Deck 4: Section 1: Consciousness and Its Variations

Question 1

Define the term consciousness. What does consciousness enable us to do?

Answer 1

The answer should include the following information: Consciousness is your immediate awareness of your internal states-your thoughts, sensations, memories-and the external world around you. Consciousness enables us to integrate past, present, and future behavior, guide future actions, and maintain a stable sense of self. It also gives us the ability to plan and execute long-term, complex goals and communicate with others.

Question 2

Distinguish between sleep thinking and dreams.

Answer 2

The answer should include the following information: Sleep thinking, also called sleep mentation, usually occurs during NREM slow-wave sleep and consists of vague, bland, thoughtlike ruminations about real-life events. In contrast, a dream is an unfolding sequence of perceptions, thoughts, and emotions during sleep that is experienced as a series of real-life events.

Question 3

What happens to people who are sleep deprived?

Answer 3

The answer should include the following information: Sleep deprivation, even for one night, causes people to experience microsleeps, brief episodes of sleep lasting only a few seconds that occur during wakefulness. More extended sleep deprivation results in disruption of mood, mental abilities, reaction time, perceptual skills, and complex motor skills. Similarly, sleep restriction, a reduction in the amount of time that people are able to sleep to as little as four hours per night produces similar impairments such that concentration, vigilance, reaction time, memory skills, and the ability to gauge risks are all diminished. Motor skills, due to effects on reaction time, impair the ability to drive. Additionally, the effectiveness of the immune system is compromised, increasing susceptibility to colds and infections. Lastly, metabolic changes occur that have been linked to obesity and diabetes; sleep-deprivation may also produce craving for higher-calorie foods resulting in weight gain.

Question 4

How do patterns of sleep change over the lifespan?

Question 5

What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and what is its main function?

Question 6

Explain the role of sunlight and darkness, clocks, and other environmental time cues, in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.

Question 7

What are hypnagogic hallucinations?

Question 8

Professor Albertson is interested in the most common themes that appear in adults' dreams. List these themes.

Question 9

Why do we sleep?

Question 10

How is sleep involved in the formation of memories?

Question 11

Describe and provide an example of misdirection, inattentional bias, and inattentional deafness.

Question 12

Jerome's mother always tells him to quit yawning because it makes her yawn. Is Jerome's yawning contagious? Explain.

Question 13

What situations can produce symptoms of jet lag?

Question 14

Define attention, and describe how attention is selective and limited in capacity.

Question 15

Describe what neuroscientists have discovered about the nature of dreams, and identify the brain areas that are active and inactive during REM sleep.

Question 16

Discuss the contributions of the invention of the electroencephalograph and the discovery of REM sleep to modern sleep research.

Question 17

What characterizes each of the different NREM sleep stages?

Question 18

Describe the perils of multitasking or dividing attention, and provide an example.

Question 19

What are beta brain waves and alpha brain waves, and when are we most likely to experience them?

Question 20

What are circadian rhythms?

Question 21

What are the main characteristics of narcolepsy, and how are cataplexy and sleep paralysis involved?

Question 22

According to researcher Paul Thompson and his colleagues, MRI scans reveal significant tissue loss in the brains of chronic methamphetamine users. Which areas of the brain were most affected?

Question 23

What are the effects that can be produced by hypnosis?

Question 24

How do sleep specialists treat obstructive sleep apnea? Give a specific answer.

Question 25

Mel, aged 68, has been an avid fan of meditation since he was a young college student. His brother-in-law, Dave, believes that mediation is a waste of time with no lasting benefits. According to research presented in the Focus on Neuroscience box: Mediation and Brain: in your textbook, which man is correct?

Question 26

Define dyssomnia, and then list and describe the characteristics of three dyssomnias discussed in the textbook.

Question 27

What is exploding head syndrome? Is this a rare condition? Explain your answer.

Question 28

How do dyssomnias and parasomnias differ?

Question 29

How are sleepwalking and sleep-related eating disorders similar? Also explain how they differ.

Question 30

Compare and contrast state and non-state theories of hypnosis.

Question 31

Explain how addictive drugs affect the brain, discussing the physical changes that produce drug tolerance, withdrawal, and craving.

Question 32

List four strategies for preventing sleep problems.

Question 33

Quinn observed a carjacking a few months ago when he was leaving work. The incident occurred so fast that Quinn only has a vague recollection of what happened. He knows that the suspect was a white male and that the vehicle was a black SUV. Quinn's friend wants him to undergo hypnosis, believing that it will help enhance his memory of the incident. Is Quinn's friend correct? Explain, using research from the textbook in your answer.

Question 34

What are sleep terrors, and who is most likely to have them?

Question 35

How does alcohol affect the body and psychological functioning?

Question 36

What are the potential benefits of meditation?

Question 37

According to research presented in your textbook, is it possible to control your dreams?

Question 38

Describe the two categories of meditation, and discuss the general effects of meditation.

Question 39

Contrast Freud's explanation of the significance of dreams with that of the activation-synthesis model of dreaming.