Psych topic 4 final exam review

psychoactive drugs

general term for chemicals that affect the brain; changing one's perception, mood and/or behavior

physical dependence

also known as addiction; a person needs to the drug to function and can/will suffer from

withdrawal symptoms if they do not use the drug

psychological dependence

a condition in which increasingly larger doses of a drug are needed to produce a given effect

- believe you need it

Agonists

term for a drug that mimics (acts like) a neurotransmitter and produces similar effects

antagonists

term for any drug that prevents/blocks a neurotransmitter from binding to a receptor; no effects are felt

reuptake inhibitors

drugs that prevent axon terminals from reabsorbing neurotransmitters, making them more available for the brain to use. However, there can be side effects of too much neurotransmitters

Conscious level

things that we are thing about right now

- aware of right now

preconscious

things that we are not thinking about at the moment but are easily retrievable such as memories and knowledge

Ex: what did you do this weekend?

Unconscious level

things that are below our awareness and difficult to reach

- difficult to reach on your own

psychoanalytic/psychodynamic

Circadian rhythm

brains internal clock (24 hrs.) that affects certain changes

Beta waves

awake and alert

Delta Waves

"Deep sleep"

, but not vivid dream, slow-wave sleep

activation-synthesis theory

brain is very active during REM to make sense of activity it creates a story

support: most of dreams are about normal everyday things

Dreams mean nothing

Memory consolidation

integrate new information/ memories into existing ones

best way to do this, study information daily (in chunks)in stage 2 and REM

EEG

measures electrical activity in the brain (brain waves)

can be used to test for epilepsy

insomnia

Most common sleep disorder; troubling falling asleep and/or trouble staying asleep

narcolepsy

Occurs when a person suddenly (and uncontrollably) falls asleep (into REM); typically caused by a change of emotion

REM behavior disorder

No paralysis during REM; an individual acts out their vivid dreams

sleep apnea

Occurs when a person stops breathing repeatedly during night; preventing a person from getting a good night's rest

REM rebound

experience more REM due to: sleep deprivation, stress, drug withdrawal

helps restore the sleep/wake cycle can experience extremely vivid dreams/ nightmares, headaches, confusion

- side effects: headaches and confusion