Topic 5 Flashcards
Sleep paralysis
Wake up during or going into/coming out of REM
The feeling of being conscious but unable to move
- Anxiety/terror
- feeling of menacing presence
- Intruder
Culture plays a role
Consciousness
Waking consciousness
- Our subjective experience of the world our bodies and our mental perspective
Altered states of consciousness
- Sleep paralysis
- Locke in syndrome
- Out of body
- Near death
- Mythical experiences
- Hypnosis
- meditation
- Psychoactive drugs
What is sleep
Low physical activity, receded sense of awareness
secretion of many hormones including
- Melatonin
- Follicle-stimulating hormone
- Luteinizing hormone
- Growth hormone
Stages of sleep
5 stages of sleep in 90min cycles
Stages 1 - 4: NERM
- No eye movements, fewer dreams
Stage 5: REM sleep
- Vivid dreams and quick eye movements
Light vs Deep Sleep
Light sleep:
- Heart rate decreases
- Body temp drops
- Electric brain wave activity slows
Deep sleep:
- Brain erupts with powerful brain waves
- Body is recharged
- Immune & cardiovascular benefits
- Memory Consolidation
Hypnagogic state
pre sleep consciousness
Hypnagogic imagery
- Visual
- Somatic
- Auditory
Myolonic / Hypnic jerk
Stage 1: Transition
The transition from wakefulness to sleep
It lasts only a few minutes
Brain waves slow down
Dreams like photos
Stage 2: Falling asleep
Further slowing of brain waves
Sleep spindles and K-complexes
As much as 65% of total sleep
Stages 3 and 4: Deep sleep
Delta waves
1st stage of deep sleep
Crucial to feel rested
Growth hormone production
Children spend more time NREM3/4 (efficient sleepers) than elderly
Suppressed by alcohol
Stage 5: REM sleep
Rapid eye movement sleep
Brain waves similar to wakefulness
Antonia (cannot move)
Eye & inner ear movements
REM rebound
Probably essential
Why do we sleep
Sleep is adaptive
* Restores resources
* Predatory Risks
* But we are vulnerable during sleep
Sleep is restorative:
* Sleep restores & replenishes us
* Memory consolidation, learning, cognitive function
* Slow wave sleep
Sleep is essential:
* Necessary for growth & brain development
* But we don’t know why
Sleep deprivation & mental health
Feel increased stress
overact emotionally
lack of emotional regulation
* React to neutral images if they were emotional (amygdala Activision, not connected to frontal cortex)
Peter Tripp
Stage a “walkathon”
Broadcasted from Times Square for 200 hours
Family and friends reported personality changes
Circadian Rythm
Biological rhythm that occurs over 24 hours
Regulated by suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) or biological clock of the hypothalamus
The sleep-wake cycle, one of our main circadian rhythms is linked to our environment’s natural light-dark cycle
Body temp, hormone production & blood pressure follow circadian rhythms
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
Brains clock mechanism
Sets itself with light information received through projections from the retina, allowing it to synchronize with the outside world
Melatonin & sleep regulation
Sleep-wake cycle is also regulated by other factors
Melatonin release stimulated by darkness inhibited by daylight
* Makes us sleepy
* Released by the pineal gland
Disruption of normal sleep
Jet lag
* Symptoms resulting from mismatch b/w our internal circadian cycles and our environment (fatigue, Sluggishness, irritability)
Rotating shift work
* Difficult to maintain normal circadian rhythm
* Exhaustion, agitation, sleep problems, depression & anxiety
* Shift work aged the brain by more than 6 years
* Substantial decline in brain function associated with shift work
Why do we dream
Freud
* Dreams are unconscious wish-fulfillment
* latent vs manifest content (what we really want vs. the storyline we get)
* Why do we have bad dreams
* symbols vs interpretation
Evolution
* Dreams for survival theory
* Many dreams are stressful
* represent concerns about our daily life
Neuroscience:
* Dreams are a way to make sense of random brain activity while sleeping
* Scenario isn’t random
* Motivation & emotional centers active during REM
Insomnia
Difficulty falling or staying asleep for at least 3 nights a week, for at least 1 month
9 - 20% of people
Higher likelihood of insomnia amongst students (~25%)
* ADHD (3.48 times higher risk)
* Depression
* Employment
Treatment: psychotherapy and or hypnotic
Paradoxical insomnia
Sleep state misperception
* I’m awake or am I?
people believe they are sleep deprived despite having a normal sleep cycle
Experience distress, anxiety & fatigue
Irritation beliefs & excessive worry
Night Terrors
Sudden waking episodes characetized by
* Screaming
* Sweating
* Confusion
Followed by return to deep sleep
* Most common in children (3 - 8)
Harmless
Sleep apnea
Blockage of the airway during sleep
* SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)
Narcolepsy
Rapid and unexpected onset of sleep
Directly into REM sleep
Cataplexy
* Sudden loss muscle control
Affects humans and animals
Associated with a lack of orexin
Rem behavior disorder
Not paralyzed during & can act out dreams
Somnambulism
Walking while fully asleep
Vague consciousness of the world around them
Stage 3 sleep
Perfectly safe to wake
Sleep deprivation & technology
Children with mobile devices in the room: 7.4 hours of sleep per night
Children without a mobile devices in the room: 8.3 hours of sleep per night
Psychoactive drugs
Substances containing chemicals similar to those found in the brain that alter biochemistry
Influence
* Emotions
* Perception
* Behavior
creates dependence on
* Caffeine
* Nicotine
* Alcohol
* THC
Affect the nervous system in different ways
Biologically based addiction
The body becomes so accustomed to functioning in the presence of a drug it cannot function in its absence
Related to withdrawal
Psychologically based addiction
People believe they need the drug to respond to the stress of daily living
Related to cravings
Tolerance
This means more is needed to achieve the effect
Stimulants
Drugs that have an arousal effect on CNS
* Rise in blood pressure
* Heart rate
* Muscular tension
Caffeine
Increase in attentiveness, decrease in reaction time - improvement in mood
Nicotine
- Activities neural mechanisms similar to cocaine
- Enhances norepinephrine & acetylcholine, promotes dopamine activates SNS
Amphetamines
Strong stimulants
* Dexedrine & Benzedrine (speed)
Small doses
* Sense of energy
* Talkativeness
* Heightened confidence
* Increase concentration
* Reduced fatigue
* Mood “high”
Prolonged use
* Paranoia
* Reduction in sexual desire
* Large doses can result in convulsion & death
Amphetamines & ADHD
ADHD is associated with lower levels of dopamine, seeking stimulation
Drugs like Adderall increase levels of dopamine, serotonin & norepinephrine
No ADHD -> euphoria, increased wakefulness, better ability to cope with stress
Cocaine
Small doses produce a feeling
* Profound psychological well-being
* Awake
* Energetic
* Increase confidence
* Less hunger/sleep
Larger doses
* Anger
* Violence
* Irritability
Fidgeting (dopamine)
“Highs” due to dopamine
* Blocks reabsorption, floods the brain
Depressants
Downers
Slow down CNS - neurons fire more slowly
Typically increases GABA activity
Small doses
* Temporary feeling of intoxication along with euphoria & joy
Large doses
* Speech becomes slurred, and muscle control becomes disjoined, making motion difficult
* Heavy users may lose consciousness entirely
Alcohol
Most commonly used depressant
Stimulating at low doses (via dopamine)
* Euphoric, depressant effects kick in with higher doses
Lower inhibition “social lubricant” impairs judgment
Magnifies emotions
Females experience effect more heavily (same weight, higher BAC)
Balanced placebo design
What we expect to happen plays a role in social behavior
Disentangle physiological effects from the influence of expectation
Placebo drinker’s behavior similar to alcohol drinkers
Expectations more important than physiological in influences social behaviors
Barbiturates
Prescribed to induce sleep or reduce stress (produce a sense of relaxation)
Psychologically & physically addictive
With Alcohol: relaxes the muscles of the diaphragm to such an extent that the user stops breathing (deadly)
Benzodiazepines
Prescribed to treat anxiety and panic
Highly addictive
Excessive use can lead to tolerance (also memory impairment)
Deadly with alcohol
Quaaludes
Methaqualone (brand name Quaaludes)
CNS depressant - sedative & hypnotic (increases GABA)
Popular in 1970s - taken so commonly as recreational drug that is has been banned for 30 years
Bill Cosby
Narcotics
Drugs that increase relaxation & relieve pain and anxiety
Highly addictive
* Heroine
* Morphine
* Derived from poppy seed pods
Medical to abuse pipeline
Opioids: poppy-sed derivates
Morphine, heroin, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl
CNS depressant - drowsiness, drift in & out of consciousness (nod off) binds to opioid receptors - dopamine agonist
Euphoria & relaxation, blur the boundaries between wakefulness & dream-like consciousness
Reduced pain awareness (blocks pain messages)
Hallucinogens (psychedelics)
Capable of producing hallucinations or changing sin perception
LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, marijuana, ecstasy, salvia
Interest in therapeutic values
* Mystical experiences
* Treatment-resistant challenges
MDMA
MDMA & lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD acid) work primarily on serotonin, alter perception
* Ecstasy: users repot peacefulness & calm increased empathy & connection, relaxed but energetic
LSD
Produces vivid hallucinations (can be wondrous or terrifying)
Alteration in sensory perception & distortions in time
Marijuana - THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
Effects are a mix of excitatory depressive and mild hallucinatory
Trigger spontaneous, unrelated ideas, distorted perceptions of time & place, increased sensitivity to sounds, tastes, and colors - erratic verbal behavior
Memory impairment “spaced out”
Prolonged cannabis use
* Impaired cognitive function (reversible)
* Reduced dopaminergic function
