PSYCHOLOGY 2e - Chapter 4: STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Flashcards covering key definitions and concepts related to states of consciousness, sleep, dreams, sleep disorders, substance use disorders, hypnosis, and meditation from PSYCHOLOGY 2e, Chapter 4.

Consciousness

Awareness of internal and external stimuli such as feelings of hunger and pain or detection of light.

Wakefulness

High levels of sensory awareness, thought, and behavior.

Biological rhythm

An internal cycle of biological activity including fluctuation of body temperature, an individual's menstrual cycle, and levels of alertness.

Circadian rhythm

A biological rhythm that occurs over approximately 24 hours, such as the sleep-wake cycle, linked to the environment's natural light-dark cycle.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

Located in the hypothalamus, it serves as the brain’s clock mechanism and sets itself with light information from the retina to synchronize with the outside world.

Hypothalamus

Responsible for maintaining homeostasis, the tendency to maintain a balance, or optimal level, within a biological system.

Melatonin

A hormone whose release is stimulated by darkness, making us sleepy, and inhibited by daylight, released by the pineal gland.

Sleep regulation

The brain’s control of switching between sleep and wakefulness as well as coordinating this cycle with the outside world.

Chronotype

A person’s individual circadian pattern of activity.

Jet lag

Symptoms resulting from the mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and our environment, including fatigue, sluggishness, irritability, and insomnia.

Rotating shift work

A work schedule that changes from early to late on a daily/weekly basis, making it difficult to maintain a normal circadian rhythm.

Sleep debt

The result of insufficient sleep on a chronic basis.

Sleep rebound

The tendency of a sleep-deprived individual to take a shorter time to fall asleep during subsequent opportunities for sleep.

Sleep

A state marked by relatively low physical activity and a reduced sense of awareness, controlled by multiple brain areas and associated with hormone secretion.

Adaptive Function (Evolutionary Hypotheses of Sleep)

The theory that sleep is essential to restore resources expended during the day and is an adaptive response to predatory risks.

Cognitive Function (Sleep)

The theory focusing on sleep's importance for cognitive function and memory formation, where deprivation disrupts cognition and memory.

Alpha waves

Relatively low frequency, relatively high amplitude, synchronized brainwaves observed during the transitional phase of Stage 1 sleep.

Theta waves

Low frequency, low amplitude brainwaves, characteristic of Stage 2 sleep.

Sleep spindles

Rapid bursts of high frequency brainwaves that appear during Stage 2 sleep.

K-complexes

Very high amplitude patterns of brain activity that appear during Stage 2 sleep.

Delta waves

Low frequency, high amplitude, desynchronized brainwaves characteristic of slow-wave sleep (Stages 3 and 4).

Slow-wave sleep

Refers to Stages 3 and 4 of sleep, characterized by the presence of delta waves and further slowing of respiration and heart rate.

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep

A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, paralysis of voluntary muscles, dreams, and brain waves similar to those seen during wakefulness.

Manifest content

According to Freud, the actual content of a dream.

Latent content

According to Freud, the hidden meaning of a dream.

Collective unconscious

According to Carl Jung, a theoretical repository of information shared by all people across cultures, accessed through dreams.

Protoconsciousness

A state of virtual reality in the mind during dreaming that may help a person during consciousness.

Lucid dreams

Dreams in which certain aspects of wakefulness are maintained, and a person becomes aware that they are dreaming.

Insomnia

Difficulty falling or staying asleep for at least 3 nights a week for at least one month’s time, the most common sleep disorder.

Parasomnias

Sleep disorders involving unwanted motor behavior or experiences throughout the sleep cycle.

Sleep walking

A parasomnia that usually occurs during slow-wave sleep.

REM sleep behavior disorder

A parasomnia occurring when the muscle paralysis associated with REM sleep does not occur, leading to high levels of physical activity during REM sleep.

Restless leg syndrome

A parasomnia involving uncomfortable sensations in the legs when trying to fall asleep that are relieved by moving the legs.

Night terrors

A parasomnia where the sleeper experiences a sense of panic and may scream or attempt to escape, occurring during NREM sleep.

Sleep apnea

A sleep disorder where individuals stop breathing during their sleep, usually for 10-20 seconds or longer, leading to increased fatigue.

Obstructive sleep apnea

A type of sleep apnea where the airway becomes blocked and air is prevented from entering the lungs.

Central sleep apnea

A type of sleep apnea where the central nervous system fails to initiate breaths.

CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) device

A treatment for sleep apnea that pumps air into the person’s airways to keep them open.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

The unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder involving an irresistible urge to fall asleep during waking hours, often triggered by heightened arousal or stress.

Cataplexy

A feature of narcolepsy involving a loss of muscle tone while awake or, in some cases, complete paralysis of voluntary muscles.

Hypnagogic hallucinations

Vivid, dream-like hallucinations that can occur with narcolepsy.

Substance use disorder

A compulsive pattern of drug use despite negative consequences, involving physical and/or psychological dependence.

Physiological dependence

Involves changes in normal bodily functions and withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of drug use.

Psychological dependence

An emotional need for a drug, often used to relieve psychological distress.

Tolerance

Occurs when a person requires more and more of a drug to achieve effects previously experienced at lower doses, linked to physiological dependence.

Withdrawal

Negative symptoms experienced when drug use is discontinued.

Depressants

Drugs that suppress central nervous system activity, usually acting as GABA agonists to quiet the brain.

GABA agonists

Substances that bind to GABA receptors, making neurons less likely to fire and exerting a quieting effect on the brain.

Stimulants

Drugs that increase overall levels of neural activity, usually acting as dopamine agonists by preventing the reuptake of dopamine.

Dopamine agonists

Substances that increase dopamine activity in the brain, often by blocking its reuptake, associated with reward and craving.

Caffeine

A stimulant that antagonizes adenosine activity, increasing levels of alertness and arousal.

Nicotine

A highly addictive stimulant that interacts with acetylcholine receptors, playing a role in arousal and reward mechanisms.

Opioids

Highly addictive drugs that serve as analgesics (decrease pain) through their effects on the endogenous opioid neurotransmitter system.

Hallucinogens

Drugs that cause profound changes in sensory and perceptual experiences, often involving vivid hallucinations.

Hypnosis

An extreme focus on the self that involves suggested changes of behavior and experience, where individuals remain in control of their own behaviors.

Meditation

The act of focusing on a single target such as breath or a repeated sound to increase awareness of the moment, involving relaxed yet focused awareness.