WEEK 10: STAGES OF SLEEP AND BRAIN MECHANISMS Flashcards
a state that the brain actively produces, characterized by decreased activity and decreased response to stimuli.
Sleep
an extended period of unconsciousness caused by head trauma, stroke, or disease.
Coma
an extended period of unconsciousness caused by head trauma, stroke, or disease. Some may have low level of brain activity and no response to stimuli.
Coma
Vegetative state
UNRESPONSIVE WAKEFULNESS SYNDROME
Condition that alternates between sleep and moderate arousal, but even during the more aroused state, the person shows no awareness of surroundings and no purposeful behavior.
UNRESPONSIVE WAKEFULNESS SYNDROME
Breathing is more regular, and a painful stimulus increases heart rate, breathing and sweating.
UNRESPONSIVE WAKEFULNESS SYNDROME
Eye movements occur but they do not follow a target. The person might laugh or cry but not in response to an external event.
UNRESPONSIVE WAKEFULNESS SYNDROME
brief periods of purposeful actions and a limited amount of speech comprehension. Can last for months or years.
MINIMALLY CONSCIOUS STATE
condition with no sign of brain activity and no response to any stimulus. Physicians usually wait until someone has exhibited no sign of brain activity for 24 hours before pronouncing brain death at which point most people believe it is ethical to remove life support.
BRAIN DEATH
a combination of EEG and eye movement records.
POLYSOMNOGRAPH
Brain waves that fall between 8 and 13 hertz (Hz).
ALPHA WAVES
Human brain most commonly produces _________ waves when a person is awake but relaxed with eyes closed.
alpha
People often experience ________ waves just before they fall asleep.
alpha
_________ waves may be seen when a person briefly awakens.
Alpha
Also found in the back of the brain (Occipital lobe) during Rapid Eye Movement (vivid dreaming)
ALPHA WAVES
The waves the human brain most commonly produces.
BETA WAVES
The size or amplitude generally increases as a person becomes tired and enters the first stage of sleep, then decreases as they enter the 2nd and 3rd stages of sleep.
BETA WAVES
Most sleeping pills increase both the amplitude and frequency of beta waves.
BETA WAVES
Occur during the 2nd stage of sleep.
SLEEP PINDLES
Also called “Sigma Waves” can be either slow or fast.
SLEEP PINDLES
Some sleep medications increase the number of sleep spindles that occur during the sleep cycle.
SLEEP PINDLES
Sharp waves that stand out from background brain wave patterns and last at least half a second.
K-complexes
They appear during stage 2 sleep.
K-complexes
slower brain waves that gradually replace alpha waves as a person transition from a relaxed state to being asleep.
THETA WAVES
They are most commonly seen during the 1st stage of sleep which is the lightest sleep stage.
THETA WAVES
They may also be seen during the 2nd stage of sleep.
THETA WAVES
the slowest brain waves and they primarily occur during deep sleep, the 3rd stage of sleep.
DELTA WAVES
Deep sleep is also called _________________.
SLOW-WAVE SLEEP
____________ sleep is composed of 3 different stages.
NREM
TRUE or FALSE
The higher the stage of NREM sleep, the harder it is to wake a person.
TRUE
normally last just 1-7 minutes.
STAGE 1 (N1)
The body has not fully relaxed, though the body and brain activities start to slow with periods of brief movements.
STAGE 1 (N1)
Light changes in brain activity associated with falling asleep.
STAGE 1 (N1)
It is ways to wake someone in this stage.
STAGE 1 (N1)
The body enters more subdued state including a drop in temperature, relaxed muscles, and slowed breathing and heart rate.
STAGE 2 (N2)
Brain waves show a new pattern and eye movement stops.
STAGE 2 (N2)
Brain activity slows but there are short bursts of activity that help resist being woken up by external stimuli.
STAGE 2 (N2)
Can last 10-25 min. during the first sleep cycle, each N2 stage can become longer during the night.
STAGE 2 (N2)
Typically, a person spends about half their sleep time in _____.
N2
Deep sleep. The harder to wake phase.
STAGE 3 (N3)
Muscle tone, pulse and breathing rate decrease as the body relaxes even further.
STAGE 3 (N3)
Brain activity is Delta waves. (delta sleep) or slow-wave sleep (SWS)
STAGE 3 (N3)
Restorative sleep allowing for bodily recovery and growth. Bolster immune system and other key processes. Contributes to insightful thinking, creativity and memory.
STAGE 3 (N3)
You spend the most time in deep sleep during the first half of the night.
STAGE 3 (N3)
Commonly last for 20-40 mins. Gets shorter as we continue sleeping.
STAGE 3 (N3)
Brain activity picks up nearing levels seen when you are awake.
REM
REM
The body experience _________. temporary paralysis of the muscles with 2 exceptions: the eyes and the muscles that control breathing.
ATONIA
Essential to cognitive functions like memory, learning and creativity.
REM
known for vivid dreams which is explained by the significant uptick in brain activity.
REM
REM
Dreams can occur in any sleep stage, but they are less common and intense in the _______.
NREM
Normally you enter REM sleep when you have been asleep for about _____ minutes.
90
_______ gets longer as the night goes on esp. in the 2nd half of the night.
REM
_____ REM last only a few mins, later stages last for around an hour. In total, REM make up 25% of sleep-in adults.
1st
REM sleep for species that lack eye movements.
PARADOXICAL SLEEP
_____ is also associated with erections in males and vaginal moistening in females.
REM
______ combines aspects of deep sleep, light sleep, and features that are difficult to classify as deep or light.
REM
REM is associated with _________.
PGO waves (pons-geniculate-occipital)
The stimulus to start REM sleep comes from __________ release in the __________.
dopamine ; amygdala
The __________ has both neurons that promote wakefulness and those that promote sleep.
hypothalamus
neurotransmitter enhances arousal and alertness.
histamine
drugs that produce drowsiness.
Antihistamine
peptide neurotransmitter. extends from the hypothalamus to the basal forebrain and other areas that enhance wakefulness and activity. Staying awake depends on orexin especially towards the end of the day.
orexin or hypocretin
TRUE or FALSE
Reason for older people problem of waking up in the middle of the night. The resting potential of the axon rises with aging and gets closer to the threshold for firing.
TRUE
______________ provide axons that extend throughout the thalamus and cerebral cortex some of them increasing wakefulness and other inhibiting it.
Basal forebrain cells
stimulates the basal forebrain cells.
Acetylcholine
____________ is active in response to meaningful events and facilitates attention and new learning.
Locus coeruleus
TRUE or FALSE
Parents usually awaken at the sound of a crying infant.
TRUE
TRUE or FALSE
During sleep, axons from the pons and midbrain increase their release of GABA, inhibiting the synaptic spread of information from one neuron to another.
TRUE
TRUE or FALSE
The brain responds to speech, especially by an unfamiliar voice (danger)
TRUE
sleepwalking. Much of the brain is asleep but the motor cortex and a few other areas are awake.
SOMNAMBULISM
TRUE or FALSE
sleepwalkers have their eyes open, orient to the world enough to find their way around, and often remember some of what they did while sleepwalking. Still, they are confused and vulnerable because most of the brain is not alert enough to process information and make reasonable decisions.
TRUE
someone is dreaming but aware of being asleep and dreaming. Enough activity occurs in the frontal and temporal cortex to enable conscious monitoring of the dreams that the rest of the brain is generating.
LUCID DREAMING
can control the content of the dream to some extent as well as eye movements.
LUCID DREAMING
Cannot move the arms and legs after waking up.
Temporary Paralysis
During REM sleep, cells in the pons and medulla send messages that inhibit the spinal neurons controlling the arm and leg muscles.
Temporary Paralysis
Inadequate sleep. Feeling tired during the day. Impairs memory, attention, and cognition. It magnifies unpleasant emotional reactions and increases the risk of depression.
INSOMNIA
Children suffer from insomnia because they are _____________, and their parents give them milk to drink right before bedtime.
milk-intolerant
Impaired ability to breathe while sleeping. People with sleep apnea have breathless periods of a minute or so from which they awaken gasping for breath.
SLEEP APNEA
They may not remember their awakenings, although they certainly notice the consequences, such as sleepiness and impaired attention the following day.
SLEEP APNEA
TRUE or FALSE
Prolonged sleep apnea leads to a loss of neurons, with an impairment of learning and other functions.
TRUE
often related to obesity especially in middle-aged men due to narrower than normal airways and must compensate by breathing frequently or vigorously.
SLEEP APNEA
advised to lose weight and avoid alcohol and tranquilizers.
SLEEP APNEA
common treatment is a mask that covers the nose and delivers air under enough pressure to keep the breathing passages open.
SLEEP APNEA
Surgery can be helpful to some cases. Drugs have mild to moderate benefits.
SLEEP APNEA
periods of sudden sleepiness during the day.
NARCOLEPSY
affects about 1 person in 1,000.
NARCOLEPSY
Sometimes runs in the family but most cases emerge in people with no affected relative.
NARCOLEPSY
Cause related to a loss of the hypothalamic cells that release orexin. In many cases autoimmune reaction.
NARCOLEPSY
NARCOLEPSY
Treatment: ____________ to enhance dopamine and norepinephrine activity.
stimulant drugs
Symptoms of NARCOLEPSY
- Attacks of sleepiness during the day
- Occasional cataplexy
- Sleep paralysis
- Hypnagogic hallucinations
an attack of muscle weakness while the person remains awake. Cataplexy is often triggered by strong emotions, such as anger or great excitement.
Occasional cataplex
an inability to move while falling asleep or waking up. Many people have experienced sleep paralysis occasionally, but people with narcolepsy experience it frequently.
Sleep paralysis
dreamlike experiences that the person has trouble distinguishing from reality, often at the onset of sleep.
Hypnagogic hallucinations
characterized by repeated involuntary movement of the legs or arms during sleep. Legs kick once every 20 to 30 seconds for minutes or hours mostly during NREM sleep.
PERIODIC LIMB MOVEMENT DISORDER
common mostly middle-aged and older.
PERIODIC LIMB MOVEMENT DISORDER
an experience of intense anxiety from which a person awakens screaming in terror.
NIGHT TERRORS
more severe than nightmare which is simply an unpleasant dream
NIGHT TERRORS
Occur during NREM sleep and are more common in children than adults.
NIGHT TERRORS
Dream content is usually simple such as a single image.
NIGHT TERRORS
REM Behavior disorder. people move around vigorously during their REM periods, apparently acting out their dreams.
REM BEHAVIOR DISORDER
frequently dream about defending themselves against attack and they may punch, kick and leap about often injure themselves or other people and damage property.
REM BEHAVIOR DISORDER
runs in families and occurs mostly in children.
SLEEPWALKING (SOMNAMBOLISM)
Common when people are sleep deprived or under unusual stress.
SLEEPWALKING (SOMNAMBOLISM)
Common during slow-wave sleep early in the night. It does not occur during REM sleep when the large muscles are completely relaxed.
SLEEPWALKING (SOMNAMBOLISM)
have additional sleep difficulties such as chronic snoring, disordered sleep breathing, bed-wetting and night terrors.
SLEEPWALKING (SOMNAMBOLISM)
sleep sex
Sexsomnia
sleeping people engage in sexual behavior wither with a partner or by masturbation. Many people with sexsomnia also sleepwalked as children.
Sexsomnia
