Psych 462 Exam 3 - Chapter 8

What sleep rhythm is not seen in humans, but seen in other animals?

endogenous circannual rhythms (annual cycle)

What are 3 examples of animals with an endogenous cirannual rhythm?

hibernating bears, bird migration and squirrels storing food for winter

What sleep rhythm is seen in humans and lasts approximately a day (24 hours)?

endogenous circadian rhythms

Does the circadian rhythm occur even if you fall asleep or not, indicating that humans have an internal biological clock?

yes

True or false: the circadian rhythm is a physiological cycle that is influenced by behavior but dominated by the nervous system

true

Circadian rhythms affect much more than just waking and sleeping. What else do we have circadian rhythms for?

eating and drinking as well as body temperature and mood

Does body temperature fluctuate during sleep?

yes

The stimulus that resets the circadian rhythm is referred to as a _______

zeitgeber

What is the most dominant zeitgeber for land animals (humans)?

sunlight

Is the biological clock slightly longer than 24 hours?

yes

People who are blind still follow circadian rhythms but they are slightly different and may be longer than 24 hours due to the fact that they are setting their circadian rhythms based on ?

secondary zeitgebers like noise, temperature, meals or activity

The biological clock is determined by body's physiology (the __________) and _______ fine-tunes it

hypothalamus (90%), sunlight (10%)

Do circadian rhythms differ among individuals?

yes

Some people, _____, awaken early, reach their peak of productivity early, and become less alert later in the day

larks

Others, ____, warm up more slowly, reaching their peak in the late afternoon or early evening

owls

Are young children more likely to be owls or larks?

larks

Are adolescents more likely to be owls or larks?

owls

At what point do people become larks again?

around age 20 (young adulthood) people transition back to being larks

Being a morning person or an evening person depends partly on age. What other two factors may also play a role?

genetics and several environmental factors, including artificial light

Due to all this information, does the argument stand for schools to push back start time to 9am instead of 8am ?

yes

True or false: if you get really good sleep, your hypothalamus will begin to wake you up before your alarm clock, meaning you won't need one

true

Compared to females, do males sleep a little bit later and get up a little bit later on average?

yes

The main driver of rhythms for sleep and body temperature is the ________ _______ or ___, a part of the ________

suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN, hypothalamus

It gets it name from its location just above the ______ ______

optic chiasm

The SCN generates circadian rhythms itself in a ________ controlled manner, however it can be _________ influenced

genetically, behaviorally

True or false: if SCN neurons are disconnected from the rest of the brain or removed from the body and maintained in tissue culture, they continue to produce a circadian rhythm of action potentials

true

A small branch of the optic nerve known as the _______________ path, from the retina to the SCN, alters the SCN's settings

retinohypothalamic

The retinohypothalamic path to the SCN comes from a special population of retinal ganglion cells that have their own photopigment called _________

melanopsin

These cells respond to the overall average amount of _____ available in the environment and send info about light to ___ of hypothalamus

light, SCN

How does light reset the biological clock?

A branch of the optic nerve, the retinohypothalamic path, conveys information about light to the SCN. The axons comprising that path originate from special ganglion cells that respond to light by themselves, even if they do not receive input from rods or cones.

What two genes are mainly responsible for a circadian rhythm?

period (PER) and timeless (TIM) which produce the proteins PER and TIM

Does the concentration of these two proteins, PER and TIM, oscillate over a day, based on feedback interactions among neurons?

yes

True or false: in the SCN, PER and TIM are built in the night and breakdown throughout the day via light until at the end of the day they are almost gone and built up again

true

After the proteins TIM and PER reach a high level during the day, what causes their level to decrease at night?

high levels of the proteins inhibit the genes that produce these proteins

The SCN regulates waking and sleeping by controlling activity levels in other brain areas, including the _______ gland

pineal

The pineal gland releases the hormone ______, and it is influenced by the _______

melatonin, hypothalamus

Melatonin is a widespread chemical, found in most living things and it is released at ______

night

In humans, melatonin is a hormone that ______ sleepiness

increases

As melatonin increases sleepiness in humans, it increases ______ in nocturnal animals

wakefulness

Melatonin secretion starts to increase about _ to _ hours before bedtime

2 to 3

Taking a melatonin pill has little effect on sleepiness because the pineal gland produces melatonin at that time anyway. However, people who take melatonin earlier start to become ______ earlier. In other words, it does not increase quality of sleep, but it can help you ____ asleep

sleepy, fall

If you want to get to sleep on time, what should you avoid?

short-wavelength light late in the evening

_____ is a state that the brain actively produces, characterized by decreased activity and decreased response to stimuli

sleep

True or false: the brain sleeping is putting the human out of the way

true

True or false: long-term memories are created (strengthened) and stored during sleep, meaning that the brain is still active during sleep

true

In contrast to sleep, ____ is an extended period of unconsciousness caused by head trauma, stroke or disease where an individual has no response to external stimuli

coma

Someone in a ________ state alternates between periods of sleep and moderate arousal, although even during the more aroused state, the person shows no awareness of surroundings and no purposeful behavior. A person can open their eyes, smile and react to aversive stimuli, but not a lot of visceral response

vegetative

A ______ _______ state is one stage higher, with brief periods of purposeful actions and a limited amount of speech comprehension. Characterized by periods of consciousness where people can respond

minimally conscious

_____ ______ is a condition with no sign of brain activity and no response to any stimulus. It is a state of permanency, and no individuals come back from this

brain death

What do researchers use to monitor brain activity during sleep by getting a representation of neurons of the surface underneath an electrode?

EEG

What is sometimes joined with an EEG to record eye movements?

polysomnograph

What is Professor Elliots son's rapper name, as well as the order of brain waves in terms of consciousness?

Gamma-BAT-D (gamma, beta, alpha, theta, delta)

We see gamma rays in the _______ cortex and they are extremely _____

occipital, fast

Beta waves come from the ______ cortex and we can see them as someone processes information ______

cerebral, awake

Alpha waves are when you are awake but ______

relaxed

When someone begins to fall asleep, they enter stage 1 NREM, however you skip first NREM stage if the brain is NOT _____ _______

sleep deprived

As you enter stage 2 NREM (a critical stage), what two characteristics become prominent?

K-complex and sleep spindles

What type of brain waves do we see in stage 2 NREM?

theta waves

One is likely to see activity of _____ ______ followed by _-______ when you hear a sound while you are sleeping; _-_____ follows and either wakes you or leaves you asleep

sleep spindles, K-complex, K-complex

A K-complex is a sharp ______ wave associated with temporary inhibition of neuronal firing

delta

During _____-____ sleep, heart rate, breathing rate and brain activity decreases, whereas slow, large-amplitude waves become more common

slow-wave

Slow waves indicate that neuronal activity is highly ________

synchronized

True or false: brain waves are all about synchronization

true

During paradoxical or REM sleep, the EEG shows irregular, low-voltage fast waves that indicate increased neuronal activity. In this regard, REM sleep is light and similar to stage _ except for the eye movements. However, the postural muscles of the body are more relaxed during REM than other stages. In this regard, REM sleep is ____ sleep.

1, deep

True or false: When you fall asleep, you start in stage 1 and slowly progress to stage 2 and then into slow-wave sleep, although loud noises or other intrusions can interrupt the progress. After about an hour of sleep, you begin to cycle from slow-wave sleep to stage 2 and then REM. The sequence repeats, with each cycle lasting about 90 minutes

true

Early in the night, ____-____ sleep predominates. As time passes, ___ occupies an increasing percentage of the time

slow-wave, REM

Is the reticular formation a brain structure involved in arousal or inhibition of sleep?

arousal

True or false: the neurons of the reticular formation that have axons ascending into the brain are well suited to regulate arousal

true

One part of the reticular formation that contributes to cortical arousal is known as the _______

pontomesencephalon

Neurons from the pontomesencephalon receive input from many sensory systems and also generate activity of their own; their axons extend into the __________. Axons from these cells release _____, which inhibits or interrupts behavior and promotes slow-wave sleep. Axons from other cells release _____ _____ or ______, producing arousal in the _______ ______ and _____ _______

forebrain, GABA, acetylcholine, glutamate, dopamine, hypothalamus, thalamus, basal forebrain

Acetylcholine, glutamate and dopamine produce ______ partly by regulating the levels of potassium and other ions that produce a constant state of arousal

wakefulness

True or false: after the ions are in a state that supports arousal, they tend to remain at a stable concentration; for that reason, waking up is generally faster than falling asleep

true

The ______ ______, a small structure in the _____, is usually inactive, especially during sleep, but it emits bursts of impulses in response to meaningful events, especially those that produce _________ arousal

locus coeruleus, pons, emotional

Axons from the locus coeruleus release _______________ widely throughout the cortex.

norepinephrine

Output from the locus coeruleus increases the activity of most active neurons and decreases the activity of less active neurons. The result is enhanced _________ to important information and enhanced ______

attention, memory

True or false: the locus coeruleus has a role in flash-bulb memories and helps log information into long-term memory

true

The ______ has intermingled neurons, some that promote wakefulness and some that promote sleep.

hypothalamus

One axon pathway from the hypothalamus releases the excitatory neurotransmitter ________, which enhances arousal and alertness throughout the brain

histamine

Many __________ drugs, often used for allergies, counteract this transmitter and produce ________; those that do not cross the blood-brain barrier avoid that side effect

antihistamines, drowsiness

Another pathway from the hypothalamus, mainly from the _______ and ________ nuclei of the hypothalamus, releases a peptide neurotransmitter called _______

lateral, posterior, orexin

What is orexin needed for?

staying awake

A __________ pathway from the hypothalamus connects to the basal forebrain, increasing wakefulness and arousal

cholinergic

What neurotransmitter stimulates the basal forebrain cells that promote wakefulness?

acetylcholine

True or false: sleep depends partly on decreased sensory input to the cerebral cortex

true

During sleep, neurons in the thalamus become ________, decreasing their readiness to respond to stimuli and decreasing the information they transmit to the cortex. However, although responsiveness decreases, a moderate amount remains. For example, parents usually awaken quickly at the sound of a crying infant.

hyperpolarized

During sleep, spontaneously active neurons continue firing at only slightly less than their usual rate. How, then, do we remain unconscious in spite of sustained neuronal activity?

inhibition

During sleep, axons that release the inhibitory neurotransmitter _____ increase their activity, interfering with the spread of information from one neuron to another. Connections from one brain area to another become weaker, and when stimulation doesn't spread through the brain, you don't become conscious of it.

GABA

True or false: GABA is used in sleep to inhibit certain areas of the brain

true

When not enough GABA is released during sleep, certain actions and processes aren't being inhibited. What are three examples involving this scenario?

sleepwalkers/sleeptalkers, lucid dreaming (when a person knows their dreaming and can manipulate it) and conscious sleep paralysis

During REM sleep, brain activity increases in the ____ (which triggers the onset of REM sleep) and the _____ _______ (which is important for [negative] emotional arousal).

pons, limbic system

During REM sleep, brain activity decreases in the ______ ______ cortex, the ______ cortex and _______ _________ cortex

primary visual, motor, dorsolateral prefrontal

What area of the primary visual cortex is decreased, where vision is received from the thalamus?

area V1

True or false: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has a role in perception of linear time and some executive function

true

True or false: the thalamus decreases the amount of sensory information coming in while the pons affects the information leaving

true

REM sleep is associated with a distinctive pattern of high-amplitude electrical potentials known as ___ waves, for ____-______-______

PGO, pons-geniculate-occipital

How much sleep does the average adult human need?

7 1/2 to 8 hours

What is the best gauge of insomnia - inadequate sleep?

asking how somehow feels the following day

True or false: ordinarily, people fall asleep while their temperature is declining and awaken while it is rising

true

What type of insomnia is characterized as the impaired ability to breathe while sleeping?

sleep apnea

People with narcolepsy lack what neurotransmitter? What are the results?

orexin, a person alternates between short waking periods and short sleepy periods