ap pysc

What is consciousness?

Consciousness is our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

What are the two types of consciousness?

Wakefulness and sleep.

What is wakefulness?

is when we are awake, aware of our surroundings, and can think, feel, and react.

What occurs during sleep in terms of awareness?

During sleep, we are not fully aware of our surroundings, but the brain can still process sensory information.

What does cognitive neuroscience study?

studies how brain activity is linked with cognition.

What is a circadian rhythm?

A biological clock that operates on a 24-hour cycle, regulating sleep-wake cycles, blood pressure, internal temperature, and hormones.

What is jet lag?

occurs when the biological clock becomes out of sync with local time due to traveling across time zones or shift work, causing tiredness and disorientation.

How does EEG measure brain waves?

measures the frequency (number of waves per second) and amplitude (size of the wave) of brain waves.

What are the four types of brain waves?

Delta (deep sleep), Theta (drowsy), Alpha (relaxed), and Beta (focused).

What characterizes NREM stage 1 sleep?

lasts 5-10 minutes, where the body starts to relax, and alpha waves are common.

What happens during NREM stage 3 sleep?

is the deepest stage of sleep, lasts about 30 minutes, produces growth hormones, and commonly shows delta waves.

What is REM sleep?

characterized by paralysis of external muscles, active internal muscles, beta waves, and where most dreams occur.

What is REM deprivation?

occurs when one is frequently woken up before reaching REM sleep, causing a quicker and longer subsequent REM sleep phase.

What is the Activation-Synthesis Theory of dreams?

This theory posits that dreams are the brain's way of making sense of random neural activity during sleep.

What is insomnia?

is a sleeping disorder where an individual has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

What is sleep apnea?

is a disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep due to breathing issues.

What is sensation?

is the process of detecting information from the environment.

What is sensory transduction?

is the conversion of an outside stimulus into a neural signal by sensory neurons.

What is absolute threshold?

is the minimum amount of stimulation needed for a person to detect a sensation at least 50% of the time.

What is sensory adaptation?

occurs when a stimulus is continuous and unchanging, leading to a reduced response to that stimulus.

What is the difference threshold?

is the minimum change between two stimuli that allows an individual to detect the change.

What does the Weber-Fechner Law state?

states that to notice a difference between two stimuli, they must differ by a constant percentage, not a constant amount.

What is synesthesia?

is a neurological condition where one sense is experienced through another, such as seeing color when hearing music.

What are rods and cones in the visual sensory system?

used for dim light vision and are located in the retina's periphery, while cones are used for fine detail, color, and are located in the fovea.

What is the trichromatic theory?

states that the ability to see color arises from the stimulation of combinations of three types of photoreceptors: red, green, and blue.