake and alertness generates beta waves and drowsy and relaxed generates alpha waves
stage 1: falling asleep
breathing slows down, may encounter hypnagogic hallucinations, brain waves become slower and irregular (4-7Hz)
stage 2: sleep
beginning of sleep, sleep spindles and k complexes occur here
stage 3/4: deep sleep
deeper sleep state where brain activity slows in delta waves (3 Hz)
stage 5: REM sleep
deepest stage of sleep, the brain becomes more active (BW 25Hz) and eyes start to moving rapidly, REM, dreams take place durning REM sleep
What happens durning REM sleep
- heart rate rises and breathing becomes rapid
- '’sleep paralysis’’ occurs when brainstem blocks motor cortex’s messages/muscles don’t move
- genitals are aroused stay that way after REM
paradoxical sleep (REM)
when the brain is active but the body is immobile
insomnia
persistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep causes/caused by depression, anxiety or stress
narcolepsy
sudden sleep attacks durning waking activity may collapse into REM sleep and last from 30secs to 30mins
sleep apnea (‘‘with no breath’’)
repeated awakening after breathing stops; time in bed is not restorative sleep caused by age/excess weight
night terrors
the sudden arousal from deep sleep with intense fear accompanied by physiological reactions (eg, rapid heart rate, perspiration)
sleepwalk/sleeptalk
a deep sleep disorder which is usually harmless and not recalled the next day occur in deep sleep and affect kids
Freud’s wish fulfillment
dreams provide a psychic safety valve to get rid of bad feelings
Activation-synthesis theory
dreams are the brain’s way of making sense of random electrical signals durning REM sleep. Dreams don’t have special meanings
psychoactive drug
chemicals that, when they get into the body, change what you think and feel and/or how you act. agonists/antagonists
physical dependence
the body has been altered in ways that create cravings for the drug
