Psych 314

Louis seems to be particularly responsive to situations that people find frightening. He is easily startled and when frightened tends to be very frightened. What area of his brain is most likely to be involved in these fear responses?

Amygdala

Which structure conveys an impulse toward other neurons, an organ, or a muscle?

An axon

What structure(s) is/are implicated in movement disorders like Parkinson's and Huntington's?

Basal ganglia

Frederick is interested in using his diet to elevate his mood. He knows that dietary tryptophan is necessary for the synthesis of serotonin, which will, in turn, help his mood. What is the BEST way for him to increase the amount of tryptophan available to his brain?

Decrease consumption of phenylalanine-containing foods

Which method best allows researchers to examine brain anatomy?

EEG

Mr. Garcia has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. What type of cells, that form the lining of blood vessels, will shrink, thereby allowing harmful chemicals to enter his brain?

Endothelial

Which lobe contains the primary motor cortex?

Frontal

The cerebral cortex is organized in six layers of cell bodies, parallel to the surface of the cortex, called ____.

Laminae

____ is thought to help control appetite by decreasing it.

Leptin

Which type of neurons lack axons?

Local

Which researcher is credited with demonstrating the existence of chemical synapses?

Loewi

What recording technique uses faint magnetic fields to measure activity in the brain?

MEG

Which structure controls vital reflexes, including breathing, heart rate, vomiting, salivation, coughing, and sneezing?

Medulla

Which type of effect is particularly important for sensations like taste and long-lasting aspects of arousal and motivation?

Metabotropic

Which cell structure performs the activities that provide cells with energy?

Mitochondrion

Which neurotransmitter is a gas that is released by local neurons and has the effect of dilating nearby blood vessels and thus increasing blood flow to the brain?

Nitric oxide

Dot is a cat with a huge brown spot on her dorsal side. The rest of her fur is white. Where is the spot located?

On dot's back

Dr. Kerr studies the functions of a specific type of neuron by exciting or inhibiting those neurons using light. What method is Dr. Kerr using?

Optogenetics

Which system consists of the cranial nerves and nerves from the sacral spinal cord?

Parasympathetic

Dr. Chiarella is interested in how the brain responds to touch and pressure sensations. Which lobe will Dr. Chiarella study?

Parietal

Nicola just burned her finger on a hot pan. What is the circuit from sensory neurons to muscle response called that transmitted the message that she should remove her finger from the pan?

Reflex arc

Which cell structure synthesizes the substances used for building materials by the cell?

Ribosomes

Which type of glial cell builds myelin sheaths in the periphery of the body

Schwann Cells

Why is it that, once the sodium-potassium pump moves sodium outside the membrane, the sodium does not leak back in?

Selective permeability prevents it.

Consider a wiring arrangement of neurons in which the two neurons (A and B) stimulate a third neuron (X). Neither neuron A nor B can stimulate neuron X on its own, but, in combination, they can excite neuron X. This demonstrates ____.

Spatial Summation

What term describes periodic production of action potentials, even without synaptic input?

Spontaneous firing

Which class of drugs decreases reuptake and prolongs the effects of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine?

Stimulants

Moira was walking home along at night when a loud noise frightened her. Which system prepared Moira for "fight or flight"?

Sympathetic

Which lobe contributes to visual processing related to perception of movement and recognition of faces?

Temporal

What term is used for the cumulative effect of repeated stimulation over a brief period?

Temporal summation

When a neuron is resting, there is more sodium outside it than inside it and more potassium inside it than outside it. What is this phenomenon called?

The concentration gradient

What procedure enables researchers to use a magnet to temporarily inactivate an area of the brain in order to better understand the relationship between that area of the brain and behavior?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Sherrington inferred the presence of a gap between neurons based on ____.

a slower-than-predicted speed of conduction

Epinephrine and norepinephrine are produced in the ____.

adrenal medulla

Nearly all neurotransmitters are synthesized from _____,

amino acids

Which type of glial cells both take up and re-release the ions and transmitters released by axons?

astrocytes

Neuropeptides are characterized by ____.

being released mostly from dendrites

The question of how various brain areas combine to produce integrated behavior and experience is referred to as the ____.

binding problem

Cerebrospinal fluid is produced by the ____.

choroid plexus

A motor neuron receives excitation through its ____.

dendrites

Lawrence says he really enjoys smoking and thinks he may even be addicted to cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes feels rewarding in part because it triggers the release of ____.

dopamine

Bursts of neurotransmitters are released from the presynaptic neuron in _____.

exocytosis

Clusters of cell bodies like the clusters of sensory neurons outside the spinal cord are called ____.

ganglia

The brain's primary source of energy is ____.

glucose

Which substance is moved across the blood-brain barrier via active transport?

glucose

Most of the brain's excitatory ionotropic synapses use the neurotransmitter ____.

glutamate

The temporary hyperpolarization of a membrane is a(n) ____.

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

Gordon is having trouble sleeping and decides to take a supplement containing a hormone that is manufactured in the pineal. What is he most likely taking?

melatonin

Research using contemporary imaging methods have shown that people with a larger amygdala tend to have ____.

more social contacts

In his studies of infant brains, Santiago Ramón y Cajal demonstrated that ____.

nerve cells are separate, not merged into each other

The primary visual cortex is located in the ____ .

occipital lobe

Transmission of the action potential down an axon is called ____.

propagation

The slightly negative electrical potential of the inside of a resting neuron relative to the outside is called the _____.

resting potential

The jumping of action potentials from node to node is referred to as ____.

saltatory conduction

Many hallucinogenic drugs are chemically similar to ____.

serotonin

What happens at the peak of the action potential?

sodium channels close

Which structure is very important for vision?

superior colliculus

According to the all-or-none law, provided the threshold is reached, the amplitude and velocity of an action potential are independent of _____.

the intensity of the initiating stimulus

The permeability of the proteins that allow sodium and potassium to cross a neuron's membrane depends on the ____.

voltage difference across the membrane