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| Drugs, such as cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, and nicotine, that increase activity in the nervous system and result in heightened altertness, arousal, and euphoria, and decreased appetite and fatigue |
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A stimulant similar to amphetamine in both its chemical makeup and its physical and psychological effects. It causes marked increases in blood pressure and heart rate and feelings of enhanced mood, alertness, and energy; street names are meth, spped, crank, crystal, and ice; produces an almost instantaneous high when smoked and is highly addictive
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| A stimulant produced from the leaves of the coca plant. Its physiological and behavioral effects are very similar to those of amphetamine: It produces increased heart rate and blood pressure, enhanced mood, alertness, increased activity, decreased appetite, and diminished fatigue. At higher doses, it can produce anxiety, emotional instability, and suspiciousness. |
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| Drugs derived from the opium poppy, including opium and morphine, which is chemically altered to make heroin. All of these have three primary effects: analgesia (Pain reduction); opiate euphoria, which is often described as a pleasurable state between waking and sleeping; and constipation. Continued use results in tolerance, physical addiction, and an intense craving for the drug. |
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| Psychoactive drugs that can produce hallucinations - strange perceptual, sensory, and cognitive experiences that the person sees or hears but knows are not occurring in reality. Such unreal experiences are called hallucinations. |
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| Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) |
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Definition
A technique for studying the structure of the living brain. Nonharmful radio frequencies are passed through the brain, and a computer measures their interaction wiht brain cells and transforms this interaction into an incredibly detailed image of the brain (or body).
pg. 70 |
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Located at the very back and underneath the brain, is involved in coordinating motor movements but not in initiating voluntary movements; also involved in performing timed motor responses, such as those needed in playing games or sports, and in automatic or reflexive learning, such as blinking the eye to a signal, which is called classical conditioning
pg. 73
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| Postiron Emission Tomography (PET) |
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Definition
A technique to measure the function of the living brain. A slightly radioactive solution is injected into the blood and the amount of radation absorbed by te brain cells is measured. Very active brain cells - neurons - absorb more radioactive solution than less active ones. A computer transforms the different levels of absorption into colors that indicate the activity of neurons. The colors red and yellow indicate maximum activity of neurons; blue and green indicate minimal activity.
pg. 71 |
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A bridge that connects the spinal cord with the brain and parts of the brain with one another. Cells in this part manufacture chemincals involved in sleep.
pg. 73 |
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| Major Depressive Disorder |
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Definition
marked by at least two weeks of continually being in a bad mood, having no interest in anything, and getting no pleasure from activities. In addition, a person must have at least four of the following symptoms: problems with eating, sleeping, thinking, concentrating, or making decisions, lacking energy, thinking about suicide, and feeling worthless or guilty.
pg. 532
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| marked by fluctuations between episodes of depression and mania. A maniac episode goes on for at least a week, during which a person is unusually euphoric, cheerful, and high and has at least three of the following symptoms: has great self-esteem, has little need for sleep, speaks rapidly and requently, has racing thoughts, is easily distracted, and pursues pleasurable activites. |
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| Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) |
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A brain scan that measures the activity of specific neurons that are functioning during cognitive tasks such as thinking, listening, or reading
pg. 70 |
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| Characterized by being chronically but not continuously depressed for a period of two years. While depressed, a person experinces at least two of the following symptos: poor appetite, insomnia, fatigue, low self-esteem, poor concentration, and feelings of hopelessness |
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A serious mental disorder that lasts for at least six months and includes at least two of the follouwing symptoms: Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized sppech, disorganized behavior, and decreased emotional expression. These symptoms interfere with personal or social functioning.
pg. 538
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| Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder) |
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The presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states, each with its own pattern of percienving, thinking about, and relating to the world. Different personality states may take control of the individual's thoughts and behaviors at different times.
pg. 545
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A transition from wakefulness to sleep and lasts 1-7 minutes. In it, you gradually lose responsiveness to stimuli and experience drifting thoughts and images; is marked by the presence of theta waves (4-7 cycles per second) then alpha waves.
pg. 152
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Marks the beginning of what we know as sleep, since subjects who are awakened in stage 2 reort having been asleep. EEG tracings show high-frequency bursts of brain activity called sleep spindles.
pg 152 |
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also called slow-wave or delta sleep; characterized by waves of very high amplitude and very low frequency (less than 4 cycles per second) called delta waves; often considered the deepest stage of sleep because it is the most difficulty from which to be awakened; heart rate, respiration, temperature, and blood flow to the brain are reduced, and there is a marked secretion of GH (growth hormone), which controls levels of metabolism, physical growth, and brain development
pg 152
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makes up the remaining 20% of your sleep time; pronounced "rem"; stands for rapid eye movement sleep because your eyes move rapidly back and forth behind closed lids. REM brain waves have high frequency and low amplitude and look very similar to beta waves, which occur when you are awake and alert; during this, your body is physiologically very aroused, but all your voluntary muscles are paralyzed; highly associated with dreaming
pg 153 |
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| Ventrolateral Pre-Optic Nucleus (VPN) |
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Definition
a group of cells in the hypothalamus that act like a mster switch for sleep; when turned on, secretes a neurotransmitter (GABA) that turns off areas that keep the brain awake; when turned off, certain brain areas become active and you wake up
pg 157
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the rounded, transparent covering over the front of your eye; as the light waves pass through this, its curved surface bends, or focuses, the waves into a narrow beam
pg 95 |
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a round opening at the front of your eye that allows light waves to pass into the eye's interior
pg 95 |
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a circular muscle that surrounds the pupil and controls the amount of light entering the eye; in dim light, this relaxes, allowing more light to enter - the pupil dilates; in bright light, this constricts, allowing less light to enter - the pupil constrics; this muscle contains the pigment that gives your eye its characteristic color
pg 95
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a transparent, oval structure whose curved surface bends and focuses light waves into an even narrower beam; attached to muscles that adjust the curve of the lens, which in turn, adjusts the focusing
pg 95 |
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located at the very back of the eyeball; a thin film that contains cells that are extremely sensitive to light; these light sensitive cells, called photoreceptors, begin the process of transduction by absorbing light waves
pg 95
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