cognition, consciousness, and language

awake stage

beta and alpha EEG waves, able to perceive, process, access, and express information

1st stage

theta waves, light sleep

2nd stage

theta waves, sleep spindles and K complexes

3rd/4th stage

delta waves, slow wave sleep, dreams, declarative memory consolidation, some sleep disorders

REM stage

mostly beta waves, appears awake physiologically, dreams, paralyzed, procedural memory consolidation, some sleep disorders

dyssomnias

sleep disorders relating to the amount or timing of sleep

insomnia

difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

narcolepsy

difficulty staying awake, fall asleep suddenly

sleep apnea

breathing stops and starts during sleep

sleep deprivation

resulting from not getting the adequate amount of sleep necessary to function

parasomnias

odd behaviors during sleep

night terrors

sleep disorder in which a person quickly awakens from sleep in a terrified state

sleepwalking

somnambulism, walking or performing other activities during sleep

mesolimbic pathway

collection of dopaminergic neurons that connect the midbrain to the forebrain, includes nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area

depressants

alcohol, barbituates, benzodiazepines; sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety

stimulants

amphetamines, cocaine, ecstacy; increased arousal

opiates/opiods

heroin, morphine, opium, pain pills; decreased reaction to pain, euphoria

hallucinogens

LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine, psilocybin; distortions of reality and fantasy, introspection

marijuana

has features of depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens in very high doses

sensorimotor stage

focuses on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions; object permanence ends at this stage

preoperational stage

focuses on symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration

centration

focusing on only one aspect of a phenomenon

egocentrism

inability to imagine what another person thinks or feels

concrete operational stage

focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical objects

formal operational stage

focuses on abstract thought and problem solving

deductive reasoning

deriving conclusions from general rules

inductive reasoning

deriving generalization from evidence

heuristics

simplified principles used to make decisions; rules of thumb

selective attention

allows one to pay attention to a particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli require attention in the background

divided attention

uses automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at one time

wernicke’s area

language comprehension; damage results in wernicke’s aphasia, speak fluently but have difficulty understanding language

broca’s area

motor function of speech; damage results in broca’s aphasia, speak comprehensively but in short sentences with great effort

acruate fasciculus

connects wernicke’s area and broca’s area; damage results in conduction aphasia, the inability to repeat words despite intact speech generation and comprehension