Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding: Chapter 5

Sleep Paralysis

State of being unable to move just after falling asleep or right before waking up.

Consciousness

Our subjective experience of the world, our bodies, and our mental perspectives.

Circadian Rhythm

Cyclical changes that occur on a roughly 24-hour basis in many biological processes.

Biological Clock

Term for the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus that's responsible for controlling our levels of alertness.

Rapid Eye Movement (REM)

Darting of the eyes underneath closed eyelids during sleep.

Non-REM (NREM) Sleep

Stages 1 through 4 of the sleep cycle, during which rapid eye movements do not occur and dreaming is less frequent and vivid.

REM Sleep

Stage of sleep during which the brain is most active and during which vivid dreaming most often occurs.

Lucid Dreaming

Experience of becoming aware that one is dreaming.

Insomnia

Difficulty faking and staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

Disorder characterized by the rapid and often unexpected onset of sleep.

Sleep Apnea

Disorder caused by a blockage of the airway during sleep resulting in daytime fatigue.

Night Terrors

Sudden walking episodes characterized by screaming, perspiring and confusion followed by a return to a deep sleep.

Sleepwalking

Walking while fully asleep.

Activation-Synthesis Theory

Theory that dreams reflect inputs from brain activation originating in the pons, which the forebrain then attempts to weave into a story.

Neurocognitive Theory

Theory that dreams are a meaningful product of our cognitive capacities, which shape what we dream about.

Out-of-Body Experience (OBE)

Sense of our consciousness leaving our body.

Near-Death Experience (NDE)

Out-of-body experience reported by people who've nearly died or thought they were going to die.

Deja Vu

Feeling of reliving an experience that's new.

Mystical Experience

Feelings of unity or oneness with the world, often with strong spiritual overtones.

Hypnosis

Set of techniques that provides people with suggestions for alterations in their perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

Past Life Regression Therapy

Therapeutic approach that hypnotizes and supposedly age-regresses patients to a previous life to identify the source of present-day problems.

Sociocognitve Therapy

Approach to explaining hypnosis based on people's attitudes, beliefs and expectations.

Dissociation Theory

Approach to explaining hypnosis based on a separation between personality functions that are normally well integrated.

Psychoactive Drug

Substance that contains chemicals similar to those found naturally in our brains that alter consciousness by changing chemical processes in neurons.

Tolerance

Reduction in the effect of a drug as a result of repeated use, requiring users to consume greater quantities to achieve the same effect.

Withdrawal

Unpleasant effects of reducing or stopping consumption of a drug that users had consumed habitually.

Physical Dependence

Dependence on a drug that occurs when people continue to take it to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Psychological Dependence

Dependence on a drug that occurs when continued use of the drug is motivated by intense cravings.

Sedative

Drug that exerts a calming effect.

Hypnotic

Drug that exerts a sleep inducing effect.

Stimulant

Drug that increases activity in the central nervous system, including heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure.

Narcotic

Drug that relieves pain and induces sleep.

Hallucinogenic

Causing dramatic alterations of perceptions, mood and thought.