People with full sized brains and normal intelligence:
a. always have normal language.
b. usually have normal language, but may not.
c. have the greatest brain to IQ ratio.
d. have the largest index fingers.
Which brain area is active in monkeys during a delay when they have to remember the
location of a light and look there only after a several-second delay?
a. cerebellum
b. the prefrontal cortex
c. the occipital lobes
d. ventromedial hypothalamus
The small intestine:
a. absorbs water and minerals.
b. digests proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
c. is the secondary site for the absorption of digested foodstuffs into the bloodstream.
d. stores excess nutrients as glycogen, protein, or fat.
After damage to the right hemisphere, many people suffer what kind of loss?
a. control of the muscles on the right side of the body
b. hunger and thirst
c. ability to remember the names of objects
d. ability to recognize emotional facial expressions
The fact that each person’s pinna is shaped differently from anyone else’s suggests that
much of sound localization is:
a. impossible.
b. learned.
c. restricted to activity of the cochlea.
d. enhanced by having small ears.
New neurons are known to develop in all of the following cases EXCEPT:
a. olfactory receptors.
b. the human corpus callosum.
c. the brain area responsible for birdsong.
d. hippocampus of mammals.
Slow and continuous stretching exercises could relax a muscle by:
a. stretching the muscle spindle organs.
b. decreasing glucose utilization.
c. stretching the Golgi tendon organs.
d. increasing muscle fiber density.
Blocking NMDA synapses has what effect, if any, on LTP?
a. There is no effect on LTP.
b. It enhances the establishment of LTP.
c. It prevents the establishment of LTP.
d. In prevents the maintenance of previously established LTP.
What is one of the contradictions in “paradoxical” sleep?
a. The frequency of the brain waves is low, while the amplitude is high.
b. The brain is very active, while many of the muscles are deeply relaxed.
c. Subcortical structures are very active, while the cerebral cortex is inactive.
d. Postural muscles are tense, while heart rate and breathing rate are very low.
Stimulation of a neuron beyond a certain level is called the:
a. firing threshold
b. hillock threshold
c. threshold of excitation
d. threshold of inhibition
Vesicles are located:
a. in postsynaptic terminals.
b. in dendrites.
c. in presynaptic terminals.
d. outside of the neuron in the extracellular fluid.
High levels of phenylalanine in the diet impair the synthesis of serotonin because it:
a. causes the breakdown of serotonin in the vesicles.
b. competes with an active transport mechanism shared by tryptophan.
c. interferes with the enzyme that synthesizes serotonin.
d. prevents the reuptake of serotonin.
Another term for antipsychotic drugs is:
a. benzodiazepines.
b. neuroleptics.
c. tricyclics.
d. stimulants.
If a cell in a given column responds to touch on the person’s right toe, then another cell
in the same column would respond to:
a. touch on the left toe.
b. sounds from the right ear.
c. touch on the right finger.
d. touch on the right toe.
One drawback to using an eye patch to help correct lazy eye is that:
a. the eyes do not equalize in strength
b. the eye patch makes the strong eye weaker
c. the child often refuses to wear the patch as long as necessary
d. the child breaks the patch
Which of the following is an example of sensitization?
a. Following a series of electrical shocks, a person overresponds to noises.
b. Following a series of loud noises, a person is no longer aroused by additional noises.
c. After repeated pairings of a noise with shock, a person is aroused less than usual by
any mild stimulus.
d. After repeated pairings of a noise with shock, a person is aroused less than usual only
by the noise.
The branching fibers that form the information-receiving pole of the nerve cells are
called:
a. motor neurons.
b. dendrites.
c. sensory neurons.
d. axons.
What would be the effect of a drug that inhibits the action of the enzyme
acetylcholinesterase?
a. prolonged action of acetylcholine at its synapses
b. decreased duration of action of acetylcholine at its synapses
c. decreased synthesis of acetylcholine by the presynaptic cell
d. increased synthesis of acetylcholine by the presynaptic cell
Proliferation is the:
a. production of new cells.
b. movement of primitive neurons and glia.
c. formation of dendrites and an axon.
d. insulation process that occurs on some axons.
The most effective way to stimulate sexual behavior in a female rodent is to inject her
with:
a. prolactin followed by estradiol.
b. progesterone following by parathyroid hormone.
c. alpha fetoprotein followed by cholecystokinin.
d. a combination of estradiol and progesterone.
To replace the concept of short-term memory, A. D. Baddeley and G. J. Hitch
introduced the term delayed memory to refer to the way we store information while we
are working at it.
What type of neurons in the substantia nigra deteriorates in Parkinson’s disease?
a. Dopamine
b. Serotonin
c. Norepinephrine
d. Acetylcholine
Children are asked to feel two fabrics and to determine whether they are the same or
different. This is more difficult for ____ children who have to feel the fabrics with
____.
a. younger; the same hand
b. younger; different hands
c. older; the same hand
d. older; different hands
Children with a rare condition called ____ are unable to move their facial muscles to
make a smile.
a. Lange syndrome
b. Mbius syndrome
c. James syndrome
d. Fregoli syndrome
Toward the middle of the menstrual cycle, the follicle produces increasing amounts of:
a. TSH.
b. ACTH.
c. testosterone.
d. estradiol.
Sex differences are to ____ as gender differences are to ____.
a. anatomy; behaviors
b. adults; children
c. excitation; inhibition
d. scientists; the public
People with amygdala damage have trouble identifying fear expressions. How could we
improve their ability to recognize fear?
a. Give drugs that suppress serotonin synapses.
b. Change where they focus their eyes.
c. Test at a different time of day.
d. Display the expressions in black and white photos.
One potentially dangerous side effect of St. John’s wort is that it:
a. increases the effectiveness of other medications the person may be taking.
b. decreases the effectiveness of other medications the person may be taking.
c. prevents the reuptake of serotonin.
d. raises blood pressure after the person eats tyramine-rich food.
Immunoglobulins and chemokines play an important role in neural:
a. migration.
b. proliferation.
c. synaptogenesis.
d. apoptosis.
Axons from the lateral geniculate extend to which area of the cerebral cortex?
a. precentral gyrus
b. postcentral gyrus
c. prefrontal cortex
d. occipital lobe
Individuals with Korsakoff’s syndrome are similar to people with damage to the:
a. amygdala.
b. prefrontal cortex.
c. hippocampus.
d. hypothalamus.
What occurs to a tone as the frequency increases?
a. Pitch gets higher.
b. Pitch gets lower.
c. Loudness increases.
d. Loudness decreases.
In most humans, control of language is centered in the:
a. left hemisphere.
b. right hemisphere.
c. corpus callosum.
d. cerebellum.
REM sleep is associated with:
a. tension and activity of the postural muscles.
b. PGO waves in the brain.
c. a highly synchronized EEG pattern.
d. decreased heart rate.