Behavioral Neuroscience Exam 1

How many pairs of cranial nerves do humans have?

12

_________ in the brain and spinal cord and ________ in the periphery are specialized types of glia that build the myelin sheaths that surround neurons.

Oligodendrocytes; Schwann Cells

Which of the following describes selective permeability?

Only certain molecules are allowed to cross the membrane freely.

Which process indicates spatial summation?

Present two or more weak stimuli at the same time.

Why is the speed of conduction through a reflex arc slower than the speed of conduction of an action potential along an axon?

Transmission between neurons at synapses is slower than along axons.

Glucose enters the brain via which type of transport?

active transport

Thus far, it appears that the brain feature most strongly correlated with IQ in humans is the ____.​

amount of gray matter

Releasing hormones are synthesized in the _______ and released in the ______.

anterior pituitary; bloodstream

Sympathetic is to ____ as parasympathetic is to ____.

arousal; relaxation

A drug that blocks the sodium gates of a neurons membrane will ______.

block the action potential

A cross section of the spinal cord indicates that gray matter is ________.

densely packed with cell bodies and dendrites

An EPSP is to ____ as an IPSP is to ____.

depolarization; hyperpolarization

The concentration gradient refers to _______.

difference in distribution for various ions between the inside and outside of the membrane

The catecholamines include ________.

epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine

Depolarization is to _______ as hyperpolarizaion is to ________

excitation; inhibition

What is the main source of nutrition for vertebrae neurons?

glucose

An individual has difficulty remembering certain things after brain damage, but all memories before the damage are intact. The area of the brain most likely damaged is the _______.

hippocampus

Chemicals are released by axons ____________.

into the junction between neurons

The hindbrain consists of the ____.

medulla, pons, cerebellum

Meningitis is an inflammation of the _____.

membranes surrounding the brain

In addition to influencing other neurons, ______ increases blood flow to a specific area of the brain.

nitric oxide

Voltage-activated channels are channels for which a change in the voltage across the membrane alters their _______.

permeability

What is the primary target area in the cortex for information regarding muscle-stretch and joint receptors

primary somatosensory cortex

Ionotropic effects are characterized by __________.

rapid and short-lived effects

To measure temporal summation in single cells, researchers ______

record depolarizations of the postsynaptic neuron

Charles S. Sherrington was the first to infer the properties of which of the following?

synapses

Ribosomes are the part of a cell that ________.

synthesizes new proteins

Which lobe seems to be especially involved in the comprehension of spoken language in humans?

temporal

Which structure provides the main source of input to the cerebral cortex?

thalamus

The idea that a neuron's membrane is polarized refers to a difference in electrical potential between __________.

the inside and the outside of the membrane