AP Psychology Chapter 5

Psychoactive drugs

A chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood

Physical dependence

A physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

LSD

A powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid

Methamphetamine

A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; overtime, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels.

Psychological dependence

A psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions

night terrors

A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered

sleep apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

hypnosis

A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Dissociation

A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

Posthypnotic suggestions

A suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

MDMA

A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with the short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin producing neurons and to mood cognition

Hypertension

Abnormally high blood pressure

manifest content

According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream

latent content

According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream

Myth 2

Addictions cannot be overcome voluntarily; therapy is required

Myth 1

Addictive drugs quickly corrupt; for example, morphine taken to control pain is powerfully addictive and often leads to heroin abuse

Near-death experience

An altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death; often similar to drug-induced hallucinations

consciousness

Awareness of ourselves and our environment

insomnia

Difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep

Depressants

Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Stimulants

Drugs such as caffeine nicotine cocaine and ecstasy that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

Barbiturates

Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment

Amphetamines

Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

hallucinations

False sensory perceptions that are not in response to an external stimulus

What did Freud believe the functions of dreams were?

He believed that dreams would show people their desires that they can't express directly because the desires they have are not accepted in society

What is hypnosis, and what powers does a hypnotist have over a hypnotized subject?

Help people prevent feeling of pain; in surgery or at the dentist. People need to be very suggestible. They help with memory, help them with hypnotherapy, and pain.

How does light tweak the circadian clock?

It activates light-sensitive retinal proteins which control the circadian clock by triggering signals to the brain's suprachiasmatic nucleus. The SCN does its job in part by causing the brain's pineal gland to decrease its production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin in the morning or increase it in the evening.

What is sleep's function?

It protects us from the dark, it helps us recuperate, it helps restore our memories, it feeds creative thinking, and it plays a role in the growth process.

Can hypnosis force people to act against their will?

No

NREM sleep

Non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep

Opiates

Opium and it's derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; press, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

How do our biological rhythms influence our daily functioning?

Our bodies have a twenty four hour clock, roughly synchronized with the cycle of day and night. This circadian rhythm appears in our daily patterns of body temperature, arousal, sleeping, and waking. Age and experiences can alter these patterns, resetting our biological clock

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

REM Sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep - most dreaming occurs here

Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events?

Sometimes but other times people make up memories

activation-synthesis theory

Suggests that the brain engages in a lot of random neural activity. Dreams make sense of this activity.

Tolerance

The diminishing effect with regular use of a drug

THC

The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

REM rebound

The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

Hypnotherapists

They try to help people heal themselves with their own powers

hypnagogic

Vivid sensory phenomena that occur during the onset of sleep

Myth 3

We can extend concept of addiction to cover lunches drug dependency, but a whole spectrum of repetitive, pleasure-seeking behaviors

What do we dream?

Whatever you were preoccupied with in the day time

What are the functions of dreams?

Wish fulfillment, to file away memories, to develop and preserve neural pathways, to reflect cognitive development, and to make sense of neural static

Can hypnosis alleviate pain?

Yes

Why do we grow during sleep?

Because when we are asleep our pituitary gland releases growth hormones.

Addiction

Compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences

What is lack of sleep linked with?

obesity, aging faster, memory impairment, fatigue, suppressed immune system, irritability, slow performance, ruins creativity, and driving impairment

circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle

delta waves

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Alpha Waves

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

What is the biological rhythm of our sleep?

we cycle through five sleep stages in about 90 minutes. leaving the alpha waves of the awake, relaxed stage, we descend into transitional stage 1 sleep, often with the sensation of falling or floating. stage 2 sleep (in which we spend most of our time) follows about 20 minutes later, with its characteristic sleep spindles. then following stages 3 and 4, together lasting about 30 minutes, with large,slow delta waves. reversing course, we retrace our path, but with one difference: we experience periods of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Most dreaming occurs in this fifth stage (also known as paradoxical sleep) of internal arousal but outward paralysis. During a normal night's sleep, periods of stages 3 and 4 sleep shorten and REM sleep lengthens

Can hypnosis be therapeutic?

yes

In REM sleep do we still remain slightly aware of external stimuli?

yes