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Psychology - Coggle Diagram
Psychology
Understanding Biological Rhythms
Consciousness
Awareness of oneself and the environment
Biological Rhythms
A periodic, more or less regular fluctuation in a biological system; may or may not have psychological implications
Entrainment
Biological rhythms are synchronized with external events such as changes in clock time, temperature, and daylight
Endogenous Biological Rhythms
Circadian Rhythms
Once about every 24 hours
example: The sleep cycle
occur in animals, plants, and people
To study endogenous circadian rhythms, scientists isolate volunteers from time cues
Example: Stefania Follini, 1989
in the absence of any kind of clock- her days became longer (24 hour days turned to 28, turned to 48
due to lack of sunlight/ not knowing the time
She was in the cave for 4 months but when she came out she thought it had only been 2 months
Digestive System slowed down
Lost 17 ponds
Menstrual cycle slowed down
Fluctuations with body temperature
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
Located in hypothalamus, regulates melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland
Infradian Rhythms
Occurs less frequently than once a day
Examples: birds migrating, bears hibernating
Internal Desynchronization
A state when biological rhythms are not in phase with each other
Circadian rhythms are influenced by changes in routine
Airplane flights across time zones (jet lag)
adjusting to new work shifts
illness, stress, fatigue, excitement, drugs, and mealtimes
effects mental alertness
Moods and long-term rhythms
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
A controversial disorder in which a person experiences depression during winter and an improvement of mood in the spring
Treatment involves phototherapy or exposure to fluorescent light
Evaluating frequency of and treatment for SAD is difficult