Psy 440 - Chapter 10 - Biological Rhythms Flashcards

Front 1

Diural vs Nocturnal vs Crepuscular animals

Back 1

Diural: active during the day.

Nocturnal: active at night.

Crepuscular: active at dawn or dusk.

Front 2

What is chronobiology?

Back 2

It is the scientific study of biologicalclocks and their associated rhythms.

Front 3

Why chronobiology took so long to develop as scientific discipline?

Back 3

This is because it had to counteract the dogma of homeostasis in the biological sciences and medicine.

Front 4

Rhythm

Back 4

a recurrent event that is characterized by its period, frequency, amplitude, and phase.

Front 5

Period (in terms of rhythm)

Back 5

the length of time required to complete one cycle of the rhythm in question.

Front 6

Frequency (in terms of rhythm)

Back 6

computed as the number of completed cycles per unit of time.

Front 7

Amplitude (in terms of rhythm)

Back 7

the amount of change above and below the average value, that is also the distance of the peak or nadir from the average.

Front 8

Phase (in terms of rhythm)

Back 8

a point in the rhythm relative to some objective time point during the cycle.

Front 9

Exogenous

Back 9

OUTSIDE the organism.

Front 10

Endogenous

Back 10

INSIDE the organism.

Front 11

__________ experiment is used to determine whether a rhythm is due to exogenous or endogenous factors.

Back 11

(fill in the blanks) isolation

Front 12

Can biological rhythms persist in the absence of environmental cues?

Back 12

Yes.

Front 13

Whose report is the FIRST recorded observation that biological rhythms can persist in the absence of environmental cues?

Back 13

De Mairan's report.

Front 14

What is the important experimental technique used in the study of biological rhythms?

Back 14

By keeping a log of physical activity over time. Do so by monitoring activity cycles.

Front 15

Zeitgeber

Back 15

events that keep our circadian rhythms regulated.

Front 16

Example of natural zeitgeber

Back 16

alternation of the light/dark cycle of a 24 hour day.

Front 17

Example of artificial zeitgeber

Back 17

Alarm clock

Front 18

What is the common method of measuring rhythms in locomotor activity if rats?

Back 18

By using the wheel-running apparatus.

Front 19

What is entrainment?

Back 19

The process of synchronization of endogenous biological rhythms with a periodic cue in the environment - a zeitgeber.

Front 20

Phase-response curves

Back 20

graphic representations of the differential effects that environmental light has on the timing of biological rhythms depending on the phase relationship of the light to the circadian organization of the animal in question.

Front 21

What does estrogen do to the clock function in the body?

Back 21

Estrogen accelerates clock function.

Front 22

What does progesterone do to the period of activity cycles?

Back 22

Progesterone lengthens it.

Front 23

Light affects the rhythm of _____________ secretion.

Back 23

Melatonin.

Front 24

Melatonin is produced by the _____________ (name the gland) during the dark phase of the day, which results in sustained elevation in the blood levels of this hormone.

Back 24

Pineal gland

Front 25

When does steroid-dependent behaviors of animals wane?

Back 25

When animals become reproductively quiescent.

Front 26

When does steroid-dependent behaviors of animals recur?

Back 26

During breeding season, when reproductive hormones are again secreted.

Front 27

What is the "master clock"?

Back 27

the master clock controls the circadian rhythms, which consists of a group of nerve cells in the brain called suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).

Front 28

How circadian rhythm affects body function and health?

Back 28

it can influence sleep wake cycles, hormone release, body temperature, other bodily functions.

Front 29

What is the hormone that makes you sleepy?

Back 29

Melatonin.

Front 30

What is the hormone that serves as waking function?

Back 30

Serotonin.