Test #2 Flashcards
What is consciousness?
Different levels of awareness of yourself and the world surrounding you
What are the 7 experiences that make up the continuum of consciousness? What do they do?
- controlled processes → requires focus and attention
- automatic processes → out of habit, requires less focus and attentions
- daydreaming → zoning out
- altered states → psychoactive drugs, medication and hypnosis
- sleep & dreams → most aware in dream state
- the unconscious (Freud) → our psyche that holds unwanted thoughts and feelings
- being unconscious → coma
What is the biological clock?
Internal timing devices set to have various physiological responses occur at certain times
What is an example of the biological clock?
- Menstrual cycle
- urine production (every few hours)
- body temperature (average 37)
What is a circadian rhythm?
They are bio clocks that ae set to 24 hour periods (approximately )
What is an example of a circadian rhythm?
- wake-sleep cycle
- body temperature
- blood pressure
What is the difference between biological clock and a circadian rhythm?
Biological clocks are set for various physiological responses for different periods of time meaning the length of the clocks are different, ranging from an hour to a day while circadian rhythms are a biological clock that is there to regulate physiological responses within 24h
What is the length of the human wake-sleep circadian rhythm?
24 hours and 18 minutes
What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus?
One of the many cell groups that make up the hypothalamus
Where in the brain id the suprachiasmatic nucleus?
It is located in the lower muddle of the brain
What is the function of the suprachiasmatic nucleus?
It is a biological clock that regulates the number of circadian rhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle.
How does light affect the wake-sleep cycle?
Because it receives direct input from the eyes, the suprachiasmatic cells are highly responsive to changes in light
What are some circadian problem experienced by shift workers and those who have jet lag?
If the circadian clocks are not properly reset, we may experience decreased cognitive performance, work-related and traffic accident and sleep disorders
What are some treatments for those who have jest lag or are shift workers?
Light therapy → uses a bright light to reset circadian clocks
Melatonin → hormone that is in the pineal gland but we can take melatonin pills now
What are the characteristics of REM sleep?
- 20% of sleep
- dreaming
- muscle paralysis (neck down) so we can’t move like that we dont act out our dreams
- heart rate increases
- Blood pressure increases
- respiration increases
- important for psychological repair
What ae the characteristics of non-REM sleep (NREM)
- 80% of sleep
- Important for physical repair
- muscle tone in all body (sleep walking happens in stage 4)
- heart rate decreases
- Blood pressure decreases
- respiration decreases
Wear is REM rebound and its effects on memory?
When an individual spends an increased percentage of time in REM sleep if they were deprived of REM sleep the previous night.
REM helps us store or encode information in our memory so when we dont get enough we havent had enough time to store it in the brain’s memory
What happens to the amplitude and frequency of brain waves as we go deeper into sleep?
As you get deeper into sleep the amplitude goes from low to high and the frequency goes from slow to faster then slow again.
REM sleep:
Low amplitude
High frequency
What are the 2 types of brain waves
Theta waves
Delta waves
Beta waves
Wha are the brain waves associated with each stage of sleep?
Alpha stage: alpha waves have low amplitude and high frequency
Stage 1: theta waves; low amplitude & low frequency
Stage 2: sleep spindles; high frequency
Stage 3 & 4: delta waves; very high amplitude and low frequency
REM: high frequency and low amplitude they are similar to beta waves
What are the characteristics associated with each stage of sleep?
Alpha stage: being relaxed, drowsy (before falling asleep)
Stage 1: transition from awake-sleep, gradually lose responsiveness, drifting thoughts & images
Stage 2: muscle tension, HR, respiration and Body temp decreases, it becomes harder to wake up
Stage 3 & 4: Hr, respiration, temperature and blood flow are reduced and it is marked by a secretion of growth hormone. REM: body is physiologically aroused but muscles are paralyzed. REM is associated with dreaming.
What is the roller coaster of sleep
Sleep is a series of recurring stages, similar to the up’s and downs of a roller-coaster ride.
How many REM periods do we have in a typical night sleep?
5
As sleep progresses what happens to the length of REM and NREM stages 3 &4?
NREM 3 &4 disappear towards the end of sleep
REM sleep increases from a few minutes early on to an hour or so later
When do nightmares occur?
REM
What are the changed across the life span in morning or evening preferences
Young people tend to prefer evenings
Midlife bring an equal balance of evening people and morning people
Later adulthood, most people shift to a morning preference
What are some cognitive differences between morning and evening people
Morning people were more alert in morning classes and performed better in the morning. Evening people who had morning classes had more attention issues and poorer performance they also are more irked in the day.
What are some behavioural differences between morning and evening people
Morning people are more conscientious introverts while evening people tend to be impulsive extroverts
How many hours do most Americans sleep
7-7.9 hours a night
What is the difference between adult sleep patterns, teens, seniors and children
Infants sleep 17 hours a day, children need about 10 hours, adolescents need 9 hours and adults sleep 7-8 hours and seniors 6.5 hours
What is the repair theory?
Activities during the say show key factors in our brain or body that are replenished o repaired by sleep. The repair theory says that sleep is primarily a restorative process
1. There is a secretion of growth hormone
2. There is increased production of immune cells to fight infections
3. During wakefulness there is a decline in the brains energy stores which is glycogen which are restored rusting sleep and needed for normal functions
What is the adaptive theory?
Sleep evolved because it prevented early humans and animals from wasting energy and exposing themselves to the dangers of nocturnal predators.
What is Freud’s theory of dream interpretation?
Psyche censor that turns disturbing impulses and thoughts into dream symbols. They manifest the surface meaning of dreams. There is a symbolic meaning behind dreams
What is the activation synthesis theory?
From brain scans we know the frontal lobe activity (cognitive control) decreases but limbic (emotional) and occipital (visual) activity increases
What are the effects of sleep deprivation?
On the body: can lead to serious health problems, it can compromise out immune system, increase production of stress hormones, elevates blood pressure and increased risk for heart issues
On the brain: increases activity of the emotional centres of the brain leading to irritability and ability to make rational or logical decisions decreases
What is seasonal affective disorder?
A pattern of depressive symptoms such as loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities. Depressed feelings cycle with the seasons typically beginning in fall or winter and going away in spring when the days are longer and sunnier. Along with depression is lethargy, excessive sleepiness, overeating, weight gain and craving for carbohydrates.
Do Americans or Icelanders experience this disorder more frequently? What is a possible explanation for this difference?
Americans
The lower frequency of SAD in Icelanders is because of genetic and cultural differences such as learning how to deal with isolation ne living in harsh environments
What are some typical characteristics of dream?
- motion such as running or walking
- more likely to take place indoors tan outside
- they are filled with visual sensations but rarely inclue sensations of taste, smell or pain
- they seem biz are because we disregard physical laws by flying or falling without injury
- they may be recurrent
- they more frequently involve emotions of anxiety or fear rather than joy or happiness because the amygdala i activated
- they rarely involve sexual encounters and are almost never about sexual intercourse
- rarely we control what we dream about
- dreams usually have visual imagery and are in colour sighted people but people that ar blind from birth dreams are never visual only tactile