Neurons can have any number of dendrites, but no more than one axon.
One might find cells that respond to the movement of an object in a specific direction in
the:
a. MT.
b. striate cortex.
c. retina.
d. lateral geniculate.
Which of the following would be the best treatment for helping someone who is
suffering from a stroke caused by a blood clot?
a. decrease activity of the sodium-potassium pump
b. warm the brain
c. administer tPA
d. enhance glutamate release
Migration requires:
a. a precise chemical environment.
b. cells which are myelinated.
c. mature neurons.
d. neurons with fully developed dendrites.
If a migratory bird is kept in a laboratory without any cues to the season, it will
become:
a. more active in the spring.
b. less active in the spring.
c. more active in the summer.
d. more active in the winter.
A person’s circadian activity cycle would most likely drift out of phase with the activity
of other people if the person:
a. spends a period of time in the wilderness, away from clocks.
b. habitually eats a big meal just before bedtime.
c. spends a period of time in seclusion, away from sunlight.
d. lives near the equator, where the seasons do not vary.
The esophagus brings food from the:
a. mouth to the stomach.
b. stomach to the sphincter.
c. sphincter to the intestines.
d. stomach to the intestines.
The ____ receives axons from the amygdala and sends axons to the pons to control the
startle response.
a. midbrain
b. caudate nucleus
c. cingulate gyrus
d. pineal gland
What would the effect be if an experimenter covered the eye of a kitten in an alternating
pattern (left eye one day; right the next)?
a. The cat would eventually lose all vision.
b. The kitten would eventually develop the ability to pay attention to two stimuli at the
same time.
c. The kitten would never learn to focus its eyes on stimuli.
d. Most cortical neurons would respond to stimuli in one eye or the other, but not both.
The function of a myelin sheath is to:
a. prevent action potentials from traveling in the wrong direction.
b. increase the velocity of transmission along an axon.
c. increase the magnitude of an action potential.
d. provide a store of nutrients for the neuron.
The frequency of homosexuality in men is highest if:
a. a sister is homosexual.
b. an adopted brother is homosexual.
c. a dizygotic twin brother is homosexual.
d. a monozygotic twin brother is homosexual.
Some of the axons from the two eyes:
a. cross at the corpus callosum.
b. cross at the optic chiasm.
c. cross at the anterior commissure.
d. do not cross in humans.
Central nervous system axons regenerate much better in fish than in mammals because
fish:
a. nerves do not have to travel so far to reach their target.
b. myelin does not secrete proteins that inhibit axon growth.
c. nerves have so much more myelin than do mammal nerves.
d. myelin secretes a protein that accelerates regeneration.
Stress activates two systems. One is the:
a. HPA axis, which reacts more quickly than the other.
b. HPA axis, which becomes increasingly important with prolonged stressors.
c. autonomic nervous system which secretes the hormone ACTH.
d. autonomic nervous system which secretes the hormone cortisol.
During the entire course of events from the start of an action potential until the
membrane returns to its resting potential, what is the net movement of ions?
a. sodium in, potassium in
b. sodium out, potassium out
c. sodium in, potassium out
d. sodium out, potassium in
Because spinal injury damages many axons, ____ develop increased sensitivity to the
remaining ones.
a. glia
b. collateral sprouts
c. postsynaptic neurons
d. phantom limbs
An advantage of maintaining a constant body temperature is that it:
a. enables an animal to stay equally active at all environmental temperatures.
b. enables an animal to survive on a wider variety of diets.
c. minimizes the energy that must be expended on basal metabolism.
d. enables an animal to detect changes in the temperature of the environment.
After damage to a set of axons, neurotrophins induce nearby:
a. injured axons to form new branches.
b. injured dendrites to form new branches.
c. uninjured axons to form new branches.
d. uninjured dendrites to form new branches.
A new drug is discovered that affects the activity of enzymes. Which of the following
stages of synaptic transmission is most likely to be affected?
a. Synthesis
b. Diffusion
c. action potential
d. Release
Prior to the 1950’s, few schizophrenic patients who entered a mental hospital ever left.
The discovery most responsible for alleviating that situation was the discovery of:
a. chlorpromazine.
b. the prefrontal lobotomy.
c. electroconvulsive therapy.
d. MAOIs.
After damage to the dorsal roots of the spinal cord, an individual will suffer what kind
of loss?
a. Sensation from the affected body area
b. Control of the peripheral muscles in the affected body area
c. Control of organs in the affected body area
d. Control of the muscles on the opposite side of the body
The heat receptor responds to ____, the chemical that makes jalapeos.
a. tryptophan
b. pacinian
c. menthol
d. capsaicin
Which of the following is characterized by extreme sympathetic nervous system
arousal?
a. locked-in syndrome
b. pure autonomic failure
c. panic attack
d. prosopagnosia
Simultaneous weak stimuli at different locations produce a greater reflexive response
than one of the stimuli by itself. What is this phenomenon called?
a. Sherrington’s law
b. temporal summation
c. spatial summation
d. the all-or-none law
In Pavlov’s experiments, he presented a sound followed by meat. Gradually the sound
came to elicit salivation. The salivation to the meat in this experiment was the:
a. unconditioned stimulus.
b. unconditioned response.
c. conditioned stimulus.
d. conditioned response.
The brain has an enormous number of ____ and ____.
a. sections; spaces
b. divisions; subareas
c. appendages; spaces
d. sections; subareas
Depression is linked to ____ serotonin and aggressive behavior is linked to ____
serotonin.
a. low; low
b. low; high
c. high; low
d. high; high
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease emerge only after the number of neurons in the
substantia nigra decreases to what level?
a. To the point where there are no cells remaining
b. Less than 20% of the original total
c. Less than 50% of the original total
d. Less than 90% of the original total
When studying disruptions to the biological clock in animals, what did Curt Richter
find?
a. Blinding animals strongly disrupted their clock.
b. Rendering animals deaf strongly disrupted their clock.
c. Long periods of forced activity strongly disrupted the clock.
d. The biological clock is insensitive to most forms of interference.
The area of the brain known to be important for “binding” is the:
a. thalamus.
b. central sulcus.
c. parietal cortex.
d. corpus callosum.
The myelin sheath is interrupted periodically by short sections of axon called:
a. axon gaps
b. nodes of Cajal
c. axon nodes
d. nodes of Ranvier
Describe some of the evidence that brain anatomy may differ as a function of sexual
orientation.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Define the term endogenous circadian rhythm.
A strand of DNA serves as a template (model) for the synthesis of RNA molecules.
Research scientists are free to do as they wish when conducting research with animals.
The damaging effects of phenylalanine in children with PKU are unavoidable.
The function of the cerebellum is limited to balance and coordination.
Recent researchers have felt that Lashley’s conclusions about the results of his search
for the engram reflected some inappropriate assumptions. One of those assumptions
was that:
A memory involves a physical change in the nervous system.
B all kinds of memory are physiologically the same.
C more than one kind of memory exists.
D different memories change different sets of neurons.
In general, men are more jealous of sexual infidelity than women.
In most people, the right hemisphere is dominant for speech.
Hormones produced by the ovaries are required for proper maternal behavior in rats.
Huntington’s disease is controlled by an autosomal dominant gene.
The sex hormones include the estrogens, progesterone, and the androgens.
Sometimes people find themselves unable to move their postural muscles immediately
after awakening. Why?
A Blood pressure is too low.
B The motor nerves are inactive until body temperature reaches its normal level.
C An increase in light striking the eyes reflexively inhibits the motor neurons.
D Part of the brain is still asleep.
There are hundreds of different types of olfactory receptors.
Name the major subcortical areas of the forebrain.
Most excitatory post-synaptic potentials result in an action potential.
Describe the basic mechanisms of taste receptors.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Trunk and facial muscles are controlled by both hemispheres of the brain.
Schizophrenia is the same as dissociative identity disorder.