Unit 5

Consciousness: Our awareness of ourselves and the environment under a condition of arousal.

William James: Described the mind as a stream of consciousness with a never-ending flow of sensations, thoughts, and feelings.

Hypnosis: A cooperative interaction between hypnotist and subject who responds to hypnotic suggestions.

Posthypnotic Suggestion: Suggestion carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized.

Dissociation: A psychological state where an individual becomes disconnected from their thoughts, feelings, memories, or even their own sense of identity.

Ernest Hilgard: Research on hypnosis, especially with regard to pain control.

Circadian Rhythm: The circadian rhythm is our internal clock, controlling our temperature and wakefulness in 24-hour cycles.

Sleep: The periodic, natural loss of consciousness.

REM Sleep: The stage of sleep in which we dream.

Alpha Waves: Neural oscillations in the frequency range of 8–12 Hz arising from synchronous and coherent electrical activity of thalamic pacemaker cells in humans. They are associated with relaxed mental states, such as meditation and the initial stages of sleep.

Delta Waves: Occur during deep sleep (stage 4) and are associated with dreaming.

Hallucinations: Vivid sensations that seem real even though they are not.

NREM Sleep: A period of dreamless sleep divided into four distinct, continuous stages.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN): Brain structure that uses input from the retina to synchronize with the daily cycle of light and dark.

Insomnia: The inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get enough sleep to function.

Narcolepsy: The overpowering urge to fall asleep that may occur while talking or standing up (lapse into REM).

Sleep Apnea:

Breathing interruption during sleep.

Doesn't wake the sufferer completely.

Associated with obesity.

Can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.

Night Terrors: More severe – racing heart, gasping for air. Usually occur in early cycles of Stage 3 sleep.

Dreams: A collection of our repressed fears, desires, and emotions stemming from our current or past memories.

Manifest Content: The apparent or literal meaning of the dream.

Latent Content: The symbolic meanings that signify our unacceptable feelings and desires.

REM Rebound: The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep).

Substance Use Disorder: Continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk.

Psychoactive Drugs: A chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood (affects consciousness).

Tolerance: A diminished response to a drug. It can involve less of an effect with the same amount of a drug, or needing more of a drug to have the same effect.

Neuroadaptation: The process of a drug user's brain adapting its chemistry to offset the drug effect.

Addiction: A craving for a chemical substance despite its adverse consequences.

Withdrawal: The discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing an addictive drug or behavior.

Physical Dependence: A person is affected by physical changes such as body aches, fever, chills, stomach aches, headaches, and more. The physical symptoms that occur when a drug is stopped cause a person to use a substance again.

Psychological Dependence: The change in an emotional state after using a substance or engaging in a behavior for a long period of time. There is a change in a person's emotional state after the long-term use of a substance that changes chemicals in the brain.

Depressants: Reduces neural activity and slows body functions.

Alcohol Use Disorder: A medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences.

Barbiturates: Like Seconal, depress the activity of the CNS, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgments.

Opiates: Like morphine and heroin, depress neural activity, lessening pain and anxiety. Highly addictive.

Stimulants: Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Amphetamines: Can lead to feelings of euphoria and can be highly addictive.

Nicotine: Can cause euphoria and dizziness.

Cocaine: A powerful stimulant drug that increases levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and movement, in the brain's reward circuit.

Methamphetamines: A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the nervous system, which speeds up body functions and associated mood and energy changes.

Ecstasy (MDMA): A stimulant and mild hallucinogen. It produces a euphoric high and can damage serotonin-producing neurons, which results in a permanent deflation of mood and impairment of memory.

Hallucinogens: Psychoactive drugs that distort perceptions of reality.

LSD: A hallucinogen, which means it alters the user's perception of reality and can cause psychotic symptoms.

THC: The active ingredient in marijuana, is a mild hallucinogen.