SLEEP
Mark’s wife has noticed that Mark often stops breathing for short periods while he is sleeping. Mark snores loudly and feels extremely tired during the day, even after a full night’s sleep.
Sleep Apnea
Javier – Forgotten conversations - Javier seemed fully conscious at the crash site, but at the hospital, he started repeating the same questions every few minutes. He can talk about things from years ago, but when asked what he had for breakfast, he says, “No idea.” If a nurse leaves and returns 10 minutes later, he doesn’t remember meeting her.
Hippocampus
Alcohol is classified as this type of psychoactive drug…
Depressant
This neurotransmitter is known as the “Happy’ neurotransmitter. It influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion.
Dopamine
This lobe of the brain is responsible for decision-making. It is not fully developed until girls reach the age of 21 and boys the age of 25.
Frontal Lobe
The regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle also referred to as our internal biological clock. Impacted by Jet Lag.
Circadian Rhythm
Sasha – Drifting and unsteady - Sasha initially thought she escaped the crash without major injuries. However, she soon realized that when she tried to walk, her movements were jerky and uncoordinated. She kept losing her balance, falling sideways even when standing still and couldn’t touch her nose with her finger on the first try.
Cerebellum
Known as the Love Hormone, this hormone promotes pair bonding, group cohesion, and social trust.
Oxytocin
The Central Nervous System (CNS) contains which TWO body parts, known as the decision maker.
Brain and Spinal Cord
This lobe of the brain is responsible for processing sensory information including touch, pain, and temperature.
Parietal Lobe
Stage of the Sleep Cycle where fast breathing, an increased heart rate, high blood pressure, and dreaming occurs.
REM
Elena – Uncontrollable fear and flashbacks - Elena suffered a blow to the side of her head. At first, she seemed fine, but hours after the accident, she began having sudden panic attacks. She also experiences terrifying flashbacks of the crash whenever she hears loud noises. She says she feels scared “all the time,” even when she knows she is safe.
Amygdala
This neurotransmitter enables muscle action, learning, and memory.
Acetylcholine
Amy felt like she was being followed in a dark parking lot. Her heart is racing, and she is on edge. What part of her nervous system directly contributes to her ability to calm down after this heightened situation?
Parasympathetic Nervous System
The Corpus Callosum is often severed in patients with this neurological disorder to prevent seizures from spreading from one hemisphere of the brain to the other.
Epilepsy
Often used during a sleep study this tool is used to measure the electrical activity in neurons by placing electrodes on the scalp.
EEG (Electroencephalogram)
Tom – Confident but can’t speak - Tom hit his head hard on the dashboard. At first, he was alert and tried to reassure others that he was okay, but when he opened his mouth, he struggled to speak. His words were slow, slurred, and incomprehensible, though his grammar and understanding were intact. He could only manage fragmented sentences like, “Bus…hurt…head”.
Broca's Area
Known as the Sleep Hormone, this hormone naturally occurs in the body playing an important role in synchronizing the body’s light-dark cycle and regulating circadian rhythm.
Melatonin
Part of the Nervous System responsible for voluntary movement like raising your hand or dancing.
Somatic Nervous System
This language impairment is typically caused by damage to the left hemisphere in either the Broca’s Area (impairment in speaking) or the Wernicke’s Area (impairment in understanding).
Aphasia
This theory is explained as REM sleep triggers neural activity that attempts to make sense of the patterns and visual memories during sleep.
Activation-Synthesis Theory
Amy – Struggling to understand speech - Amy was conscious after the crash, but when people spoke to her, she seemed confused. She kept asking people to repeat themselves, even though she didn’t appear to have hearing loss. When words were spoken slowly, she sometimes understood, but fast speech left her puzzled and frustrated.
Wernicke's Area
Stimulants
The debate in psychology about whether human behavior, personality, and development are influenced more by genetics or environmental factors.
Nature v. Nurture
The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood. The brain reorganizes, repairs, rewires pathways after damage based on a person’s experiences.
Brain Plasticity (Neural Plasticity)