Infradian & Ultradian Rhythms Flashcards
what is infradian rhythm
a type of biological rhythm with a frequency of less than one cycle in 24 hours
what are two example of infradian rhythms
menstruation and seasonal affective disorder
What is the menstruation cycle?
Monthly changes in hormone levels which regulate ovulation
How long is the menstrual cycle not in terms of days?
Between the first day of a woman’s period, when the womb lining is shed to the day before her period
How many days does a mental cycle usually last?
28 days, however it can be between 24 and 35
What happens first in the beginning of each cycle?
The levels of oestrogen increase, which cause the ovary to develop an egg and release it, which is known as ovulation
What is ovulation
When an egg is released
What happened after ovulation?
The hormone progesterone is released, which helps the lining of the womb to grow thicker, which enables to be prepared for pregnancy
What happens if pregnancy is not occurred
The egg is absorbed into the body, and the womb lining comes away and Leaves the body, which is known as menstrual flow, AKA period
What type of system is the menstrual cycle?
Endogenous
Despite the menstrual cycle, being an Endo genius system, how does evidence suggest otherwise
It suggests that exogenous factors influence a cycle
What type of exogenous factor is shown to influence menstrual cycles
Other woman’s cycles
Who did the study about period synchronisation
Stern and McClintock
How did Stern and McClintock study period synchronisation
Sample of pheromones were gathered from nine women at different stages of the cycle by pads which were worn for at least eight hours to ensure the pheromones were picked up. These padswere treated with alcohol and then frozen to be rubbed on the upper lip of all the participants and then on each day, they were given the pad correspondent for the day they were on.
What did Stan and McClintock believe influence menstrual cycle synchronisation
Pheromones
What was the result of stern and McClintock study?
They found that 60% of women experience changes to the cycle which brought them closer to the cycle of the outdoor donor
What is seasonal affective disorder?
It is a depressive disorder which has a seasonal pattern of onset and offset and is described and diagnosed as a mental disorder in the DSM five
What are the main symptoms of seasonal affective disorder?
They are similar to other forms of depression with low mood, alongside general lack of activity and interesting life
What is SAD often referred to and why?
Often referred to as the winter blues as the symptoms are triggered during the winter months when number of daylight hours become shorter
What type of infradian rhythm is SAD?
Circannual rhythm
What is a circannual rhythm
A rhythm which is subject to a yearly cycle
What are the type of rhythm is seasonal affective disorder classed as and why
Circadian rhythm because the experience of SAD may be due to the disruption of the sleep wake cycle which can be attributed to prolonged periods of daily darkness during winter
What is the implicated cause of SAD psychologist have hypothesised
The hormone melatonin
How do the production of the hormone melatonin?
In the night, the pineal gland secretes melatonin until dawn, when there is an increase in light, however, during winter, the lack of light in the morning means that the secretion of melatonin continues on for longer, which has a knock-on affect on the production of serotonin in the brain which is linked to onset depressive symptoms
What are ultradian rhythm
A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of more than one cycle in 24 hours such as the stages of sleep
How many stages of sleep have psychologists identified
5
How do these sleep stages differ from each other
Different level of brainwave activity
How are brainwave activity measured
EEG
What is stage 1 of the sleep cycle and what type of brainwaves is it?
Light stereo with alpha waves
In stage 1 how is frequency and amplitude described
High frequency and short amplitude
How does stage one and stage to differ?
In stage to the alpha waves continue, but there are occasional random changes in pattern. Wish I could sleep spindles.
What are sleep spindles, which is found in stage two of a sleep cycle
Occasional random changes in pattern
What is stage three and four in a sleep cycle? And describe brainwaves its associated with
Deep sleep or slow wave sleep which has delta waves
What type of frequency and amplitude do delta waves have?
Delta waves have lower frequency and higher amplitude
What is stage five known as in the sleep cycle?
REM sleep
What happens to the body during rem sleep?
The body is paralysed, the brain activity, closely resembles that of an awake brain
What type of brain waves are produced during rem sleep?
Theta waves
