Psychoactive Drugs - Sleep + Deams Flashcards
What Are Psychoactive Drugs?
Chemical Substances that alter mood and perception (consciousness)
What is Tolerance/Neuroadaptation?
Alters brain chemistry, when a drug requires larger doses to get the same effect -> what leads to addiction
What is withdrawal?
The body responding to a drugs absence
-physical pain
-intense cravings
What is addiction
compulsive craving for a substance despite the consequences
what are the 3 main types of psychoactive drugs?
-Depressants
-Stimulants
-Hallucinogens
What are depressants?
reduces neural activity and functions
Examples of depressants
-Alcohol
-Opiates
-Barbituates
What do depressants effect?
-perception (visual, memory, judgment)
-motor processes
-more aggressive
What can happen to the hippocampus long term due to alcohol effects?
It can shrink
Why do people often lose their memories after drinking alcohol?
Because it effects the hippocampus which is in charge of memories
What are expectancy effects?
Kind of like placebo effect, alcohol will work just how you imagine it would work.
What are barbiturates/tranquilizers?
depressant - mimics effects of alcohol
reduces anxiety but impairs memory and judgment
what could a nickname for barbiturates be?
“truth serum” - lowers peoples guards and makes them more talkative
What are opiates + derivatives?
a depressant - examples include morphine and heroin. depresses neural activity.
What are opiates an agonist for?
Endorphins!! they mimic the effects. (aka, brain stops producing opiates
What are stimulants?
Speeds bodily processes - more powerful one scan give feelings of invincibility.
What is caffeine?
a stimulant - found in many daily drinks
in high doses can increase anxiety, headaches, and insomnia
What are amphetamines?
Stimulant
-Methamphetamine (speed) used to stay awake and very addictive.
Can trigger the release of dopamine, leaving you permanently depressed.
What is nicotine?
stimulant
found in tobacco - either sedative or stimulating
affects neurotransmitters and increases heartbeat/breathing
what is Ecstacy (aka MDMA)?
stimulant + hallucinogen
euphoric high - damages seratonin producing neurons which trigger dopamine release
releases seratonin and blocks reabsorbtion
What is cocaine?
stimulant
blocks reabsorbtion of extra dopamine
increased alertness and motivation
What are hallucinogens?
substances that disturb sight and sound
Examples of synthetic halluciongens?
LSD and MDMA
What is LSD?
(Lysergic Acid Piethylamide)
Hallucinogen
Blocks seratonin action + makes you psychotic like a near death experience
What is Marijuana/THC?
hallucinogen
distortion of time
anxiety
depression
schizophrenia
3 factors that lead to drug abuse?
Biological, psychological, socio-cultural influances
What is waking consciousness?
the awareness of ourselves and our environment
thoughts, feelings, and perception
reflecting and planning ahead
What are altered states of consciousness?
mental states noticeable different from normal
what are the 3 states of consciousness?
spontaneous - daydreaming
psychological - meditation or hypnosis
psysiological - hallucination, starvation
what is circadian rhythms?
physical, mental, and behavioral changes
-24 hour cycle
-temperature changes
-responds to light and dark
what is the SCN (super chiasmatic nucleus)?
the “master clock”
group of nerve cells that control different rhythms located in the hypothalamus
4 different types of biological rhythms
Annual - migration, hibernation
28-day - menstrual cycles
24 hour - sleep, body temperature
90-minute - various stages of sleep
Which brain waves are associated with being awake and alert?
beta waves
Which brain waves are associated with being awake and relaxed? (twilight)
Alpha waves
Which brain waves are associated with sleep stages 1-2?
Theta waves
Which brain waves are associated with sleep stages 3-4?
Delta waves
what is REM sleep?
Rapid eye movement sleep when vivid dreams occur. while asleep, still experiencing beta wave like conditions.
In which stage do you feel like you’re falling or jerking?
Stage 1
In which stage do you sleep talk or walk?
Stage 2
Which stage of sleep is known as the transitional stage?
Stage 3
Which stage are your brainwaves the slowest and make you hard to wake up almost like you’re dead?
Stage 4
Which stage of sleep is known for REM sleep?
Stage 5
What are some consequences of sleep deprivation?
fatigue –> death
impaired concentration
emotional irratability
depressed immune system
What is REM rebound?
This is your body’s way of trying to catch up on its REM sleep. makes you delusional, confused, and irritated
How much sleep do adults need on average every day?
8 hours each day.
What are 5 reasons we sleep?
protection, recouperation, (restoring brain tissue) remembering, creativity, and growth.
What is insomnia?
Difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep
Sleepwalking and Sleeptalking
Usually during stage 4 sleep, occurs in mainly children
What are night terrors?
Episodes of fright that occur during stages 3 or 4 of NREM sleep NOT THE SAME AS NIGHTMARES
What is sleep apnea?
Person stops breathing momentarily during sleep
What is Narcolepsy?
Suddenly falling asleep without warning during waking hours
What is REM Behavior Disorder
That’s when your body doesn’t get paralyzed during sleep so you like act it out irl.
what is Sleep Paralysis?
Body fails to undo the paralysis briefly upon waking.
What do we dream?
a sequence of images, emotions and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind.
what are Lucid Dreams?
are dreams in which you become aware that you are dreaming and you can control aspects of your environment in the dream.
Why do we dream?
To satisfy our own wishes:
To file away memories (information processing):
To develop and preserve neural pathways (Physiological function):
To make sense of neural static (activation-synthesis theory)
To reflect cognitive development
What is Freud’s wish fulfillment?
Dreams provide a psychic safety valve to discharge unacceptable feelings from the Id.
what is latent content?
underlying meaning of a dream
what is manifest content?
the storyline of a dream
What is Information processing?
Dreams help us sort
through the day’s events
What is Physiological function?
To develop/preserve neural pathways
What is activation synthesis?
combining the activation of different brain cells and existing knowledge- how we interpret dreams
what is the Cognitive theory of dreaming?
Dreams overlap with waking cognition, coherent speech
