Consciousness
An alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
REM sleep
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.
Circadian Rhythm
A physiological cycle of about 24 hours that is present in all eukaryotic organisms and that persists even in the absence of external cues.
Insomnia
A sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, by waking too early, or by sleep that is light, restless, or of poor quality.
Sleep Apnea
A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.
Narcolepsy
A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.
Nightmares
Anxiety-arousing dreams that lead to awakening, usually from REM sleep.
Night Terrors
A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered
Sleepwalking
A phenomenon primarily occurring in non-REM sleep in which people walk while asleep.
Hypnosis
A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur
Posthypnotic Suggestion
A suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.
Bio feed Back
bodies responses to stress: racing heart, tingling spine, rapid breathing
Meditation
A family of mental exercises in which a conscious attempt is made to focus attention in a nonanalytical way.
Psychoactive Drugs
Chemicals that affect the nervous system and result in altered consciousness
Marijuana
A plant whose leaves, buds, and flowers are usually smoked for their intoxicated effects, A drug, often smoked, whose effects include euphoria, impairment of judgment and concentration and occasionally hallucinations; rarely reported as addictive
Hallucinations
False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
Hallucinogens
A diverse group of drugs that have powerful effects on mental and emotional functioning, marked most prominently by distortions in sensory and perceptual experience.
LSD
A powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid (lysergic acid diethylamide).
Independent Variable
The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied
Dependent Variable
The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
Control Group
In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.
Experimental Group
A subject or group of subjects in an experiment that is exposed to the factor or condition being tested.
Positive Correlation
A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.
Negative Correlation
A finding that two factors vary systematically in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases.
Sympathetic Nervous System
Branch of the autonomic nervous system that produces rapid physical arousal in response to perceived emergencies or threats.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
A subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body after action and also retains the body functioning at is normal state (homeostasis)