The “decision” for a neuron to fire is determined by the:
a. number of EPSPs only.
b. spontaneous firing rate.
c. number of IPSPs only.
d. ratio of EPSPs to IPSPs.
Studies of nonhuman language abilities seem to indicate that human language may have
evolved from a precursor that was probably:
a. present only in human ancestors.
b. a byproduct of total brain size.
c. present in the ancient ancestor from which humans and bonobos evolved.
d. a single gene mutation.
In what way is a myelinated axon that has lost its myelin (through disease) different
from an axon that was never myelinated?
a. It has a smaller diameter.
b. It lacks sodium gates along parts of its surface.
c. It has a longer refractory period.
d. It has a much higher threshold.
The use of electroconvulsive shock declined in the 1950’s because:
a. it was outlawed.
b. a new theory of depression arose.
c. antidepressant drugs became available.
d. a federal report concluded that it was almost never effective.
The comprehension of language in people with Broca’s aphasia is:
a. completely normal.
b. poor for nouns, but fine for prepositions and conjunctions.
c. similar to that of normal people who are just highly distracted.
d. better than average.
After damage to the visual cortex, a rat no longer approaches the white card it has been
trained to approach. What is the evidence that the rat has not completely forgotten the
task?
a. It can relearn the task faster than it can learn to approach a black card.
b. After a delay, it spontaneously regains the memory and approaches a white card.
c. After several unreinforced sessions, it begins responding correctly.
d. Its heart rate increases when looking at a white card but not when looking at a black
card.
Which type of explanation might describe the presence of a behavior in a particular
species by showing how that behavior increased the reproductive success of the
species?
a. physiological
b. ontogenetic
c. evolutionary
d. solipsistic
Which of the following groups of people would most likely benefit from taking leptin?
a. anorexic patients
b. normal obese people
c. obese people with faulty leptin receptors
d. obese people who fail to produce leptin
Some drugs that treat epilepsy work by:
a. relaxing the cell membrane.
b. causing apoptosis.
c. preventing the sodium-potassium pump from working.
d. blocking sodium flow across the membrane.
The inability to form memories for events that happened after brain damage is a
characteristic of ____ amnesia.
a. retrograde
b. anterograde
c. proactive
d. procedural
Closed head injury results in damage partially because of:
a. increased production of myelin.
b. excessive deficit of neurotrophins.
c. rotational forces that push the brain against the inside of the skull.
d. infection.
Along each strip of somatosensory cortex, different sub-areas respond to:
a. different types of receptors.
b. different areas of the body.
c. different parts of the cortex.
d. different types of transmitters.
What does the eating cycle of bulimia have in common with addictive drugs?
a. Both activate the brain’s reinforcement areas.
b. Starvation decreases their cravings.
c. Both can be relieved with morphine.
d. There is nothing in common.
Damage to the fusiform gyrus of the inferior temporal cortex results in:
a. aphasia.
b. prosopagnosia.
c. lateral inhibition.
d. motion blindness.
What memory impairments are found in patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome?
a. only anterograde amnesia
b. only retrograde amnesia
c. anterograde and retrograde amnesia
d. neither anterograde nor retrograde amnesia
Just after the peak of the action potential, what movement of ions restores the
membrane to approximately the resting potential?
a. Sodium ions enter the cell.
b. Potassium ions enter the cell.
c. Potassium ions leave the cell.
d. Sodium ions travel down the axon.
Large neurotransmitters are synthesized in the:
a. postsynaptic terminal.
b. presynaptic terminal.
c. cell body.
d. dendrites.
Compared to young adults, aging humans with poor working memory have ____
activity in the prefrontal cortex and aging humans with intact working memory have
____ activity in the prefrontal cortex.
a. decreased, decreased
b. increased, increased
c. increased, decreased
d. decreased, increased
The optic nerves from the right and left eye initially meet at the:
a. optic chiasm.
b. lateral geniculate nucleus.
c. hypothalamus.
d. cerebral cortex.
What is the main site for absorption of digested food into the bloodstream?
a. Esophagus
b. Stomach
c. Small intestine
d. Large intestine
Glucagon stimulates the liver to covert ____ to ____.
a. glucose; glycogen
b. glucose; insulin
c. glycogen; glucose
d. insulin; glycogen
Helping your neighbors (who are unrelated to you) rake their leaves because they
helped you fix your car is an example of:
a. kin selection.
b. reciprocal altruism.
c. natural selection.
d. group selection.
A physician who asks you to cross your legs and then taps just below the knee is testing
your ____ reflexes.
a. constriction
b. slow
c. stretch
d. fast
Which of the following characterizes ionotropic effects?
a. rapid, short-lived effects
b. rapid, long lasting effects
c. excitatory only
d. inhibitory only
Cannabinoids are a class of chemicals that include:
a. nicotine.
b. cocaine.
c. morphine.
d. marijuana.
Voltage-activated channels are channels for which a change in the voltage across the
membrane alters their:
a. permeability.
b. length.
c. number.
d. threshold.
The tiny packets that contain neurotransmitters in the presynaptic neuron are called:
a. vesicles.
b. bags.
c. sacs.
d. terminals.
Atypical antipsychotics are effective in treating only the positive symptoms of
schizophrenia.
Pheromones are important for the ____ behaviors of many mammalian species.
a. food-getting
b. sexual
c. temperature-regulating
d. conscious and intentional
The most widely used and most effective birth control pill is one that contains which
hormone(s)?
a. luteinizing hormone
b. androgen, but not estrogen
c. both estrogen and androgen
d. both estrogen and progesterone
What should be the usual relationship between the conditioned stimulus and the
unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning?
a. The conditioned stimulus should be presented first.
b. The unconditioned stimulus should be presented first.
c. They should be presented simultaneously.
d. It depends on what each stimulus is.
Which is true of androgens and estrogens?
a. Only males have androgens; only females have estrogens.
b. Only males have estrogens; only females have androgens.
c. Males and females have androgens and estrogens in similar amounts.
d. Males and females both have androgens and estrogens, but in different amounts.
The major differences that exist between adults and children in learning a second
language are that children are:
a. better at the vocabulary, but worse at pronunciation.
b. better at the pronunciation, but worse at the vocabulary.
c. better at both pronunciation and vocabulary.
d. worse than adults in all aspects of language.
Suppose all people with blonde hair have blue eyes and all people with dark hair have
brown eyes. Which of the following would be the most likely explanation?
a. Hair color is dominant over eye color.
b. There is no genetic variability in hair or eye color in the population.
c. Blue eyes are dominant over brown eyes.
d. Hair and eye color are on the same chromosome.
The training of Kanzi differed from the earlier language studies using other
chimpanzees in that Kanzi:
a. observed his mother being trained while he was an infant.
b. was given food reinforcements for associating arbitrary symbols with meanings.
c. was given only verbal praise.
d. was raised from birth in a human family, in total isolation from other animals.