All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is the difference between consciousness and unconsciousness?
Answer: Conscious: aware; unconscious: lacks awareness of self and surroundings. Consciousness requires awareness; unconsciousness lacks it entirely.
Flashcard 2: What is the main environmental cue (zeitgeber) that entrains circadian rhythms?
Answer: Light (especially morning light). Light exposure resets the biological clock daily.
Flashcard 3: What is REM sleep most strongly associated with?
Answer: Vivid dreaming and rapid eye movements. Eyes move rapidly while most vivid dreams occur.
Flashcard 4: Which sleep stage is characterized by sleep spindles and K-complexes on EEG?
Answer: NREM Stage 2 (N2). These EEG patterns distinguish N2 from other stages.
Flashcard 5: What neurotransmitter is classically associated with wakefulness and arousal?
Answer: Norepinephrine (notably from the locus coeruleus). Locus coeruleus releases NE to maintain alertness.
Flashcard 6: Which hormone increases in darkness to promote sleepiness?
Answer: Melatonin (from the pineal gland). Darkness triggers pineal gland to release this sleep hormone.
Flashcard 7: Which option best defines sleep debt?
Answer: Cumulative sleep loss from consistently insufficient sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation accumulates like a debt.
Flashcard 8: Identify the sleep disorder: acting out dreams due to loss of REM atonia.
Answer: REM sleep behavior disorder. Failure of normal REM paralysis allows dream enactment.
Flashcard 9: Identify the sleep disorder: sudden sleep attacks with possible cataplexy.
Answer: Narcolepsy. Loss of hypocretin causes sudden sleep and muscle weakness.
Flashcard 10: Which condition best explains fatigue after rapid travel across time zones?
Answer: Jet lag from circadian rhythm desynchronization. Body clock conflicts with new time zone causing fatigue.
Flashcard 11: Identify the sleep disorder: repeated breathing cessation during sleep with daytime sleepiness.
Answer: Sleep apnea. Breathing stops repeatedly, causing fragmented sleep.
Flashcard 12: Which brain structure is the primary pacemaker for circadian rhythms?
Answer: Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus. SCN receives light input and synchronizes body rhythms.
Flashcard 13: Which sleep stage is most associated with memory consolidation for procedural skills?
Answer: REM sleep. REM strengthens motor skills and procedural memories.
Flashcard 14: What is the typical direction of heart rate and respiration during NREM sleep?
Answer: They generally decrease and become more regular. Body conserves energy with slower, steadier vitals.
Flashcard 15: What is REM atonia?
Answer: Skeletal muscle paralysis during REM sleep. Prevents physical movement during vivid dreams.
Flashcard 16: What is circadian rhythm?
Answer: An endogenous $24-hour cycle regulating sleep and physiology. Internal biological clock that repeats approximately every 24 hours.
Flashcard 17: What is the definition of consciousness in psychology?
Answer: Awareness of self and environment, including subjective experience. Encompasses both objective awareness and subjective experiences.
Flashcard 18: Which sleep stage shows delta waves and is often called slow-wave sleep?
Answer: NREM Stage 3 (N3). High-amplitude delta waves define deep sleep.
Flashcard 19: During which sleep stage does sleepwalking most commonly occur?
Answer: NREM Stage 3 (N3). Parasomnias like sleepwalking occur in deep NREM sleep.
Flashcard 20: What is sleep latency?
Answer: Time from attempting sleep to sleep onset. Measures how quickly someone falls asleep.
Flashcard 21: Identify the condition caused by circadian misalignment after rapid time-zone travel.
Answer: Jet lag. SCN remains synchronized to origin time zone, causing sleep disruption.
Flashcard 22: What is the main EEG feature of NREM stage 1 (N1) sleep?
Answer: Theta waves. 4-7 Hz waves mark the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
Flashcard 23: What EEG pattern defines NREM stage 2 (N2) sleep?
Answer: Sleep spindles and K-complexes. Spindles are 12-14 Hz bursts; K-complexes are sharp wave deflections.
Flashcard 24: What is the defining EEG characteristic of NREM stage 3 (N3) sleep?
Answer: High-amplitude, low-frequency delta waves. Delta waves (<4 Hz) indicate deep, restorative slow-wave sleep.
Flashcard 25: Which sleep stage is most associated with vivid dreaming and muscle atonia?
Answer: REM sleep. Paradoxical sleep with active brain but paralyzed voluntary muscles.
Flashcard 26: What is the typical direction of heart rate and respiration during REM sleep?
Answer: More variable and often increased compared with NREM. Autonomic functions become irregular during REM's heightened brain activity.
Flashcard 27: Which sleep stage tends to increase in duration across successive sleep cycles?
Answer: REM sleep. REM periods lengthen from ~10 to ~30 minutes through the night.
Flashcard 28: Which sleep stage is most associated with sleepwalking (somnambulism)?
Answer: NREM stage 3 (N3). Occurs during deep sleep when motor cortex remains active.
Flashcard 29: Which sleep disorder involves airway obstruction causing repeated awakenings?
Answer: Obstructive sleep apnea. Collapsed airway causes hypoxia, triggering brief arousals to breathe.
Flashcard 30: What is narcolepsy characterized by?
Answer: Excessive daytime sleepiness with sleep attacks and cataplexy. Caused by hypocretin/orexin deficiency affecting sleep-wake regulation.