According to the evolutionary perspective of sleep, the primary function of sleep is to:
a. conserve energy.
b. promote brain development.
c. restore body functions that were exhausted during wakefulness.
d. enable the person to re-experience, in dreams, the events of the past.
The visual path in the parietal cortex is referred to as the:
a. ventral stream.
b. dorsal stream.
c. parvocellular pathway.
d. magnocellular pathway.
What is a common measure of fear or anxiety that is popular because it can be used
with non-humans as well as humans?
a. facial expressions
b. spontaneous muscle twitches
c. the startle response
d. hyperventilation
Axons of motor neurons would most likely be found in which of the following?
a. Gray matter
b. White matter
c. Dorsal roots
d. Tracts
The tendency of water to flow across a semipermeable membrane from the area of low
solute concentration to the area of higher concentration is termed:
a. hypovolemic pressure.
b. hypovolemic thirst.
c. osmotic pressure.
d. OVLT.
At what point do the sodium gates begin to close, shutting out further entry of sodium
into the cell?
a. at the peak of the action potential
b. when the threshold is reached
c. at the end of the relative refractory period
d. when the concentration gradient for sodium is eliminated
Which basal ganglia structure(s) is/are important for receiving input from sensory areas
of the thalamus and the cerebral cortex?
a. globus pallidus and putamen
b. globus pallidus and caudate nucleus
c. caudate nucleus and putamen
d. globus pallidus
Which of the following is hardest to classify as classical or operant conditioning?
a. pressing a lever to get food
b. pressing a lever to escape shock
c. salivating after a sound previously paired with food
d. song learning by male birds
Neurons differ most strongly from other body cells in their:
a. temperature.
b. shape.
c. osmotic pressure.
d. mitochondria.
Cells in the retina that provide connections among themselves, as well as with bipolar
and ganglion cells, are known as:
a. receptors.
b. geniculate cells.
c. amacrine cells.
d. optic nerves.
Which of the following assumptions is necessary for the place theory of pitch
perception, but NOT for the frequency theory?
a. Various auditory neurons respond best to different wavelengths.
b. The response of an auditory neuron declines if a sound is repeated many times.
c. The louder a sound, the more auditory neurons respond to it.
d. Most times we hear a combination of many wavelengths, not a pure tone.
Anomia involves difficulty:
a. using prepositions and conjunctions.
b. understanding written, as opposed to spoken, language.
c. remembering the names of objects.
d. speaking rapidly and fluently.
It is believed that a virus contracted by a pregnant woman might increase the incidence
of schizophrenia in her child because:
a. a mother’s fever can adversely affect fetal brain development.
b. increases in the resulting stress hormones in the mother affect fetal hormone levels.
c. viruses are able to cross the placenta and affect the fetus directly.
d. viral infections will harm the umbilical cord hampering the delivery of nutrients to
the fetus.
One of the main problems with schizophrenia is _____ that result from abnormal
interactions between the cortex and the thalamus and cerebellum.
a. speech problem
b. absent signs of emotion
c. disordered thoughts
d. delusions
Repeated use of large doses of amphetamine or cocaine can lead to a behavioral
condition similar to:
a. schizophrenia.
b. bipolar disorder.
c. attention deficit disorder.
d. depression.
“Every sound causes one location along the basilar membrane to resonate, and thereby
excites neurons in that area.” This is one way to state which theory about pitch
perception?
a. volley principle
b. frequency theory
c. place theory
d. opponent-process theory
Which of the following drug types is most promising for treating people with failing
memory?
a. Tranquilizers
b. Endorphins
c. Depressants
d. Stimulants
What is different about rats raised in an enriched environment in comparison to rats
raised in an impoverished environment?
a. a more pleasant personality
b. improved learning performance
c. better parenting skills
d. nothing
Wernicke’s aphasia is also known as:
a. production aphasia.
b. fluent aphasia.
c. spoken aphasia.
d. nonfluent aphasia.
What is the shape of the receptive field to which a simple cell in the primary visual
cortex responds?
a. circle of a particular radius
b. circle with a hole in the middle
c. bar in a particular orientation
d. bar of a particular length
Inhibitory synapses on a neuron:
a. hyperpolarize the postsynaptic cell.
b. weaken the cell’s polarization.
c. increase the probability of an action potential.
d. move the potential closer to the cell’s threshold.
Several months after split-brain surgery, the number of incidents of conflicts between
the two hemispheres diminishes because:
a. portions of the corpus callosum grow back.
b. the right hemisphere begins to control all body muscles.
c. the hemispheres learn ways of cooperating with each other.
d. the cerebellum assumes the former functions of the corpus callosum.
2-AG is believed to be an endogenous chemical that:
a. increases dopamine release.
b. produces serotonin.
c. binds to cannabinoid receptors.
d. is responsible for producing nausea.
After the peak of an action potential, what prevents sodium ions from continuing to
enter the cell?
a. There is no longer a concentration gradient for sodium.
b. The sodium-potassium pump greatly increases its rate of activity.
c. All the available sodium ions have already entered the cell.
d. The sodium gates in the membrane close.
A trait not expressed when combined with a dominant trait is called a(n) ____ trait.
a. nurture
b. recessive
c. dominant
d. homozygous
Directly stimulating the ____ of a hamster results in priming it to attack, even without
the previous experience of fighting.
a. corticomedial amygdala.
b. cortex.
c. temporal lobe.
d. occipital lobe.
On average, people with bulimia show a variety of biochemical abnormalities,
including increased production of ____.
a. insulin
b. ghrelin
c. dopamine
d. orlistat
After deafferenting a monkey’s forelimb, it generally fails to use it because:
a. the muscles are too weak.
b. moving it is painful.
c. they have no motor control in the limb.
d. walking on three limbs is easier than moving the impaired limb.
After loss of sensory input from a limb, the axons representing that limb degenerate
and:
a. cause immediate cell death.
b. leave vacant synaptic sites at several levels of the CNS.
c. destroy any leftover synapses.
d. cause no change in the associated neurons.
A(n) ____ describes how a structure or behavior develops, including the influences of
genes, nutrition, experiences, and their interactions.
a. functional
b. ontogenetic
c. physiological
d. evolutionary
Damage to the thalamus would most likely result in:
a. abnormal emotional behavior.
b. loss of sensory input to the cortex.
c. abnormal hormone release.
d. difficulty in distinguishing between two rhythms.
Which of the following is NOT true for sodium ions when the cell is at resting
potential?
a. Sodium ions remain outside the cell because the sodium- potassium pump drives
them out.
b. Sodium gates are tightly closed.
c. Sodium tends to be driven into the neuron by the concentration gradient.
d. Sodium tends to be driven out of the neuron by the electrical gradient.
Incoming synapses are primarily found on:
a. dendrites only.
b. cell bodies only.
c. axons only.
d. dendrites and cell bodies.
Research on circadian rhythms has shown that one of the best ways to increase the
alertness and efficiency of workers on night shifts is to:
a. expose them to bright lights while they work.
b. keep the environmental temperature constant from night to day.
c. have them eat a big meal before going to sleep.
d. allow them to catnap.
Which type of glia builds myelin sheaths around axons in the periphery of the body?
a. astrocytes
b. Schwann cells
c. oligodendrocytes
d. radial glia