Infradian Rhythms Flashcards
Seasonal affective disorder SAD
Sad is a yearly cycle where they are depressed in the winter and recover in the summer
May be due to the hormones melatonin and serotonin- more darkness means more melatonin and more melatonin means less serotonin and low levels of serotonin is associated with depression
Monthly cycles
The menstrual cycle is determined by levels of female hormones that regulate ovulation.
The pituitary gland releases Hormones FSH and LH, the egg ripens and triggers production of oestrogen and later progesterone to prepare the king of the womb for a fertilised egg. If there is no pregnancy progesterone levels fall and the lining is shed
Empson said males are also found to have monthly rhythms for temp and alertness levels
AO2
Reinberg reported a women who spent 3 months in a cave without natural lighting. Her menstrual cycle shortened to 25.7 days implying that infradian rhythms are influenced by exogenous zeitgebers such as light cues and require them to remain synchronised. Living in a cave has low Eco val and is not representative of natural settings so results may be generalise. Temp, smell, noise could contribute as exogenous zeitgebers. CASE STUDY.
Russel et al applied underarm sweat of donor women to the upper lips of female ppts and found their me natural cycles became synchronised. This shows that pheromones can entrain menstrual cycles and so pheromones could act as exogenous zeitgebers.
Menstrual cycle may have negative effects as PMS is associated with anxiety, depression, mood swings and aggression. Dalton showed that PMS led to lower academic achievement, suicide and crime.
SAD might not be an effect of infradian rhythms but due to a disrupted circadian rhythm, similar to jet lag. The circadian rhythms may be disrupted due to people going to bed earlier during the winter because it gets darker quicker. So the biological rhythm gets the impression that time is shifting.
IDA
PMS has been described as a deterministic approach as it has been cited as a mental disorder to excuse behaviour such as murder. Ms English was a women who drove her car into her husband after an argument which killed him. Her defence team used PMS as a legal defence and was placed on probation. Which suggests biological rhythms may be beyond our control. This deterministic explanation suggests women may not have free will over their actions.
