Psychology Modules 3, 4, and 5

Mathematical computations by a computer are faster than your quickest mathematical computations because the top speed of a neural impulse is about ________ times slower than the speed of electricity through the wired circuitry in a computer.

3 million

Which neurotransmitter plays the most direct role in learning and memory?

Acetylcholine.

Increasing excitatory signals above the threshold for neural activation will not affect the intensity of an action potential. This indicates that a neuron's reaction is

An all or none response.

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the surface of the brain is called a(n)

EEG

An undersupply of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter known as ________ is linked to seizures.

GABA

The best way to detect enlarged fluid-filled brain regions in some patients who have schizophrenia is to use a(n)

MRI

To detect Mr. Ziegler's loss of brain tissue from a degenerative disease, his physicians are most likely to request that he receive a(n)

MRI scan

The release of gamma waves from radioactive blood sugar in different regions of the brain is detected by a(n)

PET scan

To identify which of Lucy's brain areas was most active when she talked, neuroscientists gave her a temporarily radioactive form of glucose and a(n)

PET scan

After discovering that the shadows outside his window were only the trees in the yard, Ralph's blood pressure decreased and his heartbeat slowed. These physical reactions were most directly regulated by his

Parasympathetic nerve system.

The somatic nervous system is a component of the ________ nervous system.

Peripheral.

The occipital lobes are to ________ as the temporal lobes are to ________.

Seeing; hearing

Messages are transmitted from your spinal cord to muscles in your hands by the ________ nervous system.

Somatic

Aaron consistently exhibits a knee-jerk response without having any sensations of the taps on his knees. Aaron's experience is most indicative of

a severed spinal cord.

The depolarization of a neural membrane creates a(n)

action potential

A drug molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action is called a(n)

agonist

S. M. is a patient who has been called "the woman with no fear," even of being threatened with a gun. Her fearlessness is best attributed to damage to her

amygdala

To demonstrate that brain stimulation can make a rat violently aggressive, a neuroscientist should electrically stimulate the rat's

amygdala

Jacob's severe migraine headaches have led him to seek medical help. It is likely that his symptoms are most closely linked to an

an oversupply of glutamate.

After he suffered a stroke, Mr. Santore's physical coordination skills and responsiveness to sensory stimulation quickly returned to normal. Unfortunately, however, he could no longer figure out how to find his way around his neighborhood. It is most likely that Mr. Santore suffered damage to his

association areas

Neurotransmitters are released from knob-like terminals at the end of the

axon

The longest part of a motor neuron is likely to be the

axon

The study of the links between biology and behavior is called

biological psychology

If your ________ is destroyed, the left side of your brain could not control the movements of your right hand.

brainstem

The reticular formation is a nerve network that travels through the ________ into the thalamus.

brainstem

In a tragic diving accident, Andrew damaged his spinal cord. As a result, his legs were paralyzed. Andrew's injury was located in his

central nervous system

The ________ at the back of the brain enables nonverbal learning and skill memory.

cerebellum

Which baseball-sized structure at the rear of the brainstem serves many functions, including helping you to judge time and to discriminate sounds and textures?

cerebellum

About 85 percent of human brain weight comes from the

cerebrum

The benefits of brain plasticity are most clearly demonstrated in

children who have had a cerebral hemisphere surgically removed.

When the brain is unoccupied, an fMRI indicates that blood continues to flow via a web of brain regions called the

default network

The $40 million Human Connectome Project harnesses ________ technology to map neural connections across long distances within the brain.

diffusion spectrum imaging

Our pleasurable "chills" response to a favorite piece of music is facilitated by the release of the neurotransmitter

dopamine

Schizophrenia is most closely linked to an oversupply of the neurotransmitter

dopamine

The nervous system is the

electrochemical communication network that includes all the body's neurons.

Hormones are the chemical messengers of the

endocrine system.

Jason's intensely uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms following heroin use were probably due in part to a reduction in his body's normal production of

endorphins

Opiate drugs occupy the same receptor sites as

endorphins

Neurosurgeons have severed the corpus callosum in human patients in order to reduce

epileptic seizures

To identify which specific brain areas are most active during a particular mental task, researchers would be most likely to make use of a(n)

fMRI

Cecil Layton displayed increased impulsivity and lowered intelligence test performance following damage to his left ________ lobe in a sawmill accident.

frontal

The motor cortex is located in the ________ lobes.

frontal

Motor neurons transmit signals to

glands.

The neural center in the limbic system that processes explicit memories for storage is called the

hippocampus

James Olds and Peter Milner located reward centers in the brain structure known as the

hypothalamus

The brain structure that provides a major link between the nervous system and the endocrine system is the

hypothalamus

The release of epinephrine into the bloodstream is most likely to

increase blood sugar

An action potential involves the temporary ________ through an axon membrane.

inflow of positively charged ions

Neurons that function within the brain and spinal cord are called

interneurons

An action potential is generated by the movement of ________ through an axon membrane.

ions

Severing a cat's reticular formation from higher brain regions causes the cat to

lapse into a coma

A neural system at the border between the brainstem and the cerebral hemispheres is known as the

limbic system

Addictive disorders may stem from malfunctioning reward centers in the

limbic system

The amygdala consists of emotion-linked neural clusters in the

limbic system

Which of the following body parts is associated with the greatest amount of brain tissue in the somatosensory cortex?

lips

The part of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing is called the

medulla

A slap on the back is more painful than a pat on the back because a slap triggers

more neurons to fire, and to fire more often.

Applying mild electrical stimulation to parts of an animal's cortex, Gustav Fritsch and Edward Hitzig discovered what is now called the

motor cortex

In a clinical trial of brain-implanted microelectrodes, a paralyzed 25-year-old man constructed shapes on a computer screen by activating neurons in his

motor cortex

Information is carried from the central nervous system to the body's tissues by

motor neurons

Neurons are best described as

nerve cells that function as the building blocks of the nervous system.

Physical exercise, sleep, and exposure to nonstressful but stimulating environments are most likely to promote

neurogenesis

Dendrites are branching extensions of

neurons.

Endorphins are

neurotransmitters

A biological psychologist would be most interested in conducting research on the relationship between

neurotransmitters and depression

A limbic system reward center located in front of the hypothalamus is called the

nucleus accumbens

The master gland of the endocrine system is the

pituitary gland.

Although James lost some manual dexterity following brain damage from a stroke, the development of new neural pathways enabled him to regain most of his lost agility. This best illustrates the value of

plasticity

Among deaf people, a temporal lobe area normally dedicated to hearing may begin to process visual signals. This best illustrates the impact of

plasticity

After Kato's serious motorcycle accident, doctors detected damage to his cerebellum. Kato is most likely to have difficulty

playing his guitar

The part of the brainstem that helps to coordinate movements is called the

pons

With assistance from the ______, the cerebellum regulates ________.

pons; physical coordination and balance

Following depolarization, the sodium/potassium pump transports ________ ions ________ a neuron.

positively charged; out of

One function of glial cells is to

provide nutrients to neurons.

Magnetic resonance imaging uses magnetic fields and ________ to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue.

radio waves

Reuptake refers to the

reabsorption of excess neurotransmitter molecules by a sending neuron.

The function of dendrites is to

receive incoming signals from other neurons.

Those who survive a hippocampal brain tumor in childhood are likely to have difficulty ________ in adulthood.

remembering new information

Which region of your brainstem plays a role in arousing you to a state of alertness when, for example, you accidentally stumble over another person's misplaced pair of shoes?

reticular formation

During open-brain surgery, Adam's left ankle twitched whenever the surgeon electrically stimulated a specific area within Adam's

right frontal lobe

Sensory information is transmitted from the ________ visual field of ________ to the left cerebral hemisphere.

right; both the right and left eyes

You feel the pain of a sprained ankle when ________ relay(s) messages from your ankle to your central nervous system.

sensory neurons

Dendrite is to ________ as axon is to _________.

signal reception; signal transmission

The part of the central nervous system that carries information from your senses to your brain and motor-control information to your body parts is the

spinal cord

The parasympathetic nervous system

stimulates digestion and slows heartbeat.

Some researchers believe that a reward deficiency syndrome contributes to

substance use disorders

You come home one night to find a burglar in your house. Your heart starts racing and you begin to perspire. These physical reactions are triggered by the

sympathetic nervous system.

An accelerated heartbeat is to a slowed heartbeat as the ________ nervous system is to the ________ nervous system.

sympathetic; parasympathetic

The axon of a sending neuron is separated from the dendrite of a receiving neuron by a

synaptic gap

Auditory stimulation is processed in the ________ lobes.

temporal

The auditory hallucinations experienced by people with schizophrenia are most closely linked with the activation of areas in their

temporal lobes

Information from higher brain regions is transmitted to the medulla through the

thalamus

Jason lost his sense of taste because a tumor caused damage to a structure located on top of his brainstem. This structure is known as the

thalamus

Which brain structure receives information from all the senses except smell?

thalamus

An axon is

the extension of a neuron that carries messages away from the cell body.

The minimum level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse is called the

threshold

The somatosensory cortex is most critical for our sense of

touch

The corpus callosum is a wide band of axon fibers that

transmits information between the cerebral hemispheres.

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that

triggers muscle contractions

A picture of a dog is briefly flashed in the left visual field of a split-brain patient. At the same time a picture of a boy is flashed in the right visual field. In identifying what she saw, the patient would be most likely to

verbally report that she saw a boy.