PSYC Chapter 2

Alex's elderly father has been having problems with memory and speech, and Alex suspects he may have Alzheimer's disease. This diagnosis is later confirmed by his father's doctor, who explains to Alex that Alzheimer's has been linked to degradation of the brain cells that produce and respond to ___________.

acetylcholine

A chromosome is to a necklace cord like the genes are to the _____________.

beads

Why do left hemisphere strokes typically lead to aphasias?

because language is primarily controlled by the left cerebral hemisphere

Why do people from different cultures develop different neural networks?

because people from different cultures often have very different experiences

Suppose we assume that brown eyes are dominant, and blue eyes are recessive. If a child inherits the blue-eye gene from one parent and the brown-eye gene from the other. What color eyes will the child have?

brown

Natural selection is a concept from:

evolutionary psychology

Dr. Skalski wants to study the effects of drugs and toxins on single neurons. She researches what types of recording techniques have been utilized to study the functions of single neurons and finds she would be best served by using ____________.

microelectrode technique

Eva has been unable to sleep lately, and she notices that her attention span has decreased significantly. She has also noticed that she seems to become overstimulated and overexcited in certain situations. After explaining these symptoms to her primary care physician., he suggests she might be suffering from an ________.

overactive thyroid gland

If a person's cerebellum were damaged, it would most likely lead to __________.

problems in movement

Francesca is studying behavior genetics with mice that have been bred to be genetically similar to each other. This type of research is called a _____________ study.

strain

Glutamate enhances learning and memory by _________.

strengthening synaptic connections between neurons

The area comprising one neuron's axon terminal, the synaptic space, and the dendrite or cell body of the next neuron is called the:

synapse

The ________ is the tiny gap between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of the next neuro.

synaptic cleft

Behavioral genetics focuses on which of the following?

the extent to which heredity accounts for individual differences in behavior and thinking

Juanita walks out to the garage to get something out of her car. Suddenly a possum scurries out from behind an old carpet, and Juanita tenses, screams, and jumps back. Her heart is racing, and she is breathing rapidly. Once the possum scurries away and Juanita realizes she isn't in danger, her heart begins to slow, and her breathing begins to return to normal. This calming effect is promoted by which of the following?

the parasympathetic division

Which branch of the autonomic nervous system prepares the body for quick action in an emergency?

the sympathetic division

Which of the following is true about dendrites?

they pick up incoming messages and transmit them to the cell body

The ___________ is the level an impulse must exceed to cause a neuron to fire.

threshold of excitation

What of the following illustrates resting potential in a neuron?

Neuron "A" has a slightly higher concentration of negative ions inside than there are outside of it

What makes neurons different from other cells?

They have dendrites and axons