Girls who were exposed to higher-than-average levels of testosterone during prenatal
development tend to show the following difference as compared to other girls:
a. greater interest in playing with boys’ toys.
b. lower performance on tests of spatial relationships.
c. greater interest in infants.
d. increased preference for spicy foods.
Startle responses are greater when a person is:
a. depressed.
b. anxious.
c. violent.
d. aggressive.
H.M. was able to learn and remember:
a. people’s names.
b. how to find his way to a new residence.
c. skills like mazes and puzzles.
d. events in recent history.
When traveling across time zones, adjustments are easier when traveling which
direction?
a. Travel to the east is easier.
b. Travel to the west is easier.
c. There is no difference.
d. It varies greatly from person to person.
If you expose a female to testosterone early in life, it will cause her hypothalamus to:
a. decrease in size.
b. develop a cyclic pattern of hormone release.
c. develop more like a typical male hypothalamus (noncyclic).
d. become inactive.
The neuron will produce an action potential only if the depolarization exceeds what
level?
a. the threshold of excitation
b. the resting potential
c. hyperpolarization
d. the refractory period
Which axons will regenerate to a significant degree if cut or crushed?
a. Those in invertebrates but not in vertebrates
b. Only those which are unmyelinated
c. Those in the central nervous system but not in the peripheral nervous system
d. Those in the peripheral nervous system but not in the central nervous system
When Simon LeVay examined interstitial nucleus 3 in 41 people who had died, he
found that it was:
a. the same size in male heterosexuals, female heterosexuals, and male homosexuals.
b. larger in female heterosexuals than either male heterosexuals or male homosexuals.
c. larger in male homosexuals than either male heterosexuals or female heterosexuals.
d. larger in male heterosexuals than either female heterosexuals or male homosexuals.
One advantage of electroconvulsive shock therapy over antidepressant drugs is that
shock treatment:
a. produces its benefits faster.
b. does not impair memory.
c. produces permanent, not temporary, relief.
d. is based on a theory, not just trial and error discoveries.
Rats with damage to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) eat ____ compared to normal
rats.
a. larger meals
b. more frequent meals
c. more if the food tastes good and less if it tastes bad
d. smaller meals
Each receptor responds to a limited range of stimuli and sends a direct line to the brain.
This type of coding is referred to as:
a. across-fiber.
b. labeled-line.
c. vestibular.
d. hierarchical.
Steroid hormones produce their effects by:
a. disrupting cell membranes.
b. opening ion channels.
c. increasing cholesterol levels.
d. entering cells and affecting gene expression.
On average, the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex are of nearly equal size
in ____females, whereas the right hemisphere is a few percent larger in _____ males.
a. homosexual, heterosexual
b. hetereosexual, homosexual
c. homosexual, homosexual
d. hetereosexual, hetereosexual
Individuals with parietal lobe damage:
a. have difficulty binding the different aspects of perception.
b. bind different aspects of vision only.
c. become hyperactive.
d. show an increase in synchrony of brain activity.
In what way are people with androgen insensitivity most like a normal male?
a. in appearance
b. genetically
c. in gender identity
d. in rearing
What is the function of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase?
a. It synthesizes acetylcholine from the diet.
b. It increases the sensitivity of the postsynaptic cell to acetylcholine.
c. It blocks further release of the transmitter acetylcholine.
d. It breaks acetylcholine down into components for recycling.
What area of the brain is particularly important for coding spatial information?
a. hippocampus
b. hypothalamus
c. pons
d. reticular formation
In the auditory system, hair cells are specialized receptors that respond to:
a. mechanical displacement.
b. electromagnetic energy.
c. chemicals.
d. vestibular input.
The major disadvantage of a blood-brain barrier is that:
a. many chemicals can easily diffuse into the brain.
b. it requires so much glucose to maintain it.
c. certain required chemicals must be actively transported.
d. viruses can”t escape.
With each succeeding stage of sleep (from 1 to 4):
a. breathing and heart rates increase.
b. brain activity increases.
c. slow, large-amplitude waves increase in number.
d. brain waves become smaller.
Small receptive fields are to ____ cells as large receptive fields are to ____ cells.
a. parvocellular; magnocellular
b. magnocellular; parvocellular
c. magnocellular; koniocellular
d. koniocellular; parvocellular
What type of muscle controls movements of the heart?
a. smooth
b. striated
c. cardiac
d. antagonistic
Which of the following statements about nerve deafness is FALSE?
a. It can be caused by inadequate oxygen to the brain at birth.
b. Hearing aids can compensate for some of the hearing loss.
c. Prolonged exposure to loud noise is one of the most common causes.
d. With surgical treatment, it is possible to regain normal hearing.
According to the trichromatic theory of color vision:
a. there are only three rods and three cones in each eye.
b. there are only three colors of light in the world.
c. rods are important for perception of light colors.
d. our perception of color depends on the relative activity of three types of cones.
What effects are generally produced during prolonged sleep deprivation in laboratory
animals?
a. continuous seizures
b. few noticeable adverse effects
c. similar effects to sleep deprivation studies with humans
d. more severe effects than in sleep deprivation studies with humans
Following damage to the temporal lobe, monkeys that fail to display normal fear of
snakes most likely have which of the following?
a. Korsakoff’s syndrome
b. Kluver-Bucy syndrome
c. Wertmann syndrome
d. Urbach-Wiethe disease
Central pattern generators:
a. contribute to rhythmic patterns of movement.
b. generate movement which is unresponsive to environmental stimulation.
c. constrict the pupils in response to bright light.
d. control all reflexes in adult humans.
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the sympathetic system?
a. Is found in the thoracic and lumbar cord
b. Has long post-ganglionic fibers
c. Releases ACh at the ganglion
d. Releases DA at the ganglion
Damage to the amygdala impairs:
a. motor coordination.
b. circadian rhythms.
c. learned fears.
d. language comprehension.
What are the nodes of Ranvier?
a. gates in the membrane that admit all ions freely
b. gaps in the myelin sheath
c. branching points in an axon
d. places where dendrites join the cell body
Describe the brain mechanisms involved in shivering, sweating, and changes in blood
flow to the skin.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Briefly discuss the concept of a language acquisition device.
What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?
REM deprivation is more difficult for a person to deal with than NREM deprivation.
The human cerebral cortex contains up to eight distinct layers of cell bodies.
The left hemisphere appears to be specialized for language before language develops.
REM is usually the first stage of sleep after a person goes to bed.
In skeletal muscles, every axon releases dopamine.
Humans have stopped evolving.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors normally inhibit reuptake of serotonin.
Progesterone prepares the uterus for the implantation of a fertilized ovum and promotes
the maintenance of pregnancy.
Arousal seems to be regulated by a single structure in the brainstem.
Researchers have found specific genes linked to certain specific behaviors.
Chronically high insulin levels decrease appetite.
Amusia refers to impaired detection of frequency changes.