Psych 401: Exam 2

what is a "free running rhythm"?

The activity cycle generated by a biological clock that is not reset

when do the secretions of melatonin begin

a couple of hours before a person naturally falls asleep

the kidneys release the hormone renin in response to?

a decrease in blood volume

Axons release ____ at junctions with skeletal muscles.

acetylcholine

what is a dermatome?

an area of the skin innervated by a given spinal nerve

in an animal eats a new food and shortly thereafter becomes ill, it will probably avoid the food subsequently because the:

animal acquires a conditioned taste aversion

the receptors for taste are like skin cells in that they:

are continuously being replaced

poikilothermic organisms have body temperatures which:

are the same as the temperatures of their environments.

What is the shape of the receptive field to which a simple cell in the primary visual cortex responds?

bar (line) in a particular orientation

the structure composed of the caudate nucleus, putamen, and the globus pallidus is the:

basal ganglia

which structure is likely to be damaged in Parkinson's disease Huntington's disease, and other conditions that impair movement?

basal ganglia

the name of the point at which the optic nerve leaves the retina is called the:

blind spot

each spinal nerve has:

both a sensory and a motor component

Chronically high insulin levels lead to increased appetite by ____.

causing a high percentage of available glucose to be stored as fat.

One way by which food in the duodenum inhibits appetite is by

causing the release of CCK

the dorsolateral tract has descending motor fibers that are mostly:

contralateral

according to research on visual development in animals, what is probably the best way to treat amblyopia?

cover the strong eye for a period of time early in life

the function of the semicircular canals is to:

detect movement of the head

to what kind of stimulation does a Pacinian corpuscle respond?

displacement of the skin

the reason why a dopamine pill is ineffective for treating parkinson's disease is that:

dopamine does not cross the blood-brain barrier

a "zeitgeber" is a(n):

environmental cue that resets a biological clock

The ventricles, central canal, and subarachnoid space are all:

filled with cerebrospinal fluid

the ______ of a sound is the number of compressions per second.

frequency

pereception of a low tone/frequency is to _______ as perception of a high tone/frequency is to _______.

frequency theory; place theory

the optic nerve is composed of axons from which kind of cell?

ganglion cells

an EPSP is a(n):

graded depolarization

what is the name of the receptor cells of the auditory system?

hair cells

what evidence do we have that the preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus controls the body temperature?

heating or cooling the preoptic area leads to sweating or shivering

in the vertebrate retina, which cells are responsible for lateral inhibition?

horizontal cells

a loss of blood will lead to what kind of thirst?

hypovolemic

what is the result of electrical stimulation to the reticular formation

increased alertness

which of the following would most likely have the highest total amount of REM sleep?

infant human

the rooting reflex and the Babinski reflex are characteristic of which group?

infants, but not normal adults

enkephalins and endorphins:

interact with the same receptors as morphine

a receptor can directly open a channel exerting a(n) ____effect or it can produce slower but longer _____ effects.

ionotropic ; metabotropic

which of the following is true for nerve deafness?

it can result from damage to the cochlea

what is the relationship of genetics to Huntington's disease?

it is caused by a dominant gene on chromosome 4

An animal refuses food and loses weight after damage to the:

lateral hypothalamus

If you wanted to see a faint star at night, you should:

look slightly to one side.

after damage to the vestibular system, what would someone have trouble doing?

maintaining balance

a human's body temperature over the course of 24 hours is usually highest:

mid to late afternoon

what is the best way to objectively determine if someone is asleep?

monitor brain waves

when disorder involves difficulty falling asleep?

onset insomnia

After you stare at a bright green object for a minute and look away, you see red. Which theory attempts to explain this finding?

opponent-process theory

what area of the brain is largely responsible for detecting osmotic pressure?

organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT)

somatosensory information travels from the thalamus to which area of the cortex?

parietal lobe

Many women living in a college dormitory will gradually begin to synchronize their menstrual cycles. The research indicates that this is, at least in part, based on ____.​

pheromones

which of the following are presented in the correct order when describing some of the structures that sound waves travel through as they pass from the outer ear to the inner ear?

pinna, tympanic membrane, oval window, cochlea

vesicles are located:

presynaptic terminals

According to the trichromatic theory of color vision, the most important factor in determining the color we see is the:

relative activity of a single cone

After hurting your elbow in a biking accident, the gate-control theory of pain suggests that to reduce the pain, you could:

rub it gently

which of the following is probably the most important mechanism for encoding a meal?

sensations from the stomach

one of the possible causes of sudden infant death syndrome is:

sleep apnea

what kind of receptors detect pain, warmth, and cold?

somatosensory

In humans, myelination first occurs in the:

spinal cord

sleep spindles and K complexes are only seen during :

stage 2 sleep

what is also known as slow-wave sleep?

stages 3 and 4

what neurotransmitter is released by axons that carry pain information to the brain?

substance P

the surest way to disrupt a biological clock is to damage the:

superchiasmatic nucleus

what is one of the contradictions in "paradoxical sleep"

the brain is very active, while many if the muscles are deeply relaxed.

Over the course of a normal night's sleep, how does the sleep cycle change?

the duration of stage 4 decreases and REM sleep increases

myasthenia gravis is caused by:

the immune system attacking acetylcholine receptors.

Light from the right half of the world strikes what part of the retina?

the left half

why does the level of glucose in the blood vary so little under normal circumstances?

the liver can convert stored nutrients into glucose

rods are to ______ as cones are to _______.

the periphery, the fovea

Where does the optic nerve first send most of its information?

to the lateral geniculate nucleus

decreased response to a drug's effects after repeated administration is best explained by:

tolerance

At the level of rods and cones the _______ theory seems to fit the best, while at the level of the bipolar cells the ______ theory seems to fit the best.

trichromatic theory; opponent process theory

anorexia nervosa is to ____ as bulimia nervosa is to _____.

under-eating; binge eating

what is the hormone released by the posterior pituitary that causes your kidneys to reabsorb and conserve water?

vasopressin (ADH)