Unit 2 – Study Guide
1. What is phrenology and what good has it contributed to psychology?
2. What do biological psychologists do?
3. Draw a neuron and label its various parts.
4. What does a myelin sheath do?
5. What is the threshold of a neuron? What is the “all or none” principle and how does it relate to
the firing of neurons? *flushing a toilet*
6. How is information passed across the synaptic gap?
7. What does a poison that impacts Ach do to the body?
8. What are nerves?
9. What is the difference between a motor neuron, sensory neuron and an interneuron?
10. How do the following technological advancements help scientists get a closer look at the
brain and how do they differ?
a. EEG –
b. CT –
c. PET –
d. MRI –
11. How might the size of an organism’s cerebral cortex account for differences in their
functioning and behavior?
12. What function do the sensory and motor cortexes perform?
13. How does the drug heroin affect the body’s production of endorphins?
14. Explain the myth of humans using only 10% of their brains:
15. What is aphasia?
16. Explain the role of Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area:
17. Explain plasticity in the brain:
18. What’s the difference between resting potential and action potential?
19. Which disease is associated with a loss of acetylcholine?
20. What is the difference between your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?
21. What is the function of neurotransmitters?
22. Which gland is the master gland of the endocrine system?
23. Which disease is associated with a low level of serotonin?
24. What does the Central Nervous System contain?
25. What does the Peripheral Nervous System contain?
26. According to Olds and Milner, which brain part contains the “pleasure center”?
27. What happens to excessive neurotransmitters after the message has been sent?
28. What are association areas?
29. Which neurotransmitter is linked to schizophrenia?
30. How does depolarization affect the firing of neurons?
31. What is the function of dendrites?
32. What is action potential?
33. When someone lesions a part of the brain, what are they doing?
34. How does the refractory period affect the firing of a neuron?
35. What is the difference between the autonomic and somatic systems?
36. How do agonist and antagonist drugs differ? Give an example.
37. Which disease is associated with the breakdown of myelin sheath?
38. List the function of the following neurotransmitter –
a. Aceylcholine –
b. Endorphins –
c. Serotonin –
d. Norepinephrine –
e. GABA (gamma-aminobutryic acid)
f.
Glutamate –
39. What is the function of the lower brain and brainstem?
40. List the function of the following lower brain/brainstem structures
a. Brainstem –
b. Medulla –
c. Reticular formation –
d. Thalamus –
e. The cerebellum –
f.
Pons –
41. What is the function of the limbic system?
42. List the function of the following limbic system brain structures:
a. Hippocampus
b. Amygdala
c. Hypothalamus
43. What is the function of the cerebral cortex?
44. List the functions of the following cerebral cortex brain structures:
a. Frontal Lobe –
b. Motor Cortex –
c. Parietal Lobe –
d. Sensory Cortex –
e. Occipital Lobe –
f.
Temporal Lobe –
45. What is the corpus callosum? Why does the corpus callosum sometimes need to be cut?
46. What does the left side of the brain specialize in?
47. What does the right side of the brain specialize in?
48. What is the endocrine system?
49. Which is faster – the endocrine system or the nervous system?
50. What are hormones?
51. What is the function of the following glands/hormones:
a. Adrenal Glands –
b. Pituitary Glands –
c. Pineal Glands –
d. Thyroid –
e. Pancreas –
f.
Gonads –
g. Estrogen –
h. Testosterone –
52. Who is Phineas Gage and what happened to him? What are two important lessons we
learned from his accident?













EXTRA CREDIT
You will have 10 EC questions (1/2 point each) that focus on the following terms:
Hindsight Bias
Overconfidence
Operational definitions
Random sample
Random assignment
Survey
Correlation research
Experimentation
Double blind procedure
Placebo effect
Evolutionary perspective
Biological perspective
Psychodynamic perspective