THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EMOTIONS
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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It causes REM sleep approximately every 90 minutes during sleep.
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It causes the pituitary gland to increase the release of human growth hormone.
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It causes the pituitary gland to decrease the relase of human growth hormone.
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It causes the pineal gland to decrease the production of melatonin.
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Detailed explanation-1: -During the day, the suprachiasmatic nuclei stops melatonin production by sending inhibitory messages to the pineal gland. At night however, the suprachiasmatic nuclei are less active, and the inhibition exerted during the day is reduced resulting in melatonin production by the pineal gland.
Detailed explanation-2: -In the brain, a small group of hypothalamic nerve cells, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), functions as a master circadian pacemaker controlling the timing of the sleep-wake cycle and coordinating this with circadian rhythms in other brain areas and other tissues to enhance behavioral adaptation.
Detailed explanation-3: -The suprachiasmatic nucleus, via an inhibitory projection to the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, controls the sympathetic output to the pineal gland that is responsible for melatonin secretion. This pathway is responsible for the peak of melatonin secretion during darkness.
Detailed explanation-4: -The SCN regulates the timing of melatonin release, while melatonin feeds back to the SCN to decrease SCN neuronal firing. This process is controlled by two high-affinity melatonin (MT) receptors located in the SCN: MT1 and MT2.
Detailed explanation-5: -The main function of the pineal gland is to receive and convey information about the current light-dark cycle from the environment via the production and secretion of melatonin cyclically at night (dark period) (6, 7).