What hormone more than triples in concentration in the blood of human males during
orgasm, and has been tentatively linked to sexual pleasure?
a. insulin
b. aldosterone
c. melatonin
d. oxytocin
One explanation for narcolepsy in humans is:
a. a loss of orexin-containing neurons in the hypothalamus.
b. a genetic loss of basal forebrain neurons.
c. swollen tonsils.
d. damage to the locus coeruleus.
Compared to REM, research suggests that NREM is:
a. important for all types of memory.
b. important for strengthening memories of motor skills.
c. important for strengthening memories of lists of words.
d. not important for strengthening memories of any kind.
The heart is to ____ as movement of the body is to ____.
a. smooth muscles; rough muscles
b. cardiac muscles; striated muscles
c. striated muscles; skeletal muscles
d. antagonistic muscles; skeletal muscles
What happens when insulin levels are high upon completing a meal?
a. Fat supplies are converted to glucose which enters the blood.
b. Glucose entry into the cells decreases.
c. Blood glucose levels increase.
d. The individual feels hungry again soon after the meal.
RNA is:
a. an exact copy of DNA.
b. a complementary copy of one strand of a DNA molecule.
c. a combination of many proteins.
d. the product of digesting DNA.
When a vertebrate animal contracts the flexor muscles of a leg, it relaxes the extensor
muscles of the same leg. Sherrington considered this evidence for the existence of:
a. spatial summation.
b. temporal summation.
c. inhibitory messages.
d. the delay in transmission at synapses.
Area ____ is particularly important for color constancy.
a. V1
b. V2
c. V3
d. V4
What can most people with nerve deafness hear?
a. some frequencies of sound better than others
b. external sounds, but not their own voices
c. soft sounds better than loud sounds
d. nothing at all
In most bird species, only the male sings and then only in his territory during the
reproductive season. This is to attract females and to ward off other males, which serves
to improve their chances of mating. This behavior demonstrates:
a. that physiological explanations are preferred over other kinds of explanations.
b. learning during a critical period.
c. that physiological, ontogenetic, evolutionary, and functional explanations are
mutually exclusive.
d. how physiological, ontogenetic, evolutionary, and functional explanations can all be
used to explain the same behavior.
In comparison to the rods, cones are more:
a. common toward the periphery of the retina.
b. sensitive to detail.
c. sensitive to dim light.
d. common in rodents and other nocturnal animals.
What is the name given to the function between the two hemispheres?
a. hemispherectomy
b. lateralization
c. polarization
d. symmetry
In general, when biologists speak of sex-linked genes they are referring to genes on:
a. autosomal chromosomes.
b. more than one chromosome.
c. the X chromosome.
d. the Y chromosome.
Why will taking a melatonin pill in the evening have little effect on sleepiness?
a. Body temperature is too low.
b. Body temperature is too high.
c. The pineal gland is only active in the morning.
d. The pineal gland produces melatonin at that time anyway.
The finger-to-nose test is a common way of testing for possible damage to what
structure?
a. Spinal cord
b. Basal ganglia
c. Medulla
d. Cerebellum
In Pavlov’s experiments he presented a sound followed by meat. Gradually the sound
came to elicit salivation. The sound in this experiment would be considered the:
a. unconditioned stimulus.
b. unconditioned response.
c. conditioned stimulus.
d. conditioned response.
The current view of how we perceive sounds less than 100 Hz is based on:
a. the frequency of action potentials.
b. the area along the basilar membrane that responds most strongly.
c. volleys of responses.
d. the asymmetrical positioning of an individual’s ears.
Hunger and satiety-sensitive neurons in the arcuate nucleus affect neurons in the ____,
thereby affecting meal size.
a. paraventricular nucleus
b. lateral hypothalamus
c. OVLT
d. ventromedial hypothalamus
The descending portion of the reticular formation is one of several brain areas that
control the:
a. sensory areas of the brain.
b. sensory areas of the spinal cord.
c. motor areas of the brain.
d. motor areas of the spinal cord.
A more recent study on differences in the INAH3 suggests that compared to
heterosexual men, homosexual men have:
a. a larger INAH3.
b. smaller INAH3 neurons, but a comparable number.
c. fewer INAH3 neurons, but they are larger in size.
d. a comparable number and size of INAH3 neurons.
Which of the following is unique to genetic males early in development?
a. Wolffian ducts
b. primitive gonads
c. Mllerian ducts
d. Mllerian inhibiting hormone
The view of the brain from above is called the ____ view.
a. anterior
b. ventral
c. dorsal
d. posterior
What causes potassium ions to leave the axon just after the peak of the action potential?
a. a continuing concentration gradient and the opening of the potassium gates
b. an increase in the concentration gradient across the membrane
c. increased tendency of the sodium-potassium pump to pump potassium out
d. binding of potassium ions to proteins that leave at this time
A person who has a great deal of trouble understanding a sentence if its meaning
depends on word order is a:
a. split-brain patient.
b. patient with damage to Wernicke’s area.
c. patient with damage to Broca’s area.
d. patient suffering from apraxia.
What type of leukocyte matures in the thymus gland?
a. natural killer cell
b. macrophage
c. B cell
d. T cell
Parts of the ____ are important for learning about rewards and punishments.
a. Hypothalamus
b. Fornix
c. prefrontal cortex
d. temporal cortex
Abnormal levels of which neurotransmitter often have been found in bulimics?
a. lower-than-normal levels of peptide YY
b. lower-than-normal levels of CCK
c. higher-than-normal levels of serotonin
d. increased receptor sensitivity for serotonin
Which of the following is an example of a ballistic movement?
a. threading a needle
b. singing a song
c. picking up a newspaper
d. a reflexive knee jerk
An MEG study of professional musicians listening to pure tones showed that:
a. professional musicians had brain responses that were twice as strong as
non-musicians.
b. professional musicians had slightly less brain responses as non-musicians.
c. professional musicians had drastically less brain responses as non-musicians.
d. professional musicians had brain responses five times as strong as non-musicians.
In certain species of songbirds, development of the song requires the opportunity to
hear the appropriate song during a sensitive period in life as well as the genes to prepare
them to learn the song. This is a(n) ____ explanation of birdsong.
a. physiological
b. ontogenetic
c. evolutionary
d. functional
If Parkinson’s disease were caused primarily by exposure to herbicides and pesticides,
we should expect to find:
a. near epidemics in some geographical regions.
b. greater incidence in people under 50 than in older people.
c. greater incidence in women than in men.
d. greater incidence in left-handers than in right-handers.
Dopamine neurons are more vulnerable than most other neurons to damage caused by
metabolic problems.
Name the three main theories of pitch perception.
The activation-synthesis theory of dreams argues that dreams are the result of random
brain activity.
Activation of the HPA axis occurs during prolonged stress.
Patients with Broca’s aphasia have a problem with speech production, but not speech
comprehension.
Describe the mechanisms of the three major types of antidepressant drugs.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
While studying classical conditioning of the eyelid response in rabbits, investigators
suppress the activity of the red nucleus. What results will occur?
A That procedure will not interfere with learning.
B Learning will not occur.
C The response will not occur, but later testing will reveal that learning occurred.
D The rabbit will show immediate evidence of learning, but it will forget rapidly.
Define differentiation during neural development.
Lashley’s conclusions from his engram research were based on certain unnecessary
assumptions, which later psychologists have discarded. One of those assumptions was
that the:
A cerebral cortex is the best or only place to search for an engram.
B left hemisphere of the brain is simply the mirror image of the right hemisphere.
C physiological mechanisms of learning in rats are similar to those in humans.
D hippocampus is more important for storage than it is for retrieval.
Thiamine is necessary for the proper metabolism of glucose.
Drinking salty sea water will satisfy osmotic thirst.
Surrounding the primary auditory cortex are additional auditory areas, in which cells
respond more to changes in sounds than to any prolonged sound.
Briefly describe the behavioral effects of pheromones in humans.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Describe some of the alternate treatments for depression.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
The most simple and effective way to lose weight is to exercise more and eat less.
A disruption of circadian rhythms due to crossing time zones is known as jet lag.
Brief activation of the sympathetic nervous system can enhance activity of the immune
system.
Describe brain function during REM sleep.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
The motor cortex has direct connections to the muscles.
Describe the role of the other brain areas besides the hippocampus in memory function.
Answer:
Answers will vary.