Chapter 3 Sleep/Drugs Test 1

Mental Processing Without Awareness

  • Dual processing: The concept that we process information on both conscious and unconscious levels.
  • Priming: Activation of certain associations in memory.
  • Subliminal stimuli: Stimuli below the threshold of conscious awareness that can still activate associations.

Attention

  • Selective attention: Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
  • Cocktail party effect: The ability to attend to one voice among many.
  • Divided attention: The ability to attend to multiple tasks simultaneously; attention is a limited resource.
  • Inattentional blindness: Failure to notice a fully visible object because attention is directed elsewhere.
  • Change blindness: Failure to notice changes in the environment when attention is not focused on them.

Sleep and Dreaming

  • Circadian rhythm: The internal biological clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
    • Individual variations exist, with some people being morning persons and others night owls (chronotypes). These differences can be influenced by genetics and age.
    • Performance tends to drop at circadian low points when people feel sleepiest.
  • Stages of Sleep:
    • Electroencephalogram (EEG): Measures the synchronous activity of neurons in the brain, producing "brain waves."
    • NREM-1: The first stage of non-rapid eye movement sleep.
    • NREM-2: Characterized by sleep spindles, bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain activity.
    • NREM-3: Characterized by delta waves, which are slow brain waves. Formerly stages 3 & 4.
    • REM (Rapid Eye Movement): A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and dreaming.
      • Dreams during REM sleep:
        • The content of dreams can vary.
        • Activation-synthesis theory: Dreams are synthesized from random neural activity.
      • Paradoxical sleep: REM sleep is also known as paradoxical sleep because the brain is active but the body is paralyzed.
      • Physiology During REM: Characterized by brain activity, physiological changes, and paralysis.
    • Progression through sleep stages: Individuals cycle through these stages during a night's sleep.
      • Young Adults: REM sleep increases as the night progresses.
      • Variations in amount of sleep needed amongst individuals.
      • Older Adults: As people age, they tend to spend less time in the deeper stages of sleep.
  • Sleep Deprivation:
    • Has cognitive, emotional, perceptual, and physical effects.
    • Microsleeps: Brief periods of sleep that occur when someone is sleep-deprived.
    • REM rebound: The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation.
    • Individuals do not adapt to getting less sleep than they need.

Functions of Sleep

  • Theories:
    • Restorative theory: Sleep allows the body to restock, repair, and reorganize itself.
      • Improves mood, memory, concentration, and immunity.
    • Learning and memory: Sleep plays a crucial role in learning and memory consolidation.
    • REM and emotional processing: REM sleep is important for emotional processing

Sleep Disorders

  • Insomnia: Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
  • Narcolepsy: A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleepiness and sleep attacks.
    • Cataplexy: Sudden loss of muscle control, often triggered by emotions.
    • Hypnogogic hallucinations: Hallucinations that occur while falling asleep.
    • Hypnopompic hallucinations: Hallucinations that occur while awakening.
    • Sleep paralysis: The temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up.
    • Loss of orexin/hypocretin: Narcolepsy is often associated with a loss of orexin, also known as hypocretin.

Parasomnias/Disorders

  • Sleeptalking: Talking during sleep.
  • Sleepwalking: Performing activities while asleep.
  • Nightmares: Frightening dreams that occur during REM sleep.
  • Night terrors: Episodes of screaming, intense fear, and flailing while still asleep (usually during NREM-3).
  • REM behavior disorder: A sleep disorder in which individuals act out their dreams.

Psychoactive Drugs

  • Influence the functioning of the brain and alter psychological processes.
  • Drugs interact with neurotransmitter systems.
  • Agonists: Mimic the effects of neurotransmitters.
  • Antagonists: Block the effects of neurotransmitters.

Psychoactive Drugs: Terms

  • Addiction: Repetitive and compulsive use of a drug.
    • Has physical and psychological components.
  • Tolerance: The need for more of a drug to achieve the same effect.
  • Withdrawal syndrome: Symptoms that occur upon discontinuation of a drug.
    • Mechanism behind withdrawal and tolerance is to maintain homeostasis.
  • Drug interaction: The effects of one drug can be altered by the presence of another drug.

Drug Abuse and Addiction

  • High-jacked brain: Addiction can be seen as a "high-jacking" of the brain's reward system.
  • Biological predisposition: Some individuals may be biologically predisposed to addiction.
  • Self-medication: Using drugs to cope with underlying issues.
  • Genetic predisposition: Genetics can play a role in addiction.
  • Reward-deficiency syndrome: A possible explanation for addiction, where individuals seek drugs to compensate for deficiencies in their reward system.
  • Social and emotional factors:
    • Stress, failure, boredom, money, and peers can all contribute to drug abuse and addiction.

Depressants

  • Alcohol
  • Barbiturates
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Opioids

Alcohol

  • Interacts with various neurotransmitter systems.
  • Has widespread effects on the brain and behavior.
    • Prefrontal cortex: Impairs judgment and decision-making.
    • Hippocampus: Affects memory.
    • Cerebellum: Affects motor coordination.
    • Brain stem: Can suppress vital functions
    • Reticular formation
    • Medulla
  • Withdrawal symptoms can occur upon discontinuation.

Benzodiazepines

  • Prescription drugs like Valium, Xanax, and Librium.
  • Uses: Anxiolytics and tranquilizers
  • Effects: Primarily affect the GABA neurotransmitter system.
  • Addiction and withdrawal are possible.

Opioids

  • Examples: Morphine, heroin, codeine, vicodin, and oxycontin.
  • Uses: Pain relief
  • Effects: Mimic endorphins, the body's natural pain relievers.
  • High addiction potential.

Stimulants

  • Caffeine
  • Nicotine
  • Cocaine: Affects norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin.
  • Amphetamines: Affect norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin.
  • MDMA

Psychedelic Hallucinogens

  • Examples: LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline/peyote.
  • Effects: Primarily affect the serotonin neurotransmitter system.
  • Possible therapeutic uses for depression, drug addiction, and PTSD.

Marijuana

  • THC is the active ingredient.
  • Effects: Acts as an endocannabinoid agonist.
  • Therapeutic uses.

Hypnosis

  • Technique to increase susceptibility to suggestion.
  • Often involves focusing on monotonous stimuli.
  • Susceptibility/ability to be hypnotized varies among individuals.
  • Not effective for memory retrieval or drug addiction treatment.
  • Can be effective for pain relief and treatment of obesity.

Explaining Hypnosis

  • Placebo effect: The belief in the effectiveness of hypnosis can play a role.
  • Altered state of consciousness: Hypnosis may involve an altered state of consciousness.
  • Selective attention: Hypnosis may involve heightened selective attention.
  • Distraction and relaxation: Hypnosis can promote distraction and relaxation.
  • Role theory: Suggests that individuals comply with the demands of the situation.
  • Does not control behavior.