Prefrontal lobotomies were conducted in the United States in an attempt to:
a. restore memory.
b. restrain prisoners.
c. treat severe obesity.
d. treat severe psychiatric disorders.
The formation of a neuron’s distinctive shape occurs during the ____ stage of
neurogenesis.
a. proliferation
b. migration
c. differentiation
d. myelination
The amino acid, glycine, provides a possible co-treatment for schizophrenia because it:
a. can be chemically converted into dopamine.
b. increases the effectiveness of glutamate.
c. decreases the effectiveness of glutamate.
d. increases the growth and division of glia cells.
What receives excitation from other neurons and conducts impulses to muscle or gland
cells?
a. sensory neurons
b. motor neurons
c. dendrites
d. dendritic spines
Someone claims that if genes control a condition, it can be controlled only by drugs or
surgery, but not by changes in the environment. Which of the following is the strongest
example to CONTRADICT that claim?
a. Color-blindness
b. Eye color
c. Phenylketonuria (PKU)
d. Down syndrome
Why do the effects of certain transmitters, such as serotonin, vary from one synapse to
another?
a. The brain releases different forms of serotonin at different synapses.
b. It depends whether it is an original serotonin molecule or one that has been recycled.
c. The width of the synaptic cleft varies from one synapse to another.
d. There are several kinds of postsynaptic receptors for serotonin.
The structure composed of the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus is the:
a. basal ganglia.
b. limbic system.
c. cerebellum.
d. sympathetic nervous system.
With respect to progressive brain damage in schizophrenia, results suggest that:
a. there is no clear consensus.
b. brain abnormalities get much worse with age.
c. there is no change in brain structure once diagnosed.
d. brain abnormalities improve significantly.
Individuals who have lost sodium and other solutes:
a. may experience a craving for salty tastes.
b. must learn by trial and error to replace the correct amount.
c. will often experience a craving for vitamins.
d. lose ability to discriminate among tastes.
Which of the following would produce a hyperpolarization of a neuron?
a. applying a negative charge inside the neuron with a microelectrode
b. applying a positive charge inside the neuron with a microelectrode
c. increasing the membrane’s permeability to sodium
d. decreasing the membrane’s permeability to potassium
Large-diameter pain axons:
a. carry sharp pain information.
b. carry dull pain information.
c. readily respond to endorphins.
d. are associated with small cell bodies.
The nuclei of the cerebellum (as opposed to the cerebellar cortex) are most important
in:
a. moving a finger rapidly toward a target.
b. holding a finger in a steady position.
c. using the hands to lift heavy weights.
d. coordinating the left hand with the right hand.
Human amygdala activity was found to be greatest when looking at a picture of:
a. people showing emotional expressions.
b. people with neutral expressions.
c. a puppy or kitten.
d. an infant.
Which would be especially important when running up a flight of stairs at full speed?
a. fast-twitch muscles
b. slow-twitch muscles
c. smooth muscles
d. intermediate muscles
A sharp high-amplitude negative wave followed by a smaller, slower, positive wave is
called:
a. a sleep spindle.
b. a K-complex.
c. a slow-wave.
d. REM.
Damage to one side of the lateral tract below the level of the medulla would most likely
affect:
a. fine motor control on the opposite side of the body.
b. fine motor control on the same side of the body.
c. bilateral control of the neck, shoulders, and trunk.
d. rapid ballistic movements.
One study found that a nap that included ____ sleep enhanced performance on certain
kinds of creative problem solving.
a. stage 1
b. stage 2
c. stages 3 and 4
d. REM
An evolutionary explanation of why we get goose bumps when cold is that:
a. the sympathetic nervous system is activated.
b. we inherited the mechanism from our remote ancestors who had more hair.
c. it keeps us warm.
d. children are often raised in cold environments.
In the spinal cord, white matter is comprised mostly of _____, while gray matter is
mostly _____.
a. cell bodies; myelinated axons
b. dendrites; myelinated axons
c. myelinated axons; cell bodies
d. cell bodies; dendrites
Speaking, piano playing, athletic skills, and other rapid movements would be most
impaired by damage to which structure?
a. Reticular formation
b. Cerebellum
c. Ventromedial hypothalamus
d. Parasympathetic nervous system
Color constancy depends on which part of the nervous system?
a. rods
b. the postcentral gyrus
c. area V4 of the occipital lobe
d. area V1 of the temporal lobe
The ability to recognize that a door maintains its shape even though the shape of the
image on the retina is changing is known as:
a. size constancy.
b. brightness constancy.
c. shape constancy.
d. hypercomplex constancy.
If there is a depolarizing effect on a neuron, the result will be that the neuron will fire:
a. no matter how slight the effect.
b. forever.
c. only if it reaches threshold.
d. only if the cell is in its relative refractory period.
If a drug has high affinity and high efficacy, what effect does it have on the postsynaptic
neuron?
a. antagonistic
b. agonistic
c. proactive
d. destructive
Which of the following would be a functional explanation for why birds sing?
a. Testosterone causes the growth of certain brain areas which control singing in certain
birds.
b. Birds sing due to instinct.
c. Birds sing because they hear their song early in life and form a template which
controls later singing.
d. Birds sing to defend territories and attract mates.
Hypovolemia induces thirst by inducing production of which hormone?
a. CCK
b. Insulin
c. Prolactin
d. Angiotensin II
Which of the following is NOT true of Huntington’s disease?
a. It is controlled by a gene on chromosome 4.
b. It is possible to predict with nearly 100% accuracy who will get the disease.
c. It is generally treated with L-dopa.
d. The average age of onset is around 40 years.
Specialized neurons for detecting osmotic pressure are found in the brain areas
surrounding which structure?
a. third ventricle
b. nucleus dorsalis
c. pituitary gland
d. Hypothalamus
The receptors for taste are like skin cells in that they:
a. are continuously being replaced.
b. are covered with a myelin sheath.
c. are also sensitive to touch.
d. do not release neurotransmitters.
Some differences in males and females depend directly on control by the ____
independently of hormones.
a. X chromosome
b. Y chromosome
c. X and Y chromosomes
d. hormones
A drug that blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter is a(n) ____; a drug that mimics or
increases the effects is a(n) ____.
a. neuromodulator; synergist
b. agonist; antagonist
c. depressant; stimulant
d. antagonist; agonist
Most neurons have a spontaneous firing rate, a periodic production of action potentials
even without synaptic input.
Describe organizing effects of sex hormones and give specific examples.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Reflexive flexion and extension of a dog’s legs can still occur when the spinal cord is
disconnected from the brain.
Dyslexia is a problem with producing speech.
Discuss some of the effects of stress on the immune system.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
The most common cause of brain damage in children is closed head injury.
An afferent axon brings information into a structure.
Neurologically, severe epilepsy is a condition characterized by what activity?
High levels of estrogen and progesterone will prevent ovulation.
Activation of the Golgi tendon organs results in contraction of the muscle.
There are obvious differences in external anatomy of homosexual humans compared to
heterosexual humans.
A striated muscle controls movement of the body in relation to the environment.
Fast-twitch fibers have fast contractions and rapid fatigue.
Renin is released from the posterior pituitary.
Amacrine cells refine the input to ganglion cells, enabling them to respond specifically
to shapes, movement, or other visual features
Eye-blink conditioning depends on the lateral interpositus nucleus.
Describe the Bell-Magendie law.
Describe some of the evidence that language did not develop as an accidental
by-product of intelligence.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Damage to the striate cortex of the right hemisphere causes blindness in the left visual
field.
After removing all sensory input to the brain, an animal would continue to have periods
of sleep and wakefulness.