Brain Game

•Which of the following is a similarity between the neurotransmitters acetylcholine and glutamate? 1.Both are associated with Alzheimer disease. 2.Both play a key function in the brain by inhibiting neurons from firing. 3.Both are responsible for the myelination of dendrites. 4.Both play a key role in reducing the production of glial cells.

1. both are associated with Alzheimer disease

•Which of the following scenarios correctly illustrates the effect of damage to Broca's area in the brain? 1.Janine is unable to produce any words. 2.Franchesca is unable to comprehend words spoken by others. 3.Darrel is unable to remember what he ate in the morning or what he did the previous day. 4.Stanley is unable to taste the food that he eats.

1.Janine is unable to produce any words.

•Melinda suffers from migraine headaches and seizures. In the context of neurotransmitter functioning, which of the following most likely plays a significant role in her symptoms? 1.too little norepinephrine 2.too much glutamate 3.too much acetylcholine 4.too little dopamine

2. too much glutamate

•Which of the following is a similarity between the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine? 1.Both are responsible for inhibiting neurons from firing. 2.Both are involved in the learning process. 3.Both are associated with Parkinson disease. 4.Both are released in response to stress.

3. Both are associated with Parkinson disease

•For a person in a state of fight-or-flight, what is a realistic reaction for that person to experience due to the medulla oblongata? 1.The person will start to cry. 2.The person will throw up. 3.The person will breathe slowly. 4.The person will have an accelerated heart rate.

4. The person will have an acclerated heart rate

•Which of the following is true of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine? 1.It is produced in excess in Alzheimer disease. 2.It is responsible for the degenerative disorder called multiple sclerosis (MS). 3.It is found only in the peripheral nervous system. 4.It is involved in muscle action, learning, and memory

4.It is involved in muscle action, learning, and memory

•Which of the following scenarios illustrates the effective functioning of the right hemisphere of the human brain? 1.Joan sings a song to her daughter. 2.Josh recognizes the alphabets on the blackboard. 3.Terrence solves a puzzle in class. 4.Melissa recognizes that Norah is sad by looking at her face.

4.Melissa recognizes that Norah is sad by looking at her face.

Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox have Parkinson's disease. It often leads to uncontrollable tremors among other things. Ali's and Fox's disease may be linked to what neurotransmitter in what way?

A shortage of dopamine

•Charlie was on an expedition in the Amazon when he was bitten by a large, strange insect. At first, nothing much happened, but soon he began to have some muscle spasms in his leg near the bite. Soon afterward, he began to have massive muscle contractions that eventually resulted in his death. The insect bite likely affected which neurotransmitter in Charlie's nervous system?

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Donny suffered a stroke a few years ago. For many months, he was unable to coordinate his movements, making it impossible for him to even stand up. Since then, he has been walking in a jerky, uncoordinated manner. In this scenario, Donny's symptoms after the stroke are most likely due to the damage to his:

Cerebellum

Today is Sara's birthday and she and her buddies celebrated a bit too much. When the police stopped her car, Sara's speech was slurred, she couldn't walk a straight line or stand on one foot. The impaired functioning of what part of her brain is most responsible for these difficulties?

Cerebellum

Which two brain areas would have to be extraordinarily advanced in Baby Bethany to enable her to dance in a well coordinated fashion?

Cerebellum, and motor cortex(frontal lobe)

Katherine had a rare and severe form of epilepsy that could not be controlled by medication. Surgery stopped the seizures and seemed to have little effect on her everyday behaviors. Indicate the likely location of the surgery.

Corpus Callosum

Dominic is a marathon runner. He says that whenever he runs, he feels euphoric. He cannot begin his day without running for an hour. In the context of neurotransmitters, which of the following is most likely responsible for his feelings of pleasure from running?

Endorphins

Zeus was injured in a mining accident and suffered severe brain damage. In time, his brain healed, and he was back to working in the mines. The only change was in his personality. From being a highly aggressive and temperamental individual, he became mild-mannered and calm, almost to the extent of being placid. In this scenario, the region of the cerebral cortex that was most likely damaged in the accident was the _____ lobe.

Frontal

Following a recent accident, Sarah Catherine's personality changed dramatically. Once outgoing and lively, she is now reserved and rather shy around others. What brain area was most likely damaged in the accident?

Frontal lobes or frontal cortex

Joe has suffered a massive stroke. Since then, he has started repeating many of his actions through the day. He brushes his teeth many times in the morning and takes a shower many times before bedtime. This is because he is unable to retain any memories of his actions. In the context of the organization of the brain, these behavioral symptoms are most likely due to a damaged:

Hippocampus

Jordan suffered a case of encephalitis (a brain infection) while in college. The infection took its toll on certain parts of his brain. Although he can still recall events that happened before the infection, he can't do things like summarize yesterday's news report or recall his birthday party that took place a few weeks after his illness. What part of the brain did the encephalitis likely damage?

Hippocampus (part of the limbic system).

Following the Monica Lewinsky affair, President Clinton was heard making this lame excuse to Hillary .... "Well, it's my brain's fault. You know my __________ is just way overactive."

Hypothalamis- The 4 F's

Jessica was not obviously injured in a recent auto accident, but received a hard blow to her head. Since that day she has noticed a dramatic decrease in her sex drive & she hardly eats at all. What part of her brain might have been affected by the accident?

Hypothalamus

It's year 118233 and a human-like species has made its way to Earth. Members of this highly advanced species are able to react, see, hear, feel, and move much quicker than "regular" human beings. What neuron structure is advanced in this species?

Myelin - Helps speed movement of electrical impulses

Carlos, a soccer goalie, was having the game of a lifetime. Toward the end of the game, he dove to stop a blazing corner shot. The ball struck him in the face and sent his head slamming back into the hard edge of the goal post. Carlos slowly sat up and wondered why he was seeing stars. What area of his brain was jolted?

Occipital Lobe

Alfred is a middle-aged man. Even though his eyes can physically see a car driving up to him, his brain is unable to interpret the information and move away in time. In this scenario, the area of Alfred's brain that is most likely damaged is the:

Occipital lobe

Lolita, a nine-year-old girl, met with an accident that led to a head injury. She was able to recover from this injury in a few months. Which of the following characteristics of the nervous system most likely played a predominant role in her recovery?

Plasticity

Antoine has had a recent onset of depression. His doctors determine that his depression is due to a lack of what neurotransmitter?

Serotonin

Catherine is confronted by a man with a gun as she walks home from work one night. In this scenario, Catherine's _____ will prepare her body to run from the situation by increasing blood flow to her extremities.

Sympathetic nervous system

Dr. Frankenstein made a mistake during neurosurgery on his monster. After the operation, the monster "saw" with his ears and "heard" with his eyes. It is likely that Dr. Frankenstein "rewired" neural connections in the monster's __________.

Thalamus

Daniel suffers from focal epilepsy (seizures localized in just 1 part of the brain). His seizures trigger extreme emotions - most often extreme fear followed by rage. What general part of the brain is likely affected?

The amygdala in the limbic system

Rachel is in a parking deck at 2 AM when she sees a large person in a hockey mask slowly walking toward her. She hauls butt out of there. Which nervous system was activated here?

The autonomic nervous system

Dr. Williams was working in the ER, when a young gunshot victim arrives. She begins frantically working to save his life, but quickly gives up after locating the bullet wound. The patient's blood pressure and heart rate dropped to essentially zero and he stopped breathing within seconds. Where most likely is the bullet?

The medulla

Unfortunately your school's star basketball player suffered a severe head injury that damaged part of her cortex during a recent game. She shows some signs of weakness and partial paralysis of her right leg. She can no longer move her leg very well. What specific area and in what hemisphere of her brain was affected by the stroke?

The motor cortex in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere

It's raining out, so Zane and Kate take a short cut to get to Kate's car. Unfortunately two unrestrained, hungry Dobermans catch sight of them and begin pursuit. Zane and Kate run faster than they ever have before and dive into the car just in the nick of time. It took 10 minutes for their pulse and breathing to return to normal. What part of the nervous system helped their bodies return to a normal state afterwards?

The parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system

During an operation for the removal of a brain tumor, Dr. Brantley stimulated Kim's brain with an electrode. Kim reported hearing loud sirens. In what brain area did Dr. Brantley place the electrode?

The temporal lobe

A part of David's brain was damaged in a ski accident. Once he was out of his coma, the doctors noticed that even though he could produce words in speech, he couldn't seem to understand the meanings of the words spoken by others. In this scenario, which of the following areas of David's brain was damaged that caused this symptom?

Wernicke's area

Sasha, a researcher, is working on a project on the human brain. Part of her research requires her to place electrodes on the scalps of her subjects to study their brain-wave activity. In this scenario, Sasha is most likely using:

an electroencephalograph (EEG)

Adrian, a neurologist, is examining the brain activity of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He observes images of their brains while they are performing a reading task and then again when they are not engaged in the activity. He compares these readings. Although he establishes a relationship between the two variables, he is not able to establish that one variable causes the other. Which of the following brain imaging techniques is he most likely to have used for his study?

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Carrie suffered brain damage when she was injured in a car accident. Since then, she is unable to take pleasure in the things she used to. She has also lost interest in sexual intimacy with her husband and does not enjoy the taste of her favorite foods. In this scenario, which of the following areas of the brain is most likely damaged, causing her inability to experience pleasure?

hypothalamus

While Professor Travis is on the phone, he notices a glass vase sliding off the top shelf of his bookcase, about to fall on his dog. He moves quickly to catch the vase and prevent it from falling on his dog. In the context of the cerebral cortex, the quick movement of his hand is most likely caused by a process in the:

motor cortex

Gregory is an excellent basketball player. He is always able to gauge the distance between himself and the basket correctly, and he never misses a shot. Which of the following regions of the cerebral cortex should function most efficiently to help him use this spatial location skill?

pariatal lobe

When Sam walks into his class, he does not have to think consciously about how to walk. When he gets there, he pays attention to the lectures even if they are boring or he is tired. In this scenario, the brain structure that is most likely causing these stereotyped patterns of behavior in Sam is the

reticular formation

Alicia had a normal attention span and was a good sleeper. She often napped in the library and even in class. When playing football this fall, however, she received an exceptionally hard blow to the back of her head and neck. Now she suffers insomnia regularly and can't seem to focus her attention for very long. What part of her brain may have been damaged?

reticular formation/pons

Grandpa McDowell has begun to lose his spatial abilities - he gets lost in his familiar neighborhood, he can't put dishes or clean laundry away because he no longer knows where things go in his home of 40 years. The doctors say he also could not arrange blocks to form a design. What hemisphere of the brain controls these tasks?

right hemisphere - (The parietal lobe is particularly important in spatial processing)

Claire was having a really bad week. On Mon., she was studying when her vision got blurrier & blurrier until she could no longer see. On Tues., she was practicing the violin when she realized she couldn't hear. On Wed. she was eating in the cafe when she realized she couldn't taste her food at all. On Thu. she realized she couldn't feel anything touching her skin. Her CAT scan revealed that a single brain tumor was probably producing all of these deficits. What one part of Claire's brain was likely causing this inability to see, hear, taste, and feel?

thalamus