Chapter 2

The brain structure called the ___ is involved in balance and coordination.

cerebellum

Neurons have a cell body, or soma; dendrites, which receive "messages"; and a(n) _________, which extends from the cell body and transmits messages.

axon

Stereotypical behavior patterns that have evolved within a species is called ___

Instincts

A neuron can fire up to a limit of about __________ times per second.

400

If someone steps on your toes, resulting in pain and the movement of your foot, which of the following describes this process?

Afferent neurons transmit the sensation of pain to the spinal cord and to the brain followed by efferent neurons sending the message to your foot to move

The ___ nervous system regulates the glands and involuntary activities such as heartbeat and digestion.

Autonomic

dizygotic twins

Develop when two ova are fertilized

"Messages" travel within neurons by means of ___ and from neuron to neuron by means of ___

Electricity, neurotransmitters

___ are the most basic building blocks of heredity.

Genes

Wernicke's aphasia causes

Impairment of one's ability to comprehend speech and to think of the proper words to express his or her own thoughts

The behavior of ____ twins is of special interest of psychologists because their genetic endowment is the same.

Monozygotic (Identical)

It is the theorized that people with the psychological disorder called ___ apparently overutilize the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Schizophrenia

An axon's length can range from a few millimeters to

Several feet

An editor gets so upset that she is late in working on a manuscript that she throws up her lunch. This probably occurred because of activity in the

Sympathetic division of her autonomic nervous system

Ellen loses weight and becomes somewhat agitated. Her doctor is most likely to theorize that she is suffering from a deficiency of

Thyroxin

When Charlotte hears something embarrassing, she blushes. Being a student of psychology, she knows that this condition is controlled by the

autonomic nervous system

People with ___ syndrome have an extra chromosome on the 21st pair.

down

The concept of a struggle for ___ lies at the core of the theory of evolution.

existence

The axons of many neurons have a fatty insulating sheath called ___

myelin

Neurons transmit messages to other neurons by means of chemical substances called ___

neurotransmitters