AP psych unit 1C

Consciousness

state of being aware and ability to perceive thoughts, feelings, sensations and surroundings.

Circadian Rhythm

natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. Influences patterns of alertness, hormone release, body temperature, and other physiological processes.

Jet lag

temporary disruption of the body's circadian rhythm due to rapid travel across multiple time zones.

Shift work

employment schedules outside of the typical daytime hours, often disrupting the body's natural circadian rhythms.

NREM stage 1

first stage of NREM sleep, characterized by drifting in and out of sleep. Brainwaves slowdown, muscles relax, and individuals experience sudden muscle contractions.

NREM stage 2

second stage of NREM characterized by light sleep, lasting about 20 mins. You spend about ½ of your sleep in this stage, brain waves further slow down and sleep spindles (short bursts of brain activity) and k-complex.

NREM stage 3

Deepest stage of NREM sleep, characterized by the presence of predominantly delta waves. Restores resources, process during sleep where body and brain replenish energy, repair tissues, remove waste products.

REM Sleep

stage of sleep characterized by REM, vivid muscles and muscle paralysis. Associated with increased brain activity, dreaming, plays a key role in consolidation of memories and emotional processing.

REM Rebound

Phenomenon where the body increases time spent in REM sleep after a period of REM deprivation.

Freud: Manifest content

the remembered content, story of the dream.

Freud: Latent content

the underlying meaning or hidden content of the dream.

Activation synthesis (Dreams)

theory proposed that dreams are the result of random neural activity in the brainstem during REM sleep, which is then interpreted and synthesized by the cerebral cortex into a narrative or story.

Consolidation Theory (Dreams)

theory suggesting that dreams play a role in memory consolidation and processing memory. During sleep the brain organizes and integrates information acquired throughout the day.

Insomnia

Sleep disorder by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restorative sleep.

Narcolepsy

sleep disorder by excessive daytime sleepiness, sudden episodes of muscle weakness, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations during sleep onset or awakening.

Sleep apnea

sleep disorder by pauses in breathing or shallow breathing during sleep, leading to disrupted sleep patterns, daytime fatigue, and other health problems.

REM Sleep Behavior disorder

sleep disorder where people physically act out their dreams during REM sleep potentially causing injury to themselves or others.

Somnambulism

Known as sleep walking characterized by walking or performing other activities while still asleep.

Psychoactive drugs

substances that alter brain functions, leading to changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior.

Agonists

Substance that bind to neurotransmitter receptors and mimic their effects, enhancing neural activity. Ex: Cocaine.

Antagonists

Substances that bind to receptors without activating them, blocking the effects of neurotransmitters. Ex: Botox.

Reuptake inhibitors

medications that block the reabsorption of neurotransmitters by sending the neuron, thereby increasing the contraction of neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft and enhancing neurotransmission.

Stimulants

drugs that increases neural activity and arousal, leading to heightened alertness, attention, and energy levels.

Caffeine

natural stimulant found in coffee, tea, and some sodas. Acts on the CNS increasing alertness and reducing fatigue by blocking adenosine.

Cocaine

powerful stimulant derived from coraplant. Increases neural activity, leading to euphoria, increased energy, and alertness. Works by blocking reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.

Depressants

drugs that slow down neural activity and bodily functions.

Alcohol

depressant that slows neural activity in the CNS. Impairs judgment, coordination, and cognitive function.

Hallucinogens

drugs that alter perception, mood, and cognitive processes, often causing hallucinations or profound changes in consciousness.

Marijuana

drug derived from cannabis plant, contains THC, which alters mood, perception, and cognition.

Opioids

psychoactive drugs that act as opioid receptors in the brain and body. Producing pain relief, euphoria and sedation.

Heroin

highly addictive opioid derived from morphine, produces intense euphoria, pain relief, and sedation by binding to opioid receptors in the brain.

Tolerance

a condition where increasing amounts of psychoactive substances are needed to achieve the same effects. Occurs due to the brain adapting to the drug, leading to reduced sensitivity to its effects over time.

Withdrawal

symptoms when a person stops using a psychoactive substance after prolonged use.

Addiction

chronic brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use.

Sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Perception

process of organizing and interpreting sensory info to make sense of the world around us.

Transduction

conversion of sensory stimuli into neural impulses that can be understood by the brain. Transformation of physical energy into electrochemical signals, enabling the brain to interpret and perceive sensory information.

Absolute threshold

minimum amount of stimulation required for a stimuli to be detected by a sensory system. Ex: volume level at which you first perceive the music.

Just-Noticeable Difference

Smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected by an individual. It's the minimal difference needed for a person to perceive that a change has occurred. Ex: The smallest difference in volume that you can reliably detect, such as the point at which you're certain the volume has increased, represents the just noticeable difference (JND).

Weber's law

perceived difference in a stimulus must be proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus. The bigger something is the more you need to change it to notice a difference.

Sensory adaptation

process by which sensory receptors become less responsive to constant stimuli over time.

Synesthesia

condition in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in another sensory pathway. Ex: the artist that paints what she hears.

Retina

light intensive inner surface at the end of the eye containing photoreceptor cells that convert light into neural signals.

Rods

photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for vision in low light conditions and detects motion. Provide black and white vision, and are highly sensitive to light allowing us to see in dim environments.

Cones

photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision and detail in bright light. Enable us to perceive colors and fine visual details, such as reading text or distinguishing between hues.

Fovea

central area of the retina responsible for sharp central vision. Contains high concentration of cone cells, enabling detailed and colored vision.

Blindspot

area on the retina where the optic nerve exits the eye lacking photoreceptor cells. Spot where vision is absent.

Ganglion cells

neurons in the retina that receive visual information from bipolar cells transmit it to the brain via the optic nerve. Play a crucial role in processing visual signals and relaying them to the brain for further interpretation.

Lens

transparent structure in the eye that focuses light onto the retina. Adjusts its shape to help the eye properly refract light, enabling clear vision.

Accommodation

process by which the lens of your eyes changes its shape to focus on objects at different distances. Allows for clear vision of both nearby and different objects by adjusting the curvature of the lens.

Nearsightedness

Condition where close objects appear clear but distant objects appear blurry. Occurs when the cornea is too curved.

Farsightedness

A condition where distant objects are seen more clearly than close objects. Happens when the cornea is too flat.

Trichromatic Theory

Theory proposing that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors, each sensitive to different wavelengths. The brain combines signals from these cones to create perception of a wide range of colors.

Opponent Process Theory

Proposed that color vision is based on pairs of opposing color processes.

After Images

Visual sensations that persist after a stimulus is removed. Occur due to temporary overstimulation.

Dichromatism

Color vision deficiency where an individual has only 2 types of functioning cones instead of normal 3. Results in difficulty distinguishing between certain colors.

Monochromatism

Individuals only have one type of functioning cone, resulting in inability to perceive colors, seeing the world in shades of grey.

Blindsight

Where an individual with damage to their visual cortex can respond to visual stimuli without consciously receiving them.

Prosopagnosia

Neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces.

Wavelength

Distance between sound wave peaks; shorter wavelength means higher-pitched sounds, while longer means lower pitched sounds.

Amplitude

The measure of the intensity of loudness of a sound wave, represented by the height of its peaks. Greater amplitude corresponds to louder sounds while lower amplitude indicates softer sounds.

Pitch Perception

Brain's interpretation of the frequency of sound waves, determining whether a sound is high or low in tone.

Place Theory

Idea that different parts of the inner ear detect different sound frequencies.

Frequency Theory

A theory of pitch perception proposing that the frequency of a sound wave directly corresponds to the rate at which auditory nerve fibers fire.

Volley Theory

Proposes that groups of auditory neurons fire in rapid succession, or 'volleys', to encode the frequency of sound above 1000 Hz.

Sound Localization

Brain's ability to determine the location of a sound source in space.

Conduction Deafness

Hearing loss caused by damage to the outer or middle ear, such as damage to the ear canal, eardrum, or middle ear bone. Results in difficulty hearing soft sounds.

Sensorineural Deafness

Hearing loss caused by damage to inner ear or auditory nerve, resulting in difficulty hearing soft sounds. Causes include aging, exposure to loud noise and certain medical conditions.

Sensory Interaction

Principle that one sense can influence another, such as when smell affects taste.

Olfactory Systems

Responsible for smell; special receptors in the nose detect smells and send signals to the brain via the olfactory nerve.

Pheromones

Chemical substances released by animals, including humans, that trigger social or behavioral responses in others of the same species.

Gustation

The sense of taste, involving receptors on the tongue that detect different flavors.

Supertasters

Highly sensitive to taste, experiencing flavors more intensely.

Medium Tasters

Have an average sensitivity to taste.

Nontasters

Less sensitive to taste, experiencing flavors less intensively than others.

Warm/Cold Receptors

Specialized sensory neurons in the skin that detect changes in temperature.

Pain

An emotional response to stimuli.

Gate-Control Theory

Theory proposed that the experience of pain is modulated by a neural 'gate' in the spinal cord.

Phantom Limb

Sensation of pain by other feelings in a missing limb. Occurs due to the brain's continued perception of the limb, even though it's no longer there.

Vestibular Sense

Sense of orientation and movement, relies on receptors in the inner ear that detect changes in head position and movement.

Semicircular Canals

Fluid-filled structures in the inner ear that detect rotational movement of the head, playing a crucial role in vestibular sense.

Kinesthesis

Sense of body movement and position, including the awareness of muscle and joint sensations, allowing us to perceive and control our body's movement.