PSYCH EXAM 2

Chapter 4-5

Sounds

• vibrations cause by the compression of air molecules that propagate as an acoustic wave

  • psychological definition: the experience of hair cells in our inner ear reacting to these acoustic waves

conscious

• momentary and controllable

subconcious

• (easily) accessible

• describes our awareness of internal and external

  • eg: pain, hunger, thrist, emotions and thoughts

selective attention

• process that controls awareness and preparedness to response to stimuli

  • helps to not overwhelm individual and select what is important

cocktail party effect

• attention is shifted when you hear your name mentioned

  • eg: disrupts original attention (failure of selective attention)

stroop effect

• delay in reaction time between reading words while trying to name the font colour

  • congruent and incongruent stimuli

  • measures a persons selective attention capacity and skills (processing speed)

sleep

• state of low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory awareness

wakefullness

• high levels of snesory awanress, thought and behavoir

states of conciousness

• sleep

• wakefulness

• intoxication

• daydreaming

• unconsciousness (anesthesia)

circadian rythm

• Biological rhythm over 24hrs

• sleep wake cycle

• heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, body temp

the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

• brains clock mechanism

• located in hypothalamus

  • light sensitive neurons in retina provide information to SCN, synching it to the outside world

melatonin

• important regulator hormone for sleep-wake schedule

• released by the pineal gland

• stimulated by darkness

pineal gland

• endocrine structure located inside the brain

• releases melatonin

chronotype

• individual differences in circadian patterns

  • eg: night owls and morning larks

Sleep regulation

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

jet lag

• mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and enviroment

  • symptoms include: fatigue, sluggishness, irritability and insomnia

rotating shift work

• persistent feelings of exhaustion and agitation

• results in sleeping problems, depression and anxiety

  • common in health care workers

slept debt

• induvial without sufficient amount of sleep on a daily basis

• symptoms: decreased alertness, mental efficiency

  • amount of sleep since invention of electric light has declined

sleep reccomendation

• 0-3 months: 14-17 hours

• 4-11 months: 12-15 hours

• 1-2 years: 11-14 hours

• 3-5 years- 10-13 hours

• 6-13: 9-11 hours

• 14-17: 8-10 hours

• 18-25: 7-9 hours

• 26-64: 7-9 hour

• ≥65 years: 7-8 hours

sleep deprivation

• assosicated with obesity, depression, increased levels of stress hormone and blood pressure

• halluciantions, cognative imparment, risk of heart disease, growth suppression, risk of type 2 diabetes, impared immune system

Sleep rebound

sleep-deprived individual will fall asleep more quickly during subsequent opportunities for sleep.

areas of brain in sleep-wake cycles

• thalamus

  • regulate slow wave sleep

• hypothalamus

  • SCN

• pons

  • REM

hormones in sleep

• melatonin- pineal gland

  • regulate biological rhythms and immune system

• follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)- pituitary gland

  • important in reproductive system

• luteinizing hormone (LH)

  • important in reproductive system

• growth hormone- pituitary gland

  • physical growth

hypothesis for sleep (evolutionary psychology)

• restore recourses expanded throughout the day

• sleep patterns evolved as an adaptive response to predators to sleep in safe areas

  • reduce risk of predators

cognative function of sleep

• benifit memory formation

• creative thinking

• processing emotional information

beta waves

• while awake

• highest frequency & lowest amplitutde

• 13-30hz

REM

• rapid eye movement

  • brain waves similar to wakefulness

stage 1: NREM

• drifting off to sleep/transitional

• slowdown in respiration and heartbeat

  • begins ALPHA

  • move to THETA waves after 12 SECONDS

alpha waves

• stage 1 NREM

• drifting off to sleep/relaxed

• 8-12hz

Theta waves

• low frequency (4-7hz), higher im amplitude

NREM: stage 2

• body in deep relaxation

• K- complex present: high amplitude pattern of brain activity in reaction to environmental stimuli

• theta waves dominate but interrupted by rapid burst of high frequency brain waves

  • may be important for learning and memorization

NREM: stage 3 sleep

• deep sleep

• lowest frequency - 3hz

• highest amplitude delta waves

  • individuals do not feel refreshed if woken up during this stage

REM sleep

• rapid eye movement

• brain waves similar to when awake

• no voluntary muscle movement

• learning and memory

  • REM rebound: induvial with lost rem sleep will spend more time in this stage

freud on dreams

• dreams access the unconious

  • gain insight into problems in life

manifest content

• content and storyline of a dream

• freud

latent content

• hidden/implicit meaning of a dream

• freud

collective unconscious

• symbols in dreams similar for all people regardless of culture or location

Rosalind Cartwright: dreams

• dreams simply reflect important life events to dreamer

Alan Hobson

• activation-synthesis theory of dreaming

  • brain trying to synethsize/make sense of neural activity during REM

Lucid dreaming

• aspects of wakefullness maintained in a dream state

  • person is aware they are dreaming and can control the content

insomnia

• long delayes between bed time and sleep

• person may wake up

• 3x a week for a month

  • anxiety, tiredness

treatment to insomia

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy

  • stress management

• medication

• limit stimulant drugs (caffine)

  • should seek professional help

sleepwalking-somnambulism,

• complex behaviors when asleep

  • wandering to driving

• common during slow wave sleep

• treatment success is questionable

REM sleep behavoir disorder (RBD)

• muscle paralysis dosent occour in REM sleep

• high lebels of phsycial activity during sleep, disturbing dreams

  • kicking, punching, scratching, yelling

• degenerative diseases: Parkinsons

  • treated w anti anxiety meds

restless leg syndrome

• uncomfortable sensation in legs when falling asleep

• relived by moving legs

  • assosiated with kidney diseases and diabetes

night terrors

• senese of panic accompanied by screams or trying to escape from enviroment

• no reccolection of events

  • occour during NREM

sleep apnea

• breathing stops for 10-20 seconds, increase fatige

• common in overweight people

• loud snoring

  • obstructive sleep apnea: airway blocked during sleep

  • central sleep apnea: disruption in signals sent from brain that regulate breathing cause periods

continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

• treatment for sleep apnea

• mask over nose

  • pumps air into persons airways, forcing them to remain open

SIDS: sudden infant death syndrome

• breathing stops infant dies

• under 12 months boys higher risk

• risk factors: premature birth, smoking, hyperthermia

  • infants should sleep on back

Narcolepsy

• person falls aleep whenever

  • reduced levels of hypocretin in brain

• cataplexy: muscle weakness/paralysis

• triggered by arousal, stress, excitemnet

• treated with stimulant drugs

Physical dependence

• bodily functions changes

• withdrawl

  • eg: needing za to sleep

psychological dependence

• emotional dependance to drug

  • use to relieve psychological distress

tolerance

• linked to psycological dependance

• needs more druh to acheive same experince

  • can lead to dangerous intake/death

withdrawl

• negative symptoms when not using drug

  • withdrawal from sedatives= unpleasant agitation/arousal

  • can develop tolerance and withdrawal from NOT abused drugs

DSM-5

• substance use disorder as a compulsive patter on drug use

types of stimulants

• cocaine, amphetamines

• Adderall

• MDMA

  • increased heart rates, alertness, death

types of sedative-hypnotics: depressants

• alcohol

• barbiturates

• benzodiazepines: xanex

  • decreased heart rate, relaxation, memory loss, decreased heart rate, death

types of opiates

• opium, heroin, fent, morphine, oxy, viocdin, meth and other pain relivers

  • decreased pain, pupil constriction, decreased respitory (can lead to death)

    • sleepiness, euphoria

types of hallucinogens

• marijuana

• LSD

• peyote

• DMT

• ketamine

  • mild to intesne perceptual changes based on drug

depressants

• depressant: alcohol

• suppresses central nervous system activity

  • agonists of the gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter system

  • has a quieting effect treating anxiety

  • binding of depressants in GABA-fated Cl- channel allows negatively charged chloride ions into neurons cell body. pushes neuron away from firing= quieting effect on brain

fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)

• pregnant person consuming alcohol

• baby born with a cluster of birth defects

stimulants- Amphetamines

• MDMA, nicotine, caffeine, bath salts

• increase levels of neural activity

• agonists of dopamine neurotransmitter system, blocking reuptake of dopamine in neuronal synapse

• prescribed for ADHD

caffine

• increase alertness

• antagonizing adenosine activity

  • neurotransmitter that promotes sleep

Nicotine

• highly addictive

• interacts with acetylcholine receptors

  • neurotransmitter in motor neuron, plats a role in arousal and reward mechanisms

hypnosis

• state of extreme self-focus and attention, minimal attention is given to external stimuli

• can be used to enhance memory, skill, alter thoughts/perception of patients

  • helps depression, anxiety and smoking cessation

  • Patient must be relaxed and open to hypnosis

meditation

• focusing on a single target (breath or sound) to increase awareness of the moment

• goal is a relaxed awareness and focus

  • helps reduce blood pressure, stress, sleep, mood, anxiety

methadone

synthetic opioid that is less euphorigenic than heroin- used to manage withdrawal symptoms in opiate users

parasomnia

• one of a group of sleep disorders characterized by unwanted, disruptive motor activity and experiences during sleep

sensation

when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor

transduction

• The conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

Absolute threshold

• the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time

  • how dim can a light to be detected 50% of the time

• strong enough to excite sensory receptors and sense nerve impulse to brain

subliminal messages

• a message below the threshold for consious awarness

  • controversy about messages in music, advertising etc

just noticeable difference/ difference threshold

• how much difference in stimuli is required to detect a difference between them

• changes depending on stimulus intensity

  • eg: changing volume of music until able to hear the difference in volume

perception

the way sensory information is organized, interpreted and consiously experinced

bottom up processing

• sensory information from a stimulus in the environment driving a process

  • uses data to interpret new meaning

  • eg: hearing a glass breaks causing analysis

  • eg: learning a new word with no knowledge of that

top- down processing

• knowledge and expectations driving a process

• based on prior knowledge

  • eg: understanding a word despite a typo, as long as the first and last letter are the same

sensory adaptation

• not perceiving stimuli that are present for extended peroids of time

  • eg: not seeing your nose because your nose blocks it out

  • eg: not hearing a fan after some time

attention

• plays a key role in determing our perception from our enviroment

  • eg: tuning out the music at a party when talking to a friend

  • eg: gorilla experiment with ball

Inattentional blindness

• failure to notice something that is visible because the person was not paying attention

  • experiment: not seeing a car cut you off in traffic because you are texting

signal detection theory

• ability to determine a stimuli when it is embedded in a distracting environment

  • eg: mother hearing quiet murmur from baby but not other sounds when she is sleeping

  • eg: detecting a siren in a busy street

amplitude

• distance from center line to the top/crest OR center to bottom/trough

wavelength

• length of a wave from one peak(crest) to the next

frequency

• number of waves that pass a point in a given time

• expressed in hertz (hz)

• longer wavelength: lower frequency

• shorter: high frequency

visible specturm

• portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans can see

• wavelenghts from 380 to 740nanometers

  • honeybees can see light in ultraviolet waves

  • snakes can see infared

light waves

• for humans: assosiated with perception of colour

  • red is longer wavelength- violet is shortest

soundwaves

• frequency of a sound is associated with the sounds pitch

  • high frequency= high pitch, low freuq= low pitch

  • audible range of sound is 20 to 20,000 Hz

  • chickens have limited audible range from 125 to 2000hz

sound volume

• loudness is associated with amplitude of sound wave

  • high amp= loud sounds

  • loudness measured in decibles (dB)

    • typical conversation= 60dB

    • concert = 120 dB

timbre

a sounds purity affected by frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves

cornea

• transparent covering over the eye

  • involved in focusing light waves that enter the eye

pupil

• small opening in eye which light passes through

• size can change due to amount of light

  • dialted pupil= less light

  • constricted pupil= lots of light

iris

• controls the pupils size

• the coloured part of the eye

lens

• after light passes into pupil, it does into the lens

• can change shape to aid in focusing light from near or far objects

  • lens focuses images in the back of the eye- fovea

fovea

• part of the retina- light sensitive lining of the eye

• contains photoreceptor cells (cones): light detecting cells

cones

• specialized types of photoreceptor cells

• bright light conditions

• provide spatial resolution and ability to perceive color

• type of photoreceptor

• low/dim light conditions

• perception of movement

  • night blindness: if rods do not transform light into nerve impulse effectively

optic nerve

• axons from the retinal ganglion cells converge and exit through the back of the eye to form the optic nerve

• carries visual information from the retina to the brain

blind spot

• point in visual field we cannot see

optic chiasm

• optic nerves from each eye merge below the brain in the optic chiasm

  • information from right visual field is sent to the left vise versa

visual processing inside of the brain

• sent to the occipital lobe for processing

  • what pathway: object recognition and identification

  • where/how pathway: location in space and interaction with visual stimulus

trichromatic theory of colour vision

• all colours in spectrum created by combination of red, blue and green