Benzodiazepines relieve anxiety by ____ transmission at ____ synapses.
a. facilitating; dopamine
b. inhibiting; serotonin
c. facilitating; GABA
d. inhibiting; norepinephrine
Why does the fovea provide the clearest, most detailed visual information?
a. It is closest to the pupil.
b. It surrounds the optic nerve.
c. Receptors are tightly packed there.
d. There are many blood vessels for supplying energy.
As a rule, all vertebrate neurons develop during an embryological stage. Among the few
types of neurons that can develop in adulthood are:
a. ganglion cells in the retina.
b. olfactory receptors.
c. motor nerves in the spinal cord.
d. long-axoned neurons of the primary motor cortex.
A motor program is a:
a. mechanism that guides movement on the basis of sensory feedback.
b. mechanism that produces an alternation between two movements.
c. plan for training a brain-damaged person to walk.
d. movement that, once triggered, continues automatically until its completion.
What is the principal zeitgeber for land animals?
a. Light
b. The tides
c. Temperature
d. Barometric pressure
Secretions from which gland will also affect the secretion of hormones from the thyroid
gland, adrenal gland, and ovaries or testes?
a. thymus gland
b. pineal gland
c. Pancreas
d. pituitary gland
A local neuron:
a. has an axon approximately a meter long.
b. conveys information to other neurons across great distances.
c. is a small neuron with no axon or a very short one.
d. has an axon with many branches far from the cell body.
In what direction does a local neuron transmit information?
a. through its dendrites to cell body to axon
b. through its axon to cell body to dendrites
c. only toward the cell body
d. equally well in any direction
Approach and avoidance responses are modified by output from the amygdala to the:
a. brain stem
b. hypothalamus
c. prefrontal cortex
d. basolateral nuclei
Which of the following brain areas is most likely affected in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s,
and other diseases that impair intellect and attention?
a. Nucleus basalis
b. Medulla
c. Occipital lobe
d. Thalamus
What are two reasons why animals with ventromedial hypothalamic damage overeat?
a. rapid stomach emptying and high insulin levels
b. high CCK levels and under-responsiveness to tastes
c. decreased thirst and lack of facial muscle fatigue
d. decreased body temperature and increased levels of digestive juices
A drug that relaxes a person and makes them less sensitive to pain is most likely a(n):
a. opiate.
b. hallucinogen.
c. stimulant.
d. cannabinoid.
A person with Wernicke’s aphasia:
a. can’t produce speech.
b. can’t recognize musical notes.
c. resembles a student in a foreign language class that hasn’t studied the vocabulary list
very well.
d. similar to that of normal people who are just highly distracted.
The nucleus of the tractus solitarius in the medulla is known to receive information
from what source?
a. tongue
b. nose
c. ears
d. skin of the hands
Which of the following is NOT a reason that biological psychologists study animals?
a. Animal’s brains and behavior are often similar to humans.
b. Animals are often easier to study than humans.
c. Biological psychologists are interested in the animals themselves.
d. One does not have to consider ethical issues with animals.
Why does the brain need thiamine?
a. to enable glucose to cross the blood-brain barrier
b. as a source of fuel in case there is not enough glucose
c. as a building block for making proteins
d. to enable it to metabolize glucose
A certain drug user experiences intensified sensations and the illusion that time is
passing slowly. He also experiences problems with attention and memory. These
symptoms are most characteristic of the use of which drug?
a. LSD
b. cocaine
c. nicotine
d. marijuana
Which of the following treatments would be most likely to help a patient starting
several days after a stroke?
a. Injecting a drug to block dopamine
b. Administering tranquilizers
c. Extensive bed rest
d. Giving stimulant drugs combined with physical therapy
Certain genetic males in the Dominican Republic were born with low levels of the
enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. This resulted in:
a. breast development.
b. lack of pubic hair.
c. minimal penis growth early in life.
d. extreme shortness until the age of 30 or so.
A neurotransmitter receptor is:
a. a protein embedded in the membrane.
b. a channel in the membrane.
c. found only on the soma.
d. activated similarly for all neurotransmitters.
Few pianists can play quickly enough to play the Minute Waltz in a minute. The finger
movements that are required are likely to involve which type of neurotransmitter
effects?
a. ionotropic effects
b. metabotropic effects
c. second messenger effects
d. neuromodulator effects
An injection of CCK will:
a. increase sodium preferences.
b. lead to a preference for fatty foods.
c. decrease the size of the next meal.
d. cause increased storage of food as fats.
To what does saltatory conduction refer?
a. the production of an action potential by the movement of sodium ions
b. the transmission of an impulse along a myelinated axon
c. the transmission of impulses along dendrites
d. the transmission of an impulse between one neuron and another
The study of relating skull anatomy (bumps and depressions) to behavior is known as:
a. neurology.
b. phrenology.
c. psychology.
d. scientology.
A specific impairment of reading in a person with adequate vision and adequate skills in
other academic areas is referred to as:
a. Broca’s aphasia.
b. Wernicke’s aphasia.
c. Williams’ syndrome.
d. dyslexia.
What is confabulation?
a. confusing a made-up answer as a memory of an actual experience
b. having the two sides of the body working antagonistically
c. confusing procedural memory for declarative memory
d. remembering names, but being unable to put them with a face
What is a strong piece of evidence that the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) generates
the circadian rhythm?
a. Stimulation of the SCN awakens an individual.
b. SCN neurons generate a circadian rhythm of impulses even after removal from the
brain.
c. Different groups of SCN neurons reach their peak of activity at different times of day.
d. Certain animals that are born without an SCN are inactive throughout the day.
In mammals, each olfactory cell has threadlike dendrites that:
a. extend from the cell body into the mucous surface of the nasal passage.
b. extend from the cell body directly into the brain.
c. extend from the mucous surface of the nasal passage to the base of the skull.
d. intermingle with one another to form a web-like structure.
Several months after split-brain surgery, the number of incidents of conflicts between
the two hemispheres:
a. diminishes.
b. is unchanged from shortly after the surgery.
c. increases dramatically.
d. increases and then experiences a sharp drop.
What is the approximate resting potential of the inside of a neuron’s membrane, relative
to the outside?
a. -70 millivolts
b. +10 millivolts
c. 0 millivolts
d. +90 millivolts
Suppose you suddenly become deaf in one ear. With practice, you would most likely be
able to locate familiar sounds based on differences in:
a. phase.
b. frequency.
c. pitch.
d. loudness.
During dreaming, which of the following area or areas continue to be highly active?
a. the hypothalamus, amygdala, and other emotional areas
b. the primary motor cortex in the precentral gyrus
c. the areas of the prefrontal cortex that are key to working memory
d. the primary visual cortex and primary auditory cortex
What is NOT a possible explanation for Kanzi and Mulika’s language abilities?
a. Their species may be more adapted to learning language.
b. Learning through imitation is more effective than learning with rewards.
c. They began learning at an earlier age.
d. They were given a special diet.
Which two structures provide information about vestibular sensation?
a. cochlea and otolith organs
b. semicircular canals and cochlea
c. semicircular canals and otolith organs
d. cerebellum and sinuses
Males are more likely than females to exhibit color vision deficiency because of a gene
that is:
a. sex-limited.
b. recessive and sex-linked.
c. crossing over.
d. dominant and sex-linked.
The biological clock depends on part of the hypothalamus, called the suprachiasmatic
nucleus.
Which of the following conditions in an adolescent predicts that the person will develop
depression later?
A low body temperature
B increased appetite
C sleep disorder
D slurred speech
The onset of sleep requires active brain processes.
People with damage to the primary auditory cortex hear simple sounds reasonably well.
Hydrocephalus is caused by inflammation of the meninges.
Briefly describe how strokes affect the brain.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
At rest, the inside of a neuron’s membrane is more negative than the outside.
People with severe spinal cord injury continue to produce normal activity in the motor
cortex when they want to move.
Amygdala damage will result in the complete loss of the startle response.
Spatial neglect is more common after damage to the left hemisphere than the right
hemisphere.
Neurotransmitter levels in the brain can be affected by changes in diet.
Synaptogenesis is a process that begins before birth and continues throughout life.
Simple cells are found exclusively in the primary visual cortex.
Ordinarily, which of the following is the most important mechanism for ending a meal?
A the amount of glucose in the blood
B the amount of leptin reaching the brain
C the amount of insulin reaching the brain
D sensations from the stomach
Alzheimer’s patients have better explicit memory than implicit memory.
The pattern of physiological reactions for each emotion is easily distinguishable by the
person who is experiencing them.
Melanopsin is required for producing circadian rhythms.