Unit 2 Review – The Biological Basis of Human Behaviour
_______________ - Individual cells that receive, integrate, and transmit information
Which end of the neuron is the “receiving end”? _______________________
_______________ – specialized structured capable of turning stimuli in the environment into
electrical impulses in the body.
_________________ nerves run from the body to the brain
_________________ nerves run from the brain to the body
4 basic neuron types:
_______________________ (interneuron)
_______________________ (sensory)
_______________________ (motorneuron)
_______________________ (cerebral)
The simplest type of neural pathway is the ___________________ reflex - the sensory neuron
passes the signal directly to the motor neuron.
____________________ – the minimum strength stimuli required to trigger an impulse in a neuron.
•
____________________ neurons carry signals from the outer parts of your body
(periphery) into the central nervous system.
•
____________________ neurons (motoneurons) carry signals from the central nervous
system to the outer parts (muscles, skin, glands) of your body.
•
____________________ connect various neurons within the brain and spinal cord.
•
Threshold – the minimum intensity required to trigger a chain reaction in a neuron. (55
millivolts in mammals)
Neuron Functioning
The signal that travels the length of the neuron is actually a change in the _______________
of the outside of the axon.
The resting charge on the cell is _______ millivolts. This charge is created by a membrane
around the cell that keeps positively charged __________ ions (Na+) on the outside of the cell
and negatively charged ________________ ions (K-) in the inside. Once the threshold is
achieved in the cell body, the protein “________” of the axon open and Na+ ions rush in. For
___ millisecond, the outside of the axon body becomes ____ and the interior becomes _____.
The polarity of the axon body is ___________ as the threshold is achieved.
The gates quickly ___________ and ______+ ions slowly leak out and the cell begins to
actively pump ______+ ions back out. This returns the cell to it’s resting state. The
____________________ of the cell produces electric currents that stimulate the
___________________ value in neighboring regions as the impulse travels down the axon.
_____________________ Law – the stimulus does not provide the energy of the for the
nervous impulse.
This means that a stronger sensation is caused by
a_____________________________________, not a___________________________.
Synaptic Transmission
1920 – ____________________ proved the existence of chemical substances that communicated
between body structures by stimulating a _______________ in a jar of water and then pouring that
water over another jar and observing the effect. The second ___________________ reacted to the
fluid by ____________________ ______________________________________________. Proving that
transmission from one neuron to the next involved some kind of chemical.
_____________________ – the gap between the axon terminals of one neuron and the dendrites of
the receiving neuron.
_________________________________ – tiny sacs of neurotransmitter that erupt into the synapse
when a signal is triggered.
_______________________________ - chemical substance that is released at the terminal end of
the neuron that travel across the synapse and have an excitory or inhibitory effect on the adjacent
neuron.
As each neurotransmitter crosses the synapse, it lands on specialized
_________________________________ on the ________________________ of the next neuron.
The receptors then lower the ______________________________ of the neuron.
As each neurotransmitter reaches a receptor, the _________________________ is lowered more
and more until the ______________________ is reached and an ________________________ is
triggered.
__________ and ________ model – each neurotransmitter is paired with a specific receptor cell and
will not react to another.
Excess transmitter in the synapse is gathered and reabsorbed in a process known as
________________________.
Neurotransmitters and their Function
List four neurotransmitters and
Function
explain their function
___________________________
Yeah, Dopamine
___________________________
GABA
List five kinds of drugs and explain
how they work
MAOIs
_________________________
_________________________
Curare
___________________________
Function
Hormones
_________________________ – the optimal state of the body maintained by the endocrine system
Link the hormone to the gland to the role
Hormone
Gland
Testosterone
______________
_________________
Ovaries
Cortical steroids
______________
Adrenaline
______________
Oxytocin
______________
______________
Thyroid
Progesterone
______________
Purpose
Brain structures and localization
Central Nervous System – comprised of the _______________________ and ___________________
the role of the CNS is to _____________________________ __________________________.
Peripheral Nervous System – its role is to _______________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
2 Functions of the PNS:
____________________ division – controls the skeletal system and transmissions from the sense
organs
____________________ division – serves to control basic life processes.
2 structures attached to the brain stem:


3 portions of the brain:



Hindbrain is comprised of the:
_________________ - heartbeat, circulation, respiration…
_________________– balance and muscular coordination
Midbrain is comprised of the:
________________________ – activates other parts of the brain and regulates ____________.
Forebrain is comprised of the:
Thalamus –________________________________________________________________
Hypothalamus – ____________________________________________________________
Cerebral cortex –____________________________________________________________
which is divided into four lobes – _______________,_______________,_________________, and
______________________.
Limbic system – in charge of ________________________ and _________________
Cortex divided into 2 zones:
___________________ areas – receives signals from sensory organs and transmit signals to the
muscles
___________________ areas – remaining 2/3rds of the cortex – higher mental functions; speech,
memory, thinking, and planning
Motor ________________ – a schema of the body represented on the cortex
Sensory _________________ – a schema of the body as it is represented on the cortex for sensory
attention.
Visual cortex, auditory cortex, and association areas can be discovered by _________________,
_________, _________, and _________ scans.
Brain disorders – define each term:
Aphasia:_____________________________________________________________________
Apraxias:_____________________________________________________________________
Agnosia: _____________________________________________________________________
Split-Brain functioning:__________________________________________________________
Unilateral neglect:______________________________________________________________
The association areas of the cerebral cortex can be mapped through all of the following processes
EXCEPT...
a) PET scans
b) Lesioning
c) CAT scans
d) Drug therapy
Jane has suffered a stroke that has damaged her motor projection region of her temporal lobe, which of
the following symptoms would you expect her to have?
a) Difficulty breathing normally
b) Trouble remembering names
c) Inability to organize objects in her environment spatially
d) A limp
What part of the brain does a teenager presumably lack according to Yerglin and Todd which causes them to lack
good judgements of future consequence?
a)
b)
c)
d)
visual cortex
limbic system
hippocampus
prefrontal cortex
After his car accident, Fred can no longer form words, or comprehend language. He most likely has:
a) Aphasia
b) Apraxias
c) Agnosia
d) Unilateral neglect
Stanley has recently had a large portion of his brain removed due to a tumour, now when his family brings
flowers to his bedside, he says “Thank you for these colourful, multifolded, satiny objects with long green
projections sticking out from their bottoms!” Stanley’s strange response can be most likely attributed to:
a) Aphasia
b) Apraxias
c) Agnosia
d) Unilateral neglect
What is one weakness of Computed Tomography images (CT scans)
a) it does not show enough detail to see tumors or lesions
b) it is dangerous to inject things like radioactive dyes
c) it cannot show structural changes in the brain
d) it does not show brain activity
Analyze the following image.
What kind of imaging technology is presented above?
a) fMRI
b) MRI
c) Electroencephalogram
d) PET scan
If you had metal implants or a pacemaker, which of the following medical scans could be damaging to you?
a) fMRI
b) EEG
c) PET
d) none of the above, they are all safe
Genetic Psychology
Analyze the following data chart carefully
Rate of concordance of
schizophrenia
Monozygotic male
0.35
Monozygotic female
0.36
Dizygotic male
0.05
Dizygotic female
0.06
According to the above chart…
a) there is a strong indication that schizophrenia is a result of environmental factors
b) there is a strong indication that schizophrenia is a result of genetic factors
c) there is a strong indication that schizophrenia is acquired (you catch it) rather than innate
(you’re born with it)
d) nothing conclusive was found with the data
According to the above chart…
a) girls get schizophrenia more often than males
b) boys get schizophrenia more often than girls
c) there is no significant difference between boys and girls when it comes to schizophrenia
d) schizophrenia is acquired from the mother’s side of the family
Evolutionary Psychology
If we accept that behaviours can be linked in some way to ____________________________
Then…..
Based on the principles of _______________ __________________________ it follows that behaviours
that are ____________________________ would cause a greater chance of passing on _______________
to the next generation whereas behaviours that are ________________________ would not.
According to Lu, Chang et al. 2012, if a man approaches a woman and asks her to dance while staring at
her hips…
a) he’s interested in a long term relationship in which he will invest heavily in any potential
offspring
b) he’s interested in dancing
c) he’s only after one thing (wink wink) and when he gets it he’s OUT like bellbottoms!
d) he’s interested in your friend, not you
According to Fussell and Stollery (2012), when a man gets cheated on, he will only dump his partner if they
actually had sex with someone else, on the other hand – a woman who gets cheated on will…
a) dump the guy whether sex occurred or not
b) stay with the guy because she is interested in his long term investment in her offspring
c) find someone else to cheat on with in revenge to increase the variety of her potential mates
d) neglect her own offspring because she doubts its true origins
Possible long answer questions…
How do biological conditions influence our behavior?
Give at least three ways and cite specific examples
Should schools bring back corporal punishment?
Choose a side in this debate and defend your position using the information we have learned in
this unit.
Can we help who we are and how we behave or do we really not have a choice in what we
do?
Give your best, most thought our answer and justify your position with specific references to the
material from this unit.