Biopsych Final Exam

Purkinje cells are

All of these are true of purkinje cells. 2 dimensional and flat. Oriented as to be parallel to one another. One main factor in determining the length of a response (more cells = longer response.

Which of the following things characterize(s) ballistic movements?

All these are true of ballistic movements.

​Which muscle is "antagonistic" to a flexor muscle in the right arm?

An extensor muscle in the right arm

Which of the following is TRUE according to the law of specific nerve energies?

Any stimulation of the optic nerve is perceived as light (visual stimulus).

According to the trichromatic theory, we can perceive only three colors.​

False

Parvocellular cells respond strongly to moving stimuli and large overall patterns

False

Shapes are more easily identified with peripheral vision than foveal vision.​

False

______________________________ disease is sometimes called a chorea because of its dance-like rhythmic jerks and spasms of the limbs. It occurs in approximately 1 in 10,000 people in the US and is hereditary.

Hungtington's Disease

According to recent research the posterior parietal cortex, pre- and supplementary motor cortex become most active when?

In the second or two prior to a movement.

Which of the following groups of motor behaviors requires the cortex or the most involvement of the cortex to execute?

Talking, writing, and winking.

Corticospinal tracts connect

The cortex to the spinal cord to send movements toward the muscles.

What is the relationship between the motor neuron axons and muscle fibers?​

The fewer muscle fibers a single axon innervates, the more precise the movements.

The optic nerve is composed of axons from which kind of cell?

The ganglion cells

After damage to the cerebellar cortex, an individual has trouble with which part of the finger-to-nose test?

The initial rapid movement to the nose

Fish are cold-blooded. Which of the following is/are true for cold-blooded animals?

They have to use more muscles for a given effect as the temperature drops

Area ____ is particularly important for color constancy.​

V4

What is strabismus?​

a failure of the two eyes to focus on the same thing at the same time

Night-active species are more likely than day-active species to have ____.​

a greater rod to cone ratio

Light energy converts 11-cis-retinal to

all-trans-retinal

Various types of ____ cells refine the input to ganglion cells, enabling them to respond specifically to shapes, movement, or other visual features.​

amacrine cells

Moving a leg or arm back and forth requires opposing sets of muscles called ____.

antagonistic muscles

In comparison to cones, rods ____.​

are more sensitive to dim light

Infants with cataracts need to have surgical repair ____.​

as soon as possible

​Most of the axons of the medial tract go to which side of the body?

bilateral

In the human retina, messages go from receptors at the back of the eye to ____.​

bipolar cells

Light from above our head strikes the:

bottom half of our retina

​What type of muscle controls movements of the heart?

cardiac

Which part of the brain is translated as, "little brain" and is important for balance and coordination (and some other functions as well).

cerebellum

What type of cell responds to a pattern of light in a particular orientation anywhere within its large receptive field, regardless of the exact location of the stimulus

complex

Once within the cerebral cortex, the parvocellular pathway continues as a pathway sensitive to:

details to shape

The type of muscle that moves a limb away from the body is called a ________________ muscle.

extensor

Human newborns come into the world predisposed to pay more attention to _____ than any other stationary displays.

faces--particularly top heavy ones

Activation of the Golgi tendon organs results in contraction of the muscle.​

false

In skeletal muscles, every axon releases dopamine.

false

The coding of visual information in your brain results in an exact duplicate of the object's shape on the surface of the cortex.​

false

Which muscles are especially important when running up a flight of stairs at full speed?

fast-twitch muscles

​Purkinje cells are ____.

flat cells in sequential planes​

The optic nerve is composed of axons from which kind of cell?​

ganglion

____ cells axons make up the optic nerve

ganglion

The one additional feature that hypercomplex cells have that complex cells do not is that hypercomplex cells ____.​

have a strong inhibitory area at one end of its receptive field

Which statement characterizes the fovea?​

it has the greatest perception of detail

Why does the fovea provide the clearest, most detailed visual information?​

it has tightly packed receptors

Suppose someone has a genetic defect that prevents the formation of horizontal cells in the retina. Which visual phenomenon is most likely to be impaired?​

lateral inhibition

What is responsible for sharpening contrast at visual borders?

lateral inhibition

The enhancement of contrast at the edge of an object is the result of ____.​

lateral inhibition in the retina

The type of neurons that are active when preparing for a movement AND when watching someone else execute the movement are called . . .

mirror neurons

A person with some damage to V1, but not any damage to V4, would most likely be able to perceive

motion but not shape or color

Once within the cerebral cortex, the magnocellular pathway continues, with a ventral branch sensitive to

movement

What is the name given to the synapse where a motor neuron's axon meets a muscle fiber?

neuromuscular junction

Axons from the lateral geniculate extend to which area of the cerebral cortex?​

occiptal lobe

After you stare at a bright green object for a minute and look away, you see red. Which theory attempts to explain this finding?​

opponent-process theory

Which ganglion cells are located mostly in or near the fovea?

parvocellular

Color perception depends MOSTLY on the:

parvocellular pathway

A person with a visual agnosia WOULD likely be able to

perceive color

Damage to the prefrontal cortex is most likely to result in ____.

poorly planned movements​

A proprioceptor is sensitive to the ____.

position and movement of a part of the body​

The part of the cortex that is involved in final selection of movements for execution and for sending those movements directly on to the brainstem and spinal cord for execution is located just behind the central sulcus and is called the _______________________________________ (term).

premotor cortex

The role of the Golgi tendon organs is to ____.

prevent extreme muscle contractions

A ballistic movement ____.

proceeds automatically once it has been triggered​

The type of specialized receptors that detect the position and movement of a limb in order to allow us to control and adjust movements are called what?

propioceptors

Damage to the fusiform gyrus of the inferior temporal cortex results in

prosopagnosia

Light enters the eye through an opening in the center of the iris called the

pupil

The motor cortex produces a kind of activity called a(n) ____ before any voluntary movement.

readiness potential

The point in space from which light strikes the receptor is called the ____.​

receptive field

Someone with prosopagnosia has difficulty with ____.​

recognizing faces

​A fish will adjust to lower water temperatures by ____.

recruiting different muscle fibers

The most consistent and automatic units of movements are called what

reflexes

The absence of acetylcholine will cause a muscle to ____.

relax

Stereoscopic depth perception requires the brain to detect ____.​

retinal display

Color and brightness constancy are best explained by the ____ theory of color vision.​

retinex

In comparison to the rods, cones are more ____.​

sensitive to detail

Exercising at a high altitude where there is less oxygen is most likely to affect ____.

slow-twitch fiber

What type of muscle controls movements of internal organs?

smooth

​Axons of the lateral corticospinal tract extend to what area?

spinal cord

By comparing the slightly different inputs from the two eyes, you achieve:

stereoscopic depth perception

​A muscle spindle responds to the ____.

stretch of the muscle

The primary visual cortex is also known as the:

striate cortex

Damage to the ____ impairs the ability to organize smooth sequences of activities.

supplementary motor cortex

The lateral geniculate nucleus is part of the ____.​

thalamus

The lateral geniculate nucleus is part of the:

thalamus

When you first learn a new and complex activity like driving or shooting a firearm, you often make mistakes because the number of things you must do together and in proper sequence is overwhelming voluntary control. Eventually the behavior becomes smooth and almost automatic. Which part of the brain has to be functioning for this to occur?

the basal ganglia

The visual path in the parietal cortex is referred to as the ____.​

the dorsal stream

If you want to see something in fine detail, you should focus the light on which part of your retina?

the fovea

The optic nerves from the right and left eye initially meet at the ____.​

the optic chiasm

​The part of the cortex that responds mostly to the sensory signals that lead to a movement is the ____.

the prefrontal cortex

Light from the left half of the world strikes what part of the retina?

the right half

According to the Young-Helmholtz theory, what is the basis for color vision?​

three kinds of cones

The fact that all colors on older televisions were created by combining only three different colors of light supports the ____ theory of color vision.​

trichromatic

Infants have several reflexes not seen in adults

true

Johannes Müller held that whatever excites a particular nerve establishes a special kind of energy unique to that nerve

true

Mirror neurons are active both during preparation for a movement and while watching someone else perform the same or a similar movement. Correct!

true

​A fixed sequence of movements is called a motor program.

true

The visual paths in the temporal cortex collectively are referred to as the ____.​

ventral stream

An inability to recognize objects despite otherwise satisfactory vision is called ____.​

visual agnosia

An inability to recognize objects despite otherwise satisfactory vision is called:

visual agnosia

Which activity is an example of a motor program in a human?

yawning

Parvocellular neurons most likely receive input from ____

​bipolar cells that receive input from cones

The most common form of color vision deficiency is due to ____.​

​long- and medium-wavelength cones making the same photopigment

Damage to the dorsal stream may interfere with ____.​

​reaching out to grasp an object

What would be the likely outcome of a person who was blind at birth, and had vision restored later in life by the removal of cataracts (clouded lenses)?​

​trouble describing the shapes of objects