AP PSYCHOLOGY

BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR

BIOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
REM is sometimes called paradoxial sleep because
A
you dream during REM and NREM sleep stages
B
EEGs show the brain is relaxed, but your body is active
C
sleep deprivation puts you into NREM 3
D
the brain’s motor cortex is active, but the body is not
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -REM sleep is called “paradoxical” because of its similarities to wakefulness. Although the body is paralyzed, the brain acts as if it is somewhat awake, with cerebral neurons firing with the same overall intensity as in wakefulness.

Detailed explanation-2: -Why Is REM Sleep Called Paradoxical Sleep? Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is called paradoxical sleep because it involves seemingly contradictory states of an active mind and a sleeping body.

Detailed explanation-3: -Excitability of the human motor cortex is enhanced during REM sleep.

Detailed explanation-4: -REM sleep is also referred to as paradoxical sleep because while the brain and other body systems become more active, muscles become more relaxed. Dreaming occurs due to increased brain activity, but voluntary muscles become immobilized.

Detailed explanation-5: -Brain imaging studies have found, for example, that the primary visual cortex, the first part of the brain involved in consciously decoding visual signals when people are awake, shows very little activity when they are dreaming during REM sleep.

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