PSY 202 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Heart Rate, Lucid Dream, Sigmund Freud
12 Jul 2016
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Periodic, more or less regular ups and downs in physiological functioning over the course of a day/week/year. Typically in tune with external time cues, such as changes in clock time, temperature, and daylight. Endogenous rhythms occur in the absence of such cues. Circadian rhythms are a type of biological rhythm that lasts about 24 hours: describe the brain mechanisms associated with circadian rhythms, and discuss how they may become desynchronized. Circadian rhythms are controlled by a biological clock located in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (scn). Neural pathways from the eye transmit information to the scn and allow it to respond to light and dark. The scn then sends out messages to the brain and body, telling them to adapt. During dark hours, melatonin (which induces sleep) is secreted by the pineal gland within the brain. People cross time zones sleep/wake patters adjust quickly, while temperature and hormone cycles do not (jet lag)
