State of Mind
This subjective experience of awareness, including sensations, thoughts, and feelings, remains one of the biggest mysteries in science.
What is Consciousness?
This stage of sleep is characterized by rapid eye movement, vivid dreaming, and temporary paralysis of the voluntary muscles.
What is REM Sleep?
This theory proposes that dreams reflect the dreamer's cognitive processes, such as problem-solving, memory consolidation, and emotional processing.
What is Cognitive Dream Theory?
These drugs increase alertness, energy, and reduce fatigue, but can also lead to anxiety, insomnia, and addiction.
What are Stimulants?
This essential bodily function allows for physical and mental rejuvenation, consolidating memories, and boosting the immune system.
What is Sleep?
This internal 24-hour cycle regulates various physiological processes, including sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, and body temperature.
What is the Circadian Rhythm?
This theory suggests that dreams are the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity occurring during REM sleep.
What is the Activation-Synthesis Theory?
These drugs slow down brain activity, reducing anxiety and inducing relaxation, but can also lead to impaired coordination, slowed breathing, and addiction.
What are Depressants?
This state of mind involves spontaneous, often pleasant, thoughts and images that drift away from immediate concerns.
What is Daydreaming?
This refers to the recurring pattern of physiological changes that occur during sleep, including different stages with varying brainwave activity.
What is the Sleep Cycle?
This theory, developed by Sigmund Freud, proposes that dreams are a disguised fulfillment of unconscious wishes and desires, often involving symbolism and hidden meanings.
What is Psychoanalytic Theory?
These drugs alter perception, mood, and thought processes, often producing hallucinations and profound changes in consciousness.
What are Psychedelics?
This state of mind is characterized by increased suggestibility and a heightened focus on the specific words or actions.
What is a Hypnotic State?
This stage of sleep is characterized by the appearance of sleep spindles and K-complexes on an EEG.
What is Stage 2 Sleep?
This theory suggests that dreams are a byproduct of the brain's attempt to process and integrate new information and experiences during sleep.
What is the Information Processing Theory?
This class of drugs, often derived from the opium poppy, reduces pain and induces euphoria, but can also lead to severe addiction and respiratory depression.
What are Opioids?
This state of mind is characterized by changes in perception, mood, and behavior, resulting from the ingestion or administration of psychoactive substances.
What is a Drug-Induced State of Mind?
This phenomenon occurs when the body compensates for lost REM sleep by increasing the duration and intensity of REM sleep in subsequent sleep cycles.
What is REM rebound?
This theory proposes that dreams primarily function was evolutionary. They simulate threatening events, allowing the brain to practice threat perception and avoidance, enhancing survival skills.
What is Threat Simulation Theory?
This broad category encompasses substances that mimic the effects of natural neurotransmitters, often leading to altered mood, perception, and behavior.
What are Psychoactive Substances?