AP Psych Module 1.5A-C Consciousness and Sleep

Consciousness

Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environments

• how we “think” makes sense of our lives, plan, adapt, feel emotion

Cognitive Neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (thinking, knowing, remembering, and communication)

Duel Processing

We process new information both explicitly and implicitly

• aka “high road-consciousness” and “low road-consciousness”

Blindsight

A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

Parallel processing

Processing multiple aspect of a stimulus simultaneously

• no multitasking

• jumping between very fast

Sequential Processing

Processing one aspect of a stimulus or a problem at a time

• slow, used to process new information both or solve difficult problems

Sleep

A periodic natural loss of consciousness— as distinct form unconscious results from a coma, general anaesthesia or hibernation

Circadian Rhythm

Our biological clack; regular rhythms set to a 24 hrs

Supeachiasmatic nucleus

A pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhyme

• controls production of melatonin

• “Jet lag”

Alpha Waves

The Relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.

• occurs right before sleep

Sleep cycle

Each sleep cycle is approximately 90 min and repeats throughout the night

• has 4 stages

N1

A brief sleep, might include hallucination or hypnogogic sensation

Hallucination

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the obscene of external visual stimuli

Hypnagogic sensation

Bizarre experiences such as jerking or a feeling of falling or floating weightlessly, which transitioning to sleep

• also called hypic sensation

N2

20 min long, sleep spindles on an EEG

• tap on shoulder can wake you up

N3

Deep sleep, difficult to awaken

• where sleep walking happens

Delta Waves

Large, slow brain waves of deep sleep occur

REM Sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep

• Heart rate rises, breathing becalmed rapid and eyes dart back and forth under closed eyelids

• Dreams occur here

• “Paradoxical Sleep” due to muscle being relaxed but other body system are active

Insomnia

Recurring problem in falling and staying asleep. Decrease REM sleep

• most common

Narcolepsy

Characterised by uncontrollable sleep attacks

• Person man laps directly into REM sleep

• May also struggle to sleep at night

Sleep Apnea

Temporary cessation of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakening

REM Sleep behaviour disorder

Twitching, kicking, punching may occur, often acting out ones dream

• normal REM Sleep does not occur

Sleep Deprivation

Effects: Tiredness, lower energy, suicidal thinking, metabolism upset and weight gain, lower immune system, decrease attention span, reaction, memory, learning