PSYC 273 - Exam 4 Practice Questions

What effect do benzodiazepines have on GABA synapses? A) Enhancement of GABA-mediated inhibition B) Reduction of chloride permeability C) Enhancement of GABA-mediated excitation D) Complete blocking of inhibition

A) Enhancement of GABA-mediated inhibition

Which statement most accurately describes the role of heredity in depression? A) Increase susceptibility for depression can be inherited, though there is no single gene responsible for depression. B) Researchers have isolated a gene that is directly associated with depression. C) Depression is a sex-linked inherited disorder. D) There is no evidence to suggest hereditary component in depression.

A) Increase susceptibility for depression can be inherited, though there is no single gene responsible for depression.

The drug clomipramine has been shown to bring about significant improvement in many people suffering from A) panic disorder. B) obsessive-compulsive disorder. C) Tourette's syndrome. D) posttraumatic stress disorder

B) obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Which last-resort psychosurgical intervention has been shown to produce reduction in the strength of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms? A) Lesion of the globus pallidus B) Sectioning of the corpus callosum C) Cingulotomy D) Rhizotomy

C) Cingulotomy

PCP and ketamine affect which type of postsynaptic receptor? A) GABA B) Cholinergic C) NMDA D) D2 dopaminergic

C) NMDA

Martin has been treated with lithium for bipolar disorder for most of his adult life. He finds he takes his medication for a while but then stops. The most likely reason he does this is because A) it interacts with his dietary choices, resulting in bad headaches. B) he feels like a zombie when takes it. C) it robs him of the exhilaration of the manic phase. D) the side effects are unbearable.

C) it robs him of the exhilaration of the manic phase.

The three successive systems that are necessary for recall of a past event are encoding, ________, and retrieval. consolidation performance rehearsal buffering

Correct Answer consolidation

The average reaction time in an uncomplicated choice reaction time test (i.e., the time it takes from the initial visual signal until the subject pushes the choice button) is approximately _______ ms. 250 175 35 110

Correct Answer 250

Which scenario provides an example of instrumental (or operant) conditioning? A bird hides seeds and remembers the location it hid them A mouse learns to associate the repeated sound of a bell with a food treat A cat learns that raising a paw to beg results in a dish of milk A fearful dog learns that rain means there could be thunder

Correct Answer A cat learns that raising a paw to beg results in a dish of milk

A clinician is debating whether to prescribe SSRI drugs or cognitive behavioral therapy as treatment for an individual with significant depressive symptoms. In order to potentially reach the best outcome in this case, which option would the clinician would likely prescribe? An alternation of the two treatments, but not both at once CBT, since its relapse rate is lower A combination of CBT and SSRIs for the greatest effect SSRIs, since there is a longer history of their use

Correct Answer A combination of CBT and SSRIs for the greatest effect

Which of the following is correct about the word "unbreakable"? Break is an example of pragmatics. U is a morpheme. It consists of three phonemes. Able is a morpheme.

Correct Answer Able is a morpheme.

In early-selection models of attention, when is information filtered out? Prior to sensory input At the level of semantic meaning After conscious awareness At the level of sensory input

Correct Answer At the level of sensory input

"Where's Waldo?" is a puzzle in which one must find the right combination of features to identify Waldo in a busy scene. Which type of attentional process does this refer to? "Pop-out" Feature search Binding analysis Conjunction search

Correct Answer Conjunction search

Which brain area(s) is/are implicated in encoding new declarative memories, as demonstrated by the case of patient N.A.? Basal ganglia Amygdala Dorsomedial thalamus and mammillary bodies Medial cerebellum

Correct Answer Dorsomedial thalamus and mammillary bodies

Which response is not a characteristic of the sleep of patients with depression? Increased amounts of REM in the first half of a sleep bout Rapid onset of REM sleep Excessive amounts of stage 3 slow wave sleep Difficulty falling asleep

Correct Answer Excessive amounts of stage 3 slow wave sleep

Which structure is not required for the conditioned eye-blink response in the rabbit? Cerebellum Cranial motor nuclei Hippocampus Trigeminal nucleus

Correct Answer Hippocampus

When focusing attention on an, for example, an image of a tree (not simply gazing at it) which part of the brain shows enhanced activity? Lateral inferior pulvinar Intrasylvian perimeter Lateral intraparietal area Intraparietal sulcus

Correct Answer Intraparietal sulcus

Which statement about synapses is true? Synaptic changes involved in memory are so small that they are impossible to observe, even with a microscope. Unlike muscles, synapses don't respond to training and die back after a set period of time. Just like muscles, synapses respond to training; they can form or die back depending on use. Once a synaptic pathway forms, it will remain indefinitely.

Correct Answer Just like muscles, synapses respond to training; they can form or die back depending on use.

The experience of having your attention suddenly captured by hearing your name from across the room is support for which type of attentional selection model? Shadowing Early-selection Inattentional blindness Late-selection

Correct Answer Late-selection

_______ is an anatomical abnormality of developmental dyslexia that is associated with excessive cortical folding in areas such as the temporoparietal junction. Micropolygyria Hemispherectomy Ectopia Tauopathy

Correct Answer Micropolygyria

Which component of an averaged-out ERP waveform is believed to reflect auditory attention? N2 P1 N1 P3

Correct Answer N1

In ERP studies of normal subjects, it has been found that a grammatically correct sentence containing a word whose meaning does not fit into the sentence provokes a(n) _______ wave from _______ cortex. N400; temporoparietal P600; temporoparietal N400; dorsolateral P600; dorsolateral

Correct Answer N400; temporoparietal

Which statement about long-term potentiation (LTP) is false? During normal, low-level activity, the release of glutamate at the synapse activates only the AMPA receptors. Strong stimulation of AMPA receptors depolarizes the postsynaptic membrane so much that the Mg2+ plug is driven from the central channels of the NMDA receptors. NMDA receptors cannot ordinarily respond to glutamate because magnesium ions block the NMDA receptor's calcium ion channel. NMDA receptors are fully active only when "gated" by a strong depolarization (via AMPA receptors) and the ligand calcium.

Correct Answer NMDA receptors are fully active only when "gated" by a strong depolarization (via AMPA receptors) and the ligand calcium.

_______ pregnant women will show symptoms of depression. One out of every 10 One out of every 7 About 50% of Almost all

Correct Answer One out of every 7

Which of the following represents the correct sequence of the brain events that determine reaction time on a choice reaction time test? Retina, LGN, V1, V2, V4, inferior temporal lobe, prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, primary motor cortex, spinal cord, finger muscle Retina, LGN, V1, V2, V4, inferior temporal lobe, premotor cortex, prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, spinal cord, finger muscle Retina, LGN, V1, V2, V4, primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, prefrontal lobe, inferior temporal lobe, spinal cord, finger muscle Retina, LGN, V1, V2, V4, primary motor cortex, inferior temporal lobe, prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, spinal cord, finger muscle

Correct Answer Retina, LGN, V1, V2, V4, inferior temporal lobe, prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, primary motor cortex, spinal cord, finger muscle

_______ amnesia is a loss of memories that formed prior to a brain damaging event. Anterograde Primed Retrograde Basal

Correct Answer Retrograde

As related to memory, which term does not belong with the others? Conditioning Semantic Skill learning Priming

Correct Answer Semantic

Which response is a negative symptom of schizophrenia? Delusions Hallucinations Social withdrawal Excited motor behavior

Correct Answer Social withdrawal

You feel a splinter in your hand and look down to examine it. Which brain area controls the movement of your eyes toward the object of your attention (the splinter)? Orbitofrontal cortex Lateral geniculate nucleus Intraparietal sulcus Superior colliculus

Correct Answer Superior colliculus

Which statement about plastic changes at the level of the synapse is false? The postsynaptic membrane becomes more sensitive to transmitter. A neural circuit that is used more often can lead to an increase of synapses. The synapse enlarges presynaptically. Synapses of less active neural pathways start competing for neurotransmitter by engulfing neighboring synapses.

Correct Answer Synapses of less active neural pathways start competing for neurotransmitter by engulfing neighboring synapses.

You have a distinct memory (memory trace) of falling off a slide when you were a child. You find this memory is getting more distant, and less vivid in your mind. What is most likely responsible for this change? You don't recall this memory often enough for it to remain vivid. The trauma of falling off the slide has caused you to forget it over time. You memory is deteriorating due to the passage of time. The memory is weakening due to interference from events that took place before and/or after the formation of your memory of falling off the slide.

Correct Answer The memory is weakening due to interference from events that took place before and/or after the formation of your memory of falling off the slide.

Which cue will typically elicit the fastest reaction time to the target in the symbolic cuing task? Neutral Valid Invalid Colorful

Correct Answer Valid

What did Patient H.M.'s case, plus data from experiments with monkeys, prove about brain regions needed to make new declarative memories? We need at least one intact medial temporal lobe (including hippocampus) in order to make new declarative memories. We need both intact medial temporal lobes (including amygdala) in order to make new declarative memories. We need both intact medial temporal lobes (but not hippocampus) in order to make new declarative memories.

Correct Answer We need at least one intact medial temporal lobe (including hippocampus) in order to make new declarative memories.

Which statement best illustrates the motor theory of language? Transfer of information over the arcuate fasciculus contributes to the connection between comprehension and production of speech. When we listen to speech, we process the speech sounds using the same neural systems that we use to make those sounds. Broca's area formulates a motor plan in preparation of speaking the appropriate word and transmits that plan to motor cortex for implementation. Deficits in language result from a disconnection between brain regions in the language network.

Correct Answer When we listen to speech, we process the speech sounds using the same neural systems that we use to make those sounds.

The relationship between the direction of the whorl of hair on the top of the head and handedness supports the idea that left-handed and right-handed people have different types of hair follicles. a single hormone has a major influence on asymmetry throughout the body. a single gene has a major influence on asymmetry throughout the body. using one hand or the other results in neurological changes that cause a whorl to go in a specific direction.

Correct Answer a single gene has a major influence on asymmetry throughout the body.

In the simplest form of nonassociative learning, an organism receives more and more transmitter at the synapse after repeated presentation of a stimulus. there is an increase in the number of synapses over repeated presentation of a stimulus. an organism becomes less responsive following repeated presentation of a stimulus. an organism becomes more responsive following repeated presentation of a stimulus.

Correct Answer an organism becomes less responsive following repeated presentation of a stimulus.

In the Wada test, a short-acting _______ is injected into the carotid artery first on one side of the brain, then on the other. anesthetic dye radioactive tracer stimulant

Correct Answer anesthetic

Damage to the _______, which transmits information between Wernicke's area and Broca's area leads to _______ aphasia. motor cortex; nonfluent arcuate fasciculus; conduction angular gyrus; fluent primary visual cortex; global

Correct Answer arcuate fasciculus; conduction

The _______ bottleneck refers to a filter that results from the limits of our attentional capacity. perceptual shadowing early-selection attentional

Correct Answer attentional

Declarative episodic memory is also called general knowledge. nondeclarative information. semantic information. autobiographical memory.

Correct Answer autobiographical memory.

Imaging studies indicate that the learning of sensorimotor skills, perceptual skills, and cognitive skills are all affected by damage specifically to the motor cortex. basal ganglia. amygdala. hippocampus.

Correct Answer basal ganglia.

Research has shown that if a suicidal person is prevented from committing suicide they will be unlikely to ever try it again. attempt to do it again after 6 months. use more lethal means the next time they try. attempt to do it again within the next 6 months.

Correct Answer be unlikely to ever try it again.

The most convincing evidence for a link between LTP and learning comes from behavioral LTP. observations in Aplysia. observations in anesthetized animals. long-term depression.

Correct Answer behavioral LTP.

It has been proposed that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be reduced or eliminated by the administration of drugs that accelerate forgetting. inhibit behavioral sensitization. reduce frontal lobe activity. block the effects of emotional stress on memory.

Correct Answer block the effects of emotional stress on memory.

The atypical neuroleptic clozapine raises problems for the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia because clozapine relieves only the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. binds to GABA receptors. can increase dopamine release. decreases serotonin release.

Correct Answer can increase dopamine release.

In most split-brain patients, words presented to the left visual field cannot be repeated verbally. can be repeated, but only when clues are provided. can be repeated accurately. can be written down.

Correct Answer cannot be repeated verbally.

In boxers, the devastating effects of repeated blows to the head are evident in the development of a progressive cognitive impairment called micropolygyria. ectopia. chronic traumatic encephalopathy. hemispherectomy.

Correct Answer chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Male frogs seeking mates vocalize among birds, insects, and the chorus of other species of frogs. That females are able to locate male frogs of their species among all the ambient noise provides an example of the _______ effect. cocktail party shadowing screening vigilance

Correct Answer cocktail party

The enlarged ventricles in the brains of some patients with schizophrenia is due to increased fluid pressure in the ventricles. is a side effect of drugs used to treat schizophrenia. is due to gravity effects compressing the brainstem. comes at the expense of volume of adjacent neural tissue.

Correct Answer comes at the expense of volume of adjacent neural tissue.

The human brain shows a clear _______, during which exposure and practice with language must occur in order for language skills to develop normally. critical period syntax phase developmental interlude time delay

Correct Answer critical period

The phenomenon of "pop out" refers to the distinguishing feature of a sought-after item that makes it sufficiently different from all distracters. unexpected perception of a sought-after item that suddenly "pops out" in the visual attention field. perception of unusually vivid images in the course of daydreaming. increased allocation of attention to three-dimensional, as opposed to two-dimensional, stimuli, as in pop-up books or 3-D cinema.

Correct Answer distinguishing feature of a sought-after item that makes it sufficiently different from all distracters.

The primary pharmacological treatment of Tourette's syndrome are drugs that enhance GABA. dopamine D2 receptor antagonists. drugs that enhance levels of dopamine. drugs that inhibit norepinephrine.

Correct Answer dopamine D2 receptor antagonists.

The main subdivisions of the prefrontal cortex are the _______ and _______ areas. sensory; motor dorsolateral; orbitofrontal dorsolateral; mediofrontal motor; premotor

Correct Answer dorsolateral; orbitofrontal

An exciting, but controversial future treatment for brain injury may be the use of _______ to replace the damaged neurons in the brain and spinal cord. hemispherectomy embryonic stem cells astereognosis tau protein overexpression

Correct Answer embryonic stem cells

The method of measuring averaged brain activity, called _______, tracks regional changes in brain activity faster than other brain-imaging techniques. event-related potential (ERP) fMRI CT scan X ray

Correct Answer event-related potential (ERP)

A psychobiological model of PTSD draws connections among the symptoms and neural mechanisms of _______, behavioral sensitization, and _______. fear conditioning; extinction reactive encoding; retrieval stress remembrance; cognitive associations trauma activation; conditioning

Correct Answer fear conditioning; extinction

You are looking for your friend at a hockey game. She is easy to find as she is wearing a purple sweater, while everyone else is wearing blue and white. Your behavior is an example of a conjunction search. perceptual load. feature search. binding problem.

Correct Answer feature search.

The _______ is (are) critically important for establishing gaze in accordance with _______ processes and cognitive goals. frontal eye fields; top-down colliculi; temporal pulvinar; bottom-up claustrum; spatial

Correct Answer frontal eye fields; top-down

LTP in the hippocampal formation depends on the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. dopamine. GABA. glutamate.

Correct Answer glutamate.

The so-called _______ problem of consciousness refers to the difficulty of understanding the brain processes that produce a person's subjective experience. easy voxel hard impenetrable

Correct Answer hard

The P3 component of auditory processing is associated with early sensory processing. recognized visual stimuli. impaired sensory processing. higher-order cognitive processing of stimuli.

Correct Answer higher-order cognitive processing of stimuli.

Adult rats living in enriched conditions have more neurons in the hypothalamus. hippocampus. amygdala. cortex.

Correct Answer hippocampus.

Bird species that cache food in many locations have a relatively large _______, which facilitates _______ learning, and allows the birds to find the food at a later time. amygdala; recall cerebellum; visual hippocampus; spatial medial temporal lobe; long-term

Correct Answer hippocampus; spatial

In general, brain injury suffered _______ has less severe consequences than brain injury suffered _______. in women; in men in adulthood; in childhood during sleep; during wakefulness in childhood; in adulthood

Correct Answer in childhood; in adulthood

Astereognosis is the failure of binaural hearing. failure to accurately perceive faces. inability to identify objects by touch or manipulation. complete numbness of the fingers and hand.

Correct Answer inability to identify objects by touch or manipulation.

A viewer closely focused on a complex task, such as being asked to count how many times a group of people throw a ball back and forth, may miss other nonattended stimuli such as dancers moving through the group of people. This is due to an attentional phenomenon called shadowing. differential blindness. filter failure. inattentional blindness.

Correct Answer inattentional blindness.

Studies using fMRI show that in addition to face recognition, the fusiform region is also activated when identifying inanimate objects that are shaped like faces. individual members of other categories, such as birds or cars, especially if the viewer has relevant expertise in those categories. individual members of other categories, such as birds or cars, especially if the objects or animals are novel. objects at close range.

Correct Answer individual members of other categories, such as birds or cars, especially if the viewer has relevant expertise in those categories.

Tricyclic antidepressants block cholinergic synapses. inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine, serotonin, and/or dopamine. block the active sites of three specific serotonin receptors. inhibit the enzyme monoamine oxidase.

Correct Answer inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine, serotonin, and/or dopamine.

The _______ likely evolved because it prevents reflexive attention from settling on unimportant stimuli for more than an instant, a reaction that would be adaptive in animals foraging for food and/or scanning for predators. reflexive bottleneck point of no return inhibition of return attentional bottleneck

Correct Answer inhibition of return

Hemispheric specialization is also known as prosopagnosia. lateralization. hemispheric centrality. location of function.

Correct Answer lateralization.

After a brief tetanus, the excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) response increases significantly and remains high. This greater responsiveness is called short-term potentiation (STP). neuroplasticity. habituation. long-term potentiation (LTP).

Correct Answer long-term potentiation (LTP).

The mirror-tracing task is classified as a _______ skill, whereas learning to read mirror-reversed text is an example of a _______ skill. associative; repetitive priming; cognitive motor; verbal cognitive; semantic

Correct Answer motor; verbal

The study of brain mechanisms at work during economic decision making is called conjunction searches. free will. symbolic cuing. neuroeconomics.

Correct Answer neuroeconomics.

Reflexive attention is fairly easy to consciously repress. based on conscious processing. always followed by a period of voluntary attention directed at the same target. oriented on the basis of sensory events.

Correct Answer oriented on the basis of sensory events.

Attention in which the focus coincides with the individual's sensory orientation is called primary attention. overt attention. covert attention. arousal.

Correct Answer overt attention.

A prominent structural asymmetry in the brains of typical humans is apparent in the _______, which is located on the superior surface of the _______ lobe. corpus callosum; parietal fusiform gyrus; parietal planum temporale; temporal Wernicke's area; frontal

Correct Answer planum temporale; temporal

A principal effect of the drug chlorpromazine is the postsynaptic blocking of acetylcholine. postsynaptic blocking of dopamine receptors. facilitation of GABA actions. release of norepinephrine.

Correct Answer postsynaptic blocking of dopamine receptors.

A change in the processing of a stimulus on the basis of prior exposure to the same or similar stimuli is referred to as priming. associative learning. semantic memory. classic conditioning.

Correct Answer priming.

You see a scary movie and are frightened several times as the movie plot unfolds. Later that night, at home, you find you are scared by sounds that normally do not bother you. This is an example of priming. explicit learning. associative learning. operant conditioning.

Correct Answer priming.

Birdsong is similar to human speech in that proper expression of the FOXP2 gene appears to be crucial. juveniles do not have to be exposed to vocal adults to develop normal singing behavior. the right hemisphere has a greater effect on vocal behavior. both human and bird communication incorporate prosody.

Correct Answer proper expression of the FOXP2 gene appears to be crucial.

Bilateral damage to the fusiform gyrus results in astereognosis. prosopagnosia. dyslexia. epilepsy.

Correct Answer prosopagnosia.

Prosopagnosia is the inability to identify objects by touch. distinguish different patterns of visual stimuli. recognize faces. learn the names of objects that are seen.

Correct Answer recognize faces.

People with conduction aphasia are unable to understand either written or oral materials. comprehend music. repeat words or sentences. speak fluently.

Correct Answer repeat words or sentences.

The _______ hemisphere plays a major role in the perception of music. The _______ hemisphere plays a major role in prosody. right; left right; right left; left left; right

Correct Answer right; right

Family studies of schizophrenia reveal that schizophrenia is more evident among first-degree relatives of patients than it is among more distant relatives. schizophrenia is sex-linked. schizophrenia is seen only in siblings of patients, but never in their parents. virtually all relatives of patients have had or will have schizophrenia at one time or another.

Correct Answer schizophrenia is more evident among first-degree relatives of patients than it is among more distant relatives.

Treatment with l-dopa to control the symptoms of Parkinson's disease has been associated with the development of euphoria. panic attacks. schizophrenia-like symptoms. Tourette's syndrome.

Correct Answer schizophrenia-like symptoms.

Abnormal visual tracking of moving objects is a symptom associated with schizophrenia. obsessive-compulsive disorder. panic. depression.

Correct Answer schizophrenia.

Knowing the meaning of word, without knowing where or when you learned it, describes _______ memory. procedural defining episodic semantic

Correct Answer semantic

A friend gives you a phone number but you don't have your phone with you with so you concentrate on committing it to memory. As soon as you have called the number you forget it. The memory of the number would be classified as a _______ memory. episodic short-term sematic iconic

Correct Answer short-term

People with depression show different sleep patterns, a major one being a striking reduction of time spent in _______ sleep. REM stage 2 stage 3 stage 1

Correct Answer stage 3

In monkeys, stimulation of the _______, but not of the _______, results in vocalizations. cortex; subcortical regions cortex; frontal lobes cerebellum; frontal lobes subcortical regions; cortex

Correct Answer subcortical regions; cortex

Long-term motor problems associated with the use of antipsychotic drugs are symptoms of a disorder called tardive dyskinesia. hypofrontality. paralytic dementia. psychotomimetic.

Correct Answer tardive dyskinesia.

Some people who suffer from recurrent panic attacks have abnormalities in the occipital lobe. superior frontal gyrus. posterior parietal cortex. temporal lobe.

Correct Answer temporal lobe.

Early studies using electrodes to stimulate discrete areas of cortex, thereby disrupting neural function, found that electrical stimulation interfered with language abilities. many new brain regions important in auditory processing. that electrical stimulation enhanced language abilities. many new brain regions important in vision.

Correct Answer that electrical stimulation interfered with language abilities.

Williams syndrome provides evidence for the benefits of enrichment programs for children with dyslexia. the heritability of language. environmental influences on language. the epigenetics of language.

Correct Answer the heritability of language.

Speech mechanisms may have evolved from more ancient systems controlling gestures of the face and hands, in agreement with the motor theory of language. observations of split-brain patients. deficits seen in conduction aphasia. the connectionist model of aphasia.

Correct Answer the motor theory of language.

Because voluntary attention is under direct, conscious control, researchers refer to it as a _______ process. bottom-up top-down conceptual shifting symbolic cuing

Correct Answer top-down

In a symbolic cuing task, _______ attention is shown to enhance processing, reducing reaction time to the stimulus, and _______ cues decrease reaction time the most. voluntary; neutral reflexive: valid voluntary; valid reflexive; neutral

Correct Answer voluntary; valid

Drugs used to treat anxiety are collectively known as _______; a major class of these drugs—the benzodiazepines—exert their effects through interactions with _______ receptors. A) psychotomimetics; glutamate B) tricyclics; acetylcholine C) SSRIs; dopamine D) anxiolytics; GABA

D) anxiolytics; GABA

Bipolar disorder is characterized by repeated fluctuations of episodes of _______ and _______. A) REM sleep; wakefulness B) auditory hallucinations; visual hallucinations C) dyskinesia; paresis D) depression; mania

D) depression; mania