Consciousness 🌞
What’s the main zeitgeber for circadian rhythms?
👉 Light
✨ Light resets the SCN every day, keeping our internal clock aligned with the environment.
Which brain waves dominate deep sleep?
👉 Delta waves
✨ These slow waves restore the body and support growth hormones.
According to Freud, manifest vs latent content → difference?
👉 Manifest = storyline, Latent = hidden meaning
✨ Freud believed dreams symbolized repressed wishes.
Alcohol enhances which neurotransmitter?
👉 GABA
✨ GABA calms the nervous system, causing slowed reaction and reduced inhibitions.
What is the most widely used stimulant in the world?
👉 Caffeine
✨ Found in coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks — affects alertness and sleep.
Give one example of a controlled vs automatic process.
👉 Controlled = studying for a test; Automatic = brushing teeth
✨ Controlled processes require attention and awareness; automatic ones are fast and effortless.
What appears in Stage 2 sleep that helps memory consolidation?
👉 Sleep spindles & K-complexes
✨ These bursts of activity protect sleep and strengthen learning.
Which modern theory explains dreams as random brain activity?
👉 Activation-synthesis theory
✨ Dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural firing.
What is the most dangerous thing to withdrawal from and why?
👉 Can cause seizures, delirium tremens, even death
✨ Alcohol withdrawal can overexcite the nervous system dangerously.
What does polysubstance dependence mean?
👉 Addiction to 3+ substances (excluding caffeine/tobacco)
✨ It complicates treatment and recovery since multiple drugs are involved. (addicted to getting high in general, doesn't matter as much from where )
Which brain structure regulates the sleep-wake cycle?
👉 Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
✨ The SCN in the hypothalamus acts as the body’s “master clock.”
What is REM rebound and why does it matter?
👉 Extra REM after deprivation → shows REM is biologically necessary
✨ The brain “catches up” on lost REM, proving it has a vital role.
Which evolutionary hypothesis says dreams rehearse survival threats?
👉 Threat simulation hypothesis
✨ Dreams may help us practice responses to danger.
What is methadone used for?
👉 To treat opioid addiction without a high
✨ It prevents withdrawal while blocking heroin’s euphoria.
Which sleep disorder involves suddenly falling into REM sleep?
👉 Narcolepsy
✨ A neurological disorder where REM intrudes into wakefulness. "sleep attacks"
Define altered state of consciousness with one example.
👉 A shift from normal awareness (ex: hypnosis, meditation)
✨ These states change how we perceive reality and awareness, often intentionally or chemically induced.
In what stage do night terrors occur?
👉 Deep NREM (Stage 3)
✨ They happen in slow-wave sleep, unlike nightmares which occur in REM.
Why is sleep crucial for memory and learning?
👉 REM & NREM consolidate information into long-term memory
✨ Sleep strengthens neural connections, like “saving a file.”
What stimulant most strongly activates dopamine reward pathways?
👉 Cocaine
✨ Cocaine floods the brain with dopamine → extreme euphoria + crash.
What’s the difference between a dyssomnia and a parasomnia?
Dyssomnia = Problems with the amount, timing, or quality of sleep (e.g., insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea).
Parasomnia = Abnormal behaviors or experiences during sleep (e.g., sleepwalking, night terrors, REM behavior disorder).
Explanation:
Think of it this way → Dyssomnia = difficulty getting enough sleep, while Parasomnia = weird stuff happening during sleep.
Why are staggered sleep schedules (like shift work) disruptive?
👉 They throw off circadian rhythms → fatigue & poor performance
✨ Because the body’s clock expects light/dark cycles, shift work creates circadian misalignment.
What’s the difference between REM paralysis and sleepwalking?
👉 REM = paralysis, vivid dreams; Sleepwalking = movement during NREM
✨ In REM, the body is paralyzed to keep us safe; sleepwalking bypasses that in deep sleep.
About how much of a human’s life is spent asleep?
Roughly one-third (about 1/3) of our life.
💡 Explanation:
On average, humans need ~8 hours of sleep per 24 hours → over a lifetime, that adds up to about 25–30 years spent sleeping! 🛏️
What hallucinogen is linked with flashbacks long after use?
👉 LSD
✨ Users may re-experience hallucinations even years later (hallucinogen persisting perception disorder).
Match each brain wave type (Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta) with its correct state of consciousness or sleep stage.
Beta → Alert, awake, active thinking 👀
Alpha → Relaxed, drowsy, just before sleep 😌
Theta → Stage 1 & 2 light sleep 🌙 (includes sleep spindles & K-complexes in Stage 2)
Delta → Stage 3 & 4 deep sleep 🌀 (slow-wave sleep)
💡 Explanation:
- Beta = fast ⚡ (awake & focused)
- Alpha = chill 🌅 (relaxed, almost asleep)
- Theta = drifting 🌊 (light sleep, easy to wake)
- Delta = slow & deep 🌑 (hard to wake, restorative sleep).
- REM sleep = looks like Beta waves again, even though you’re “asleep,” because your brain is so active (dreaming).