AP pysch unit 2 test
Wernicke's area
controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe
Sally says that her dream about going to a circus is just her brain attempting to make sense of random stimulation from the brain stem. Sally's explanation is consistent with which of the following theories of dreaming?
Activation-synthesis
Information is relayed to the spinal cord or the brain by
Afferent neurons
Basic structures of the neuron and how an impulse travels through a neuron
(study other quizlets) impulse signals from other neurons can be "exicitatory" or "inhibitory" module 9 notes
Assume that R represents a dominant gene in rats for normal running and that r represent a recessive gene in rats for an abnormal gait called waltzing. Mating a female Rr rat with a male RR rat will produce offspring that are
100% runners
Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system results in which of the following?
A decrease in heart rate
Based on its effects on the central nervous system, alcohol can be classified as
A depressant
Damage to the cerebellum would most likely result in which of the following problems?
A loss of motor coordination
Which scenario best exemplifies Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection?
A mutation in a species of lizards that allows them to better blend into their surroundings leads to greater survival and more offspring possessing this mutation in a later generation.
natural selection
A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits. Mind: interprets internal and external stimulus and initiates behaviors Behavior: initiated through internal and external stimulus without interpretation of the mind
A person accidentally touches a hand to a hot stove and quickly pulls the hand away, even before sensory information about the hot stove reaches the brain. The person's reaction is most directly enabled by
A spinal reflex
A drug that has the effect of intensifying or mimicking a particular neurotransmitter can be characterized as
An agonist, because it intensifies the effects of a particular neurotransmitter
Malia is 10 years of age, and her grandmother, Anna Rosa, is 60 years old . Which statement is likely to be true concerning their sleep patterns?
Anna Rosa sleeps fewer hours per day than Malia does.
Curare blocks action at acetylcholine synapses and causes paralysis. This drug is an example of an
Antagonist
Three layers of the brain and conscious awareness of functions
Brain stem-basic automatic functions(life support) Limbic system- emotions, reward centers, motivation, fight/flight, and memory Cerebrum-topmost layer of the brain; cap over the limbic system
Caffeine and nicotine are in the same class as which of the following drugs?
Cocaine
Broca's area
Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
Pituitary gland and its relationship to the hypothalamus
Controls other glands that release hormones, the hypothalamus regulates the function of the pituitary gland
A person with damage to Broca's area would most likely demonstrate which of the following symptoms?
Difficulty with speech production
The autonomic nervous system is most directly involved in
Digesting food
split-brain surgery - how is it done? interesting results?
Done by severing the corpus callosum so that the two hemispheres do no communicate Split brain patient can verbalize things that go in the left hemisphere, but not things that go to the right hemisphere
Which of the follow scenarios is the best example of natural selection?
During a drought, the foliage in a region turns brown. More brownish moths than whitish moths from a particular breed survive predation and produce more offspring. Subsequent generations of moths have a higher percentage of brownish moths than the generation before
Brain Imaging Techniques the show the brain in action
EEG- overall brain activity PET scan- greatest brain activity
A participant in a study of music perception listens to music with electrodes attached to her scalp while data are collected on the activity of her brain. This technique is called
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Locations and major functions of the four lobes
Frontal- planning, judgment, reasoning, movement, high-level cognition Parietal-touch sensations, spatial cognition Temporal- audition and language comprehension Occipital- vision
Heritability: in general and the heritability of intelligence
Heritability refers to the extent to which the differences among people are attributable to genes Genetic component determines the upper limit of your intelligence, that is the maximum intelligence you can realize, your environment determines whether you will actually reach this maximum level, 55% of intelligence is determined by genetics
Sleep paralysis typically occurs in people who are
In REM sleep
where does the neurotransmitter dopamine have its effect?
In the receptors
In adult humans, which of the following is typically true of REM sleep?
It is correlated with dreaming
Which chemical is most closely associated with sleep?
Melatonin
Male and Female differences in attraction to possible mates
Men want young and attractive women to have kids with Women want older and wealthy to provide for their kids
How Nature and Nurture Interact
Nature and nurture work together in behavior, for example development of intelligence depends on both the genetic influences on the brain and the environmental influences that affect learning in the child Nature: genetics, physical appearance, biological influences Nurture: environment, upbringing, social influences
REM and NREM
REM: characterized by rapid eye movements, more dreaming and bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing nREM: occurs mostly in the beginning of sleep, with slow eye movement
A common psychological effect of alcohol intake
Reduced inhibition
Three types of neurons and where they're found
Sensory neurons: carry messages from sense receptors towards the CNS Motor neurons: carry messages from CNS toward muscles and glands(movement) Interneurons: carry messages between nerve cells
Major purpose of the thalamus
Sensory relay for all the senses except smell
A patient reports constant sleepiness. A series of tests reveal that the patient's sleep is frequently disrupted by periods of interrupted breathing and brief awakenings. Which of the following diagnoses would account for such symptoms?
Sleep apnea
hemispheric specialization
The control of distinct neurological functions by the right and left hemispheres of the brain.
During neuronal firing, the part of the neuron that acts as an insulator and conductor to speed the electrical impulse as it travels down the axon is
The myelin sheath
A person will most likely develop aphasia as a result of damage to which of the following parts of the brain?
Wernicke's area
Damage to which of the following brain structures may cause the inability to detect the emotional significance of facial expressions, especially those demonstrating fear?
amygdala
motor cortex
an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
Activation of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system results in
an increase in respiratory rate
Sensory cortex - interesting observations
cortex can be divided into three functionally distinct areas: sensory, motor, associative interneurons
Most glands in the human body are a part of which system?
endocrine
Location and function of the hippocampus
formation of new memories found in the inner folds of the bottom middle section of the brain, known as the temporal lobe
Sigmund Freud believed that dream analysis was a useful device for
gaining insight into unconscious motives
major glands of the endocrine system
hypothalamus- brain region controlling pituitary gland Pituitary- secretes many different hormones, some of which affect other glands thyroid gland- affects metabolism, among other things parathyroids- help regulate the level of calcium in the blood adrenal glands- inner part helps trigger the fight or flight response pancreas- regulates the level of sugar in the blood ovaries- secretes female sex hormones testes- secretes male sex hormones
Aphasia
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).
Brain lateralization refers to the
inclination for certain cognitive processes to be specialized to one hemisphere of the brain or the other
Results of damage to specific parts of the brain stem
injury to the brain stem can lead to permanent damage, since the brain stem regulates almost all the daily activities of our body. Basic body functions like breathing and heartbeat can get disrupted, due to a brain stem injury
People who have experienced severe damage to the frontal lobe of the brain seldom regain their ability to
make and carry out plans
Rafael has a sleep disorder for which he takes medically prescribed amphetamines. For which of the following sleep disorders is Rafael most likely being treated?
narcolepsy
Hereditary and personality traits
personality traits are complex and research suggests that our traits are shaped by both inheritance and environmental factors
circadian rhythm
physiological pattern that repeats approximately every 24 hours
Metabolic activity in different areas of the brain can best be visualized by means of
positron emission tomography (PET)
Importance of association areas
receives input from all areas of the cerebral cortex, processing several types of sensory information, association areas add meaning and significance to the sensory or motor information received in the primary motor or sensory areas
If an individual has lost the ability to feel pain in the left arm, there is most likely damage to what area of the brain?
right parietal lobe
An image projected to the left visual field of a split-brained person will be processed in the
right visual cortex
How sensory neurons are different than motor neurons
sensory neurons:carry messages from sense receptors towards the CNS motor neurons: carry messages from CNS toward muscles and glands(movement)
For most people, which of the following is an activity based in the right hemisphere of the brain?
simple spatial reasoning
Plasticity
the ability to reorganize or change; create new neural pathways
Neurogenesis - what is it? how to best promote it?
the formation of new neurons, best promote by not ruining our brain- excess alcohol, drugs, lack of sleep
Dual processing
the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
Parkinson's disease
this ailment, whose symptoms includes tremors and later difficulty walking, is caused by inability to produce dopamine
action potential: threshold and all or nothing principle
threshold- the neuron fires all or nothing principle: neurons either fire or do not fire, like a gun or toilet
fraternal twins v. identical twins
twins who come from two fertilized egg; twins having the different heredity/twins who come from one fertilized egg; twins having the same heredity Identical Monozygotic- shared placenta Fraternal Dizygotic- separate placenta
Problems of serotonin undersupply or oversupply
undersupply of serotonin can cause depression, low energy, anxiety oversupply can cause agitation or restlessness, confusion, high blood pressure
constraint-induced therapy
used to rewire the brain by restraining the fully functioning limb and forcing the patient to use the "bad" one
Damage to a small part of the occipital lobe would most likely result in a
visual deficit