Neurobiology and Psychology of Sleep and Memory

A series of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts related to the neurobiology of sleep, memory processes, and learning theories.

Circadian Rhythm

Our body’s internal clock that regulates the roughly 24-hour cycle of biological processes.

Sleep Pressure

Builds up with adenosine during wakefulness, creating a drive for sleep.

Adenosine

A neurotransmitter that creates sleep drive and slows down neuronal activity.

Caffeine

A substance that acts as an adenosine receptor antagonist, blocking the effects of adenosine.

Melatonin

A hormone produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness, regulating sleep and circadian rhythms.

Pineal Gland

The gland in the brain that regulates circadian rhythms and secretes melatonin.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

Part of the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythms.

Theta Waves

Brain waves associated with light sleep and drowsiness.

Delta Waves

Brain waves that occur during deep sleep.

NREM Sleep

Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep, consisting of stages 1–3.

REM Sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep, characterized by vivid dreaming and muscle atonia.

Hippocampal-Neocortical Dialog Model

A model suggesting that the hippocampus replays experiences during slow-wave sleep to transfer those memories to the cortex.

Test-Enhanced Learning

The phenomenon where the act of retrieval strengthens long-term retention.

Sperling’s Study

An experiment demonstrating sensory memory, where briefly shown letters were better recalled with a partial-report cue.

Explicit Memory

Conscious recall of information, including episodic and semantic memories.

Implicit Memory

Unconscious memory, which includes skills and conditioned responses.

Flashbulb Memories

Vivid, detailed memories of shocking events, often with high confidence although accuracy may vary.

Classical Conditioning

Learning that occurs when two stimuli are associated with each other (e.g., Pavlov's dogs).

Operant Conditioning

Learning that occurs through the consequences of behavior, including reinforcement and punishment.

Law of Effect

Thorndike’s principle stating that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are more likely to be repeated.

Intermittent Reinforcement Effect

The phenomenon where behaviors reinforced intermittently are more resistant to extinction.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by observing the behaviors of others without direct reinforcement.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire both when an individual acts and when the individual observes the same action performed by another.

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

A psychological test that measures unconscious biases through reaction times to word pairings.