PSYC1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Medial Forebrain Bundle, Limbic System, Preoptic Area

• School: University of Sydney
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC1002
• Professor: Caleb Owens

Document Summary

Sleep: sleeping= opportunity cost/ vulnerable, birds and aquatic animals sleep with half their brain at a time, factors: diet, habitat, prey/predator, metabolic rate and brain complexity. Sleep and health: cognitive function (attention, speed, mood, memory: sleep the night before improves learning and sleeping after learning improves retention, eating and obesity: lack of sleep increases appetite, reduces responsiveness to insulin and increases diabetes. Increases activity in sympathetic nervous system, impacts body negatively, increase in heart attacks. What sends us to sleep: suprachiasmatic nucleus controls release of hormone melatonin from pineal gland, melatonin signals night time to whole body, adenosine builds up in brain while we are awake, being awake increases amount of adenosine. Increases sleepiness by inhabiting alertness centres and stimulating sleep centres: caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, pre-optic area (anterior hypothalamus): destruction of pre-optic area can cause insomnia, pre-optic area contain gaba, inhibit arousal.