| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Conscious Level | Mental activity that you are aware of occurs at this level |
| Nonconscious level | a level of mental activity that is inaccessible to conscious awareness |
| Preconscious level | level that contains everything that can easily be brought into consciousness |
| Prosopagnosia | A condition where people are unable to recognize familiar faces |
| State of Consciousness | the characteristics of consciousness at any particular moment |
| Slow-wave sleep | The last two stages of sleep, characterized by slow brain waves, deep breathing, and calm heartbeat |
| REM sleep (Rapid eye movement) | paradoxical state of sleep in which brain waves and other physiological functions resemble those of a person who is awake, but muscle tone resembles that of paralysis |
| Insomnia | fatigue resulting from little sleep or difficulty falling asleep |
| Narcolepsy | Disorder that causes people to fall into REM sleep from an active waking state |
| Sleep apnea | a disorder in which people stop breathing momentarily while they sleep |
| SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) | a disorder, affecting primarily infants two to four months old, in which a baby stops breathing and dies |
| Nightmares | frightening dreams that can occur during REM sleep |
| Night Terrors | Dreams that occur during stage 4 and are characterized by horrific images, screaming upon wakening, and difficulty in calming down afterward |
| Sleep walking | walking during non-REM sleep |
| REM behavior disorder | a condition in which the normal paralysis that occurs during REM sleep is absent, and the person acts out his or her dreams |
| circadian rhythms | A physiological cycle of about 24 hours that persists even in the absence of external cues. "Clocked" in the hypothalamus |
| Dreams | sequences of images, sensations, and perceptions during sleep |
| Lucid dream | A dream in which which you are aware that it is a dream |
| Activation-synthesis theory | Theory that suggests that dreams represent efforts to make sense of random signals sent to the cortex |
| Hypnosis | an altered state of consciousness brought on by special techniques and characterized by responsiveness to suggestions for changes in perceptions and behavior |
| Posthypnotic amnesia | Inability to remember what happened under hypnosis |
| Role theory | According to this theory, subjects under hypnosis merely act in accordance with the hypnotized role. They are not in a special state |
| State theory | According to this theory, hypnotized people experience an altered state of consciousness |
| Dissociation theory | According to this theory, hypnotized subjects dissociate, or split, various aspects of their behavior and perceptions from the "self" that normally controls these functions |
| Meditation | an altered state of consciousness characterized by inner peace, calmness, and tranquility |
| Psychoactive Drugs | drugs that cause psychological changes by altering the functioning of the brain |
| Psychopharmacology | the study of psychoactive drugs |
| Agonists | Drugs that mimic the effects of neurotransmitters |
| Antagonists | Drugs that prevent neurotransmitters from binding with receptors |
| Substance abuse | the self-administration of drugs in ways that deviate from either medical or social norms |
| Psychological dependence | Occurs when a person continues to use the drug to gain a sense of well-being even when the drug produces adverse consequences |
| Addiction | Occurs when there is an altered physiological state in which continued use of the drug is required to prevent the onset of withdrawal syndrome |
| Depressants | drugs that reduce CNS activity |
| Barbiturates | drugs that cause relaxation, some euphoria, and diminished attention, among other effects |
| Stimulants | drugs that increase behavioral and mental activity |
| Amphetamines | drugs that stimulate the brain and sympathetic nervous system, raising heart rate and blood pressure and constricting blood vessels |
| Caffeine | drug that decreases drowsiness, makes thought more rapid, increases physical work capacity, and raises urine production |
| Opiates | drugs such as opium, morphine, heroin, and codeine, cause sleep and pain relief and act as agonists for endoprhins |
| Hallucinogens | drugs that cause a loss of contact with reality and induce changes in emotion, perception, and thought |
Combine with other sets
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