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Biological Psychology > Week 8-Sleep > Flashcards

Week 8-Sleep Flashcards

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1
Q

Sleep Cycles

A
  • Cyclic cycle
  • One of the organs that benefits the most from sleep is the BRAIN
  • Sleep tends to decrease as we get older
  • Sleep varies from animals Bats (20hrs) to horses (3hrs); humans (8hrs)
  • Aquatic animals such as dolphins sleep one hemisphere at a time (Unihemespheric sleep). The alternation between two hemispheres
  • Preferences (night owl or morning lark)-chronotype- classification prone to be asleep or awake. Genes-Reflect innate differences in the circadian period, and how easily a rhythm can be synchronised to the night-day cycle. More than half of people (in industrialised societies) may have circadian rhythms out of phase with the schedule they keep for work/school “social jet lag”. People can feel very tired during the day.
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2
Q

The functions of sleep and their importance

A

Role in: Recuperation; Growth; Mental function(bidirectional between sleep and mental disorders e.g. sleep disrupted onset for Alzheimer’s disease)

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3
Q

What is sleep?

A

A periodic, natural, reversible behavioural state of perceptual disengagement from, and unresponsiveness to, the environment (Steinberg, 2007)

Different from:

  • Hibernation
  • Being in a coma; On anaesthetic (irreversible)
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4
Q

How is sleep measured?

A

POLYSOMONOGRAPHY (Multiple, sleep, writing)
Multiparametric test and used in sleep medicine

Recording of multiple signals during sleep:

  • EEG – brain
  • EMG – muscle activation (mild increase in muscle tension)
  • EOG – eye movements
  • Heart rate
  • Respiration

Polysomnogram

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5
Q

What is sleep deprivation?

A

Sleep deprivation causes negative impacts on :

  • Mood
  • Cognitive performance
  • Executive attention
  • Working memory
  • Motor function

Sleep deprivation can cause numerous problems.
Gardner stayed awake 11days in 1965.
After 2 days: irritable, nauseated, memory problems, could not watch TV anymore
After 4 days: mild delusions, overwhelming fatigue
After 7 days: tremor, language problems, EEG abnormality
After the end of the trial: normalised quickly again (not true for some animals deprived of sleep).

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6
Q

What is sleep deprivation?

A

Sleep deprivation causes negative impacts on :

  • Mood
  • Cognitive performance
  • Executive attention
  • Working memory
  • Motor function
  • Deficits accumulate overtime. Negative impacts on wellbeing.

Sleep deprivation can cause numerous problems.
Gardner stayed awake 11days in 1965.
After 2 days: irritable, nauseated, memory problems, could not watch TV anymore
After 4 days: mild delusions, overwhelming fatigue
After 7 days: tremor, language problems, EEG abnormality
After the end of the trial: normalised quickly again (not true for some animals deprived of sleep).

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7
Q

What is a hypnogram?

A

A graph which represents ones sleep cycle and awakenings during the night.

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8
Q

What is REM sleep?

A

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
REM = lots of extrastriate activity (internally generated visual imagery) Visual processing and dreams- more activity in the brain stem
Mostly dream during REM sleep

Heart rate; respiration; penal erection increases during REM sleep and decreases during non-REM sleep

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9
Q

Define sleep as a mechanism

A

Sleep is an active process that requires the participation of a variety of brain regions and transmitters.

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10
Q

Hormones-Cortisol and sleep

A

Cortisol oscillates throughout the day, but peaks just before you wake up.
Poor sleep–>Higher levels of cortisol

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11
Q

Hormones-Melatonin and sleep

A

Melatonin higher at night, lower in the morning.
Made in pineal gland.
(Nuclear clock)

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12
Q

What neurotransmitters are involved in the sleep-wake cycle?

A

Arousal promoting:

  • Noradrenaline (locus coeruleus)
  • Serotonin (raphe nuclei)
  • Acetylcholine (brain stem, basal forebrain)
  • Histamine (midbrain)
  • Hypocretin (hypothalamus) –> excites all other systems (loss –> narcolepsy)

–>synapse on thalamus & cerebral cortex –>depolarisation of neurons–> increase excitability

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13
Q

Neurotransmitters arousal (promoting) sleep

A

Promoting sleep:

  • Decreases firing rate of most brain stem modulatory neurons
  • GABA
  • Adenosine: facilitates sleep (caffeine is antagonist)
  • ->It inhibits systems which promote wakefulness
    • levels progressively increase during prolonged waking and decrease during sleep
  • Some ACh neurons fire to induce REM – produces eye activity
  • Dopamine:- modules REM sleep, contributes to dream generation (internal, exploratory environment)
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14
Q

Neurotransmitters involved in going to sleep

A
  • Increase of GABAergic activity in cortex
  • Deactivation of locus coeruleus (noreadrenaline)
  • Less activity of reticular activating system
  • Reduced histamine and hypocretin (hypothalamus)
  • Increase melatonin (pineal gland)
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15
Q

Which 2 processes control sleep?

A
  • Circadian Clock(Alerting signal-internal clocks and internal processes)
  • Sleep Homeostasis(Sleep Pressure- the longer we are awake more sleep pressure)
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16
Q

Dual Process model of sleep

Sleep-wake homeostasis

A

Sleep-wake homeostasis (S) accumulation of hypnogenic substances in the brain that promote sleep (e.g., adenosine)

Circadian rhythm (C) regulates the body’s internal processes and alertness

17
Q

Circadian rhythm (about a day rhythm)

A
  • Even organisms without a brain (e.g., plants) react to day/night
  • TO MAINTAIN SLEEP-WAKE CYCLES (Day night rhythms) Name for external cues: zeitgebers (”time givers”)
  • Help to entrain the day/night rhythm

Without zeitgebers, rhythms run free (Dement, 1976)

18
Q

How did scientists conduct experiments to learn more about circadian rhythms?

A
  • Slept in Deep caves for months and recorded sleep-wake cycles
  • Wake/sleep, lights on/off, eating –> all whenever they like
  • Initially day was 25 hours, then it rose to 30-36 hours (stay awake 20 hours, sleep 12 hours)
  • Desynchronised: sleep and body temperature

-Criticism > constant dim light conditions (~ 24h rhythms)-MORE LAB CONDITIONS

19
Q

Biological Clock

A

-SCN (suprachiasmatic nuclei) Only 0.3mm3-INTERNAL BIOLOGICAL CLOCK FROM OUR EYES
-Within hypothalamus
-Receives input from the retina –> light-sensitive ganglion cells
Ganglion cells:
-large, nonselective receptive fields responding to luminance
-Not rods or cones –> new photoreceptor that’s slowly excited by light –> signal to SCN

20
Q

Jet lag

A
  • Jet lag is a mismatch between internal and external clocks
  • Adjusting eastwards is harder as our clock is slightly more than 24 hours -Circadian rhythm longer

Consequences:

  • Elevates cortisol
  • Sleepless/ fatigue (melatonin disruption)
  • Loss of concentration
  • Change in appetite (ghrelin)
  • Body temperature fluctuations

Best way to combat it:

  • Restrict light exposure/ meals/ activity
  • Can take a supplement of melatonin
21
Q

What are the different types of sleep disorders?

A

Diagnostic manuals (e.g., DSM-V)
Main categories:
-Insomnias (difficulty going to sleep/ staying asleep)
-Hypersomnolence (daytime sleeping e.g., narcolepsy)
-Parasomnias (disorders that disrupt sleep – e.g., sleepwalking)
-Circadian rhythm disorders (timing of sleep)
-Breathing disorders (E.g., sleep apnea)

Note: causes and symptoms are all very different

22
Q

What is INSOMNIA?

What are the causes?

A

Common condition- difficult to fall and stay asleep.Disorder not due to a substance or known physiological condition.

  • 30% of the population report one or more of the symptoms of insomnia.
  • 10% fulfil diagnostic criteria

Causes:

  • Overactive thyroid
  • Mental or physical health
  • Medication
  • Stress
  • Environmental factors
  • Ultra levels of cortisol
23
Q

What are Parasomnias?

A

Group of sleep disorders that involve unwanted events or experiences that occur while you are falling asleep, sleeping or waking up. AROUSAL during sleep, behaving inappropriately during sleep.
May include abnormal movements, behaviours, emotions, perceptions or dreams
You remain asleep during the event and often have no memory that it occurred.
More common in children because of brain immaturity.

  • Sleepwalking
  • Night terrors
  • Restless leg syndrome
  • Periodic limb movements
  • Sexsomnia
  • Sleep-related eating disorder
  • REM sleep behaviour disorder
24
Q

What is REM sleep behaviour disorder and what happens within it?
What is the treatment?

A
  • Sleep paralysis is absent (can move a lot during REM sleep)
  • Most patients are male
  • Impairments Descending activity from the brain to muscles usually blocked by pons
  • Pons lesioned –> REM behaviour disorder

People start acting out their dreams (can be violent at times when muscles activated)

-Can also be related to some other conditions (e.g., Parkinson’s)
Treatment:- benzodiazepines or melatonin

25
Q

What is Sleep Apnea?

What are the causes

A
  • Muscles and soft tissues in the throat relax and collapse sufficiently to cause a blockage of the airway. Stopping the airflow to our lungs.
  • Oxygen level in your blood drops
  • Brain disturbs sleeps –>waken to resume breathing
  • Often don’t remember awakenings
Causes:
-Commonly associated with weight
-Lifestyle: alcohol, smoking, medicines
-Having a large neck/ unusual neck structure
Correlation with: 
-Gender (male)
-Age (40+)
-Menopause
26
Q

What are Circadian Rhythm Disorders?

How is it caused?

A

-Different from voluntary or imposed shift in timing of sleep (e.g., shift work; jet lag)

Intrinsic:

  • Seen in blind people, also co-morbid with ADHD, depression or neurodegenerative disease
  • Altered or disrupted sensitivity to external cues
  • Delayed sleep phase disorder
  • Advanced sleep phase disorder
  • Difficultly in diagnosable disorder vs. subclinical tendencies
  • Individual differences in tolerance of disparities in circadian synchronisation
  • Treatment involves light exposure/ melatonin
27
Q

What is Narcolepsy?

A

Narcolepsy is associated with excessive sleep. Reduction in hypocretin.

28
Q

Why do we dream?

A

Our own introspection lack of scientific evidence.

1) Wish fulfilment (Freud)-Unconscious way to express sexual and aggressive fantasies.
2) Physiological function theory:- promote neural development and preserve neural pathways by providing the brain with stimulation

3)Activation – Synthesis Model (Hobson & McCarley)
Dreams are products of brain neuron activity in the visual cortex, memory areas, and emotion areas.
No external stimulus; so the brain tries to make sense of neuron activity = content of a “dream”

  • Explains randomness of dreams, does not explain how some dreams have complex narratives
  • Prefrontal cortex shuts down during REM

So, you have fewer inhibitions and don’t question illogical parts of dreams.

29
Q

Why do we sleep?

A

1)Restoration (Moruzzi, 1972; Vyazovskiy & Harris, 2013)
Sleep involved in clearance of toxic waste products (debris) twice as fast during sleep than wake (Xie et al., 2013) Lymphatic system
-Slow oscillations —>short period of rest for all neurons

2) Adaptation (keep us out of trouble! – Meddis, 1975; Seigel, 2009)
- Sleep follows our biology:- we don’t see well at night, we are most vulnerable at night
- Saves energy
- Allows awakening when needed

3) Cognitively beneficial (Walker, 2009) e.g., emotion regulation
- Strips memories of emotional tone, non-emotional aspects are strengthened
- Retention and consolidation of learnt material (e.g., Born, Stickgold, etc.)

30
Q

Sleep Learning-What happens in hippocampus activity during sleep?

A

Hippocampus is active whilst we are awake

  • Place cells in the hippocampus code spatial relations
  • Place cells are activated in the same order during sleep as during exploring a maze
  • Rats “dream” running through the maze, place cells firing in a sequential order
31
Q

Unanswered questions in sleep and memory

Confounding variables in sleep studies

A

Why is sleep so useful for memory?

  • Lack of interference?
  • Active consolidation?

Is particular sleep better for memory?
-REM vs. SWS

Confounding variables in sleep studies:

  • Time of day of learning
  • Time of day of testing
  • Alertness
  • Sleep deprivation, stress and circadian bias
32
Q

What is Partial Sleep Deprivation? (Plihal & Born, 1997)

A

People tested in 2 memory types used standard procedural and declarative memory tasks

  • mirror tracing
  • paired-associate learning

-Exploited the fact that early sleep is SWS-rich (slow-wave group), and late sleep is REM-rich (see also Karni et al, 1994)
-4 groups (sleep/wake), early/late retention interval
(different times of date) TESTED LATE OR IN THE MORNING.

Distinguish the importance of slow-wave and REM sleep.

33
Q

What were the findings/ results in Partial Sleep Deprivation (Plihal & Born, 1997)?

A
  • For EARLY retention interval, sleep benefits declarative but not procedural memory (SWS?). Better in the paired associative task compared to late group. Better if they slept vs if they didn’t sleep.
  • For late retention interval, sleep benefits procedural but not declarative memory (REM?)
34
Q

What did Holz (2012) time-dependent learning task find?

A

SLEEP HAS AN EFFECT ON MEMORY CONSOLIDATION.

Afternoon vs Evening group

  • One group learnt and went straight to bed. The other group stayed awake for a longer period of time.
  • Word-pair (declarative memory task), Finger tapping (procedural memory task).
  • Those that learnt in the afternoon were better at the word-pair task rather than the evening group.
  • Finger tapping procedural memory was better for those that learnt in the evening compared to that learnt in the afternoon.
35
Q

Can we manipulate sleep in order to consolidate memories? -Targeted memory reactivation (Rudeoy et al 2009)

Rasch et al. (2007) -Odours and reactivation during sleep?

A
  • Show participants pictures in a grid associated with a sound (cat-meow); then they have a nap; then they reactivated the objects in respect to location. Performed better in the cues than non-cues.
  • Reactivate memories with other senses sound and smell?

Presentation of a cue (odour) associated with memory trace during SWS increased consolidation of this memory content.

  • This didn’t work during REM
  • Also didn’t generalise to procedural memory

Sleep in the scanner- activation in the left hemisphere hippocampus.

36
Q

Naps – Is it good to nap?

A

Studied naps using visual discrimination task.

  • Short naps improve performance (SWS not REM)
  • BUT ONLY, if REM-sleep was present similar effects of a short nap and a whole night‘s sleep
37
Q

Wakeful rest (Restful) is it useful?

A

Story-learning environment

Wakeful resting better to consolidate memories than awake.

38
Q

Vocabulary Learning- Gaise et al

A

-Sleep after vocabulary learning (German) foster recall

Time of learning and sleep deprivation had effect
-Sleep deprivation including learning at 8pm, watching TV until 6am

-Learnt in the morning or evening, retested in the morning or evening (within subjects)

Biological Psychology (10 decks)

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