Psychologists typically define emotion in terms of the following three components:
a. actions, cognitions, and emotions
b. feelings, actions, and emotions
c. cognitions, actions, and emotions
d. cognitions, feelings, and actions
What is the result of damage to the primary auditory cortex?
a. tone deafness
b. complete deafness
c. difficulty in responding to sequences of sounds
d. inability to hear sounds other than one’s own voice
Moving a leg or arm back and forth requires opposing sets of muscles called:
a. extensor muscles.
b. flexor muscles.
c. cardiac muscles.
d. antagonistic muscles.
Taste and smell axons converge onto many of the same cells in an area called the:
a. frontal cortex.
b. striate cortex.
c. insular cortex.
d. endopiriform cortex.
In operant conditioning, reinforcement is:
a. any food that the organism likes.
b. a stimulus that produces a reflexive response.
c. an event that decreases the future probability of a response.
d. an event that increases the future probability of a response.
Genes on the ____ produce(s) sex differences in addition to those that we can trace to
androgens and estrogens.
a. Y chromosome
b. X chromosome
c. hormones
d. X and Y chromosomes
Neurons typically have one ____, but many ____.
a. dendrite; axons
b. axon; dendrites
c. cell body; axons
d. dendrite; cell bodies
Sleep spindles and K-complexes are most characteristic of which sleep stage?
a. stage 1
b. stage 2
c. stage 3
d. stage 4
A stroke patient speaks in short, inarticulate but meaningful phrases such as “Weather
hot” and “Dog bite man.” This person is probably suffering from:
a. Broca’s aphasia.
b. Wernicke’s aphasia.
c. Williams syndrome.
d. apraxia.
Axons sort themselves over the surface of the target area:
a. by following a gradient of chemicals.
b. through apoptosis.
c. through necrosis.
d. based on their size.
One could reduce anxiety by:
a. decreasing GABA.
b. increasing CCK.
c. blocking CCK.
d. blocking dopamine.
Breeding particular cows together to create offspring that produce more milk is an
example of:
a. natural selection.
b. artificial selection.
c. evolution.
d. mutation.
What is meant by neural Darwinism?
a. The brains of higher primates are the ones that are most similar to those of humans.
b. Most individual differences in the brain are due to genetic mutations.
c. Successful neurons develop while less successful neurons weaken or die.
d. Successful neurons reproduce while less successful neurons do not.
Benzodiazepine tranquilizers affect GABA synapses by:
a. stimulating GABA receptors.
b. facilitating binding of GABA to its receptors.
c. inhibiting GABA receptors.
d. decreasing binding of GABA to its receptors.
Once within the cerebral cortex, a mixed pathway of magnocellular and parvocellular
cells is important for:
a. brightness and color.
b. integrating vision with action.
c. details of shape.
d. distinguishing facial features.
____ are chemicals that release energy when struck by light.
a. Phototransmitters
b. Photosins
c. Photopigments
d. Photoions
Acetylcholine is the only neurotransmitter released by:
a. the sympathetic nervous system’s postganglionic synapses.
b. the parasympathetic nervous system’s postganglionic axons.
c. intrinsic neurons in the spinal cord.
d. intrinsic neurons of the hippocampus.
What is one factor in prenatal development that has been found to be related to
increased incidences of schizophrenia later in life?
a. excess sex hormones during the third trimester
b. Rh-negative mothers who have had several Rh-positive babies
c. lack of exercise by the mother early in pregnancy
d. episodes of maternal depression
Across mammalian species, the most constant structure (in terms of relative size) is the:
a. cortex.
b. medulla.
c. cerebellum.
d. thalamus.
Morphine is effective in relieving:
a. pain on the skin.
b. sharp pain.
c. slow, dull pain.
d. pain in the interior of the body.
Which of the following is the BEST explanation for why males can grow breasts under
certain hormonal conditions?
a. Sex-linked genes become activated.
b. The Y chromosome becomes activated.
c. Sex-limited genes become activated.
d. Breast growth is linked to color vision deficiency.
Animals with damage in or near the ventromedial hypothalamus gain weight:
a. even if they eat the same amount as a normal animal.
b. in spite of high activity levels.
c. only if they have access to unlimited water supplies.
d. only if they eat a small number of very large meals per day.
Under most conditions, NMDA receptors do NOT respond to their neurotransmitter
because:
a. magnesium ions block the passage of calcium through the receptor’s channel.
b. too many sodium ions enter through the AMPA channels.
c. any recent depolarization of the membrane inactivates the NMDA receptors.
d. the channel can open only when the potassium concentration inside the neuron
exceeds a certain high level.
A(n) ____ explanation would describe eating in terms of the hypothalamus affecting
insulin production, which affects the availability of glucose in cells.
a. physiological
b. ontogenetic
c. evolutionary
d. functional
The role of the Golgi tendon organs is to:
a. prevent extreme muscle contractions.
b. guard against fatigue of muscles.
c. produce rapid repetitive movements such as finger tapping.
d. regulate blood flow to the tendons and muscles.
Animals with damage to the amygdala:
a. neither learn new fears nor retain previously learned fears.
b. fail to show a startle response to any stimulus.
c. become extremely aggressive and emotional.
d. are unable to store new memories of any kind.
Consciousness does not occur when:
a. you are awake.
b. you are dreaming.
c. You are daydreaming.
d. you are in a dreamless sleep.
Epilepsy is caused by genes that alter:
a. the arrangement of blood vessels in the brain.
b. acetylcholine levels.
c. GABA receptors.
d. the shapes of astroglia cells.
A recent hypothesis proposed that the role of REM is:
a. to shake the eyeballs back and forth in order to get sufficient oxygen to the corneas of
the eyes.
b. to shake the eyeballs back and forth so the individual moves from REM to NREM.
c. no different than the role of NREM.
d. to bring to the surface the individual’s unconscious wishes.
Why do cocaine and amphetamine produce similar effects?
a. Both increase the activity of the sodium-potassium pump.
b. Both increase the presence of dopamine in the synapses.
c. Both cause a weakening of the blood-brain barrier.
d. The brain converts both of them into acetylcholine.