PSY 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, Circadian Rhythm, Internal Bleeding

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 102
• Professor: Tisha Ornstein

Document Summary

Consciousness: subjective awareness of internal & external events awake and responsive. If you have poor sleep: immune function will lower, confusion and cognitive deficits, internal bleeding and ulcers can occur, death. Theories of sleep: energy conservation: decrease in metabolism, decrease temperature, decrease heart rate, decrease respiration, all results in decreased energy spending. Biological basis of sleep: circadian rhythm: circadian rhythm- cyclical changes that occur on a roughly 24-hour basis in many biological processes, important for determining the sleeping and eating patterns of all animals, hormone release (melatonin, sleeping/feeding. Zeitgebers: a stimulus (usually the light of dawn) that resets the biological clock responsible for circadian rhythm. Biological basis of sleep: brain regions: suprachiasmatic nucleus (scn) within hypothalamus, sunlight and melatonin can affect it, damage to anterior hypothalamus results in difficulty sleeping, damage to posterior hypothalamus results in difficulty staying awake. Lucid dreaming: experience of becoming aware that one is dreaming.