AP Psych Unit 1 - States of Consciousness

Section Two of AP Psych Unit 1 - Biological Bases of Behaviour

priming

The concept that people respond more quickly and/or accurately to questions they have seen before, even if they do not remember seeing them.

blind sight

Some people who report being blind can nonetheless accurately describe the path of a moving object or accurately grasp objects they say they can’t see! One level of their consciousness is not getting any visual info, while another level is able to “see” as demonstrated by their behavior.

conscious level

the information about yourself and your environment you are currently aware of. Your conscious level right now is probably focusing on the definition of these terms.

nonconscious level

Body processes controlled by your mind that we are not usually (or ever) aware of. Right now, your nonconscious is controlling your heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and so on.

preconscious level

information about yourself or your environment that you are not currently thinking about (not in your conscious level) but could be. If I asked what your favorite toy as a child was, you could bring that preconscious memory into your conscious level.

subconscious level

information that we are not consciously aware of but we know must exist due to behavior. The behaviors demonstrated in examples of priming and mere exposure effect suggest some information is accessible to out subconscious level but not to our conscious level.

unconscious level

psychodynamic psychologists believe some events and feelings are unacceptable to our conscious mind and are repressed into the unconscious mind. Many psychologists object to this concept as difficult or impossible to prove.

psychoactive drugs

Chemicals that change the chemistry of the brain and induce an altered state of consciousness. some of these changes are caused by the drug, but some due to the placebo effect

agonists

The drugs that mimic neurotransmitters. These drugs fit in the receptor sites on a neuron that normally receive the neurotransmitter and function as that neurotransmitter normally would.

antagonists

drugs that occupy receptors but do not activate them. block neurotransmitters and prevent them from occupying the receptor sites

tolerance

A physiological change that produces a need for more of the same drug in order to achieve the same effect. Will eventually cause withdrawal symptoms

withdrawal

Withdrawal symptoms vary from drug to drug. They range from the headache you might get if you don’t consume caffeine during the day to the dehydrating and potentially fatal night sweats a heroin addict experiences during withdrawal.

stimulants (cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine)

Speed up bodily processes like heart and breathing rates and creates a sense of euphoria. The more powerful stimulants such as cocaine produce a euphoric rush that may make the user feel invincible and extremely confident. All stimulants produce tolerance, withdrawal effects, and other side effects (disturbed sleep, reduced appetite, increased anxiety, and heart problems) to a greater or lesser degree that corresponds with the power of the drug

depressants (alcohol, barbiturates, anxiolytics/tranquilizers/antianxiety drugs like Valium

alcohol: most common depressant and psychoactive drug. depressants create euphoria and tolerance and withdrawal effects. Slows down brain processes. If enough is consumed to affect the cerebellum, our motor coordination is dramatically affected.

hallucinogens (LSD, peyote, psilocybin, mushrooms, marijuana)

Cause changes in perceptions of reality, including sensory hallucinations, loss of identity, and vivid fantasies. Notable for their persistence, as some amount of these drugs may remain in the body for weeks. If someone ingests the hallucinogen again during this time period, the new dose of the chemical is added to the lingering amount, creating more profound and potentially dangerous effects. This is sometimes called reverse tolerance because the 2nd dose may be less than the first but cause the same or greater effects. Effects of hallucinogens are less predictable than those of stimulants or depressants.

opiates (morphine, heroin, methadone, codeine, fentanyl)

All examples of opiates, like morphine and heroin, are similar in chemical structure to opium, a drug derived from the poppy plant. The opiates all act as agonists for endorphins and thus are powerful painkillers and mood boosters. Opiates cause drowsiness and euphoria associated with elevated endorphin levels. The opiates are some of the most physically addictive drugs because they rapidly change brain chemistry and create tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.

circadian rhythm

During a 24-hour day, our metabolic and thought processes follow a certain pattern. Some of us are more active in the morning than others, some of us get hungry or go to the bathroom at certain times of day, and so on. Includes our sleep cycle.

sleep onset

The period when we are falling asleep. This is the stage between wakefulness and sleep. Our brain produces alpha waves when we are drowsy but awake. We might experience mild hallucinations (such as falling or rising) before actually falling asleep and entering stage 1.

NREM stage 1 and 2

While we are both awake and in stages NREM 1 and 2, our brains produce theta waves, which are relatively high frequency, low amplitude waves. However, the theta waves get progressively slower and higher in amplitude as we go from wakefulness and through NREM stage 1 and NREM stage 2. In NREM stage 2, the EEG starts to show sleep spindles, which are short bursts of rapid brain waves.

NREM stage 3 and 4

Sometimes called delta sleep or deep or slow-wave sleep because of the delta waves that exist during these stages. The slower the waves (slower frequency) the deeper the sleep and the less aware we are of our environment. Very difficult to wake up during these stages. If you are awakened during delta sleep, you may be very disoriented and groggy. Very important in replenishing the bodies chemical supplies, releasing growth hormones in children and fortifying our immune system. A person deprived of delta sleep will be more susceptible to illness and will feel physically tired. Increasing exercise will increase the amount of time you spend in delta sleep.

restoration of resources

Sleep is necessary because our body has to rebuild various resources it used while we were awake and active. This finding was found because you spend longer time in delta sleep if you exercise more.

REM - rapid eye movement

Often called paradoxical sleep since our brain waves appear as active and intense as they do when we are awake. Purposes of REM are not clear. Dream can occur in any stage of sleep but a far more likely to occur during REM sleep, especially detailed dreams. REM sleep deprivation interferes with memory. Individuals deprived of REM sleep will experience REM rebound - the next time they can sleep normally, they will experience more and longer periods of REM. The more stress we experience, the longer our REM sleep will be.

insomnia

Most common sleep disorder (10% of population). Persistent problems going to sleep or staying asleep at night. Treated with suggestions for changes in behavior: less caffeine or other stimulants, exercising at appropriate times (not before bedtime), and maintaining a consistent sleep pattern. Doctors encourage insomniacs to use pills with caution as they disturb sleep patterns and can prevent truly restful sleep.

narcolepsy

Narcolepsy occurs far more rarely than insomnia, occurring in less than 0.001% of the population. Narcoleptics suffer from periods of intense sleepiness and may fall asleep at unpredictable and inappropriate times. Narcoleptics may suddenly fall into REM sleep regardless of what they are doing at the time. For example: one student suffered from narcolepsy from the time he was a preadolescent up until his graduation from high school. After he was finally diagnosed, he estimated that before his treatment he was drowsy almost his entire day except for 2-3 hours in the late afternoon. Narcolepsy can be successfully treated with medication and by changing sleep patterns, such as introducing naps at strategic times during the day.

sleep apnea

Causes a person to stop breathing for short periods of time during the night. The body causes the person to wake up slightly and gasp for air, and then continue sleeping. Robs the person of delta sleep and causes tiredness and possible interference with memory and attention. Severe apnea can be fatal. Since they don’t remember waking up, it often goes undiagnosed. Overweight men are at a higher risk for apnea. Can be treated with a respiration machine that provides air as the person sleeps.

somnambulism

sleepwalking. occur most commonly in children, and occur in the first few hours of the night in stage 4 sleep.

activation synthesis theory of dreaming

looks at dreams first as biological phenomena. brain imaging proves that our brain is very active during REM sleep. This theory proposes that perhaps dreams are nothing more than the brain’s interpretation of what is happening physiologically during REM sleep. Researchers know that our minds are very good at explaining events, even when the events have a purely physiological cause. Split-brain patients sometimes make up elaborate explanations for behaviors caused by their operation. Dreams may be a story made up by a literary part of our mind caused by the intense brain activity during REM sleep. According to this theory, dreams, while interesting, have no more meaning than any other physiological reflex in our body.

information-processing theory of dreaming

Suggests that we use dreams to process the events of the day. This theory points out that stress during the day will increase the number and intensity of dreams during the night. Also, most people report their dream content relates somehow to daily concerns. Proponents of information processing theorize that perhaps the brain is dealing with daily stress and information during REM dreams. The function of REM may be to integrate the information processed during the day into our memories. Babies may need more REM sleep than adults because they process so much new information every day.

consolidation theory

closely related to the information-processing theory: One of the functions of dreams might be to help us encode events and information in our short term memory into our long term memory.