BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS - INFRADIAN AND ULTRADIANRHYTHM

Question 1

what is an infradian rhythm?

Answer 1

a type of bio rhythm which has a frequency of less than one cycle in 24 hours e.g. menstruation or SAD

Question 2

what is the female menstruation cycle governed by?

Answer 2

monthly changes in hormone levels which regulate ovulation

Question 3

what does the menstrual cycle refer to?

Answer 3

time between first day of period, when womb lining sheds to the day before her next period

Question 4

how long does a typical cycle last?

Answer 4

28 days but 24-35 is considered normal

Question 5

the rising level of what hormone causes the ovary to develop an egg and release it?

Answer 5

oestrogen

Question 6

what hormone is present after ovulation? (when egg gets released)

Answer 6

progesterone

Question 7

what does the hormone progesterone do?

Answer 7

helps the womb lining grow thicker, readying the body for pregnancy

Question 8

what happens if pregnancy doesn’t occur?

Answer 8

egg is absorbed into the body, the womb lining comes away and leaves the body (the menstrual flow)

Question 9

who conducted research to show menstrual cycle can be influenced by exogenous factors?

Answer 9

Stern and McClintock

Question 10

what did Stern and McClintock demonstrate?

Answer 10

how menstrual cycles synchronise as result of inf of female pheromones

Question 11

who were McClintock’s sample?

Answer 11

29 women with irregular periods

Question 12

what did McClintock do?

Answer 12

get samples of pheromones from 9 women at diff stages of mens w/ cotton pas

Question 13

how long were pads worn on armpits?

Answer 13

8 hrs to make sure pheromones picked up

Question 14

what happened to cotton pads after collection?

Answer 14

treated with alcohol, frozen and rubbedon upper lip of other ppts

Question 15

what happened on day 1 and day 2 and so on in Stern and McClintock’s exp?

Answer 15

day 1 - pads from start of mens applied to 20 ppts

day 2 - all ppts given pad and so on

Question 16

what were the findings of Stern and McClintock’s exp?

Answer 16

68% of ppts exp changes to cycle, bringing them closer to cycle of odour donor

Question 17

what is SAD?

Answer 17

seasonal affective disorder, diagnosed as mental disorder in DSM-5

Question 18

why is SAD an infradian rhythm?

Answer 18

symptoms such as low mood and interest triggered by winter months when number of daylight hrs are shorter

Question 19

what type of infradian rhythm is SAD?

Answer 19

circannual as it is subject to a yearly cycle

Question 20

how can SAD be seen as a circadian rhythm?

Answer 20

exp of SAD due to disruption of sleep/wake cycle, attributed to prolonged periods of daily darkness

Question 21

what have psychologists hypothesised about the cause of SAD?

Answer 21

hormone melatonin implicates it

Question 22

what does the pineal gland do during night?

Answer 22

secretes melatonin until dawn when there is an increase of light

Question 23

what happens to melatonin during winter?

Answer 23

lack of light in the morning means secretion of melatonin goes on for longer, has knock on effect on production of serotonin linked to depression

Question 24

what is an ultradian rhythm?

Answer 24

a biological rhythm that has a fequency of more than one cycle in 24 hours

Question 25

what is one of the most intensely research ultradian rhythms?

Answer 25

srages of sleep

Question 26

how many stages of sleep are there and altogether how long do they last?

Answer 26

5 distinct stages that last about 90 mins

Question 27

how are each of the stages of sleep characterised?

Answer 27

different level of brainwave activity monitored using an EEG

Question 28

what are stages 1 and 2 of sleep known as?

Answer 28

light sleep

Question 29

in stages 1 and 2 of sleep, brainwaves are…

Answer 29

slowed down and more rhythmic (alpha waves) and becoming slower as sleep becomes deeper (theta waves)

Question 30

what are stages 3 and 4 of sleep known as?

Answer 30

deep sleep or slow wave sleep, hard to wake someone up

Question 31

what brainwave does stages 3 and 4 have?

Answer 31

delta waves which are slower and have greater amplitude than alpha and beta

Question 32

what is stage 5 of sleep known as?

Answer 32

REM sleep (rapid eye movement)

Question 33

what happens to the body and brain in REM sleep?

Answer 33

body is paralysed but brain activity speeds up significantly representing awake brain

Question 34

why is REM sleep named that?

Answer 34

fast activity of eyes under eyelids during sleep stage

Question 35

what has research suggested about REM sleep?

Answer 35

highly correlated with experience of dreaming

Question 36

give 3 evaluation points of infradian and ultradian rhythms?

Answer 36

+ evolutionary basis of menstrual cycle
+ evidence support stages of sleep
- methodological limitations in synch studies

Question 37

there is a ________ _____ for menstrual cycle?

Answer 37

evolutionary basis

Question 38

how is there an evolutionary basis of menstrual cycle?

Answer 38

it is advantageous for females to menstruate together and fall pregnancy around the same time

Question 39

why is it an advantage for females to menstruate together?

Answer 39

new-borns could cared collectively within a social group increasing chances of offspring’s survival

Question 40

how can the validity of the evolutionary be questioned?

Answer 40

Schank says if too many females synchronise, create competition to get highest quality males, so should avoid synchrony and be naturally selected

Question 41

there is _________ to support the stages of sleep

Answer 41

evidence

Question 42

who conducted research to support the stages of sleep?

Answer 42

Dement and Kleitman

Question 43

what did Dement and Kleitman do?

Answer 43

monitor the sleep patterns of 9 adult ppts in sleep lab

Question 44

what did researchers control?

Answer 44

controlled effects of caffeine and alcohol

Question 45

how did Dement and Kleitman get information?

Answer 45

brainwave activity recorded from EEG

Question 46

what was REM sleep highly correlated with?

Answer 46

w/ exp of dreaming, brain activity varied on how vivid they were, ppts woken during dreaming had v accurate recall

Question 47

what does Dement and Kleitman’s research suggest?

Answer 47

REM sleep is an important component of the ultradian sleep