ap psych unit 5: states of consicoousness

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consciousness

A person's subjective experience of the world and the mind.

circadian

A cycle or rhythm that is roughly 24 hours long; the cyclical daily fluctuations in biological and psychological processes.

REM sleep

Rapid Eye Movement. The point in your sleep where your body is paralyzed & you dream

Alpha Waves

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

sleep

periodic, natural loss of conciousness

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

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.

Dream

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer's delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it.

Manifest Content

According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content).

Latent Content

According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream

REM Rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

Posthypnotic suggestion

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

Dissociation

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

Psychoactive Drugs

A chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood.

Tolerance

A reduced response to a drug over time

Withdrawal

The discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Physical Dependence

A physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

Psychological dependence

A psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions

Addiction

Compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences.

Depressants

Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

Barbiturates

Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement

Opiates

Opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety.

Stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Amphetamines

Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

Methamphetamine

A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels

Ecstasy (MDMA)

A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic (mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.

LSD

A powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid (lysergic acid diethylamide).

Near-Death Experience

an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations

THC

The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations.

Hypnosis

a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

does not enhance recall or forgotten events (may even invoke false memories)

Posthypnotic Suggestions

have helped people harness their own healing powers, not effective in treating addiction, can help relieve pain

DIssociation Theory

divided consciousness, enables hypnotized subjects to consciously respond to hypnotists suggestions (cold water isn't painful), hypnotized subjects processed a 2nd associated stream of mental activity,e enabled them to sense waters temperature

Social Influence

no such thing as hypnotic trance, instead enacting socially constructed role of hypnotic subject (ignored the cold because they were caught up in the role of being a hypnotized subject)

Sleep Stages

humans go through 4 stages every 90 minutes

NREM1, NREM2, REM, NREM3

REM

a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep because muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active

initial 4 NREM stages last about an hour

after stage 4, sleeper goes back through stages 3 and 2, instead of reentering Stage 1, goes to REM sleep

NREM1

experience falling and floating (NOT REM)

may suddenly jerk

brief period

slowing heart rate and blood pressure

NREM2

relax more deeply, truly asleep, sleep spindles

as the night wears on, NREM gets longer

15-20 minutes

Sleep spindles

short bursts of rapid, high-amplitude brain waves

NREM3

deep sleep, hard to awaken

slow delta waves are emitted by the brain

REM sleep does not come after this stage but follows NREM2

-doesn't follow a normal cycle after the initial one

low levels of breathing, blood pressure, heart rate

Circadian Rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle

Why do we Sleep?

protection, recuperation, memory, creative thinking, growth

Sleep Deprivation Effects

fatigue, irritability, impairs concentration, productivity and memory consolidation, depression, obesity, joint pain, suppressed immune system, slowed performance (w/ greater vulernability to accidents)

Insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

Sleep Apnea

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

Night Terrors

a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during NREM 3 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered

Dream Theories

Freud's Wish-Fulfillment, information processing, physiological function, neural activation, and cognitive development

Freud's Wish-Fulfillment

Dreams preserve sleep and provide a "psychic safety valve"—expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; contain manifest (remembered) content and a deeper layer of latent content (a hidden meaning).

Lacks any scientific support; dreams may be interpreted in many different ways

information processing

dreams help us sort out the day's events and consolidate our memories

physiological function

regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways

activation synthesis

REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories

But it's our brain weaving stories, so this still tells us something about ourselves

cognitive development

dream content reflects dreamers' cognitive development- their knowledge and understanding

Does not propose an adaptive function of dreams

Psychoactive drugs

chemicals that affect the central nervous system and alter activity in the brain