Psychology Consciousness Unit

Circadian Rhythms

A biological cycle such as sleeping and waking that occurs approximately every 24 hours

Psychological Dependence

A condition in which drugs are needed to maintain a sense of well-being or a relief from negative emotions

Cocktail Party Effect

A phenomenon of selective attention in speech and perception that enables a listener to attend selectively to one's speech in the midst of competing conversations; depends on visual cues

Physical/Physiological Dependence

A physiological addiction in which a drug is needed in order to prevent symptoms of withdrawal

Lucid Dreaming

Being able to control your dream

Biopsychosocial Model of Hypnosis

Biological Influences: Distinctive brain activity, nonconscious info processing Psychological Influences: Focused attention, expectations, heightened suggestibility, dissociation between normal sensations and conscious awareness Socio-Cultural: Presence of an authoritative person in legitimate context, role playing 'good subject'

Nightmares

Frightening dreams that can occur during REM sleep

Alcohol

GABA agonist; Initial high followed by relaxation and disinhibition; Depression, memory loss, organ damage, impaired reactions, loss of REM sleep, serves as disinhibitor

Opiates

Heroin/Morphine; Endorphin agonist; rush of euphoria, relief from pain; depressed physiology, agonizing withdrawal, highly addictive, tolerance levels with usage, brain eventually stops producing endorphins

Theta Waves

In NREM-1, waves are longer and slower, you can still be awakened easily, but you are in fact asleep; In NREM-2, waves are longer and higher with periodic bursts of activity as you move into deeper sleep

Social Cognitive Theory of Hypnosis

States that hypnosis demonstrates the effects of social influence; not a distinctive state of consciousness; Participants either have motivation to comply or get caught up in a role

Memory Consolidation Sleep Theory

REM sleep has role in memory consolidation; neuronal connections may be remodeled during REM sleep

Physiological Function Theory of Dreams

Regular stimulation from REM sleep may help to develop and preserve neural pathways; then why do we have meaningful dreams?

Circadian Sleep Theory

Regulated by an internal clock; neural mechanism to conserve energy and minimize exposure to predators

Cocaine

Rush of euphoria, confidence, energy; cardiovascular stress, increased levels of aggression, suspiciousness, depressive crash

Barbiturates

Sedatives; GABA agonist; reduction of anxiety; causes impaired memory in large doses and can be legal if combined with other depressant

Beta Waves

Short and fast waves that occur when you are in an alert/working state; awake and alert

Special Process Theory of Hypnosis

States that hypnosis is a state of dissociation (division of consciousness); consciousness is divided into 2 parts separated by an amnesic barrier; one half of brain is hidden observer that protects while hypnotized

Posthypnotic Suggestion

A suggestion made during hypnosis to be carried out after hypnosis is lifted; used to control desired symptoms and behaviors

Divided Attention

Ability to simultaneously focus on multiple stimulus

Hypermnesia

Abnormally sharp or vivid memory recall

Restoration Sleep Theory

Allows the central nervous system to repair itself; deep sleep has restorative power

Benzodiazepines

Anti-anxiety medication; GABA agonist; reduction of anxiety; causes impaired cognitive function

Biological Rhythm

Any periodic, more or less regular fluctuation in a biological organism

Effects of sleep deprivation

Brain: lessened ability to focus and consolidate memories, risk of depression; Immune system: suppressed immunity and increased risk of infection; Fat cells: increased production and risk of obesity; Joints: increased inflammation and arthritis; Heart: increased risk of high BP; Stomach: increased hunger; Muscles: reduced strength, slower reaction time and motor learning

REM Rebound

Brains go directly into REM and stay there longer to recover from poor night's sleep

Depressants

Calm neural activity and slow body functions, highly addictive

Night Terrors

Characterized by horrific images, screaming upon wakening and experiencing difficulty in calming down afterwards; Occurs in NREM-3/4

Difference of sleep between adults and babies

Children generally require more sleep per day and experience longer periods of delta sleep; slow-wave or deep sleep is more common in children and in early part of night for adults

Addiction

Condition in which body requires drug in order to function without physical and psychological reactions to its absence; often outcome of tolerance and dependence

Insomnia

Difficulty falling or staying asleep; most common sleep disorder and correlated with mental distress

Withdrawal

Discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Hallucinogens

Distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory inputs; also called psychedelics; hallucinations are false sensory experiences that occur in absence of appropriate sensory stimulations

Mathamphetamine

Dopamine agonist and Epinephrine agonist; Rush of euphoria, alertness, arousal; Irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures, leaves user with depressed symptoms

LSD

Dopamine agonist; euphoria; panic

Ecstasy/MDMA

Dopamine and Epinephrine agonists; emotional elevation, disinhibition; dehydration, overheating, depressed mood, impaired cognitive and immune functioning; can be a hallucinogen

Marijuana (THC)

Dopamine and endorphin agonists; enhanced sensation, pain relief, time distortion, relaxation; Impaired learning and memory, increased risk of psychological disorders, lung damage from smoke

Cognitive Development Theory

Dream content reflects dreamer's cognitive development, their knowledge and understanding; does not address neuroscience of dreams

Neural Activation/Activation-Synthesis Theory

Dreams are the result of brain overactivity; Activation: neural signals sent to cortex; Synthesis: make sense of signals based on past experiences

Information Processing/Memory Consolidation

Dreams help us sort out the day's events and consolidate our memories; then why do we dream of things we've never experienced?

Hypnogogic Hallucinations

Dreams that intrude on wakefulness; can cause visual, auditory, or touchable sensations; related to narcolepsy; occurs between awake and asleep; occurs when going from alpha to theta stage 1

Stimulants

Excite neural activity and speed up body functions, activation of the sympathetic NS

Change Bilndness

Failure to notice changes in the environment

Inattentional Blindness

Failure to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Alpha Waves

Long and fast waves that occur when you are in a relaxed/reflecting state; awake and relaxed (hypnogogic activity)

Sleep Cycle

NREM 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM; each cycle lasts 90 minutes; delta sleep gets shorter as night continues while REM sleep gets longer

REM vs NREM Sleep

NREM: brain activity decreases, heart rate slows, BP decreases, blood flow does not change, respiration decreases, airway resistance increases, body temp at lower set point, sexual arousal occurs infrequently; REM: brain activity increases, HR increases, BP increases up to 30%, blood flow increases by 50%-200%, respiration increases, airway resistance increases, body temp is not regulated, sexual arousal increases

Tolerance

Needing increased doses of drug to achieve effects originally produced by lower doses

Nicotine

Norepinephrine and Epinephrine Agonist; arousal and relaxation, sense of well-being, most addictive of all stimulants; heart disease and cancer, anxiety upon withdrawal

Delta Waves

Occur in NREM-3 and 4, waves are very slow and long and very deep; deep, deep sleep

Narcolepsy

People fall without warning into REM sleep from an active waking

REM Consolidation Hypothesis

REM sleep has an important role in memory consolidation

Creative Thinking Sleep Theory

Sleep feeds creative thinking; after working on a task, then sleeping on it, people problem solve more insightfully than do those who stay awake

Growth Sleep Theory

Sleep supports growth; pituitary gland releases growth hormone necessary for muscle development during deep sleep

Suprachiasmatic Nuclei

Structurally part of the hypothalamus; when light strikes the SCN (it detects light from the retina), it sends signals to the pineal gland (via the pituitary gland to suppress the production of melatonin); at night or during low levels of light, the SCN quiets down, allowing the pineal gland to release melatonin and prepare our body for sleep

Posthypnotic Amnesia

The inability in hypnotic subjects to recall events that took place while under hypnosis, partially by posthypnotic suggestion; memory of hypnosis can't be retrieved even with more hypnosis

REM Behavior Disorder

The normal paralysis that occurs during REM sleep is absent and person acts out their dreams

REM

Very active brain; internally very active, but experiencing atonia; REM starts short, but we spend more time in REM as sleep continues

Freud's Wish Fulfillment Theory

We need to satisfy our own wishes--expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; contains: manifest content (actual storyline of dream) and latent content (underlying meaning); lacks scientific evidence, dreams can be interpreted in a variety of ways

Selective Attention

When one zooms in on a single stimulus but loses track of competing stimuli; filtering mechanism

Sleep Apnea

When you stop breathing momentarily when they sleep