According to the Young-Helmholtz theory, what is the basis for color vision?
a. a different receptor for each color
b. three kinds of cones
c. a single receptor that produces different responses for each color
d. the combined influences of rods and cones
What anatomical difference, other than sex organs, is reliably seen between males and
females, even at an early age?
a. complexity of the cerebral cortex
b. size of the pituitary
c. organization of the brain stem
d. size of parts of the hypothalamus
The two chemical families to which most antipsychotic drugs belong are:
a. phenothiazines and butyrophenones.
b. tricyclics and MAOIs.
c. nitrates and glucocorticoids.
d. benzodiazepines and antihistamines.
People who speak with little inflection or expression usually have suffered damage to
the:
a. ventromedial spinal pathway.
b. left hemisphere.
c. right hemisphere.
d. corpus callosum.
What is the relationship between the motor neuron axons and muscle fibers?
a. Each axon innervates only one muscle fiber.
b. The more muscle fibers a single axon innervates, the more precise the movements.
c. The more axons which innervate a single muscle fiber, the more precise the
movements.
d. The fewer muscle fibers a single axon innervates, the more precise the movements.
Exocytosis is the process by which neurotransmitters are:
a. excreted into the synaptic cleft.
b. synthesized.
c. destroyed.
d. secreted into synaptic vesicles.
A chemical is called a(n) ____ when it flows through the blood to targets throughout the
body.
a. hormone
b. neurotransmitter
c. neuromodulator
d. endocrine
A sudden stretch of a muscle excites a feedback system that opposes the stretch. This
message starts in the:
a. dorsal root ganglion.
b. cerebellum.
c. Pacinian corpuscles.
d. muscle spindles.
If a sympathetic nervous system axon does not receive enough nerve growth factor, the
neuron will:
a. kill itself.
b. grow a shorter axon.
c. compensate by growing more dendrites.
d. decrease its velocity of action potentials.
The blind spot in each eye is blind because:
a. everyone has nerve damage.
b. the fluid in the eye becomes crystallized there.
c. amacrine cells are tangled there.
d. there are no receptors there.
Altered tau protein cannot bind to its usual targets within axons, and so it ____.
a. stops spreading into the cell body and dendrites
b. stops spreading into the cell body only
c. starts spreading into the cell body only
d. starts spreading into the cell body and dendrites
It is possible to determine a person’s stage of sleep through which kinds of monitoring?
a. EEG and GSR
b. GSR and eye movements
c. EEG and eye movements
d. body position and carbon dioxide level in the blood
What insulin levels would we expect to find when an animal is putting on extra fat in
preparation for migration or hibernation?
a. very low, as in diabetes
b. normal
c. high
d. unstable and rapidly fluctuating
If a kitten sees alternately with only one eye one day and the other eye the next day
during its critical period for visual development, what happens to its visual cortex?
a. Its cells become virtually unresponsive to all visual stimuli.
b. One eye will become dominant and the other lazy.
c. Each cortical cell will become responsive to just one eye.
d. Cells will respond to either eye, but the responses will be sluggish.
The name of the point at which the optic nerve leaves the retina is called the:
a. blind spot.
b. fovea.
c. optic chiasm.
d. ganglion.
The startle response to a loud noise is increased in the presence of a stimulus that has
been paired with:
a. something fearful.
b. something pleasant.
c. something neutral.
d. soft noises.
The ‘spontaneous firing rate” of a neuron refers to:
a. its resting potential.
b. its rate of energy consumption.
c. its rate of producing action potentials even when it is not stimulated.
d. the velocity of its action potentials under normal conditions.
What is the name of the rapid eye movement occurring when a person moves his or her
eyes from one focus point to another?
a. gyration
b. sclerosis
c. slide
d. saccade
Prepositions, word endings, and grammar are to ____, as nouns and verbs are to ____.
a. Broca’s aphasia; Wernicke’s aphasia
b. Wernicke’s aphasia; Broca’s aphasia
c. dyslexia; anomia
d. anomia; Wernicke’s aphasia
Conductive deafness is to ____ as nerve deafness is to ____.
a. the inner ear; the middle ear
b. the middle ear; the inner ear
c. disease; exposure to loud noises
d. age; disease
Output from the amygdala to the ____ modifies approach and avoidance responses.
a. brain stem
b. hypothalamus
c. prefrontal cortex
d. basolateral nuclei
Which kind of adults is most likely to suffer from sleep apnea?
a. Overweight men
b. Depressed women
c. Recent immigrants to a country
d. People who eat a high-protein diet
Hyperpolarization is:
a. increased polarization.
b. decreased polarization.
c. the threshold of the cell.
d. the resting potential of the cell.
Sexual differentiation begins with:
a. Wolffian ducts
b. chromosomes
c. Mllerian ducts
d. Hormones
What determines the effect that a neurotransmitter has on the postsynaptic neuron?
a. the speed the action potential traveled down the axon
b. the number of branches of the presynaptic axon
c. the receptors on the postsynaptic membrane
d. the distance between the synapse and the cell body
Which kinds of activities are produced from activation of the parasympathetic nervous
system?
a. fight-or-flight
b. increased heart rate and blood pressure
c. a decrease in digestion
d. calmness and relaxation
For someone who has recovered from schizophrenia, PCP:
a. induces a long-lasting recovery.
b. induces a long-lasting relapse.
c. is quite ineffective in inducing behavioral changes.
d. produces depression instead.
Concerning the genetics of schizophrenia, which of these currently seems most likely?
a. Most cases can be traced to a single gene, which has been identified.
b. Most cases are due to a single gene, but researchers have not yet found that gene.
c. Schizophrenia requires a combination of two uncommon genes.
d. Schizophrenia often results from a new microdeletion of part of a chromosome.
Which of the following is NOT one of the many ways that genes can affect behavior?
a. Genes may affect neurotransmitter levels or receptors.
b. Genes can act indirectly by making it more likely you will be raised in a particular
environment.
c. Genes themselves cause behavior without any influence of the environment.
d. Genes produce proteins that may make it more likely for a person to become
addicted.
What is the function of the pinna?
a. It vibrates in synchrony with high-frequency tones.
b. It protects the eardrum from overstimulation.
c. It filters out distracting sounds.
d. It helps us locate the source of sounds.
Which of the following statements regarding reflexes would Charles Sherrington most
likely agree with?
a. The overall speed of conduction through a reflex arc is faster than conduction along
an axon.
b. Repeated stimuli occurring within a brief time can have a cumulative effect.
c. Each neuron physically merges with the next one.
d. Excitatory synapses are more important than inhibitory synapses.
Name the two types of receptors found in the vertebrate retina.
Why is it impossible for an individual to develop a complete, normal set of external
female genitalia AND a complete, normal set of external male genitalia?
a. An individual has either estradiol or testosterone, but not both.
b. Both types of external genitalia develop from the same fetal structure.
c. Development of the external genitalia is not influenced by early hormonal levels.
d. The female genitals reach maturity earlier than the male genitals.
Someone who suffered damage to the visual cortex of the left hemisphere would
probably have impaired vision in the:
a. left eye.
b. right eye.
c. left visual field.
d. right visual field.