Which of the following classes of antidepressants is most likely to raise blood pressure
when a person eats tyramine-rich foods such as cheese?
a. SSRIs
b. atypical antidepressants
c. tricyclics
d. MAOIs
Obesity in Prader-Willi syndrome is linked to a problem with:
a. melanocortin.
b. ghrelin.
c. NPY.
d. leptin.
What is the difference between positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms?
a. beneficial behaviors versus harmful behaviors
b. behaviors that are present versus behaviors that are absent
c. behaviors that are related to abnormal brain functioning versus those that are not
d. behaviors shown by one personality versus behaviors shown by another
Which of the following describes selective permeability?
a. Ions can only travel in certain directions across the membrane.
b. Only certain molecules are allowed to cross the membrane freely.
c. Only certain types of stimulation will result in an action potential.
d. All molecules must pass through designated channels.
COMT and MAO are:
a. enzymes that convert catecholamines into inactive chemicals.
b. enzymes that make catecholamines.
c. neurotransmitters in the same group as serotonin.
d. the inactive fragments of catecholamines.
Operant conditioning is to ____ as classical conditioning is to ____.
a. reinforcement; punishment
b. CS; UCS
c. association; consequences
d. consequences; association
Children of mothers who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy are at an increased risk of:
a. intellectual deficits.
b. Korsakoff’s syndrome.
c. Rett syndrome.
d. Parkinson’s disease.
All of the cells in a given column in the cerebral cortex:
a. have the same shape.
b. are the same size.
c. are involved in the same function.
d. are connected to one another by a single horizontal cell.
Which of the following structures is part of the brain stem?
a. Basal ganglia
b. Pons
c. Cerebellum
d. Frontal lobe
The effect of Ritalin (methylphenidate) on the synapse is most similar to that of:
a. cocaine.
b. GABA.
c. prozac.
d. alcohol.
The raphe system ____ the brain’s readiness to respond to stimuli and sends axons to
the ____.
a. increases; cerebellum
b. decreases; forebrain
c. decreases; basal ganglia
d. increases; forebrain
The main feature that distinguishes a neuron from other animal cells is that a neuron
has:
a. a larger nucleus.
b. a distinctive shape.
c. the ability to metabolize a variety of fuels.
d. a high internal concentration of sodium ions.
Which of the following is most clearly under the control of a circadian rhythm in most
animals?
a. Sleep
b. storage of body fat
c. migration
d. Mating
Which of the following is the correct order of transmission of information within a
neuron?
a. cell body, dendrite, axon
b. dendrite, axon, cell body
c. axon, cell body, dendrite
d. dendrite, cell body, axon
In addition to the neurotransmitter glutamate, in order to activate the NMDA receptors,
the neuron requires:
a. serotonin.
b. dopamine.
c. increased release of magnesium ions from the presynaptic neuron.
d. removal of magnesium ions from sodium and calcium channels.
What effect does the hormone angiotensin II have?
a. increased storage of food as fat
b. constriction of blood vessels
c. decreased emptying of the stomach
d. increased growth of the gonads
If most of the axons that transmit dopamine to some brain area die or become inactive,
the remaining dopamine synapses become:
a. less responsive.
b. less easily stimulated.
c. more resistant.
d. more responsive.
Women are more likely to initiate sexual activity when:
a. testosterone levels are low.
b. estrogen levels are low.
c. estrogen levels are high.
d. estrogen levels are intermediate.
The neurotransmitter GABA exerts ____ effects, and its effects are almost always ____.
a. ionotropic; excitatory
b. ionotropic; inhibitory
c. metabotropic; excitatory
d. metabotropic; inhibitory
If light shines in the receptive field of a bipolar cell of the visual system, what effect
will it have on the activity of that cell?
a. It will have no effect.
b. It will excite the cell.
c. It will inhibit the cell.
d. It may excite or inhibit the cell.
To what kinds of tones do cells in the primary auditory cortex respond best?
a. low-pitch tones
b. high-pitch tones
c. pure single tones
d. combinations or patterns of tones
The point in space from which light strikes the receptor is called the:
a. stimulus field.
b. convergence field.
c. receptive field.
d. bipolar area.
Which effect would be considered to be agonistic?
a. blocking the synthesis of neurotransmitters
b. stimulating the release of neurotransmitters
c. blocking the postsynaptic receptors
d. mimicking enzymes that breakdown neurotransmitters
Ionotropic effects are characterized by:
a. rapid, short-lived effects.
b. rapid, long lasting effects.
c. excitatory only.
d. inhibitory only.
For children with PKU on an ordinary diet, the heritability of PKU would be virtually
____.
a. 0
b. .5
c. 1.0
d. impossible to calculate
A neuromuscular junction is a synapse:
a. where a sensory axon delivering information from a muscle meets a neuron.
b. where a motor neuron axon meets a muscle fiber.
c. specific to cardiac muscles.
d. where a muscle excites or inhibits a neuron.
If a female rat is exposed to highly stressful experiences late in pregnancy, what
happens to the sexual development of her offspring?
a. The genetic males become responsive to male partners.
b. The genetic females become responsive to female partners.
c. Both male and female offspring become unresponsive to all sexual partners.
d. Both male and female offspring become highly aggressive in their sexual behaviors.
Conflicts between the two hemispheres eventually diminish because:
a. brain swelling decreases.
b. the callosum partly reconnects.
c. the left hemisphere suppresses the right hemisphere’s interference.
d. the right hemisphere simply takes control for some situations.
People in one family have a gene that seriously impairs language without decreasing
overall intelligence. This observation argues AGAINST the theory that:
a. language learning is based on a “language acquisition device.”
b. intelligence consists of a series of more or less separate “modules.”
c. language evolved from a precursor ability present in other primates.
d. language evolved as a byproduct of selection for overall intelligence.
Whereas most theorists have proposed that REM serves functions in memory and brain
development, according to one newer hypothesis, the role of REM is merely to:
a. rest the muscles.
b. increase oxygen flow to the cornea.
c. keep the person from waking up.
d. synchronize activity between the left and right hemispheres.
Which of the following brain imaging techniques does NOT provide a functional
measure of brain activity?
a. MEG
b. EEG
c. fMRI
d. MRI
Paralysis caused by spinal cord injury is usually only temporary in humans.
Exposure to bright lights is one effective treatment for SAD.
A distinctive symptom of Korsakoff’s syndrome is confabulation, in which patients
guess to fill in memory gaps.
Alpha waves are characteristic of relaxation, not of all wakefulness.
One would most accurately describe H.M.’s memory problems as the inability to form:
A short-term memories.
B new implicit memories.
C new episodic memories.
D new procedural memories.
Transmission of information between neurons occurs in the same way as transmission
along the axon.
Parasympathetic neurons use acetylcholine as their neurotransmitter.
Allied reflexes are stronger in infants and children than adults.
Describe the main chemical events at a synapse.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
One of the main problems in determining if nonhuman species have language is being
able to accurately define what language is.
After damage to the amygdala, what happens to a rat’s startle reflex?
A The rat shows no startle reflex.
B The rat’s startle reflex does not vary from one situation to another.
C The rat shows an exaggerated startle reflex.
D The rat shows a startle reflex only when in the presence of danger signals.
The difference in the size of the INAH3 in homosexual and heterosexual men is mainly
because of a difference in the number of neurons.
The electrical gradient of a neuron membrane refers to what?
The blood-brain barrier is made up of closely packed glial cells.
According to Tinbergen, a physiological explanation describes why a structure or
behavior evolved as it did.
Sex-limited genes are found only on the X and Y chromosome.
The amygdala is important only for the expression of fear.
Alternation between wakefulness and sleep depends completely on stimuli in the
environment.