What is a common symptom of Huntington’s disease?
a. Rapid fatigue of the muscles
b. Loss of both sensation and motor control in certain limbs
c. Twitches, tremors, and writhing that interfere with voluntary movement
d. Impairment of saccadic eye movements and rapid alternating movements
The scala vestibuli makes up part of the:
a. tympanic membrane.
b. cochlea.
c. middle ear.
d. ossicles.
Patients with damage to ____ report no dreams.
a. the upper part of the parietal cortex
b. the lower part of the parietal cortex
c. all layers of the occipital lobe
d. the nonvisual areas of the temporal lobe
What is the major difference between how phrenologists and today’s researchers study
the brain?
a. Today’s researchers never use case studies.
b. Phrenologists did not critically examine their data.
c. Today’s researchers focus on skull thickness.
d. Phrenologists were not concerned with behavior.
Brain studies of blind people suggest that they have greater attention to touch and
auditory stimulation because:
a. cortical areas for touch and audition are thicker.
b. their visual cortex is used for touch and verbal tasks.
c. they have greater neural branching.
d. they have greater neurotrophin release.
Recent interpretation of Walter Penfield’s brain stimulation studies suggests that brain
stimulation:
a. produces dreamlike experiences.
b. results in memory of motor skills.
c. is better for recovering lost memories.
d. has no effect.
Someone suffering from Wernicke’s aphasia has difficulty:
a. articulating speech.
b. reading aloud.
c. understanding speech.
d. using prepositions and conjunctions.
What is responsible for sharpening contrast at visual borders?
a. receptive fields
b. lateral inhibition
c. retinal disparity
d. the direction in which the light shines
At low frequencies, the intensity of the sound is coded by the:
a. frequency of action potentials.
b. number of neurons producing action potentials.
c. oval window.
d. the relative frequency of action potentials.
Alzheimer’s patients are relatively unimpaired in:
a. declarative memory.
b. procedural memory.
c. short-term memory.
d. implicit and explicit memory.
A drug that stimulates melanocortin receptors would most likely:
a. increase meal frequency.
b. increase leptin production.
c. decrease meal size.
d. increase meal size.
Who is most likely to assess the abilities of someone who has recently had brain
damage?
a. Neurosurgeon
b. Physical therapist
c. Occupational therapist
d. Neuropsychologist
Prolonged use of antidepressants not only increases the availability of neurotransmitters
in the synapse but also:
a. dilates blood vessels in the right hemisphere.
b. increases the release of neurotrophins.
c. decreases the threshold for producing action potentials in axons.
d. increases the flow of glucose across the blood-brain barrier.
After damage to the lateral hypothalamus, animals:
a. show normal osmotic thirst but not hypovolemic thirst.
b. show normal hypovolemic thirst but not osmotic thirst.
c. eat less.
d. eat more.
What happens when insulin levels are high?
a. Fat supplies are converted to glucose, which enters the blood.
b. Fat supplies are depleted.
c. Glucose entry into the cells increases.
d. The sphincter muscle between the stomach and the duodenum opens.
The release of neurotransmitter from the presynaptic terminal is most dependent on the
influx of what ion?
a. sodium
b. potassium
c. chloride
d. calcium
A drug that facilitates transmission at GABA-A synapses has what effect on behavior?
a. increases anxiety
b. decreases anxiety
c. increases overall arousal
d. decreases aggressiveness
Even _____ input produces enhanced responses.
a. mild
b. negative
c. strong
d. positive
In one family, all three children are homozygous for a recessive gene. What can be
concluded about the parents?
a. Each parent is also homozygous for the recessive gene.
b. Each parent is heterozygous.
c. One parent is homozygous for the dominant gene; the other is homozygous for the
recessive gene.
d. Each parent is either homozygous for the recessive gene or heterozygous.
The premotor cortex:
a. is the main area for touch and other body information.
b. keeps track of the position of the body relative to the world.
c. is active during preparations for a movement and less active during movement itself.
d. responds to lights, noises, and other signals for a movement.
Evoked potentials in the brain are most likely to be detected by a(n):
a. CAT scan.
b. MRI.
c. EEG.
d. PET scan.
What is a major advantage of Aplysia for studies on the physiology of learning?
a. Their memories are more permanent than those of vertebrates.
b. There are no differences between one neuron and another.
c. There is great similarity of nervous system anatomy from one individual to another.
d. They have only one type of learning.
When opiates block the activity of the locus coeruleus, this results in:
a. hallucinations.
b. sleep.
c. increased arousal.
d. decreased fear and memory.
The sodium-potassium pump pumps sodium ions ____ and potassium ions ____.
a. into the cell; into the cell
b. into the cell; out of the cell
c. out of the cell; out of the cell
d. out of the cell; into the cell
What is the best way to determine if an individual who claims to never dream does, in
fact, have dreams?
a. Ask them about their dreams immediately after they wake up in the morning.
b. Wake them up during REM sleep and ask them if they have been dreaming.
c. Wake them up during NREM sleep and ask them if they have been dreaming.
d. Ask them under hypnosis if they have had any dreams recently.
The circuit from sensory neuron to muscle response is called:
a. a reflex arc.
b. a synapse.
c. flexion.
d. extension.
Which of the following events would increase the concentration gradient of sodium?
a. decreased permeability to potassium ions
b. increased activity of the sodium potassium pump
c. increased membrane permeability to sodium ions
d. increased membrane permeability to chloride ions
What are chromosomes composed of?
a. DNA
b. RNA
c. proteins
d. carbohydrates
At high doses, MDMA:
a. destroys axons that release acetylcholine.
b. destroys axons that release serotonin.
c. stimulates axons that release acetylcholine.
d. destroys axons in humans, but not in laboratory rats.
Which of the following is most likely an example of the organizing effects of sex
hormones?
a. increased heart rate during exercise
b. determination of genetic sex
c. masculinization of the brain
d. nest building
Which lobe seems to be especially involved in the comprehension of spoken language
in humans?
a. Occipital
b. Parietal
c. Frontal
d. Temporal
Having a small hippocampus may increase one’s vulnerability to:
a. PTSD.
b. bipolar disorder.
c. Urbach-Wiethe disease.
d. Kluver-Bucy syndrome.
Why do neurons have a resting potential?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Taking a drug that blocks acetylcholine receptors would be helpful for a person with
myasthenia gravis.
Parvocellular cells respond strongly to moving stimuli and large overall patterns.
Describe why humans have a blind spot.
After surgery, split-brain patients have impaired intellect and motivation.
Describe the role of serotonin synapses in aggressive behavior.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Describe how the mother’s immune system may exert prenatal effects on sexual
orientation.
The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems generally have opposing actions
on the major internal organs.
Bipolar II disorder is a more severe form of mania than bipolar I disorder.
It is possible for language to be impaired without an associated impairment of
intelligence.
Denervation supersensitivity results from the disuse of incoming axons.
Neurons are distinguished from other cells by their shape.
Low frequencies travel farther along the basilar membrane than high frequencies.
Following exposure to painful stimuli, brain activation is limited to the somatosensory
cortex.
Emotions are important for decision making.
In humans, testosterone produces its organizing effects on the hypothalamus by itself.
Describe the sequence of events that occurs in synaptic transmission.
Invertebrate nerves follow the same basic principles as human nerves.
Direct injections of cytokines into the brain would increase appetite.