| Term | Definition |
|---|
| consciousness | a person's awareness of everything that is going on around him or her at any given moment |
| waking consciousness | state in which thoughts, feelings, and sensations are clear, organized, and the person feels alert |
| altered states of consciousness | state in which there is a shift in the quality or pattern of mental activity as compared to waking consciouness |
| circadian rhythm | a cycle of bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24-hour period |
| pathways to altered states of consciousness | drugs, daydreaming, hypnosis, meditation |
| sleep walking | occuring during sleep, an episode of moving around or walking around in one's sleep |
| amount of sleep needed | 7-8 hrs |
| hypnosis | state of consciousness in which the person is especially susceptible to suggestion |
| psychoactive drugs | drugs that alter thinking, perception, and memory |
| microsleeps | brief sidesteps into sleep only lasting a few seconds |
| sleep deprivation | any significant loss of sleep, resulting in problems in concentration and irritability |
| adaptive theory | theory of sleep proposing that animals and humans evolved sleep patterns to avoid preditors by sleeping when predidtors are most active |
| restorative theory | theory of sleep proposing that sleep is necessary to the physical health of the body and serves to replenish chemicals and repair cellular damage |
| rapid eye movement (REM) | stage of sleep in which eyes move rapidly under the eyelids and the person is typically experiencing a dream |
| non- REM (NREM) | any of the stages of sleep that do not include REM |
| insomnia | the inability to get sleep, stay asleep, or get a good quality of sleep |
| alpha waves | brain waves that indicate a state of relaxation or light sleep |
| theta waves | brain waves indicating the early stages of sleep |
| delta waves | long slow waves that indicate the deepest state of sleep |
| sleep apnea | disorder in which the person stops breathing for nearly half a minute or more |
| nicotine | the active ingredient in tobacco |
| psychogenic drugs | drugs including hallucinogens and marajuana that produce hallucinations or increased feeling of relaxation and intoxication |
| amphetamines | stimulants that are synthsized (made) in labs rather than being found in nature |
| cocaine | a natural drug derived from the leaves of the coca plant |
| caffeine | a mild stimulant found in coffee, tea, and several other plant based substances |
| psychological dependence | the feeling that a drug is needed to continue a feeling of emotional or psychological well- being |
| depressants | drugs that decrease the functioning of the nervous system |
| narcotics | a class of opium- related drugs that supress the sensation of pain by binding to and stimulating the nervous system's natural receptor sites for endorphins |
| stimulants | drugs that increase the functioning of the nervous system |
| withdrawal | physical symptoms that can include nausea, pain, tremors, crankiness, and high blood pressure, resulting from a lack of an addictive drug in the body systems |
| narcolepsy | sleep disorder in which a person falls immediately into REM sleep during the day without warning |
| night terrors | relatively rare disorder in which the person experiences extreme fear and screams or runs around during deep sleep without waking fully |
| nightmares | bad dreams occuring during REM sleep |
| REM behavior disorder | a rare disorder in which the mechanism that blocks the movement of the voluntary muscles fails, allowing the person to thrash around and even get up and act out nightmares |
| marijuana | mild halluncinogen derived from the leaves and flowers of a particular type of hemp plant |
| psilocybin | natural hallucinogen found in certain mushrooms |
| MDMA (Ecstasy) | designer drug that can have both stimulant and hallucinatory effects |
| PCP | sythesized drug now used as an animal tranquilizer that can cause stimulant, depressant, narcotic, hallucinogenic effects |
| LSD | powerful sythetic hallucinogen |
| hallucinogens | drugs that cause false sensory messages, altering the perception of reality |
| methadone | opium derivative without euphoric "high". Used to control heroin dependecy |
| heroin | narcotic drug derived from opium that is extrememly addictive |
| morphine | narcotic drug derived from opium, used to treat severe pain |
| opium | substance derived from the opium poppy from which all narcotic drugs are derived |
| Endorphin receptor site | where narcotics bind to and stimulate. Deadens pain sensations |
| signs of alcoholism | guilt from drinking, drinking in the morning, drinking to recover from drinking, drinking alone, sensetivity when others mention amount of drinking, regret saying or doing something while drinking, blackouts, memory loss, drinking too fast, lying about drinking, passing out |
| barbituates | depressant drugs that have a sedative effect |
| benzodiazepines | drugs that lower anxiety and reduce stress. |
| alcohol | the chemical resulting from fermentation or distillation of variouskinds of vegetable matter |
| Mescaline | natural hallucinogens derived from the peyote cactus buttons |
Combine with other sets
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