Exam 2 sleep Flashcards
What is sleep?
Periodic, natural loss of consciousness that differs from being in a coma, anesthetized, or passed out.
From an evolutionary standpoint, why do we sleep?
helps us survive
What is Process C?
This is a biological clock in your brain that regulates alertness based on the time of day.
What is the role of sunlight in Process C?
Sunlight “sets” your biological clock and causes a decrease in the production of melatonin
What is the role of darkness in Process C?
It causes an increase in the production of melatonin
What is the role of melatonin in Process C?
To signal the brain it is dark and time to go to bed
What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and what role does it play in Process C?
In the hypothalamus and detects light impulses traveling through the optic chiasm on their way to the vision center of your brain.
It also influences melatonin release in the pineal gland.
What is Process S?
Caused by the accumulation of the neurotransmitter adenosine.
Makes you sleepy when enough has been accumulated.
What is the role of adenosine in Process S?
As your awake, adenosine builds up in your brain and sleeping is the only way to get rid of it. This lowers the influence of wakeful areas of the brian
What does adenosine do
it lowers the influence of brain regions that promote wakefulness and increases the influence of sleep-inducing regions.
How does caffeine affect Process S?
Caffeine is an adenosine antagonist that blocks adenosine receptors, so it prevents adenosine from making you sleepy
What is a caffeine crash?
When the caffeine is gone and no longer blocking adenosine, you experiance a massive does of adenosine (because it doesnt stop building up) which causes intense drowsiness
Why do you feel a surge of wakefulness in the morning after staying up all night?
Because you were flighting process S (adenosine) but at a certin point in the morning, process C kicks in with the light and causes alertness
How does an EEG work?
Electrodes are placed on the scalp and it measures electrical activity in the brain.
It records the electrical activity of large groups of neurons in the cerebral cortex
produces a plot of waves of activity in the brain that can be analyzed.
EEG full name is
Electroencephalogram