PY 101 Chp 2

Which person would most likely have a more dominant left brain?

A debate team captain

Which of these scenarios is consistent with the idea of epigenetics?

A person is exposed to a toxin, and the effects of that toxin are still present generations later.

Deonte blinks as his sister throws a stuffed animal at his face. Then he laughs as she tickles him. Which statement best describes Deonte's responses?

A reflex action by the central nervous system, followed by a voluntary reaction from the peripheral nervous system

For two months, a 68-year-old man has been suffering from violent episodes during sleep. He regularly kicks or punches his spouse, screams, thrashes his arms, or falls out of bed. He reports terrifying nightmares of being attacked. Which of the following could cause such behavior?

A tumor or stroke in the pons

Larry was involved in a car accident that spun his vehicle around several times. Doctors want to examine him for possible damage to the brain. Which test would they most likely use?

CT scan

Which of the following best illustrates an epigeneticist at work?

Dr. Oliver is studying how high-fat diets influence development of intelligence.

David has a stroke in the middle of the night and wakes up unable to move his right arm and leg. Which other symptom would he most likely have?

Garbled, incoherent speech

With which statement would Charles Darwin and an evolutionary psychologist most likely agree?

Genetics provides a basis for how organisms act and live their lives.

Which might a person with a malfunctioning pituitary gland experience?

Growth problems or low sex drive

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive form of dementia, characterized by loss of memory and other mental functions. Based on what you know, which is probably the first area of the brain to atrophy in in Alzheimer's patients?

Hippocampus

A research scientist wants to determine if a mental illness has a genetic component. Which would be the best subjects for the experiment?

Identical twins raised in different states

Which is a key difference between PET scans and MRIs?

PET scans look at activity, while MRIs look at structure.

An evolutionary psychologist is studying the DNA related to alcoholism. Which statement is most in line with his theoretical background?

People with these genes choose whether or not to drink.

You are cooking breakfast when your hand touches the hot stove. Which of these carries that information to the brain?

Sensory neuron

When Jenny was a child, a white dog bit her. As an adult, she feels a deep sense of fear when she sees a white dog, regardless of whether or not it seems friendly. This response arises in part from the

amygdala.

A bird flies off in fear at the sight of a snakelike garden hose. This is an example of

an action shaped by evolution.

A researcher covers one eye of a cat and teaches it to identify two different shapes. The researcher than covers the other eye and tests the cat to see if it remembers the two shapes. The cat does not remember the shapes. It is likely that the _____ of the cat is damaged.

corpus callosum

Ron wakes up early, gets out of bed, and shivers as he steps under the cold shower. He smiles as he thinks about his date with Jesse, but when he remembers his psychology test, he feels his heart pounding. Which action is a function of the endocrine system?

feeling his heart pounding

Adults often accuse teenagers of making impulsive choices. However, these behaviors can stem from the fact that the teen's brain does not have completely developed _______ lobes.

frontal

Matthew Harris of the Max Planck Institute in Germany has been able to make chicken embryos grow teeth, much like their dinosaur ancestors. This illustrates that

gene expression can be altered.

Andy's father has sensation in his legs but has difficulty walking. This problem is most likely caused by damaged

motor neurons.

Miguel spends a lot of time playing real-time strategy video games; John spends a lot of time watching television. As they get older, John's fine motor control declines markedly, while Miguel's stays excellent. This is an example of

neural plasticity.

Carla is 5'4", 140 pounds, and has curly black hair, brown eyes, and a quick wit. This description is an example of a

phenotype.

A doctor prescribes her 11-year-old patient Ritalin to help him with his attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is treated by increasing the availability of norepinephrine and dopamine. Based on what you know, Ritalin most likely works by interfering with the ________ process.

reuptake

After a serious car accident, Mark finds he cannot understand what others are saying. He knows they are speaking, but the words make no sense to him. Mark has most likely experienced damage to his ________ lobes.

temporal

What is a key difference between the brain stem and its neural neighbors, the limbic system and cerebral cortex?

The brain stem works subconsciously, while the functions of the other structures are more apparent.

When a rabbit is startled, its sympathetic nervous system is activated, allowing it to flee quickly. Which of the following supports and helps continue this heightened state of alert?

The endocrine system

A scientist has two groups of fruit fly eggs with the same DNA sequence. Group A is incubated at a consistent temperature. The temperature for the eggs in Group B is briefly raised by 8 degrees Celsius. Group A hatches with normal white eyes, whereas Group B has red eyes. Which concept does the experiment support?

The flexibility of the epigenome

Which areas of the cerebral cortex work together to process sounds?

The left parietal lobe and the temporal lobe

Which of these statements accurately compares the central and peripheral nervous systems?

The peripheral nervous system carries out tasks, whereas the central nervous system gives orders to be carried out.