conciousness and hypnosis

consciousness

our awareness of ourselves/our environment

hypnosis

a social interaction where one person responds to another person’s suggestions that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

posthypnotic suggestion

a suggestion made during hypnosis to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.

dissociation

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle.

REM sleep

rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. AKA paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (apart from twitches) but other body systems are active.

alpha waves

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.

sleep

periodic, natural loss of consciousness-as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

hallucinations

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

delta waves

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

NREM sleep

non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep.

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness.