Brain and States of Consciousness Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering drugs, addiction roles, consciousness, and sleep stages/disorders based on the lecture transcript.

Substance use disorder

Continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption.

Alcohol use disorder

Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use.

Psychoactive drugs

A chemical substance that changes perceptions and moods.

Tolerance

The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses to experience an effect.

Barbiturates

Drugs that depress CNS activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement.

Depressants

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

Amphetamines

Drugs that are always stimulants which stimulate neural activity, causing sped up body functions and associated energy.

Stimulants

Drugs that increase mental alertness and awareness by exciting neural activities or body functions, but can cause paranoia and anxiety.

Nicotine

A stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug found in tobacco.

Cocaine

A powerful and addictive stimulant derived from the coca plant that produces temporarily increased alertness and euphoria.

Ecstasy (MDMA)

A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen that produces euphoria but causes short-term health risks and long-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons.

Methamphetamine (meth)

A very addictive drug that stimulates the CNS with sped up body functions and associated energy and mood changes, appearing to reduce baseline dopamine levels.

LSD (acid)

A powerful hallucinogenic drug.

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic (mind manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.

THC

The major active ingredient in weed that triggers a variety of effects.

Addiction Homeostasis

The family’s attempt to maintain stability or balance when addiction is present.

The Addict

The person within the family system who has the substance abuse problem.

The Enabler

A family role, often a spouse or parent, who tries to minimize the impact or cover for the addict.

The Hero

Usually an overachieving child who tries to bring order to distract from the chaos of addiction.

The Scapegoat

A family member who is often blamed for problems and tends to act out.

The Lost Child

A quiet, withdrawn family member who avoids conflict.

The Mascot

A family role that uses humor and distraction to reduce tension.

Cognitive neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition.

Dual processing

The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

Collective unconscious

The idea that the mind is shaped by a shared psychological inheritance of humanity through deep mental patterns we all have.

Personal unconscious

Material that is forgotten, repressed, or never noticed by an individual.

Blindsight

A condition in which a person can respond to visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.

Parallel processing

The brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, involving the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously.

Inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Change blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

The Shadow (evil)

An unconscious archetype representing the parts of the personality that are rejected, denied, or repressed.

The Hero (archetype)

An unconscious archetype representing the psychological drive toward growth, mastery, and individuation.

The Healer

An unconscious archetype representing restoration, wisdom, and transformation through suffering.

Non-rapid eye movement (NREM)

Quiet sleep consisting of Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3.

Stage 1 Sleep

A light stage of sleep acting as a transition between wakefulness and sleep that produces slow high amplitude theta waves and lasts approximately $5$ minutes.

Stage 2 Sleep

A sleep stage lasting approximately $20$ minutes where the user becomes less aware of surroundings, body temperature drops, and breathing/heart rates become more regular.

Stage 3 Sleep

The deepest sleep stage where muscles relax and people become less responsive; this transitional period is where bedwetting and sleepwalking occur.

Rapid eye movement (REM)

Active sleep where the brain becomes more active, dreams occur, and eyes move rapidly.

Insomnia

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks where the patient goes into REM sleep at inopportune times.

Sleep apnea

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

Night terrors

A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified.

Dreams

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind.

Manifest Content

The actual dream as remembered, according to Freud's theory.

Latent Content

The hidden psychological meaning behind a dream.

Dream Work

The mental process that transforms latent content into manifest content using displacement, condensation, and symbolism.

Parts of a Neuron

Dendrites

Receive signals from other neurons or sensory receptors.

Cell Body (Soma)

Processes signals and contains the nucleus.

Axon

Transmits electrical impulses to other neurons, muscles, or glands.

Myelin Sheath

Insulates axon, speeding up signal transmission.

Axon Terminals

Release neurotransmitters to communicate with other neurons.

Synapse

Gap between neurons where chemical signals are transmitted.

Neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine

Muscle contraction, memory, and learning.

Dopamine

Pleasure, reward, and motivation.

Glutamate

Primary excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory.

Serotonin

Mood, sleep, and appetite regulation.

GABA

Inhibits neural activity, controls anxiety.

Norepinephrine

Attention, arousal, and stress response.

Epinephrine

Increases heart rate and prepares the body for "fight or flight."

Peripheral and Central Nervous Systems

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Composed of the brain and spinal cord. Controls thoughts, emotions, movement, and memory.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Includes all nerves outside the CNS, responsible for connecting the CNS to the body.

Subdivisions:

Sympathetic

Prepares the body for stress ("fight or flight").

Parasympathetic

Restores the body to calm after stress.

Somatic Nervous System

Controls voluntary movements.

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls involuntary functions, with two branches: sympathetic and parasympathetic.

endocrine system

The endocrine system is a collection of glands that produce hormones. These hormones regulate many of the body’s functions, such as growth, metabolism, and mood. The endocrine system works closely with the nervous system to control body processes. The endocrine system is responsible for producing and secreting hormones that regulate various body functions. It controls processes like metabolism, growth, mood, sexual function, and sleep.

Key Difference between endocrine system the Nervous System

While the nervous system uses electrical impulses for quick communication, the endocrine system uses hormones to communicate more slowly but with longer-lasting effects.

Hypothalamus:

located in the brain and controls the release of hormones from the pituitary gland. It also plays a key role in regulating the body's temperature, hunger, and thirst.

Pituitary Gland:

Often called the "master gland" because it regulates other glands. It secretes hormones that control growth, reproduction, and metabolism.

Example Hormones

Growth hormone (GH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and prolactin.

Oxytocin

Secreted by the posterior pituitary; involved in childbirth (stimulating contractions) and breastfeeding (stimulating milk production), and is also associated with bonding and social behaviors.

Thyroid Gland:

Regulates metabolism by releasing thyroid hormones (T3 and T4). Affects energy levels, weight, and body temperature.

Adrenal Glands:

Located on top of the kidneys, they release hormones like adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol, which are involved in stress response and metabolis ie Adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol.

Pancreas:

Regulates blood sugar levels by releasing insulin and glucagon. - Insulin (lowers blood sugar) and glucagon (raises blood sugar).

Ovaries (in females) and Testes (in males):

These glands produce sex hormones that regulate reproduction and secondary sexual characteristics.

Pineal Gland:

Regulates sleep-wake cycles by releasing melatonin, Helps control circadian rhythms (sleep cycles).

Insulin

Secreted by the pancreas; helps regulate blood sugar levels by allowing cells to absorb glucose.

Cortisol

Released by the adrenal glands; helps manage stress and regulates metabolism and immune response.

Adrenaline (Epinephrine)

Released during stress ("fight or flight"), increases heart rate and energy.

Testosterone

Produced by the testes; responsible for male sexual characteristics and sperm production.

Estrogen

Produced by the ovaries; responsible for female sexual characteristics and the menstrual cycle.

Thyroxine (T3 and T4)

Released by the thyroid; regulates metabolism and energy production.

Oxytocin

Produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland; involved in childbirth, breastfeeding, and social bonding (often called the "love hormone").