Brain, Sleep, and Consiousness Test

AP Psychology

brainstem & medulla

controls basic life support functions like breathing and heart rate (if damaged can be on life support or die)

Reticular Activating system

controls alertness, while nearby subcortical areas influence voluntary movement, eye movement, cognition, emotion, and learning

cerebellum

maintaining balance, coordinating muscle movement, and processing procedural memory learning (Located at the rear base of the brain)

limbic system and core structures

essential for emotional regulation, memory, and physiological balance

thalamus

brain's sensory switchboard/relay station that routes sensory signals except smell to the appropriate cortical areas

hypothalamus

maintains homeostasis by regulating hunger, thirst, body temperature, and controlling the endocrine system

pituitary gland

-endocrine system gland (HORMONES) governed directly by the hypothalamus; operates physical processes

hippocampus

critical for processing and forming new explicit/declarative memories

amyglada

primarily responsible for processing emotional responses, particularly fear and aggression

occipital lobe

visual information (rear of the brain)

temporal lobe

auditory processing and linguistic functions (speech) (sides of the brain)

parietal lobes

sensory information

frontal lobe

manage higher-order thinking, linguistic processing, and executive functioning within the prefrontal cortex, while controlling skeletal movement via the motor cortex at the rear of the lobe

left part of the brain

speech production and comprehension

Broca’s area (left frontal lobe)

speech production

Wernickies area (left temporal lobe)

speech comprehension

contralateral organization practice

Sensory input and motor control are cross-wired contralaterally

^- If an image is flashed exclusively to a split-brain patient's left visual field, the visual input travels only to the right hemisphere.Because language production centers are located in the left hemisphere, the patient cannot name the object out loud. However, because motor output is also contralateral, the patient can pick up the object with their left hand, which is controlled by the right hemisphere^.

brain plasticity

-capacity to rewire itself, modify neural connections, or establish new pathways during development or following injury, enabling alternative brain regions to assume standard functions

EEG

Measures brain wave electrical activity across the scalp, revealing functional wave patterns during wakefulness and sleep

fMRI

Tracks blood flow across brain structures, detailing both structural features and functional operations

lesioning

Intentional removal or destruction of tissue to observe functional deficits relative to structural brain baselines (corpus collosum)

consciousness

varying degrees of awareness regarding internal thoughts and external environmental events, both sleep and wakefulness represent distinct forms of consciousness

circadian rythym

The internal biological sleep/wake cycle operating on a roughly 24-hour period^. Real-world disruptions like jet lag or shift work desynchronize this natural cycle

REM sleep

-paradoxical because the brain displays high internal EEG wave activity similar to wakefulness, paired with profound body relaxation and muscle paralysis

REM properties

-dreaming

^-The frequency and duration of REM periods increase as the night progresses

-Following sleep deprivation, individuals experience REM rebound, entering REM sleep more quickly and staying in it longer when allowed uninterrupted rest

memory consolidation theory

Proposes that sleep functions to organize and consolidate memories formed throughout the day

restoration therapy

asserts that sleep functions to restore depleted physiological and cellular resources

activation synthesis theory

claims dreams are the brain's attempt to synthesize and make sense of random neural signals originating in the brainstem during sleep

consolidation therapy

Asserts that dreaming helps organize, process, and consolidate memories

insomnia

Persistent difficulty falling or staying asleep

narcolepsy

Uncontrollable sleep attacks occurring during waking hours

REM sleep behavior disorder

A condition where a sleeper physically acts out dreams due to a failure of normal REM muscle paralysis

sleep apnea

Temporary cessations of breathing during sleep that result in repeated awakenings

somnabulism

Sleepwalking that occurs specifically during deep NREM sleep

severing corpus collosum

treat severe epilepsy, preventing the two hemispheres from directly communicating with each other and allowing researchers to study hemispheric specialization

N1

-hypnagotic sensations

N2

-sleep spindles (brief, high-frequency bursts of rapid, rhythmic brainwave activity)

-decrease in heart rate and body temp

N3

-high-amplitude, slow delta waves and plays a vital role in physical restoration and body tissue repair