psychology chapter 2
In the resting state, the voltage inside a cell is about ____ compared to the voltage outside.
-70 mV
Xavier is strongly left-handed. According to brain scan technology, what percentage of people like Xavier has language dominance in the right hemisphere?
27%
Yaj is strongly right-handed. According to brain scan technology, what percentage of people like Yaj has language dominance in the right hemisphere?
4%
Which statement about a homunculus is false?
A homunculus is part of the brain.
____ are a class of glial cells that restore the barrier between the brain and blood following injury.
Astrocytes
A man involved in a car accident suffered severe brain trauma. As he recovered, it became clear he was having difficulty producing speech, even though he could understand what people were saying to him. It is very likely he had suffered damage to the left frontal lobe in a part of the brain referred to as ____.
Broca's area
Leon is learning about the human nervous system. He had heard of neurons before, but was surprised to learn about another important type of cell. ____ serve as the "glue" of the nervous system, providing cohesion and support for neurons.
Glial cells
Which statement about the autonomic nervous system is false?
It controls the skeletal muscles that give rise to voluntary movement.
How does the myelin sheath speed the transmission of neural messages?
It insulates the axon, facilitating faster transmission of the impulse.
List three characteristics of the reflex arc.
It is an automatic response to a sensory stimulus; it involves simple pathway of communication from sensory neurons through interneurons in the spinal cord back out through motor neurons; while the spinal reflex occurs, sensory neurons also send messages to the brain, letting it know what happened.
State three facts about the hypothalamus.
It is involved in regulating sleep-wake cycles and appetite; it makes sure blood pressure, body temperature, and fluid balance remain within a healthy range; it is a part of the limbic system
Which statement best characterizes the corpus callosum?
It is the principal structure for information shared between the two hemispheres.
Which statement about the hypothalamus is false?
It maintains the structure of the nervous system and comes to the rescue if the brain is injured.
Which statement is not a characteristic of the reflex arc?
It overstimulates and damages the functioning of neurons in the brain's reward circuit.
State three things about the autonomic nervous system.
Its two divisions are the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems; processes under its control to be outside of one's awareness; it regulates involuntary activity, such as the expansion and contraction of blood vessels
A German doctor named ____ pinpointed a location in the left hemisphere that seemed to control speech comprehension.
Karl Wernicke
Which statement best characterizes the relative speed of transmission of messages through neural communication versus the endocrine system?
Neural impulses can arrive at their destination within fractions of a second, but hormones may take minutes to arrive.
State three facts about the homunculus.
Parts of the body shown smaller indicate areas of lesser motor control or sensitivity; the size of each body part reflects the amount of cortex allocated to it; parts of the body shown larger indicate areas of greater motor control or sensitivity
Meghan is taking an introductory psychology class. Today her instructor was discussing how a myelin sheath covers many axons. Meghan also found out that ____ are a type of glial cell that produce the myelin that envelops axons.
Schwann cells
Which statement about the brain is false?
The brain and the spinal cord are components of the peripheral nervous system
What important contribution did Gall and Flourens provide?
The idea that there might be areas of the brain that have particular functions.
Which statement about the control of language is true?
The left hemisphere controls language in most but not all people.
all-or-none
a neuron either fires or does not fire; action potentials are always the same strength
Xiu is listening intently to a podcast on neurons. He has a flash of insight when he realizes that the basis for all that humans think, feel, and do is the ____.
activation of neurons
Part of the endocrine system, the ____ are involved in responses to stress as well as the regulation of salt balance.
adrenal glands
Hackett is learning about neurotransmitters. Today in class his instructor was describing how nicotine increases the secretion of acetylcholine, sometimes leading to cause sweating, pupil constriction, and nausea. Nicotine increases the normal activity of acetylcholine, so it is considered an ____
agonist
Isa is home alone. The storm has hit the area hard, and the electricity is shut off. She knows it will be dark soon, and her house is going to get cold quickly. She knows she is in danger. What she doesn't realize is that the activity in her nervous system is increasing drastically, including the brain structure called the ____, orchestrating a whole-body response to the threat.
amygdala
The substances that reduce the activity or block the release of the neurotransmitter are called ____
antagonists
The ____ cortex receives information from the ears and allows us to "hear" sounds.
auditory
The ____ has two divisions involved in our physiological responses to stressful or crisis situations: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
autonomic nervous system
Aurelia is studying for her psychology exam, and she is imagining what the structures of the brain look like. In her mind eye, she can see the ____, which extends from the spinal cord to the forebrain.
brainstem
Lars is studying a model of the brain. He is looking at the structures of the limbic system, and can see that beneath them is the ____, which includes the midbrain, pons, and medulla.
brainstem
Maurie read that people who learned to play a musical instrument early in life generally score higher on language, auditory, and overall IQ tests than those without such training. However, Maurie knows these findings are based on correlational studies and that the only way to determine a ____ between music training and cognitive abilities is to use the experimental method.
cause-and-effect link
glial cells
cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons; produce myelin that covers axons
Elimisha was reading a case study about a woman who was struggling with certain fine distinctions, such as telling the difference between words that sound somewhat similar. Elimisha was reading about a woman with damage to her ____.
cerebellum
Raul is studying the chapter on brain and behavior. If he is trying to identify the structure that is the largest, he should look for a photo of the ____.
cerebrum
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers that neurons use to communicate at the synapse
Veronica loves to listen to classical music. She was not surprised to learn that enjoying the dynamic melodies of classical music stimulates the brain and may improve mood, which can provide temporary ____.
cognitive benefits
The ____ is the principal structure for information shared between the two hemispheres.
corpus callosum
Last night, Quin was studying for his psychology final. He was drawing pictures on some scratch paper to help him remember the parts of a neuron. His roommate came into the kitchen and asked him what tiny branchlike fibers were that were extending from the cell body. Quin told him they were ____.
dendrites
Professor Ozturk is describing neural communication to her class this afternoon. As she draws a diagram of a neuron on the board, she describes how the bushy ____ receive chemical messages from neighboring neurons.
dendrites
When neurotransmitters latch onto the receptors on the ____ of the receiving neuron, tiny gates in the receiving cell's membrane fly open, ushering positively charged particles into the cell and thus restarting the cycle of the action potential (if the threshold is met).
dendrites
Zawadi is trying to build a model of how neurons communicate. He knows that neural messages come in from surrounding neurons. The messages sent by neighboring neurons are received by the bushy ____, and then sent in the direction of the cell body.
dendrites
Professor Tran studies human behavior and how it is influenced by biology. His specific field of interest is the communication system that uses glands to convey messages. He studies the ____, which involves the release of hormones into the bloodstream.
endocrine system
Dr. Karadag has an activity that helps students understand how a neuron is instructed by its neighboring neurons. Some of the students hold up a sign that says "fire" which represents an ____ signal. Other students hold up a sign that says "don't fire" which represents an ____ signal.
excitatory; inhibitory
myelin sheath
fatty substance that insulates the axon and speeds the transmission of neural messages
Isao is learning about the history of psychology and the early techniques for studying the brain. He realizes that although there are more modern ways for exploring the activity of the brain, the work of Gall and Flourens contributed the idea that there might be areas of the brain that have particular ____.
functions
Yanet is reading about a study in which researchers removed the eye of newborn opossums to determine the impact on the brain. She is upset by the thought of this happening, but she can be assured that the researchers had to ____ before they could conduct the study.
get approval from an ethics board
Last night in class, Wyoming was learning about the verious types of cells that make up the human nervous system. She had heard of neurons before, but was unfamiliar with other cells her instructor was describing. For example, Wyoming had never heard of ____, even though they outnumber neurons in the human brain by approximately 50 to 1.
glial cells
Mia is trying to understand how the brain functions as a whole. She read that regardless of the type of information coming in or being processed, the ____ of the cerebrum are constantly integrating and sharing information.
hemispheres
Gracen learned something new yesterday in class. She had always thought that adults could not grow new brain cells. However, her instructor described research on the limbic system that has found that the ____ is one of the few places in the brain known to give birth to new neurons throughout life.
hippocampus
The ____ is involved in regulating sleep-wake cycles and appetite.
hypothalamus
Before class today, Warren was reading about the hemispheres of the brain. He learned that the tendency for the left and right hemispheres to excel in certain activities is called ____.
lateralization
Neurogenesis might be tied to ____.
learning and new memories
Dr. Martin is quizzing his students on the brain. He tells them that the brainstem includes the midbrain, pons, and medulla. He shows them a picture of the brain, and tells them the brainstem is located immediately beneath the structures of the ____.
limbic system
Riel had an emotionally draining experience with his mother at the hospital last month. He remembers what they said to each other, and a variety of other details of the experience. The area of Riel's brain called the ____ played an important role in his experiences of his basic emotions and the memories associated with them.
limbic system
Merces is looking at a figure in her psychology textbook that shows the cortex overlaying each hemisphere of the human brain. She notices that the cortex is separated into different sections. These sections of the cortex are called ____.
lobes
Cholena is discussing a structure of the brain with a classmate. She is trying to remember its name, but can only remember that is oversees vital functions, including breathing, digestion, and heart rate. Her classmate looks it up in the textbook and discovers she is describing the ____.
medulla
The ____ is a structure that oversees vital functions, including breathing, digestion, and heart rate.
medulla
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
Cadao has been studying psychology for several years now, and this semester he is taking an advanced psychology course that focuses on the brain and nervous system. As he is studying the brain, Cadao realizes that humans are capable of more complex thought and feelings because of the ever-adapting web of connections among ____.
nerve cells
Hali came to a realization yesterday as she was reading her psychology textbook. Although she adores her pets, she knows they will never be able to have the ability to think and feel in the vastly complex way humans do because they do not have the same ever-adapting web of connections among ____.
nerve cells
The ____ contains the brain, spinal cord, and other nerves and fibers.
nervous system
Sarah has just had an insight while studying for an exam in psychology. She realizes that the body has two main systems of communication, including one that is fast and another that is slow. The fast acting system is the ____ and the slower one is the ____.
nervous system; endocrine system
Dr. York is a research psychologist who studies the generation of new neurons in the brain. In other words, he studies ____.
neurogenesis
Dr. Martinez is a researcher who studies neuroscience. When people ask her what she does for a living, she explains that she studies ____, which are the specialized cells that communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals.
neurons
Okana has been enjoying his psychology class, because they are exploring neuroscience. The first thing his instructor discussed was ____, the building blocks of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
neurons
Research using a new type of optical imaging to study brain cells has found that shifting an electrode even slightly can activate an entirely different set of ____.
neurons
Dr. Jacobs has been a researcher studying the brain and nervous system for many years. He collaborates with computer scientists, engineers, and psychologists on a variety of topics. His field of study is called ____.
neuroscience
Darman was talking to his sister last night on the phone, when he heard a loud crashing sound in his basement. His initial reaction included an increase in his heart rate and breathing. But once he realized it was nothing to worry about, he started breathing normally and his heart rate decreased. His ____ was responsible for bringing his body back to no crisis mode.
parasympathetic nervous system
The ____ nervous system includes all the neurons that are not in the central nervous system (CNS).
peripheral
Quade is studying for an exam which will cover neurons and action potentials. He has drawn a diagram that shows the segments of an axon, and he has noted that every time a segment fires, the ____ flood in from the outside of the cell, while the prior segment returns to its resting potential.
positive sodium ions
Last semester, Isoke took an introductory psychology class. This semester she is taking a biological psychology class. Instructors for both of these classes noted that the four major goals of psychology are to describe, explain, ____, and control behavior.
predict
One of the norepinephrine's most important functions is to help ____
prepare the body for stressful situations
The structures located deep in the brain are responsible for ____.
primitive functions
reuptake
process by which neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the sending terminal bud
Yesterday, Ricky was studying the human nervous system. He realized that without the peripheral nervous system, the brain would have no means of communicating with the ____ just like an uninhabited island in the middle of an ocean.
rest of the body
Timothy just finished watching a short video on neurotransmitters. He learned that neurotransmitters can be reabsorbed by the sending terminal bud. He imagines this ____ process to be similar to uneaten food being pulled back into the refrigerator for later use.
reuptake
Dr. Zaytsev is reading about research that used two split-brain patients. If he were to ask participants to determine whether two objects are identical as opposed to mirror images of one another, they would likely be using their ____ to make this determination.
right hemisphere
Trip is reading about research using two split-brain patients. The findings of this study suggest that Trip's ____ is more proficient in some visual tasks, such as recognizing faces, than his left hemisphere.
right hemisphere
axon
skinny tube-like structure of a neuron that extends from the cell body, and which sends messages to other neurons
Professor O'Brien is giving a lecture on the history of psychology. He is describing a German doctor named Karl Wernicke, who pinpointed a location in the left hemisphere that seemed to control ____.
speech comprehension
On rare occasions, medication does not work for people with severe seizures. In those cases, doctors might suggest a procedure known as a ____, which disconnects the right and left hemispheres.
split-brain operation
Denica is learning about neurogenesis. She learned today that ____, which are responsible for producing new neurons, can be found in human embryos as well as in tissues such as the brain and bone marrow of adults.
stem cells
Libby is reading about language comprehension and the processing of auditory stimuli. She learns how studies of primitive vocalizations support the notion that the ability to recognize language has evolved over time and is processed within the ____.
temporal lobes
Tamon is studying about neurons today, because he knows they will be discussing them in class tomorrow. He knows that the best way for him to remember the parts of the axon is to create a diagram. Tamon draws a picture of an axon, which looks like a tube-like structure extending from a cell body.At the end of the axon are branches that end with the ____.
terminal buds
This morning, Dr. Toth held a lab meeting for his research assistants. They were trying to build a model of how neurons communicate, and Dr. Toth reminded them that the neural messages are essentially sent down a one-way street. The messages sent by the axon go from the cell body to the ____.
terminal buds
biological psychology
the branch of psychology that focuses on how the brain and other biological system influence human behavior
neurons
the building blocks of the nervous system that transmit electrical and chemical signals in the body
resting potential
the electrical potential of a cell "at rest"; the state of a cell when it is not activated
receptor sites
the location where neurotransmitters attach on the receiving side of the synaptic gap
cell body
the region of the neuron that includes a nucleus containing DNA, protein-producing mechanisms, and other structures that nourish the cell
action potential
the spike in electrical energy that passes through the axon of a neuron, the purpose of which is to convey information
neuroscience
the study of the brain and nervous system
synapse
the tiny gap between a terminal bud of one axon and a neighboring dendrite of the next neuron; junction between neurons where communication occurs
Prah is explaining to a fellow student how an action potential gets started. He says that for an excitatory signal to occur, there has to be more excitatory than inhibitory signals, and the difference in charge between the two has to meet the ____ of -55 mV.
threshold potential
dendrites
tiny, branchlike fibers extending from the cell body that receive messages from other neurons and send information in the direction of the cell body
Stem cells repair ____ that has been damaged or destroyed.
tissue
Professor Silva studies that human brain, She is particularly interested in exploring the bundle of nerve fibers that link the ____, allowing the left and right sides of the brain to communicate and work together to process information.
two hemispheres
Jorgelina is reading about Albert Einstein. Researchers have reported that Einstein's brain did not weigh more than the average brain. However, Jorgelina learns that a region of his brain believed to be important for ____ information processing was 15% larger than those of the control group. She can see how this type of processing could be linked to mathematical thinking.
visual-spatial
