psys exam 1

Which brain recording method takes advantage of the fact that the electrical activity of the brain can be detected if electrodes are placed directly on the scalp?

EEG

Jaquan suffers from epilepsy because of too much glutamate. His doctor may prescribe a drug containing _____ because this type of neurotransmitter inhibits information transmission.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

_____ is a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, whereas _____ is a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Glutamate; GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

_____ is involved in reproduction, social motivation, and social behavior.

Oxytocin

Low levels of dopamine have been linked to

Parkinson's disease.

Sleep researchers deprive subjects of REM sleep for a number of nights but allow them an otherwise normal sleep. The subjects are likely to experience _____ when next allowed to sleep uninterrupted.

REM rebound

Nightmares are to _____ as sleep talking is to _____.

REM sleep; slow-wave NREM sleep

Which statement about dream interpretation is TRUE?

Speculating about dreams' meanings may reveal more about the interpreter than about the dreams themselves

Which statement is NOT a characteristic of hypnagogic hallucinations?

They are caused by unconscious conflict.

One essential feature in hypnosis is that:

a cooperative social interaction must exist.

Carrie has been instructed to spend 10 minutes on her way to work every morning quietly mentally repeating the word calm to herself. Carrie is practicing a technique of meditation known as:

a focused attention technique

The _____ stimulates the release of neurotransmitters, allowing neurons to communicate with each other.

action potential

The electrical impulse that is sent down the length of a neuron's axon is referred to as the:

action potential

Anastasia dreamt last night that she was milking a cow on a farm. Because Anastasia has never come close to a cow, she thought this was an odd dream to have, but she decided it was her brain interpreting random activation that occurred while she was sleeping. This thought is consistent with the:

activation-synthesis model.

When Mike was faced with a final exam worth 80 percent of his grade in his graduate statistics class, he was totally stressed out. The particular gland(s) in his endocrine system MOST likely to be stimulated in response to this stress is/are his:

adrenal glands.

prozac works as an

agonist

Tyree is studying about neurons today because he knows they will be discussed in class tomorrow. He decides that the best way to remember the parts of the axon is to create a diagram. Tyree draws a picture of an axon, which resembles a tube-like structure extending from a cell body. At the end of the axon are branches that conclude with the:

axon terminals.

Dr. Soto has been studying neurons for many years. He is most interested in the transmission speeds of action potentials, and so he carefully studies _____, which are the tube-like extensions of the cell body.

axons

The scientific study of the biological bases of behavior and mental processes is called:

biological psychology.

Antagonists are drugs that act to:

block the action of a neurotransmitter.

Maya is a big coffee drinker. She has a couple of cups in the morning and then one or two more in the afternoon. The coffee makes her feel physically and mentally alert because it:

blocks the normal activity of the neurotransmitter adenosine.

If the neurotransmitter dopamine is released into the synapse, and the receiving dendrites have dopamine and serotonin receptors, the dopamine:

can bind only to the dopamine receptors.

The _____ is the part of the neuron that provides the energy the neuron needs to function.

cell body

The three basic parts of a neuron include the:

cell body, axon, and dendrites.

Most professors do not like teaching classes that meet around 2:30 in the afternoon, because they have noticed how easily students fall asleep at that time. This is likely due to the 24-hour cycle of the:

circadian rhythm

Our bodies synchronize with the 24-hour cycle of day and night through a biological clock called the:

circadian rhythm.

The times when Alice falls asleep and wakes up are largely governed by her:

circadian rhythm.

The structure in the brain's hypothalamus that governs the timing of circadian rhythms is a:

cluster of neurons.

Curtis has been blind since birth. Like many blind people, he may experience _____ because he is unable to detect the light that normally sets the body's internal clock.

desynchronized circadian rhythms

Cocaine increases levels of _____ in the brain by blocking its reuptake in the synapse; this causes higher levels of activity in brain circuits that depend on this neurotransmitter.

dopamine

At a recent dorm party, Susanne agreed to take a club drug that had a stimulating and mildly psychedelic effect. Susanne MOST likely experimented with:

ecstasy

pituitary gland

effects physical growth

The _____ is the part of the neuron that provides the energy the neuron needs to function.

electrical impulse.

Information is transmitted inside the neuron as a(n) _____ signal, and information transmission between neurons is almost always a(n) _____ signal.

electrical; chemical

Dr. Torres studies the fight-or-flight response. Her focus is on the _____, which is involved in the response to imminent danger. It releases stress hormones, such as norepinephrine, which prompt the physiological changes associated with crises.

endocrine system

The _____ is responsible for releasing hormones into the bloodstream.

endocrine system

Francine has tried everything to relieve her back pain, from changing her sleeping positions to prescription pain relievers. She recently started acupuncture and has noticed that it relieves her symptoms. The positive effects of acupuncture are likely due to the release of:

endorphins

In his medical practice, Dr. Cheng uses acupuncture, an ancient Chinese procedure, which involves inserting needles at various points in the body. This painkilling technique is assumed to involve the production of _____ by the brain.

endorphins

The body's "second brain" is officially known as the _____ nervous system.

enteric

The neurotransmitter norepinephrine is involved in:

helping the body face danger or threat.

The sensation of falling, as though a person missed a step on a staircase, often occurs during the _____, or presleep phase.

hypnagogic hallucination

Genie goes to bed at her regular time, and as she begins to drift slowly off to sleep, she jumps up suddenly as she feels she is falling down the stairs. This is BEST explained by a:

hypnagogic hallucination.

The _____ contains the master clock that governs the timing of circadian rhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle.

hypothalamus

The internal pacemaker governing circadian rhythms is the:

hypothalamus.

The main link between the endocrine system and the nervous system, which regulates the release of hormones by the pituitary gland, is the part of the brain known as the:

hypothalamus.

Mr. Jensen repeatedly complains about the quality and duration of his sleep. He claims that he has difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep and usually wakes up before it is time to get up. Mr. Jensen apparently suffers from:

insomnia

Neurotransmitter is to _____ as neural receptor site is to _____.

key, lock

During Freudian therapy, psychoanalysts use the _____ of dreams to uncover the unconscious, looking deeper than the actual storyline of the dream.

latent content

Sleep restriction does NOT produce:

less volatile moods.

Brianna, who has a very warm, loving relationship with her husband, dreamed that she had an intense, emotional argument with him in which she shouted and screamed and called him horrible names. Her psychoanalyst suggested that Brianna must have some deeply repressed anger and frustration toward her father that is expressed symbolically in the dream about her husband. Brianna's account of the dream represents the _____, and her therapist's account represents the _____.

manifest content; latent content

The name of the short word or religious phrase used to control or focus attention in the practice of meditation is called a(n):

mantra

Larry is given _____, which is classified as a psychedelic drug, to combat the vomiting and nausea he experiences during chemotherapy.

marijuana

Which cells in the brain break down and remove dead or damaged cells as part of the brain's immune response?

microglea

Randall is experiencing muscle weakness, loss of coordination and speech, and visual disturbances that result from the slowdown or interruption of neural transmission. The cause of these symptoms probably involves the degeneration of his myelin sheath. Randall likely has:

multiple sclerosis.

Wesley is studying for his final exam in psychology. The chapter on biology and behavior has a lot of terms to remember. He thinks he can remember the nodes of Ranvier because he has a clear mental image of the gaps between the segments of the _____ on axons.

myelin sheath

Carol has multiple sclerosis (MS). She experiences muscle weakness, loss of coordination and speech, and visual disturbances that result from the slowdown or interruption of neural transmission. The cause of these symptoms probably involves the degeneration of her:

myelin sheath.

The _____ is made up of _____ and helps to insulate the axon.

myelin sheath; glial cells

Yesterday in class, Professor Vasquez was describing axons. She noted that many axons are surrounded by a fatty substance that provides insulation. However, the axon is not entirely enclosed, but instead is covered in segments of:

myelin.

Jason had a dream about failing all his final exams. His therapist suggested that his dream indicates anxiety and worry about his academic situation. Jason's therapist is explaining the meaning of this dream based on:

neurocognitive theory.

The highly specialized cell that communicates information from one part of the body to another is known as the:

neuron

The scientific word for a nerve cell is:

neuron.

Which chemical messenger is BOTH a neurotransmitter and a hormone?

norepinephrine

Rada is working as a teaching assistant this semester. She has been helping students prepare for the final by going over the structure of neurons. She tells the students that the neuron has the standard elements found in most human cells, including a(n) _____ containing DNA.

nucleus

Professor Fowler likes to take polls of the students in his large lecture halls. Yesterday, he asked his students to submit the content of their dreams from the previous night. He hasn't collated the information yet, but he can expect that his students' dreams were:

primarily about ordinary scenarios like sitting in class.

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter involved in:

producing muscle contractions, learning, and memory.

The process of _____ occurs when the sending neuron normally reabsorbs excess neurotransmitter molecules.

reputake

During the _____, the inside of the neuron naturally has a negative charge.

resting potential

In an experiment, hypnotized subjects are told to scratch their ear every time they hear the word psychology. The results indicate that they do this only if they think the experiment is still under way. These findings MOST clearly support the theory that hypnosis involves:

role playing

High levels of glutamate have been linked to:

schizophrenia.

The role of the endocrine system can BEST be summarized as the:

secretion of hormones into the bloodstream.

Which factor has been related to the presence of too little GABA?

seizures

sends the signals to the rest of the hypothalamus that regulate our 24-hour biological cycle.

sends the signals to the rest of the hypothalamus that regulate our 24-hour biological cycle.

What types of neurons receive information directly from the environment and convey this information to the brain for processing?

sensory neurons

Hannah is suffering from depression and has received a prescription for an antidepressant. It is likely that she needs more of the neurotransmitter known as:

serotonin.

Chuck has always been a chronic snorer, much to the dismay of his wife Elaine. For the past three months, he has been waking up in the middle of the night gasping for air. He MOST likely suffers from:

sleep apnea

If a neuron was compared with a prison, the _____ could be compared with the prisoners when the neuron is at the resting potential.

sodium ions

The relationship between the ions _____ and _____ in and around the axon is what activates polarization or depolarization of the neuron.

sodium; potassium

When someone turns the pages of a book, uses a pen to take notes, or lifts an arm, these actions are possible because of the:

somatic nervous system

A medical equipment company is thinking of expanding by developing lie detection machines, which measure perspiration, cardiovascular, and respiration changes. On which system should their research focus?

sympathetic nervous system

Five-year-old Theresa is Christmas shopping with her mother and siblings. She looks around and realizes her mother is nowhere to be found. Theresa's _____ nervous system activates the fight-or-flight response. Theresa's mother finally comes around the corner, and Theresa is filled with relief, the result of the activation of the _____ part of her nervous system.

sympathetic; parasympathetic

Information processing in the body involves neurons communicating with each other at their:

synapses.

weed is NOT a depressant

weed is NOT a depressant

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that:

travel across the synaptic gap and affect adjoining neurons.

Circadian rhythms can BEST be described as roughly:

24 hours long and involving cyclical daily fluctuations in biological and psychological processes.

Taylor is playing Trivial Pursuit with his friends one night and picks up the card asking, "How many neurons are in the human brain?" Given how hard Taylor has been studying for his upcoming psychology exam, he is quickly able to state the correct answer as:

90 billion

What is the role of the parasympathetic nervous system?

It calms the body to conserve and maintain energy.

At a party, Jenn and her friends try a new drug. Within a half hour they are feeling great, hugging each other, sweating, thirsty, and beginning to feel overheated. The drug they took is MOST likely:

MDMA

While under hypnosis, Salim is told that when he hears a bell he will bark like a dog. On coming out of the hypnotic trance, his friend rings a bell and begins to bark. This example illustrates:

posthypnotic suggestion.

Which cells are involved in forming the myelin sheath on brain cells?

oligodendrocytes

Louisa has a serious back injury and is concerned that the drug she is taking can cause her to become addicted. Louisa is MOST likely taking a(n):

opiate.

Dr. Robert Julien uses painkilling drugs for patients during surgery. Sometimes he will use _____, which include a large group of drugs that block pain.

opioids

The _____ regulates the level of sugar in the blood

pancreas

Mrs. Jones takes her seven-year-old son to the pediatrician because she is concerned that something is wrong with him, as he has been suffering from night terrors and occasionally walks in his sleep. Mrs. Jones' doctor assures her that her son is a normal child who is likely suffering from:

parasomnias

While hiking in the woods, Marcy encountered a rattlesnake. After the snake scurried away Marcy's heart rate slowed down and her blood pressure decreased and she stopped sweating. These calming physical reactions are MOST directly regulated by his:

parasympathetic nervous system.

Of the nervous systems listed, the _____ nervous system includes all the others.

peripheral

The pea-sized gland located just under the brain that is governed by the hypothalamus is called the:

pituitary gland.

Juan is eating dinner with his mother in a very noisy restaurant. Despite the boisterous conversations going on around him, Juan still can focus on his mother's words. This ability is referred to as:

the cock tail party effect

Which system calms the body to conserve and maintain energy?

the parasympathetic nervous system

During psychoanalysis, therapists look deeper than the actual storyline of the dream to uncover:

the unconscious.

Betty's metabolism has been irregular, and she has been moody, tired, and weak. There is likely an abnormality with her _____ gland.

thyroid