Brain and Behavior Exam 1

There are many misconceptions about evolution. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

"Evolution doesn't benefit the individual for the species because it benefits the genes."

The nervous system will begin to form when the human embryo is about ____ old

2 weeks

____ refers to bursts of release of neurotransmitter from the presynaptic neuron

Exocytosis

Stimulant drugs, including amphetamine and cocaine, decrease reuptake and prolong the effects of various neurotransmitters. Which of the following is not one of those neurotransmitters?

GABA

Which of the following is not commonly used to study genetic contributions to behavior?

International migrants

____ is thought to help control appetite by decreasing it

Leptin

Which of the following classic researchers is credited with demonstrating the existence of chemical synapses?

Loewi

What technique measures the faint magnetic fields generated by brain activity?

MEG

Kat is studying altruistic behavior and how it benefits the species. Which of the following should Kat NOT use as an example to support this relationship?

Mate selection

If damaged, axons in the _____ can grow back slowly if allowed to follow the original myelin sheath. However, axons in the _____ have a harder time growing back in part because the astrocytes produce a lot of scarring.

PNS; CNS

Phrenology (relating skull anatomy to behavior) is invalid for many reasons. Which of the following is NOT one of those reasons?

They based conclusions on large numbers of people with similar bumps on the skull.

Given what is known about facial expressions in people born blind, Peleg et al. (2006) suggest _____.

a genetic role in the ability to produce facial expressions

Unfortunately, Nakita had to have a leg amputated after a serious injury. Later during recovery, she noticed that it still felt like her leg was present. This is likely due to ________.

a phantom limb experience

Epinephrine and norepinephrine are produced in the ____.

adrenal medulla

Check My Work In which neurotransmitter category does GABA belong?

amino acids

Which type of glial cell wraps around the presynaptic terminals of a group of functionally related axons?

astrocytes

A(n)____ conveys an impulse toward other neurons, an organ, or a muscle.

axon

local neurons lack

axons

What structure(s) is/are implicated in movement disorders like Parkinson's and Huntington's?

basal ganglia

Neuropeptides are characterized by ____.

being released mostly from dendrites

The question of how various brain areas combine to produce integrated behavior and experience is referred to as the ____.

binding problem

Cerebrospinal fluid is produced by cells called the ____.

choroid plexus

The most likely form of brain damage in younger people is _____.

closed head injury

Maryanne and Felix are studying action potentials in class. During one lab session, they were exploring the difference in distribution of ions across the neuron membrane (which is called the ____).

concentration gradient

A motor neuron, with its soma in the spinal cord, receives excitation through its ____

dendrites

The surfaces of ____ are lined with synaptic receptors that receive information from other neurons.

dendrites

One of the classic studies to demonstrate synaptic organization and change related to experience was done by looking at __________ in animal models. The more stimulating the environment, the more change that was seen.

dendritic branching

A(n) _____ gene shows a strong effect in either the homozygous or heterozygous condition.

dominant

Tommy is addicted to smoking cigarettes and says he really enjoys smoking. Smoking cigarettes feels rewarding in part because it triggers the release of ____

dopamine

The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are in clusters of neurons outside the spinal cord called ____.

dorsal root ganglia

Mr. Garcia has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. As it progresses, the ____ cell(s) lining his brain's blood vessels will shrink, and harmful chemicals will enter the brain.

endothelial

Lenore Aberle was born in a small town during the middle of a civil war. Scientists have found that many babies born during that time have health and weight issues not seen in other babies born outside of the war zone. Lenore's situation is best explained by the study of _____.

epigenetics

The branch of psychology that studies how behavior has evolved over time is known as _____ psychology.

evolutionary

The primary motor cortex is in the ____ lobe of the cerebral cortex.

frontal

Nitric oxide is an example of the ____ category of neurotransmitters

gas

According to many neuroscientists, even slight disruption during _____ (one of the initial stages of embryological development where the nervous system begins to form) will result in long-term developmental and neurological problems.

gastrulation

The brain uses active transport to move ____ across the blood-brain barrier

glucose

The brain's primary source of energy is ____.

glucose

Most of the brain's excitatory ionotropic synapses use the neurotransmitter ____

glutamate

Following a stroke, Mr. Smith suffered damage to his ____. His doctors warned his family that he might now have alterations in motivated behaviors like hunger, thirst, and sex.

hypothalamus

The temporary hyperpolarization of a membrane is a(n) ____.

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

The most common type of stroke is ______ (which results from a blood clot or other obstruction to the blood vessels).

ischemic

The cerebral cortex is organized in six layers of cell bodies called ____, which are parallel to the surface of the cortex.

laminae

Recent studies have shown that exposure to THC, the active chemical in _____, can reduce some of the effects of a stroke in laboratory animals.

marijuana

The ____ controls vital reflexes including breathing, heart rate, vomiting, salivation, coughing, and sneezing.

medulla

Gordon is having trouble sleeping and decides to take a supplement containing a hormone that is manufactured in the pineal. What is he most likely taking?

melatonin

Research using contemporary imaging methods have shown that people with a larger amygdala tend to have ____.

more social contacts

In his studies of infant brains, Santiago Ramón y Cajal demonstrated that ____.

nerve cells remain separate rather than merging into each other

When forming connections with muscles, an axon that doesn't receive _____ will degenerate and the cell body will die.

nerve growth factor (NGF)

Chromosomes are contained in the cell ____.

nucleus

Primary visual cortex is located in the ____ lobe.

occipital

Dot is a cat with a huge brown spot on her dorsal side. The rest of her fur is white. Where is the spot located?

on Dot's back

Dr. Kerr's lab uses a procedure called ____ that uses light to control a small population of neurons.

optogenetics

The ____ system consists of the cranial nerves and nerves from the sacral spinal cord.

parasympathetic

Dr. Chiarella's lab studies the primary somatosensory cortex, located in the ____ lobe.

parietal

Prior to Mendel's work with genetics, it was thought that if two colored flowers (one red and one white) were mated, the resulting flower would be _____.

pink because mixing red and white blend to make pink

The surface of a cell is called the ____

plasma membrane

The slightly negative electrical potential of the inside of a resting neuron relative to the outside is called a resting ____

potential

Transmission of the action potential down an action is called ____.

propagation

Adenosine is an example of the ____ category of neurotransmitters.

purine

____ guide the migration of neurons and their axons and dendrites during embryonic development

radial glia

Karin just burned her finger on a hot pan. What is the circuit from sensory neuron to muscle response called that transmitted the message that she should remove her finger from the pan?

reflex arc

Dr.Weiss's famous studies on chemical pathfinding by axons was conducted using ______.

salamanders and their legs

The jumping of action potentials from node to node is referred to as ____ conduction.

saltatory

In the periphery of the body, ____ build the myelin sheaths that surround and insulate certain vertebrate axons.

schwann cells

The sodium-potassium pump is effective only because of the membrane's ____.

selective permeability

Many hallucinogenic drugs are chemically similar to ____.

serotonin

Sherrington inferred the presence of a gap between neurons based on ____

slower than predicted speed of conduction

At the peak of the action potential, ____.

sodium channels close

Consider a wiring arrangement of neurons in which the two neurons (A and B) stimulate a third neuron (X). Neither neuron A nor B can stimulate neuron X on its own, but can excite neuron X in combination. This is an example of ____.

spatial summation

What term describes periodic production of action potentials, even without synaptic input?

spontaneous firing

The ____ is a part of the brain that is very important for vision.

superior colliculus

On the Fourth of July, Charlie was startled by some loud fireworks. As such, his____ axons prepared his body for fight or flight

sympathetic

In the developing brain, the formation of synapses begins before birth and continues through life and is known as ______.

synaptogenesis

The ____ lobe contributes to complex aspects of vision, including perception of movement and recognition of faces.

temporal

What term is used for the cumulative effect of repeated stimulation over a brief period of time?

temporal summation

Ralph was born with red-green color blindness. His sister, Ana, was not. This makes sense, as men tend to have more trouble with red-green color blindness because _____.

the red-green gene is a sex-linked gene

What procedure enables researchers to study behavior with some brain area active, then inactive, and then active again?

transcranial magnetic stimulation

Frederick is interested in using his diet to elevate his mood. His doctor suggested that he try to increase the amount of ____ in his diet, because it controls the amount of serotonin in the brain.

tryptophan

The permeability of the proteins that allow sodium and potassium to cross a neuron's membrane depends on the ____.

voltage difference across the membrane