Chapter 6: States of Consciousness

Night Terrors

Frightening dreams that arouse the sleeper to a near- panic state.

Automatic (unconscious) Processing

Can be performed without conscious awareness or effort.

Alcohol Myopia

Shortsighted thinking caused by the inability to pay attention to as much information as when sober.

Blindsight

Are blind in part of their visual field yet in special tests respond to stimuli in that field despite reporting that they cant see those stimuli.

Narcolepsy

Involves extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks that may last from less than a minute to an hour.

Dynamic (ever- changing)

We drift in and out of various states throughout each day.

Blood Brain Barrier

A special lining of tightly packed cells that lets vital nutrients pass through so neurons can function.

Antagonist

Is a drug that inhibits or decreases the action of a neurotransmitter.

Agonist

A drug that increases the activity of a neurotransmitter.

Melatonin

A hormone that has a relaxing effect on the body.

Tolerance

Decreasing responsivity to a drug.

Hypnosis

Is a procedure in which "one person (the subject) is guided by another (the hypnotist) to respond to suggestions for changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior.

Hallucinogens

Is are powerful mind- altering drugs that produce hallucinations.

Withdrawl

Occurrence of compensatory responses after discontinued drug use.

Opiates

Opium and drugs derived from it, such as morphine, codeine, and heroin.

Stimulants

Increase neural firing and arouse the nervous system.

Suprachiasmatic Nuclei (SCN)

Regulates most Circadian rhythms.

Insomnia

A chronic difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restful sleep.

Substance Dependence

A maladaptive pattern of substance use that causes a person significant distress or substantially impairs that persons life.

Wish Fulfillment

The gratification of our unconscious desires and needs; Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory.

Sleep Apnea

Repeatedly stop and restart breathing during sleep.

Problem Solving

Because dreams are not constrained by reality they can help us find creative solutions to our problems and ongoing concerns.

Cognitive process Dream Theories

Focus on the process of how we dream and propose that dreaming and waking thought are produced by the same mental systems in the brain.

Consciousness

Often defined as our moment- to- moment awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Social Cognitive Theories

Propose that hypnotic experiences result from expectations of people who are motivated to take on the role of being hypnotized.

Compensatory responses

Which are reactions opposite to that of the drug.

Memory Consolidation

A gradual process by which the brain transfers information into long- term memory.

Marijuana

A product of the hemp plant, Cannabis Sativa.

Restoration Model

Sleep recharges our run- down bodies and allows us to recover from physical and mental fatigue.

Selective Attention

The process that focuses awareness on some stimuli to the exclusion of others.

Delta Waves

Very slow and large waves.

Self reflective

________ and central to our sense of self: The mind is aware of its own consciousness.

Circadian Rhythms

Daily biological cycles; our bodys 24- cycle.

Activation- Synthesis Theory

Dreams do not serve any particular function- they are merely a by- product of REM neural activity.

Beta Waves

When you are awake and aler.

Subjective and private

Others cant directly know what reality is for you, nor can you enter directly into their experience

Self-reflective and central to our sense of self

The mind is aware of its own consciousness

Controlled (conscious) Processing

The conscious use of attention and effort

Divided Attention

The capacity to attend to and perform more than one activity at the same time

Priming

Exposure to a stimulus influences how you subsequently respond to that same or another stimulus

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Is a cyclic tendency to become psychologically depressed during certain seasons of the year

Alpha Waves

When you are feeling relaxed and drowsy, your brain waves will slow down

REM Sleep

Characterized by rapid eye movements (REM), high arousal, and frequent dreaming

Evolutionary/Circadian Sleep Models

Emphasize that sleeps main purpose is to increase a species chances of survival in relation to its environmental demands

REM-sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD)

In which the loss of muscle tone that causes normal REMsleep paralysis is absent

Depressants

Decrease nervous system activity

THC

Marijuanas major active ingredient

Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales

Contain a standard series of pass-fail suggestions that are read to a subject after a hypnotic induction

Dissociation Theory

That view hypnosis as an altered state involving a division (dissociation) of consciousness