Chapter Seven Flashcards
Biological Rhythms
Periodic physiological fluctuations.
Includes: annual cycles; 28 day cycles; 24 hour cycles; 90 minute cycles
Consciousness
Our awareness of ourselves and our environment
Circadian Rhythm
The biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (like temperature, wakefulness) that occur on a 24 hour cycle
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
A pair of pinhead-sized clusters of 20,000 cells that control the circadian clock
Melatonin
Sleep-inducing hormone produced by the brain’s pineal gland
Adenosine
Chemical that inhibits certain neurons, making us sleepy
REM (Rapid Eye Movement Sleep)
A recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also called paradoxical sleep because the muscles are relaxed while other body systems are active.
Alpha Waves
The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
Sleep
Periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness- as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation.
Hallucinations
False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
Hypnagogic Sensations
Life-like hallucinations that occur shortly after falling asleep (stage 1), such as the feeling of falling or floating
Sleep Spindles
Bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity occurring in stage 2
Delta Waves
The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
Insomnia
Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.
Affects 10-15% of adults.
Narcolepsy (“numbness seizure”)
A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.
Affects 1 in 2000.
Hypocretin
A neurotransmitter released by the hypothalamus that, when absent, causes narcolepsy
Sleep Apnea
A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.
Affects 1 in 20.
Night Terrors
A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during stage 4 sleep, within 2-3 of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered.
Dream
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.
Lucid Dream
Dreams in which the dreamer is aware they are dreaming
Manifest Content
According to Freud, the remembered storyline of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content)
Latent Content
According the Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content). Freud believed that a dream’s latent content functions as a safety valve.
REM Rebound
The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)
Freud’s Wish-Fulfillment Dream Theory
Dreams provide a “psychic safety valve”- expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; contain manifest (remembered) content and a deeper layer of latent content- a hidden meaning.
Lacks any scientific support; dreams may be interpreted in many different ways.
Information-Processing Dream Theory
Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories.
Poses the question: Why do we sometimes dream about things we haven’t experienced?
Physiological Function Dream Theory
Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways.
This may be true, but it doesn’t explain why we experience meaningful dreams.
Activation-Synthesis Dream Theory
REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories.
The individual’s brain is weaving the stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer.
Cognitive Dream Theory
Dream content reflects the dreamer’s cognitive development- their knowledge and understanding.
This theory doesn’t address the neuroscience of dreams.
Hypnosis
A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur
Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)
Austrian physician who mistook hypnotism for “animal magnetism”, causing Benjamin Franklin to equate hypnotism with quackery
Hypnotic Ability
The ability to focus attention totally on a task, to become imaginatively absorbed in it, to entertain fanciful possibilities
Age Regression
Hypnotic effect that involves recalling or reenacting your childhood.
60 years of research dispute age regression claims.
Posthypnotic Suggestion
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
Dissociation
A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others
Social Influence Theory
By Theodore Barber
Attention is diverted as the subject is so caught up in the hypnotized role that they ignore the present stimulus
Divided-Consciousness Theory
Made by Ernest Hilgard, an American psychologist.
Suggests that attention is diverted as hypnosis causes a split in awareness.
Psychoactive Drug
A chemical substance that alters perception and mood
Tolerance
The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect
Neuroadaptation
When the brain adapts its chemistry to offset the effect of a drug
Withdrawal
The discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug
Physical Dependence
A physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued
Psychological Dependence
A psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions
Addiction
Compulsive drug craving and use
Depressants
Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
Barbiturates
AKA tranquilizers/sedatives
Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment
Opiates
Opium and its derivatives, such as morphs and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety
Stimulants
Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions
Amphetamines
Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes
Methamphetamine
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 do
Amine levels
Ecstasy (MDMA)
[Methylenedioxymethamphetamine]
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
Hallucinogens/Psychedelics
Drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
A powerful hallucinogenic drug created by chemist Albert Hoffman in 1943
THC (Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol)
The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations
Lingers in the body for a month, meaning regular users may achieve a high with smaller amounts of marijuana than occasional users need.
Alcohol
Depressant
Initial high followed by relaxation and disinhibition
Can cause depression, memory loss, organ damage, and impaired reactions
Heroin
Depressant
Rush of euphoria, relief from pain
Can cause depressed physiology, agonizing withdrawal
Caffeine
Stimulant
Increased alertness and wakefulness
Can cause anxiety, restlessness, insomnia in high doses, uncomfortable withdrawal
Methamphetamine (“Speed”, “Ice”)
Stimulant
Euphoria, alertness, energy
Can cause irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures
Cocaine
Stimulant
Rush of euphoria, confidence, energy
Can cause cardiovascular stress, suspiciousness, depressive crash
Nicotine
Stimulant
Arousal and relaxation, sense of well-being
Can cause heart disease, cancer (from tars)
Ecstasy (MDMA)
Stimulant; Mild hallucinogen
Emotional elevation, disinhibition
Can cause dehydration, overheating, and depressed mood, cognitive, and immune functioning
Marijuana
Mild hallucinogen
Enhanced sensation, relief of pain, distortion of time, relaxation
Can cause impaired learning and memory, increased risk of psychological disorders, lung damage from smoke
Dopamine Reward Circuit
A brain pleasure pathway that uses addictive chemicals to command it and boost its activity. When you become tolerant to a drug, you no longer experience euphoria- the drug merely lifts the circuit out of depression and back to normal.
6 Warning Signs of Alcoholism
° drinking binges
° regretting things said/done when drunk
° feeling low/guilty after drinking
° failing to honor a resolve to drink less
° drinking to alleviate depression/anxiety
° avoiding family/friends when drinking
Near Death Experience
An altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations
Dualism
The presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact
Monism
The presumption that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing
