In adult humans, the taste buds are:
a. evenly distributed across the front half of the tongue.
b. evenly distributed across the whole tongue.
c. concentrated near the center of the tongue.
d. concentrated along the outside edge of the tongue.
The eardrum vibrates at:
a. a much higher frequency than the sound waves that hit it.
b. half the frequency of the sound waves that hit it.
c. the same frequency as the sound waves that hit it.
d. a constant frequency regardless of the frequency of the sound.
Physicians must carefully monitor the dose of lithium they give to bipolar patients
because:
a. people develop a tolerance to the drug and must gradually increase their dosage.
b. people develop a sensitivity to the drug and must gradually decrease their dosage.
c. the amount of drug needed to achieve a good effect varies from one time of year to
another.
d. the most beneficial dosage is just less than the dosage that is toxic.
The tract that includes many axons from the primary motor cortex, the reticular
formation, and the vestibular nucleus is the:
a. pyramids of the medulla.
b. medial tract.
c. dorsolateral tract.
d. cerebellar tract.
What is one factor in determining whether a drug that readily attaches to a receptor will
have agonistic or antagonistic effects?
a. its affinity for the receptor
b. its efficacy
c. the neurotransmitter than normally attaches to that receptor
d. its electrical charge
What does edema mean?
a. Lack of glucose
b. Ischemia from an obstruction of an artery
c. Hemorrhage of an artery
d. Swelling due to accumulation of fluid
Which hormone, released by the posterior pituitary, both raises blood pressure and
enables the kidneys to reabsorb water?
a. vasopressin
b. prolactin
c. thymosin
d. ACTH
The most common cause of brain damage in young people is:
a. infection.
b. gunshot wounds.
c. stroke.
d. closed head injury.
Visual stimuli in the right visual field stimulate:
a. the right half of each retina.
b. the left half of each retina.
c. the right hemisphere.
d. both hemispheres.
Some XX females have either an ovary and a testis, or two testes, or a mixture of testis
and ovary tissue on each side as a result of:
a. a translocated SRY gene.
b. low body temperature during prenatal development.
c. too much testosterone.
d. too much estrogen.
During the menstrual cycle, estradiol and progesterone levels increase and decrease
under the influence of hormones released by which gland?
a. pineal
b. adrenal
c. thyroid
d. pituitary
The effect of cannabinoids to reduce nausea is most likely mediated by ____ receptors.
a. dopamine
b. serotonin
c. opiate
d. acetylcholine
Which of the following is an argument for animal research?
a. Animal research is beneficial.
b. Animals cannot give informed consent to participate.
c. Animals have the same rights as humans.
d. Killing animals for scientific gain is murder.
The most common treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is to give drugs that stimulate:
a. dopamine receptors.
b. acetylcholine receptors.
c. tau receptors.
d. GABA receptors.
If a female rat is injected with testosterone during the last few days before being born or
the first few days afterward, at maturity her:
a. pituitary and ovaries will not produce their hormones.
b. ovaries will no longer produce hormones, although her pituitary will.
c. pituitary and ovaries will produce steady levels of hormones instead of cyclic levels
of hormones.
d. pituitary and ovaries will produce cyclic levels of hormones instead of steady levels.
The most severe episodes of depression generally occur:
a. after a traumatic experience.
b. in the summer.
c. in women just before they give birth.
d. when hormone levels are high.
A presynaptic terminal is also known as:
a. an end bulb
b. a node of Ranvier
c. myelin
d. a spine
The most likely cause of the brain damage typical of Alzheimer’s disease is due to a:
a. deficit of thiamine.
b. excess of neurotrophins.
c. increase in amyloid-proteins.
d. excess of acetylcholine.
Although harmful in excessive amounts, the synthesis of steroids depends on:
a. heavy metals.
b. cholesterol.
c. ethanol.
d. insulin.
At low frequencies, our perception of loudness is determined by:
a. the number of activated hair cells.
b. the frequency of action potentials.
c. which neurons are activated.
d. which part of the basilar membrane is vibrating.
People with late-onset depression are more likely than other people to have relatives
with which of these types of disorder?
a. diabetes
b. circulatory problems
c. mental retardation
d. skin diseases
How does one produce long-term potentiation of cells in the mammalian nervous
system?
a. a burst of many stimuli within a few seconds
b. many stimuli spaced at exactly equal intervals over a period of minutes
c. minutes of uninterrupted inhibitory stimulation
d. a simultaneous pairing of an excitatory stimulus and an inhibitory stimulus
Which division of the nervous system consists of neurons that control the heart,
intestines, and other organs?
a. Internal
b. Afferent
c. Somatic
d. Autonomic
The presence of myelin and the diameter of the axon:
a. affect the strength and frequency of the stimulus
b. affect the speed of an action potential
c. affect the strength of an action potential
d. affect the frequency of an action potential
Hippocampal damage has the greatest effect on:
a. the delayed match-to-sample task when the same two objects are used over and over
again.
b. the delayed match-to-sample task when the two objects are continuously changed.
c. the delayed nonmatch-to-sample task when the same two objects are used over and
over again.
d. procedural memory.
A(n) ____ explanation describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did.
a. functional
b. ontogenetic
c. physiological
d. evolutionary
Thompson identified one nucleus of the cerebellum, the ____, as essential for learning.
a. anterior nucleus
b. fastigial nucleus
c. red nucleus
d. lateral interpositus nucleus
How do the receptive fields of the inferior temporal cortex compare to those of the
primary visual cortex?
a. They are located lower in the retina.
b. They are sensitive to larger, more complicated patterns.
c. They are smaller and more symmetrical.
d. They are more sensitive to identifying exact locations.
Studies with placebos and studies using hypnotism suggest that much of the reduction
in pain is the result of decreased activation in the:
a. emotion areas of the brain.
b. hypothalamus.
c. spinal cord.
d. somatosensory areas of the cortex.
The final stage of neurodevelopment is called:
a. synaptogenesis.
b. differentiation.
c. migration.
d. fusion.
Stimulus A depolarizes a neuron just barely above the threshold. Stimulus B depolarizes
a neuron to 10 mV beyond threshold. What can we expect to happen?
a. Stimulus B will produce an action potential that is conducted at a faster speed than A.
b. Stimulus B will produce an action potential of greater magnitude than stimulus A.
c. Stimulus B will produce an action potential but stimulus A will not.
d. Stimulus A and stimulus B will produce the same response in the neurons.
If the duodenum is partly distended and the stomach is not full, rats will:
a. continue to eat.
b. eat larger meals.
c. stop eating.
d. drink more.
A fluid-filled channel in the center of the spinal cord is called the:
a. ventricle.
b. central canal.
c. raphe system.
d. meninge.