modules 8-10 - sleep, drugs, and consciousness Flashcards
What states of consciousness occur spontaneously?
Daydreaming, drowsiness, and dreaming
What states of consciousness are physiologically induced?
Hallucinations, orgasms, and food or oxygen starvation
What states of consciousness are psychologically induced?
Sensory deprivation, hypnosis, and meditation
What is the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity associated with mental processes of thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating?
Cognitive neuroscience
What are the limits of selective attention?
Selective attention allows us to focus on only a limited portion of our surroundings. Inattentional blindness explains why we don’t perceive some things when we are distracted. Change blindness, for example, happens when we fail to notice a relatively unimportant change in our environment.
What are the mind’s two tracks, and what is dual processing?
Our mind simultaneously processes information on a conscious track and an unconscious track, and through this dual processing we organize and interpret information.
What is the place of consciousness in psychology’s history?
After initially claiming consciousness as their area of study in the 19th century, psychologists abandoned it, turning instead to the study of observable behaviour in the early twentieth century because it was too difficult to study scientifically. Since the 1960, it has reclaimed its place as an important area of research, such as in cognitive neuroscience.
How does selective attention direct our perceptions?
We selectively attend to and process a very limited portion of incoming information, blocking out much and often shifting the spotlight of our attention from one thing to another. Focused intently on one task, we often display inattentional blindness to other events, including change blindness.
What is dual processing according to today’s cognitive neuroscience?
The mind processes information on both a conscious level (sequential processing) and an unconscious level (parallel processing). The first is best for solving new problems that require our attention, while the second takes case of the routine business. Together, this dual processing affects our perception, memory, attitude, and other cognitions.
What are the sleep stages?
REM, N1, N2, N3; normally we move through N1, then N2, then N3, then back up through N2 before we experience REM sleep.
The __________ nucleus helps monitor the brain’s release of __________, which affects our __________ rhythm.
suprachiasmatic; melatonin; circadian.
What are the five possible reasons psychologists offer for the need to sleep?
- Sleep has survival value;
- Sleep helps us recuperate and restore our immune system;
- Sleep helps restore and rebuild our fading memories of they day’s experiences;
- Sleep feeds creative thinking;
- Sleep enhances the growth process.
Disorder characterized by ongoing difficulty falling or staying asleep
Insomnia
Disorder characterized by sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness
Narcolepsy
Disorder characterized by breathing stopping repeatedly while sleeping
Sleep apnea
Disorders characterized by doing normal waking activities while asleep.
Sleepwalking and sleeptalking: Sleepwalking happens in N3 sleep and sleeptalking can occur during any stage.
Disorder characterized by appearing terrified, talking nonsense, sitting up, or walking around during N3 sleep; different from nightmares.
Night terrors
Which insomnia treatments typically aggravate the problem by reducing REM sleep?
Sleeping pills and alcohol
Which dream theory states that dreams provide a “psychic safety valve” expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; dreams contain manifest (remembered) content a deeper layer of latent (hidden meaning) content?
Freud’s wish-fulfillment dream theory, but it lacks any scientific support and dreams can have multiple interpretations.
Which dream theory states that dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories?
Information-processing dream theory, but dreams can be about past events or things outside of personal experience.
Which dream theory states that regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways?
Physiological function dream theory, but this does not explain the experience of meaningful dreams.
Which dream theory states that REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories?
Activation synthesis dream theory; but the individual’s brain is weaving the stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer.
Which dream theory states that dream content reflects dreamers’ level of cognitive development, their knowledge, and their understanding; dreams stimulate our lives, including worst-case scenarios?
Cognitive development dream theory, but it does not propose an adaptive function of dreams.
What is sleep?
The periodic, natural loss of normal consciousness, as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation.
