Damage due to stroke caused by ischemia can be minimized by administering a drug
that:
a. breaks up blood clots.
b. overstimulates neurons in and around the damaged area.
c. increases the release of glutamate.
d. slows down the sodium-potassium pump.
The structure that we commonly refer to as the ear (on the outside of the head) is
formally known as the:
a. tympanic membrane.
b. stapes.
c. pinna.
d. malleus.
Most neurons in the inferior temporal cortex that respond to a particular shape will be
LEAST likely to respond to a:
a. contrast reversal.
b. figure-ground reversal.
c. mirror image.
d. photograph of the same shape.
The splanchnic nerves convey information about:
a. the nutrient contents of the stomach.
b. discomfort in the stomach.
c. satiety.
d. thirst.
What determines whether a neuron has an action potential?
a. only the number of EPSPs impinging on an axon
b. only the number of IPSPs impinging on the dendrites
c. the combined effects of EPSPs and IPSPs
d. summation effects of IPSPs
Meissner’s corpuscles are:
a. elaborate neuron endings for touch.
b. simple, bare neuron endings.
c. bare endings surrounded by non-neural cells.
d. important components of the blood.
Which theory can best explain why people that are wearing yellow-colored glasses can
still identify the color of a green apple?
a. trichromatic theory
b. retinex theory
c. opponent-process theory
d. kodak theory
Compared to non-depressed people, which of the following is true regarding depressed
individuals?
a. They have greater unpleasant events.
b. They react worse to unpleasant events.
c. They have fewer pleasant experiences.
d. They react more to pleasant experiences.
Why is it that all neurons in a healthy adult brain have made appropriate connections?
a. Chemical messages from our muscles tell our brain how many neurons to form and
that number perfectly matches the connections required.
b. If an axon does not make the appropriate connections by a certain age, it dies.
c. We are born with all connections formed.
d. Connections form rapidly, but we learn to use whatever connections have formed.
Peripheral vision mainly depends upon:
a. the fovea.
b. cones.
c. rods.
d. just a few receptors.
The original impetus for the use of electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) for people
with psychological disorders came from the observation that:
a. an increase in epileptic symptoms was associated with a decrease in schizophrenic
symptoms.
b. damage to the prefrontal cortex often leads to a decrease in overall activity.
c. levels of glucose metabolism vary as a patient switches between depression and
mania.
d. depressed people often show memory deficits not found in healthy people.
What potential advantage does a moderately aggressive monkey possess?
a. They are more likely to get mates and food.
b. They have better memories of other monkeys they have defeated.
c. They are less depressed.
d. Their immune system becomes stronger with each fight.
Damage to the corpus callosum prevents:
a. hallucinations.
b. release of pituitary hormones.
c. the exchange of information between the two hemispheres.
d. the exchange of information between pre- and postsynaptic membranes.
Damage to the preoptic area causes an animal to:
a. eat a great deal and gain weight.
b. stop eating.
c. fail to sweat when overheating, but still shiver when cold.
d. fail to shiver and sweat sufficiently.
Someone with testicular feminization:
a. does not produce enough testosterone.
b. produces too much estrogen.
c. has cells which are insensitive to androgens.
d. looks like a male but is infertile.
A ballistic movement:
a. is a rhythmic alternation between two movements.
b. is guided by feedback during the course of the movement.
c. proceeds automatically once it has been triggered.
d. tends to overcorrect itself.
Alcohol can damage the developing brain by:
a. tearing the cell membrane.
b. increasing synaptic inhibition and therefore apoptosis.
c. overstimulating neurons.
d. interfering with protein production.
After damage to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the body:
a. cannot generate biological rhythms.
b. still has rhythms in synchrony with environmental patterns of light and dark.
c. still has rhythms, but they are less consistent.
d. still has rhythms, but they can only be reset by artificial light.
Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker proposed that humans have a:
a. language synthesizer.
b. language stimulus apparatus.
c. language acquisition device.
d. grammatical articulation device.
The raphe system sends axons to the:
a. forebrain.
b. reticular formation.
c. spinal cord.
d. cerebellum.
Generating heat is to ____ as radiating heat is to ____.
a. surface area; temperature of the set point
b. total body mass; surface area
c. raising the set point; lowering the set point
d. sweating; shivering
The question “Given this universe composed of matter and energy, why is there such a
thing as consciousness?” is called the ____.
a. cosmic force question
b. mind-body problem
c. universal question
d. biological problem
The ability that you have to determine that your eyes are moving, instead of the room
that you are in, is a function of which brain area?
a. MT
b. primary visual cortex
c. inferior temporal cortex
d. area MST
The patient H.M., who had major surgery for severe epilepsy in 1953, suffered a severe
difficulty in remembering events:
a. in working memory.
b. during or after 1953.
c. long before 1953.
d. of his childhood.
Vision is to ____ as hearing is to ____.
a. cranial nerve I; cranial nerve X
b. cranial nerve II; cranial nerve VIII
c. cranial nerve II; cranial nerve V
d. cranial nerve IV; cranial nerve VIII
An astronaut orbiting earth experiences 45-minute periods of daylight alternating with
45-minutes of darkness. What is likely to happen?
a. The alternating patterns allow for normal rhythm development.
b. They are fully alert during wakeful periods.
c. They are able to sleep during rest periods.
d. They sleep poorly during rest periods.
Suppose that adopted children are more similar to their biological parents than their
adoptive parents in their preferences for a flavor of ice cream. Which of the following
would be true?
a. Heritability of this trait is high.
b. Preferences for ice cream are determined solely by the environment.
c. Flavors of ice cream are naturally selected.
d. Heritability of this trait is low.
The area that is activated by feeling disgusted is the same area of the brain responsible
for:
a. sight.
b. smell.
c. taste.
d. hearing.
After a period of sleep deprivation, PGO waves begin to:
a. occur during sleep stages 2-4 and wakefulness.
b. decrease in intensity.
c. reverse their sequence of brain activity.
d. cause sleep paralysis during waking.
People who suffer from prosopagnosia can recognize:
a. relatives and friends by the sound of their voices.
b. faces of people they knew before the damage.
c. faces of people they have met after the damage.
d. faces of famous people.
Most mutations produce:
a. dominant genes.
b. recessive genes.
c. sex-linked genes.
d. sex-limited genes.
Which type of leukocyte matures in the bone marrow?
a. Antigen
b. Macrophage
c. B cell
d. T cell
A person with spatial neglect is more likely to notice an object placed in the left hand if:
a. they cross their left hand over to the right side of their body.
b. they cross their right hand over to the left side of their body.
c. look to the right.
d. you touch their right hand.
In which area of the brain would one find the tectum, tegmentum, superior and inferior
colliculi, and substantia nigra?
a. Midbrain
b. Hindbrain
c. Reticular formation
d. Forebrain
According to the trichromatic theory, we can perceive only three colors.
The left and right hemispheres exchange information through a set of axons called the
corpus callosum.
Stages 2 and 3 together constitute slow-wave sleep (SWS).
Temporary increases in cortisol can enhance immune function.
A prolonged increase in the permeability of the membrane to sodium ions would
interfere with a neuron’s ability to have an action potential.
Late-onset Parkinson’s disease is largely determined by genetics.
The major problem with the frequency theory of pitch perception is that neurons can’t
produce action potentials frequently enough to match high frequency sound waves.
V1 appears to be essential for visual consciousness.
Myelination of the brain and spinal cord is complete by the time of birth.
Describe in detail one of the ways of relieving pain.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Recent evidence suggests that adult vertebrate brains generate new neurons.
Human maintain a higher body temperature during the day than at night.
A drug that blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter is an antagonist.
Describe the some of the experiments testing the hippocampus’s role in spatial memory.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Why is L-dopa effective in treating Parkinson’s patients, but not dopamine?
Most left-handers have left-hemisphere dominance for speech.