| Term | Definition |
|---|
| consciousness | our awareness of ourselves and our environment |
| biological rhythms | periodic physiological fluctuations |
| circadian rhythm | biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle |
| REM sleep | rapid eye movement sleep, recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur |
| alpha waves | relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state |
| sleep | periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness- as distinct from unconsciouness resulting from acoma, general anesthesia, or hibernation |
| hallucinations | false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus |
| delta waves | large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep |
| insomnia | recurring problems in falling or staying asleep |
| narcolepsy | sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks |
| sleep apnea | sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings |
| night terrors | sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered |
| dream | sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind |
| manifest content | according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream |
| latent content | according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (like snake = death) |
| REM rebound | tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation |
| hypnosis | social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggest to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur |
| posthypnotic suggestion | suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized |
| dissociation | split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others |
| psychoactive drug | chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood |
| tolerance | diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the use to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect |
| withdrawal | discomfort and distress that following discontinuing the use of an addictive drug |
| physical dependence | physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued |
| psychological dependence | psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emtions |
| addiction | compulsive drug craving and use |
| depressants | drugs (such as barbiturates, alcohol, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions |
| barbiturates | drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system |
| opiates | opium and its derivatives, depressing neural activity and lessoning pain |
| stimulants | drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and ecstasy) that speed up body functions |
| amphetamines | drugs that stimulate neural activity and changes mood |
| methamphetamine | stimulates central nervous system that reduces baseline dopamine levels |
| ecstacy | mild hallucinogen |
| hallucinogens | psychedlic drugs, such as LSD |
| LSD | powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid |
| THC | major active ingredient in marijuana |
| near-death experience | an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest) |
| dualism | presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact |
| monism | presumption that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace