Chapter 3

Question 1

What is hypnosis?

Answer 1

a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

Question 2

What is consciousness?

Answer 2

our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Question 3

What is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 3

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

Question 4

What is selective attention? Give an example.

Answer 4

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Question 5

What is inattentional blindness?

Answer 5

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Question 6

What is inattentional numbness?

Answer 6

failing to feel stimuli when our attention is directed elsewhere

Question 7

What is change blindness?

Answer 7

failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.

Question 8

What is dual processing?

Answer 8

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

Question 9

What is blindsight?

Answer 9

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.

Question 10

What is parallel processing?

Answer 10

processing many aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously.

Question 11

What is sequential processing?

Answer 11

processing one aspect of a stimulus or problem at a time; generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems.

Question 12

What is sleep?

Answer 12

a periodic, natural loss of consciousness—as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation.

Question 13

What is the circadian rhythm?

Answer 13

our biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle

Question 14

What is REM sleep?

Answer 14

rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active

Question 15

What are alpha waves and when do they happen?

Answer 15

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

Question 16

What are hallucinations? At what stage of sleep do they occur?

Answer 16

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus; they occur during the N1 sleep stage

Question 17

What are the stages of sleep in order?

Answer 17

Waking beta waves, waking alpha waves, N1 waves, N2 waves, N3 (delta) waves, REM waves

Question 18

At which stage of sleep are you clearly asleep?

Answer 18

N2

Question 19

What are sleep spindles and at which stage of sleep do they occur?

Answer 19

bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity that aid memory processing; N2

Question 20

What are delta waves and at what stage of sleep do they occur?

Answer 20

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep; they occur in N3 sleep

Question 21

What is the Suprachiasmatic nucleus? (SCN)

Answer 21

a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness.

Question 22

What are the five reasons we sleep?

Answer 22

Sleep protects, sleep helps us recuperate, sleep helps restore and rebuild the day’s memories, sleep feeds creative thinking, sleep supports growth

Question 23

What is insomnia?

Answer 23

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Question 24

What is narcolepsy?

Answer 24

a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

Question 25

What is sleep apnea?

Answer 25

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

Question 26

What are night terrors?

Answer 26

a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during N3 sleep, within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered

Question 27

What is tolerance?

Answer 27

a state in which increasing doses are needed to produce an effect

Question 28

What are dreams?

Answer 28

a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind

Question 29

What is manifest content?

Answer 29

according to Freud, the symbolic, remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content)

Question 30

What is latent content?

Answer 30

according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content)

Question 31

Why do we dream?

Answer 31

Satisfy our wishes, file away memories, develop and preserve neural pathways, make sense of neural static, reflect cognitive development

Question 32

What is the activation-synthesis theory?

Answer 32

dreams are the brain’s attempt to synthesize random neural activity

Question 33

What is REM rebound?

Answer 33

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

Question 34

What are psychoactive drugs?

Answer 34

a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods

Question 35

What is substance use disorder?

Answer 35

a disorder characterized by continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk

Question 36

What are the three types of psychoactive drugs?

Answer 36

Depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens

Question 37

What are depressants?

Answer 37

drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

Question 38

What is alcohol use disorder?

Answer 38

popularly known as alcoholism) alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use.

Question 39

What are barbiturate drugs?

Answer 39

drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment

Question 40

What are opiates?

Answer 40

opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

Question 41

What is a stimulant?

Answer 41

drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Question 42

What are amphetamines?

Answer 42

drugs (such as methamphetamine) that stimulate neural activity, causing accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes

Question 43

What is nicotine?

Answer 43

a stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco products

Question 44

What is cocaine?

Answer 44

a powerful and addictive stimulant derived from the coca plant; produces temporarily increased alertness and euphoria

Question 45

What is methamphetamine?

Answer 45

a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, reduces baseline dopamine levels

Question 46

What is ecstasy (MDMA)?

Answer 46

a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition

Question 47

What are hallucinogens?

Answer 47

psychedelic (“mind-manifesting”) drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

Question 48

What is the near-death experience?

Answer 48

an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations

Question 49

What is LSD?

Answer 49

a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid.

Question 50

What is THC?

Answer 50

the major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations