Biological Basis of Behavior

What sentence most closely describes neural transmissions? a. An electric charge is created in the neurons, the charge travels down the cell, and chemicals are released that cross the synapse to the next cell. b. A chemical change occurs within the cell, the change causes an electric charge to be produced, and the charge jumps the gap between the nerve cells. c. The electric charged produced chemically inside a group of neurons causes chemical changes in surrounding cells. d. Neurotransmitters produced in the hindbrain are transmitted to the forebrain, causing electric changes in the cerebral cortex. e. Neural transmission is an electrochemical process both inside and outside the cell.

a. An electric charge is created in the neurons, the charge travels down the cell, and chemicals are released that cross the synapse to the next cell.

Sleep researchers who are interested in brain wave activity are likely to use which kind of brain scan? a. EEG b. CT c. fMRI d. PET e. MRI

a. EEG

Which of the following endocrine glands may explain unusually tall height in a 12-year-old? a. Pituitary b. Adrenal c. Pancreas d. Parathyroid e. Testes

a. Pituitary

The depolarization of a neural membrane can create a(n) a. action potential. b. myelin sheath. c. lesion. d. neural network. e. interneuron.

a. action potential.

The movement of positively charged ions across the membrane of a neuron can produce a(n) a. action potential. b. synapse. c. neurotransmitters. d. myelin sheath. e. interneuron.

a. action potential.

The most noticeable difference between human brains and other mammalian brains is the size of the a. association areas. b. frontal lobe. c. glial cells. d. reticular activating system. e. visual cortex.

a. association areas.

Nerve cells in the brain receive life-supporting nutrients and insulating myelin from a. glial cells. b. neurotransmitters. c. motor neurons. d. hormones. e. sensory neurons.

a. glial cells.

Cognitive neural prosthetics are placed in the brain to help control parts of the a. motor cortex. b. auditory cortex. c. somatosensory cortex. d. visual cortex e. parietal lobe.

a. motor cortex.

To trigger a persons hand to make a fist, Jose Delgado stimulated the individual's a. motor cortex. b. hypothalamus. c. sensory cortex. d. reticular formation. e. limbic system.

a. motor cortex.

The somatic nervous system is a component of the ___________ nervous system. a. peripheral b. autonomic c. central d. sympathetic e. parasympathetic

a. peripheral

Antidepressant drugs like Prozac are often used to treat mood disorders. According to what you know about their function, which neurotransmitter system do these types of drugs try to affect? a. serotonin b. adrenaline c. acetylcholine d. endorphins e. morphine

a. serotonin

The best way to detect enlarged fluid-filled regions in some patients who have schizophrenia is to use a(n) a. EEG. b. MRI. c. PET scan. d. brain lesion. e. X-Ray

b. MRI.

Agonists are psychoactive drugs that a. produce tolerance to the drug without the associated withdrawal symptoms. b. mimic and produce the same effect as certain neurotransmitters. c. mimic neurotransmitters and block their receptor sites. d. enhance the effects of certain opiates like herion. e. make recovery from physical addiction more difficult.

b. mimic and produce the same effect as certain neurotransmitters.

The chemical messengers released into the spatial junctions between neurons are called a. hormones. b. neurotransmitters. c. synapses. d. sensory neurons. e. motor neurons.

b. neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that travel across the a. cell body. b. synaptic gap. c. axon. d. myelin seath. e. threshold.

b. synaptic gap.

Interneurons are said to a. send messages from specific body parts to the brain. b. transmit and process information within the brain and spinal cord. c. act as connectors, supporting other neurons in the brain. d. send messages from the brain to body parts. e. influence the pituitary gland.

b. transmit and process information within the brain and spinal cord.

Morphine elevates mood and eases pain, and is most similar to which of the following? a. Dopamine b. Serotonin c. Endorphines d. Acetylcholine e. GABA

c. Endorphines

Which of the following brain areas is responsible for regulating thirst? a. Reticular activating system b. Amygdala c. Hypothalamus d. Hippocampus e. Brainstem

c. Hypothalamus

Which of the following communicates with the pituitary, which in turn controls the endocrine system? a. Parathyroids b. Autonomic nervous system c. Hypothalamus d. Spinal cord e. Pancreas

c. Hypothalamus

Which branch of the nervous system calms a person? a. Central nervous system b. Sympathetic c. Parasympathetic d. Somatic e. Endocrine

c. Parasympathetic

Stimulation at a point on which of the following may cause a person to report being touched on the knee? a. Motor cortex b. Cerebellum c. Somatosensory cortex d. Temporal lobe e. Thalamus

c. Somatosensory cortex

You eat some bad sushi and feel that you are slowly losing control over your muscles. The bacteria you ingested from the bad sushi most likely interferes with the use of a. serotonin. b. insulin. c. acetylcholine. d. thorazine. e. adrenaline.

c. acetylcholine.

A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron is called the a. synapse. b. agonist. c. action potential. d. myelin sheath. e. refractory period.

c. action potential.

Increasing excitatory signals above the threshold for neural activation will not affect the intensity of an action potential. This indicates that a neuron's reaction is a. inhibited by the myelin sheath. b. delayed by the refractory period. c. an all-or-nothing response. d. dependent on neurotransmitter molecules. e. primarily electrical rather than chemical.

c. an all-or-nothing response.

Computer enhanced X-rays used to create brain images are known as a. positron emission tomography scans (PET). b. functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI). c. computed tomography scans (CT Scan). d. electroencephalograms (EEG). e. magnetic resonance images (MRI)

c. computed tomography scans (CT Scan).

Deep or slow wave sleep is associated with which type(s) of brain waves? a. alpha b. beta c. delta d. alpha and beta e. beta and delta

c. delta

Marijuana falls under what category of psychoactive drugs? a. depressant b. mood elevator c. hallucinogen d. stimulant e. mood depressant

c. hallucinogen

Which of the following is the component of the limbic system that plays an essential role in the processing of new memories? a. hypothalamus b. thalamus c. hippocampus d. medulla e. cerebellum

c. hippocampus

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements is called the a. angular gyrus. b. hypothalamus. c. motor cortex. d. reticular formation. e. frontal association area.

c. motor cortex.

The strengthening of synaptic connections facilitates the formation of a. interneurons. b. endorpines. c. neural networks. d. glial cells. e. lesions.

c. neural networks.

With regards to the process of neural transmission, a refractory period refers to a time interval in which a. a neuron fires more rapidly than usual. b. an electrical charge travels from a sensory neuron to a motor neuron. c. positively charged ions are pumped back outside a neural membrane. d. an individual reflexively withdraws from a pain stimulus. e. dendrites transmit more electrical signals to axons.

c. positively charged ions are pumped back outside a neural membrane.

When there is a negative charge inside the axon and a positive charge outside it, the neuron is a. in the process of reuptake. b. not in the refractory period. c. said to have a resting potential. d. said to have an action potential. e. depolarizing.

c. said to have a resting potential.

The spatial junctions where impulses are chemically transmitted from one neuron to another are called a. neurotransmitters. b. neural networks. c. synapses. d. axons. e. thresholds.

c. synapses.

In the context of this unit, the term tolerance refers to a. treatment of psychoactive drug addicts by peers and other members of society. b. the amount of sleep a person needs to function normally. c. the need for an elevated dose of a drug in order to get the same effect. d. the labeling of individuals automatically produced by the level of our consciousness. e. the harmful side effects of psychoactive drugs.

c. the need for an elevated dose of a drug in order to get the same effect.

Activation-synthesis theory tries to explain a. how consciousness emerges out of neural firings. b. how psychoactive drugs create euphoric effects. c. the origin and function of dreams. d. how our mind awakens us after we pass through all the sleep stages. e. how our consciousness synthesizes all the sensory information it receives.

c. the origin and function of dreams.

Which brain area is primarily involved in controlling speech? a. sensory cortex b. angular gyrus c. association areas d. Broca's area e. hypothalamus

d. Broca's area

Which of the following's primary function is processing memories? a. Cerebral cortex b. Medulla c. Corpus callosum d. Hippocampus e. Hypothalamus

d. Hippocampus

Which of the following scanning techniques measures glucose consumption as an indicator of brain activity? a. CT b. MRI c. fMRI d. PET e. EEG

d. PET

Which division of the nervous system produces the startle response? a. Parasympathetic b. Central c. Somatic d. Sympathetic e. Autonomic

d. Sympathetic

In general, damage to _________ disrupts speaking, while damage to __________ disrupts understanding of language. a. the frontal lobe; the occipital lobe b. the temporal lobe; the frontal lobe c. the occipital lobe; the temporal lobe d. Wernicke's area; Broca's area e. Broca's area; Wernicke's area

d. Wernicke's area; Broca's area

In transmitting sensory information to the brain, an electrical signal travels from the _________ of a single neuron. a. cell body to the axon to the dendrites b. dendrites to the axon to the cell body c. axon to the cell body to the dendrites d. dendrites to the cell body to the axon e. axon to the dendrites to the cell body

d. dendrites to the cell body to the axon

Which chemicals pass across the synaptic gap and increase the possibility the next neuron in the chain will fire? a. synaptic peptides b. inhibitory neurotransmitters c. adrenaline-type exciters d. excitatory neurotransmitters e. potassium and sodium

d. excitatory neurotransmitters

Which of the following are located exclusively within the brain and spinal cord? a. sensory neurons. b. motor neurons. c. myelin sheath. d. interneurons. e. axons.

d. interneurons.

If Professor Kosiba lesions the amygdala of a laboratory rat, the rat will most likely become a. hungry. b. sexually aroused. c. physically uncoordinated. d. less aggressive. e. aphasic.

d. less aggressive.

The information processing theory says that dreams a. are meaningless by-products of how our brains process information during REM sleep. b. are symbolic representations of the information we encode during the day. c. are processed by one level of consciousness but other levels remain unaware of the dreams. d. occur during REM sleep as the brain deals with daily stress and events. e. occur only after stressful events, explaining why some people never dream.

d. occur during REM sleep as the brain deals with daily stress and events.

An axon is a. a cell that serves as the basic building block of the nervous system. b. a layer of fatty tissue that encases the fibers of many neurons. c. an antagonist molecule that blocks neurotransmitter receptor sites. d. the extension of a neuron that carries messages away from the cell body. e. a junction between a sending and receiving neuron.

d. the extension of a neuron that carries messages away from the cell body.

Within a single neuron the action potential a. is generated in the dendrites. b. will be slower if myelin is present. c. depends on the movement of charged calcium atoms. d. travels in one direction toward the axon terminals. e. crosses the synapse to the adjacent neurons.

d. travels in one direction toward the axon terminals.

Blindness could result from damage to which cortex and lobe of the brain? a. visual cortex in the frontal lobe b. visual cortex in the temporal lobe c. sensory cortex in the parietal lobe d. visual cortex in the occipital lobe e. cerebral cortex in the occipital lobe

d. visual cortex in the occipital lobe

What part of the brain triggers the release of adrenaline to boost heart rate when you're afraid? a. Amygdala b. Thalamus c. Medulla d. Hippocampus e. Hypothalamus

e. Hypothalamus

Which of the following is sometimes referred to as the brain's train hub, because it directs incoming sensory messages (with the exception of smell) to their proper places in the brain? a. Hypothalamus b. Pituitary c. Cerebellum d. Limbic system e. Thalamus

e. Thalamus

Epinephrine and norepinephrine increase energy and are released by the a. thyroid glands. b. pituitary gland. c. hypothalamus. d. thalamus. e. adrenal glands.

e. adrenal glands.

Which of the following two sleep disorders occur most commonly? a. insomnia and narcolepsy b. apnea and narcolepsy c. night terrors and apnea d. somnambulism and insomnia e. apnea and insomnia

e. apnea and insomnia

Which level of consciousness controls involuntary body processes? a. preconscious level b. subconscious level c. unconscious level d. autonomic level e. nonconscious level

e. nonconscious level

Motor neurons are to the __________ nervous system as interneurons are to the ___________ nervous system. a. sympathetic; parasympathetic b. central; peripheral c. autonomic; somatic d. parasympathetic; sympathetic e. peripheral; central

e. peripheral; central

The hypothalamus is a(n) __________ center for the brain. a. positioning b. aggression c. balance d. memory e. reward

e. reward

For you to experience the pain of a sprained ankle, ________ must first relay messages from your ankle to your central nervous system. a. endocrines b. interneurons c. glands d. motor neurons e. sensory neurons

e. sensory neurons