Chapter 3 Part 1—Biological Psychology
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The nervous system is made up of two types of cells called __________ and __________.
A. axons... dendrites
B. dendrites...glia
C. gametes ... autosomal cells
D. neurons... glia
ANS: D
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
2. Neurons differ most strikingly from other body cells with regard to their
A. temperature.
B. thickness of membrane.
C. weight.
D. shape.
ANS: D
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
3. In comparison to other body cells, what is distinctive about neurons?
A. their low metabolic activity.
B. their higher temperature.
C. their ability to synthesize vitamins.
D. their varied shapes.
ANS: D
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
4. A neuron that receives input from just a few sources differs in what way from a neuron that receives
input from many sources?
A. shape
B. neurotransmitter
C. density
D. resting potential
ANS: A
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
5. The three parts of a neuron are the cell body, the __________, and the __________.
A. glia...dendrites
B. action potential...membrane
C. glia...axon
D. dendrites...axon
ANS: D
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
6. Of the various parts of a neuron, the part that receives information from other neurons is the _____ and
the part that sends messages to other cells is the ______.
A. dendrites... axon
B. axon... cell body
C. cell body... dendrites
D. axon... dendrites
ANS: A
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
87
7. What do a neuron’s dendrites do?
A. receive information from other neurons
B. conduct information toward muscles or other neurons
C. contain the chromosomes
D. synthesize new proteins
ANS: A
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering (definition)
8. Which part of a neuron is the main area for receiving messages from other neurons?
A. axon
B. dendrites
C. nucleus
D. myelin
ANS: B
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
9. What is the long fiber that conducts impulses from a neuron’s cell body toward another cell?
A. soma
B. synapse
C. axon
D. dendrite
ANS: C
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
10. What are the widely branching fibers of a neuron that receive input from other neurons?
A. dendrites
B. somas
C. axons
D. glia
ANS: A
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
11. The part of a neuron receiving messages is the ____. The part sending messages is the ___
A. axon ... cell body
B. cell body ... dendrites
C. axon ... dendrites
D. dendrites ... axon
ANS: D
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
12. Which part or parts of a neuron convey action potentials toward another cell?
A. dendrites
B. dendrites and cell body
C. axon
D. axon and dendrites
ANS: C
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
13. A single neuron can have many
A. dendrites.
B. cell bodies.
C. cones.
D. axons.
ANS: A
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
88
14. What is the function of the myelin covering an axon?
A. It provides nourishment to the neuron.
B. It speeds up transmission along the axon.
C. It keeps the inside of the axon warm.
D. It helps a neuron divide and reproduce.
ANS: B
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
15. The __________ is a single, long, thin, straight fiber with branches near its tip. Some are covered with
__________, an insulating sheath that speeds up the transmission of impulses.
A. myelin... axon
B. axon... dendrite
C. axon... myelin
D. dendrite... myelin
ANS: C
REF: cells
OBJ: remembering
16. What is an “action potential” in the nervous system?
A. a chemical that builds up at the tip of the axon
B. an electrical charge that builds up at the tip of the axon
C. a message that travels along an axon
D. a pattern of simultaneous activity in the left and right hemispheres
ANS: C
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering (definition)
17. What is the advantage of an action potential over electrical conduction in the nervous system?
A. An action potential is faster.
B. An action potential spreads to the entire brain.
C. An action potential does not diminish in strength.
D. An action potential can travel both forward and backward.
ANS: C
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
18. Your nervous system conveys impulses by action potentials instead of electrical conduction. Which of
these is a result of that fact?
A. You are aware of events in your body slightly after they happen, not immediately.
B. You can send messages along an axon in both directions at the same time.
C. You can detect someone else’s thoughts at a distance.
D. You can sense that events are about to happen, before they really do happen.
ANS: A
REF: action potential
OBJ: application and understanding
19. Which of the following is true of an action potential?
A. It conveys messages as fast as an electrical wire.
B. Its strength remains the same from start to finish.
C. Its speed and strength decline late in the day, as people grow tired.
D. The mechanism in humans is substantially different from other species.
ANS: B
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
20. What happens to an action potential as it travels along an axon?
A. It increases in strength.
B. It decreases in strength.
C. It increases in speed.
D. It remains constant.
ANS: D
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
89
21. What happens to the strength of an action potential as it travels along an axon?
A. It remains constant.
B. It gradually weakens.
C. It gradually increases.
D. It may increase or decrease, depending on the activity in other neurons.
ANS: A
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
22. In what way, if any, does an action potential change as it travels along an axon?
A. It gradually decreases in strength.
B. It gradually increases in strength.
C. It maintains constant in strength but gradually increases in speed.
D. It remains constant.
ANS: D
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
23. Suppose your finger touches something. WHEN do you get the sensation?
A. As soon as the finger reaches the object.
B. As soon as the touch stimulates receptors on the finger.
C. A split second later, after the message travels to the brain.
D. While the action potential is traveling between the finger and the brain.
ANS: C
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
24. What is meant by the all-or-none law of the action potential?
A. An action potential is either sent or not sent.
B. Action potentials are sent either forward or backward.
C. An action potential releases either all of the cell’s neurotransmitters, or none.
D. The neuron releases either neurotransmitters or hormones.
ANS: A
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
25. The all-or-none law applies to
A. sleep vs. wakefulness.
B. the release of neurotransmitters.
C. action potentials along an axon.
D. left-hemisphere vs. right-hemisphere activity.
ANS: C
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
26. What is responsible for the action potential?
A. activation of genes in the nucleus of the cell
B. movement of sodium and potassium ions across the membrane
C. the flow of water down the center of the axon
D. rapid vibration of the surface of the axon
ANS: B
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
27. A mouse, a dog, and a giraffe get toe pinches at the same time. Which responds fastest?
A. the mouse
B. the dog
C. the giraffe
D. All three respond equally fast.
ANS: A
REF: action potential
OBJ: application and understanding
90
28. If a mouse and giraffe get toe pinches at the same time, the mouse responds faster. Why?
A. Mice have evolved reflexes that are absent in other animals.
B. As a rule, mice live in a cooler climate.
C. Mice have deeper folds in the surface of their cerebral cortex.
D. The action potentials reach the mouse’s brain faster.
ANS: D
REF: action potential
OBJ: application and understanding
29. You would feel a pinch on your shoulder (very slightly) sooner than a toe pinch. Why?
A. Each sensory neuron in the shoulder area has more than one axon.
B. Action potential from the shoulder travels a shorter distance to the brain.
C. The shoulder has a greater density of touch receptors than the toes do.
D. Neurons in the shoulder have a higher resting potential.
ANS: B
REF: action potential
OBJ: application and understanding
30. Why does it take you longer to feel a pinch on your ankle than a pinch on your shoulder?
A. The touch receptors on the ankle are smaller than those on the shoulder.
B. Neurons in the shoulder have more dendrites than those in the ankle.
C. Action potentials from the ankle must travel farther to reach the brain.
D. The ratio of neurons to glia is greater in the shoulder than in the ankle.
ANS: C
REF: action potential
OBJ: application and understanding
31. When an axon membrane is at rest, the inside has what kind of charge, relative to the outside?
A. positive
B. neutral
C. negative
D. unpredictable
ANS: C
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
32. An action potential takes place by the movement of __________ ions across the membrane.
A. calcium
B. hydrogen
C. oxygen
D. sodium
ANS: D
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
33. During an action potential, which ions cross the axon membrane, and in which direction?
A. Sodium ions flow from outside to inside the membrane.
B. Sodium ions flow from inside to outside the membrane.
C. Potassium ions flow from outside to inside the membrane.
D. Calcium ions flow from inside to outside the membrane.
ANS: A
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
34. In order for an axon to transmit an action potential, what must cross the axon's membrane?
A. hormones
B. sodium ions
C. water
D. glucose
ANS: B
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
91
35. If a drug prevents sodium from crossing an axon membrane, what happens?
A. An increased number of potassium ions cross instead.
B. The axon increases its rate of consumption of glucose and other fuels.
C. The axon stops transmitting action potentials.
D. The axon transmits action potentials at a greater than usual velocity.
ANS: C
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
36. How do anesthetic drugs such as Novocain block the transmission of impulses in the brain?
A. They decrease the flow of blood to the brain.
B. They prevent sodium from crossing the membranes.
C. They decrease the metabolic activity of the brain.
D. They block transmission at glutamate synapses.
ANS: B
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
37. The study of axons and action potentials enables us to understand
A. how Novocain and other anesthetic drugs block pain.
B. why morphine and heroin are generally addictive.
C. why some people enjoy dairy products more than other people do.
D. why young adults generally have better memories than older people do.
ANS: A
REF: action potential
OBJ: remembering
38. A synapse is
A. an area of dead tissue in the brain.
B. the combination of a neuron and its nearest glia cell.
C. a junction where one neuron communicates with another.
D. an immoral apse.
ANS: C
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering (definition)
39. What happens at a synapse?
A. something very synful
B. storage of nutrients for later use
C. release of a chemical that affects another cell
D. increased production of myelin
ANS: C
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering
40. If you step on a tack and reflexively raise your foot, what prevents you from raising the other foot at
the same time?
A. mitochondria
B. myelin sheath
C. inhibitory synapses
D. resting potentials
ANS: C
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering
41. What is a neurotransmitter?
A. a machine that measures brain waves
B. a chemical that travels from one neuron to another
C. a drug that produces hallucinations
D. an ionized chemical bound to the nucleus of a cell
ANS: B
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering (definition)
92
42. What is a neurotransmitter?
A. a chemical that neurons release
B. an electrical charge found in neurons
C. a device for recording the activity of neurons
D. a device for stimulating neurons
ANS: A
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering (definition)
43. Which part of a neuron releases neurotransmitters into the synapse?
A. dendrite
B. myelin
C. cell body
D. terminal button
ANS: D
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering
44. In the great majority of cases, transmission of information at a synapse depends on
A. mechanical vibration.
B. electricity.
C. magnetic fields.
D. chemicals.
ANS: D
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering
45. In what way do synaptic messages differ from the way computers store information?
A. Synaptic messages spread immediately to the entire brain.
B. Synaptic messages vary among themselves in speed and duration.
C. Synaptic messages operate more rapidly and have briefer effects.
D. Synaptic messages can be neutral as well as excitatory or inhibitory.
ANS: B
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering
46. A visual sensation is brief, whereas a taste lasts longer and hunger lasts still longer. How does the
nervous system produce effects with such variation in time course?
A. For longer results, messages echo back and forth between the two hemispheres.
B. Brief messages are stored chemically and longer messages are stored electrically.
C. Some neurotransmitters produce longer effects than others.
D. Certain neurons vary the speed of their action potentials, depending on the stimulus.
ANS: C
REF: synapses
OBJ: remembering
47. After neurotransmitter molecules detach from their receptor, some of them diffuse away. What
happens to the others?
A. They enter the postsynaptic cell, which uses them for fuel.
B. The presynaptic cell takes them back to use them again.
C. They become part of the membrane of the postsynaptic cell.
D. They break down into sodium and potassium.
ANS: B
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering
48. The structure that releases a neurotransmitter is ___ and the structure that receives it is ____.
A. the chromosomes... the mitochondria
B. the presynaptic cell... the postsynaptic cell
C. the dendrite... the axon
D. the cerebral cortex... the spinal cord
ANS: B
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering (definition)
93
49. If a drug prevents the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA from attaching to its receptors, what happens
to the postsynaptic cell?
A. It increases its production of new GABA molecules.
B. Its dendrites begin to shrink.
C. It produces more action potentials than usual.
D. It creates additional GABA receptors.
ANS: C
REF: synapse
OBJ: application and understanding
50. A neuron is receiving excitatory and inhibitory synaptic messages and producing a few action
potentials. What happens if someone injects a drug that blocks the inhibitory synapses?
A. The neuron will produce more action potentials than before.
B. The neuron will produce fewer action potentials than before.
C. The neuron will produce slower action potentials.
D. The activity of the neuron will be unchanged.
ANS: A
REF: synapse
OBJ: application and understanding
51. Otto Loewi devised a clever experiment that demonstrated neurons communicate
A. by means of electrical charges.
B. by magnetic fields.
C. by mechanical stimulation.
D. by releasing chemicals.
ANS: D
REF: What's evidence?
OBJ: remembering
52. When Otto Loewi collected the fluid around one frog's heart and injected it near a second frog’s heart,
what did he demonstrate?
A. Certain neurotransmitters can be both excitatory and inhibitory.
B. At least some neurons communicate by releasing chemicals.
C. Neurons communicate by electrical means.
D. Muscles send messages to nerves, just as nerves send messages to muscles.
ANS: B
REF: What's evidence?
OBJ: remembering
53. What was Otto Loewi’s evidence that neurons communicate by releasing chemicals?
A. He transferred fluid from one frog’s heart to alter activity of another frog’s hear.
B. He collected fluids at brain synapses and analyzed them chemically.
C. He demonstrated that heroin and marijuana alter brain activity.
D. He blocked all electrical activity in the brain and showed that behavior continued.
ANS: A
REF: What's evidence?
OBJ: remembering
54. What was the original study demonstrating that neurons communicate chemically?
A. Inhibiting electrical activity in the brain does not interfere with behavior.
B. Cocaine increases activity in some brain areas and decreases it in other areas.
C. Animal brains contain certain chemicals that are found nowhere else in nature.
D. Transferring fluid from one activated frog’s heart can activate a second frog’s heart.
ANS: D
REF: What's evidence?
OBJ: remembering
55. What is the relationship between neurotransmitters and their receptors?
A. The brain has only two neurotransmitters, and each has one type of receptor.
B. The brain has many neurotransmitters, and each has one type of receptor.
C. The brain has many neurotransmitters, and each has several types of receptor.
D. The brain has only one neurotransmitter, but many types of receptor.
ANS: C
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
94
56. Transmission at synapses
A. depends on the same chemical at all synapses.
B. depends on different chemicals at different synapses.
C. depends on electrical rather than chemical activity.
D. can go in either direction equally easily.
ANS: B
REF: synapse
OBJ: remembering
57. Which of the following is caused by a loss of dopamine in the brain?
A. phenylketonuria (PKU)
B. Parkinson's disease
C. stroke
D. Korsakoff's syndrome
ANS: B
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
58. People with Parkinson's disease have trouble doing what?
A. digesting certain foods
B. controlling voluntary movements
C. inhibiting emotional outbursts
D. sleeping and awakening on schedule
ANS: B
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
59. One of the main symptoms of Parkinson's disease is
A. impairment of initiating voluntary movement.
B. sudden fits of falling asleep in the middle of the day.
C. severe, sudden attacks of anxiety.
D. inability to understand spoken language.
ANS: A
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
60. Parkinson's disease can be helped by doing what?
A. taking pills that contain L-DOPA
B. taking pills that contain MPTP
C. taking injections of epinephrine
D. taking injections of insulin
ANS: A
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
61. Parkinson's disease results from a deficiency in which neurotransmitter?
A. serotonin
B. dopamine
C. glutamate
D. GABA
ANS: B
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
62. Why is L-DOPA a useful therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease?
A. It strengthens the blood-brain barrier.
B. It prevents the further loss of neurons in the brain.
C. It restores the levels of a synaptic transmitter that had declined.
D. It helps the brain to metabolize fuels that it cannot ordinarily use.
ANS: C
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
95
63. How does L-DOPA affect someone with Parkinson’s disease?
A. It cures the disease.
B. It temporarily relieves the symptoms.
C. It makes the symptoms worse.
D. It helps with the movements but increases psychological depression.
ANS: B
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
64. Biological psychologists explain Parkinson's disease in terms of what?
A. deficiency of a particular neurotransmitter.
B. lack of proper maturation of the corpus callosum.
C. a vitamin deficiency that affects nerve conduction.
D. fluctuating speeds of action potential
ANS: A
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
65. Which of the following is a widely used treatment for Parkinson's disease?
A. a strict diet that contains little or no phenylalanine
B. L-DOPA, a chemical that the brain converts into dopamine
C. a surgical operation that cuts the corpus callosum
D. massive doses of vitamin B-1 (thiamine)
ANS: B
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
66. Haloperidol blocks dopamine synapses. For which disorder would it be most HARMFUL?
A. schizophrenia
B. Tourette’s syndrome
C. Parkinson’s disease
D. aggressive behavior
ANS: C
REF: neurotransmitters
OBJ: remembering
67. Nearly all illegal recreational drugs AND legal medical drugs (such as those used to combat
Parkinson's disease and depression) exert their effects at
A. synapses.
B. blood vessels.
C. neuron membranes.
D. chromosomes.
ANS: A
REF: drugs
OBJ: remembering
68. Drugs that affect behavior—including both medical drugs such as Ritalin and illegal drugs such as
cocaine—exert their effects mainly by altering the
A. pattern of blood flow to the brain.
B. velocity and amplitude of action potentials.
C. birth and death of neurons.
D. activity at synapses.
ANS: D
REF: drugs
OBJ: remembering
69. Nearly all medical and recreational drugs that modify people's experiences exert their effects at
A. synapses.
B. blood vessels.
C. hormonal glands.
D. sensory receptors.
ANS: A
REF: drugs
OBJ: remembering
96
70. How does cocaine alter the activity of neurons?
A. It increases blood flow to the brain.
B. It distorts the membranes of neurons.
C. The brain converts it into other chemicals that stimulate receptors.
D. It prolongs the effects of certain neurotransmitters.
ANS: A
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
71. How does cocaine affect the nervous system?
A. It prevents neurons from reabsorbing dopamine and serotonin after releasing them.
B. It stimulates the same receptors that dopamine and serotonin do.
C. It prevents dopamine and serotonin from stimulating their receptors.
D. It increases the production of dopamine and serotonin.
ANS: A
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
72. How does cocaine exert its effects on brain and behavior?
A. It blocks the release of the brain’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA.
B. It increases blood flow to the central areas of the brain.
C. It blocks reuptake of certain neurotransmitters by the cells that released them.
D. It attaches to the same receptors as the neurotransmitter serotonin.
ANS: C
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
73. Crack is a form of cocaine that has been treated in such a way that it can
A. dissolve in the fats of the body.
B. bind to the receptors sensitive to endorphins.
C. form long chains of loosely bound molecules.
D. enter the brain rapidly.
ANS: D
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
74. What are the effects of amphetamine and cocaine on attention?
A. At low levels, they increase attention. At high levels, they impair it.
B. At low levels, they impair attention. At high levels, they increase it.
C. At all levels, they increase attention.
D. At all levels, they impair attention.
ANS: A
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
75. Why do people feel lethargy and displeasure a few hours after taking cocaine or amphetamine?
A. The brain increases its production of endorphins.
B. The heart pumps less than the usual amount of blood to the brain.
C. The presynaptic neuron uses up its supply of dopamine faster than it can replace it.
D. The left hemisphere becomes more active and the right hemisphere less active.
ANS: C
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
76. Which of the following works the same way as cocaine, only slower?
A. marijuana
B. Ritalin (methylphenidate)
C. Valium (diazepam)
D. heroin and other opiates
ANS: B
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
97
77. People who take Ritalin (methylphenidate) sometimes report lethargy and mild depression a few hours
later. Why?
A. The drug killed some neurons, and it takes time to replace them.
B. Neurotransmitters accumulated to levels that “clog up” the receptors.
C. The muscles fatigue from excessive stimulation.
D. Neurons released their neurotransmitters faster than they could make more.
ANS: D
REF: stimulants
OBJ: remembering
78. The drug AMPT blocks production of dopamine. How would it affect responsiveness to cocaine,
amphetamine, or Ritalin?
A. It would increase the effects of all three.
B. It would decrease the effects of all three.
C. It would increase response to cocaine, with no effect on the other two.
D. It would decrease response to Ritalin, with no effect on the other two.
ANS: B
REF: stimulants
OBJ: application and understanding
79. Which of the following would decrease the effects of cocaine, amphetamine, and Ritalin?
A. phenylalanine, which decreases production of serotonin
B. insulin, which increases fuel supply to the cells
C. L-DOPA, which increases production of dopamine
D. AMPT, which blocks production of dopamine
ANS: D
REF: stimulants
OBJ: application and understanding
80. Why do smokers feel that smoking cigarettes is relaxing?
A. Nicotine is a depressant.
B. Nicotine blocks the activity of dopamine.
C. Smokers tend to be highly relaxed individuals anyway.
D. Abstaining from cigarettes produces tension.
ANS: D
REF: stimulants
OBJ: application and understanding
81. Which type of drug is most likely to produce a dreamlike state?
A. nicotine
B. hallucinogens
C. cocaine
D. insulin
ANS: B
REF: hallucinogens
OBJ: remembering
82. LSD attaches mainly to brain receptors sensitive to which neurotransmitter?
A. GABA
B. serotonin
C. acetylcholine
D. endorphin
ANS: B
REF: hallucinogens
OBJ: remembering
83. Which of the following is an example of a hallucinogen?
A. crack cocaine
B. LSD
C. nicotine
D. amphetamine
ANS: B
REF: hallucinogens
OBJ: remembering
98
84. Prolonged depression, sleeplessness, and memory loss (lasting a year or more after cessation of drug
use) have been reported in repeated users of which drug?
A. cocaine
B. amphetamine
C. MDMA (“ecstasy”)
D. Viagra
ANS: C
REF: hallucinogens
OBJ: remembering
85. Which of the following drugs acts mainly as a relaxant or depressant?
A. alcohol
B. amphetamine
C. cocaine
D. LSD
ANS: A
REF: depressants
OBJ: remembering
86. Anxiolytic drugs, also called tranquilizers, exert many of their behavioral effects by doing what?
A. slowing down action potentials
B. decreasing blood flow to the brain
C. blocking activity at serotonin synapses
D. facilitating transmission at inhibitory synapses
ANS: D
REF: depressants
OBJ: remembering
87. What kind of drug exerts its effects by facilitating transmission at inhibitory synapses?
A. cocaine and other stimulant drugs
B. heroin and other opiates
C. anxiolytic drugs (tranquilizers)
D. nicotine
ANS: C
REF: depressants
OBJ: remembering
88. Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), the so-called "date rape" drug, is what type of drug?
A. stimulant
B. anxiolytic drug (tranquilizer)
C. opiate
D. hallucinogen
ANS: B
REF: depressants
OBJ: remembering
89. Which of the following is a common effect of alcohol consumption?
A. increased tension and anxiety
B. increased energy and alertness
C. reduction of inhibitions against sexual or aggressive behavior
D. increased speed of muscle responses
ANS: C
REF: depressants
OBJ: remembering
90. Symptoms of withdrawal from opiate drugs include
A. rapid fluctuations in mood and appetite.
B. slow heart beat and breathing rate.
C. anxiety, pain, and over-responsiveness to sounds.
D. uncontrollable, frantic activity.
ANS: C
REF: narcotics
OBJ: remembering
99
91. How do opiate drugs such as heroin and morphine exert their effects?
A. by binding to specific receptors in the brain
B. by blocking activity of pain receptors in the skin
C. by altering the pattern of blood flow to the brain
D. by blocking reuptake of dopamine into presynaptic neurons
ANS: A
REF: narcotics
OBJ: remembering
92. How do opiate drugs such as morphine block pain?
A. They inactivate pain receptors in the skin.
B. They block the action potentials leading from the pain receptors.
C. They attach to specific receptors in the brain.
D. They alter the pattern of blood flow to the brain.
ANS: C
REF: narcotics
OBJ: remembering
93. How do morphine, heroin, and other opiates affect the nervous system?
A. They distort the shape of the axon membrane.
B. They decrease the supply of blood to the cerebral cortex.
C. They increase the number of sodium ions in the brain.
D. They bind to receptors that use endorphins as their neurotransmitters.
ANS: D
REF: narcotics
OBJ: remembering
94. Morphine and heroin both bind to synaptic receptors in the brain that ordinarily respond to
A. GABA.
B. endorphins.
C. dopamine.
D. serotonin.
ANS: B
REF: narcotics
OBJ: remembering
95. Of the following, which provided the STRONGEST evidence that marijuana impairs memory?
A. Marijuana users show lower scores on a memory test than non-users do.
B. Heavy marijuana users show lower scores on a memory test than lighter users do.
C. Memory improves a few months after people quit using marijuana.
D. Memory deteriorates a few months after people quit using marijuana.
ANS: C
REF: marijuana
OBJ: evaluating
96. According to studies of lab animals, what is the relationship between marijuana and stroke?
A. Marijuana use increases the probability of having a stroke.
B. Marijuana use increases the damage, in the event of a stroke.
C. Marijuana use decreases the damage, in the event of a stroke.
D. Having a stroke increases the probability of using marijuana.
ANS: C
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
97. According to lab animal research, marijuana use IMPROVES recovery from which of these?
A. heart attack
B. hearing loss
C. hemorrhoids
D. stroke
ANS: D
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
100
98. Which of these drugs exerts its behavioral effects by slowing the release of both excitatory and
inhibitory neurotransmitters?
A. marijuana
B. Ritalin (methylphenidate)
C. Valium (diazepam)
D. heroin and other opiates
ANS: A
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
99. Where in the nervous system are the receptors that marijuana affects?
A. on the post-synaptic neuron
B. on the pre-synaptic neuron
C. in the corpus callosum
D. in the medulla
ANS: B
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
100. What is the main way in which marijuana alters brain activity?
A. It increases the production of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA.
B. It decreases the release of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters.
C. It blocks the reuptake of serotonin and dopamine.
D. It attaches to the same receptors that opiate drugs do.
ANS: B
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
101. How does marijuana affect the activity of neurons?
A. It attaches to the same receptors as serotonin.
B. It increases the release of certain neurotransmitters.
C. It inhibits release of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters.
D. The brain converts it to dopamine, a neurotransmitter.
ANS: C
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
102. How does marijuana affect brain activity?
A. It prevents neurons from reabsorbing serotonin and dopamine after releasing them.
B. It attaches to the same receptors as opiates, but not as strongly.
C. It decreases the flow of blood to the brain.
D. It decreases the release of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters.
ANS: D
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
103. Why are opiate drugs such as heroin more likely than marijuana to produce a life-threatening decrease
in heart rate and breathing?
A. Most heroin users are older and already weakened from taking other drugs.
B. The brain area controlling heart rate has more opiate receptors than marijuana receptors.
C. Opiate receptors are abundant, but the brain has few marijuana receptors.
D. Most people stop taking marijuana at a safe level before it would affect the brain.
ANS: B
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
104. Why are people more likely to die from overdoses of opiates than from overdoses of marijuana?
A. People stop smoking marijuana at the point where it starts causing nausea.
B. People generally begin abusing opiates at a younger age than they do marijuana.
C. Brain areas that control heart rate and breathing have few marijuana receptors.
D. Opiates dissolve in the fats of the body, but marijuana does not.
ANS: C
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
101
105. The brain area controlling heart rate and breathing has many receptors for ____ and few receptors for
____.
A. marijuana... opiates
B. opiates... marijuana
C. cocaine... amphetamine
D. amphetamine... cocaine
ANS: B
REF: marijuana
OBJ: remembering
106. Which of the following statements about the nervous system is NONSENSE?
A. Brain damage can impair facial recognition without impairing other functions.
B. Adult neurons alter their shape in response to experience.
C. We use only about 10% of the brain.
D. Split-brain patients sometimes act as if they have two minds in one head.
ANS: C
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: remembering
107. If you could simultaneously activate every neuron in your brain, what would happen?
A. You would become more intelligent.
B. Temporarily, you would think more brilliant thoughts and solve more problems.
C. You would suffer convulsions.
D. Nothing would change in your thinking or behavior.
ANS: C
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: application and understanding
108. Which of the following statements is nonsense?
A. Some people have normal vision except that they cannot recognize faces.
B. People typically use only 10% of their brain.
C. Some people can indicate where something is, without consciously seeing it at all.
D. Some people have normal vision except they cannot see movement.
ANS: B
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: remembering
109. Which of the following is evidence in favor of the idea of monism?
A. Cultures with written language progress faster than other cultures do.
B. It is difficult to perform two complex tasks at the same time.
C. People who lose part of their brain lose part of their mental ability.
D. Monozygotic (“identical”) twins resemble each other in details of behavior.
ANS: C
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: application and understanding
110. What is meant by “monism”?
A. the tendency for the left and right hemispheres to synchronize their activity
B. the belief that mind and brain activity are inseparable
C. the belief that language makes humans unique in the animal kingdom
D. the belief that all species of animals have consciousness
ANS: B
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: remembering (definition)
111. A belief in monism predicts which of the following?
A. People who are poor at one mental ability are probably above average at another.
B. Most mental illnesses can be traced to unconscious thoughts and emotions.
C. If you lose part of your brain, you lose part of your mind.
D. Average intelligence will tend to increase from one generation to the next.
ANS: C
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: application and understanding
102
112. The central nervous system consists of
A. the brain.
B. the brain and spinal cord.
C. the brain, spinal cord, and nerves that carry messages to and from the periphery.
D. the spinal cord and the nerves that carry messages to and from the periphery.
ANS: B
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: remembering
113. The nerves that carry information from the sense organs to the spinal cord and brain, and from the
spinal cord and brain to the glands and muscles, are collectively known as the
A. autonomic nervous system.
B. sympathetic nervous system.
C. central nervous system.
D. peripheral nervous system.
ANS: D
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: remembering (definition)
114. What does the autonomic nervous system do?
A. It controls all the muscles of the body.
B. It conveys information from the skin receptors to the spinal cord and the brain.
C. It is responsible for people’s sense of the time of day.
D. It controls the heart, stomach, and other organs.
ANS: D
REF: brain and behavior
OBJ: remembering
115. In which way does the cerebral cortex control the body?
A. Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body.
B. Each hemisphere controls its own side of the body.
C. Each hemisphere controls both sides of the body equally.
D. One hemisphere (usually the left) controls both sides, and the other hemisphere controls
nothing.
ANS: A
REF: cerebral cortex
OBJ:
remembering
OBJ:
remembering (definition)
116. What do we call the outer surface of the forebrain?
A. cerebral cortex
B. cerebellum
C. reticular formation
D. hypothalamus
ANS: A
REF: cerebral cortex
117. The occipital lobe of the cerebral cortex is specialized for
A. vision.
B. body senses, including touch, pain and awareness of body parts.
C. hearing.
D. control of fine movements.
ANS: A
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
118. What would be most impaired after damage to the occipital lobe of the cerebral cortex?
A. hearing
B. control of fine movements
C. body perception
D. vision
ANS: D
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
103
119. After damage to the occipital lobe of the cerebral cortex, what is impaired?
A. fine control of muscles
B. vision
C. speech comprehension
D. emotional expression
ANS: B
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
120. Someone with cerebral cortex damage has impaired vision. Which area is probably damaged?
A. parietal lobe
B. motor cortex
C. prefrontal cortex
D. occipital lobe
ANS: D
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
121. An adult who became blind because of eye damage (with the brain intact) can still do what?
A. use light to reset the biological rhythm of sleep and wakefulness
B. show a startle reflex to a sudden bright light
C. learn to identify colors by touching them
D. imagine visual scenes and experience vision in dreams
ANS: D
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
122. One adult suffered eye damage and another suffered damage to the visual cortex. Although both are
blind, what is one way in which they differ?
A. The one with eye damage can still have visual imagery and visual dreams.
B. The one with eye damage still wakes up when the sun rises.
C. The one with damage to the visual cortex will be better at learning Braille.
D. The one with damage to the visual cortex loses all sense of time.
ANS: A
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
123. One adult suffered eye damage and another suffered damage to the visual cortex. Although both are
blind, what is one way in which they differ?
A. The one with brain damage still has visual imagery during dreams.
B. The one with brain damage still feels wakeful when the sun is up and sleepy at night.
C. The one with eye damage can identify where something is, though not what it is.
D. The one with eye damage will also experience impaired hearing.
ANS: B
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
124. An adult who suddenly became blind continues to have visual imagery and visual dreams. What
caused the blindness?
A. damage to the eyes
B. damage to the visual cortex
C. damage to both the eyes and the visual cortex
D. damage to neither the eyes nor the visual cortex
ANS: A
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
104
125.
Someone blind because of damage to the visual cortex continues feeling wakeful when the sun rises
and sleepy at night. How can we explain this tendency?
A. Once someone learns a pattern of waking and sleeping, the habit cannot change.
B. The damaged areas of the visual cortex must have grown back.
C. Another part of the cortex must have taken over visual functions.
D. The eyes continue sending information to other brain areas that control waking.
ANS: D
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
126. If someone has “blindsight,” what can this person do?
A. claim to have normal vision, while in fact being unable to do anything visually
B. indicate the direction to something, without seeing it consciously
C. see something in complete darkness
D. see beautiful visual hallucinations, without seeing anything in reality
ANS: B
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
127. Under what circumstances do some people experience “blindsight”?
A. after damage to one eye and not the other
B. after damage to much of the visual cortex
C. after damage to all other parts of the cerebral cortex, sparing the visual cortex
D. after damage to both eyes and the visual cortex
ANS: B
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
128. Which of the following is characteristic of people with “blindsight”?
A. normal vision except for inability to recognize faces
B. normal vision except for inability to detect visual motion
C. normal vision except for lack of visual imagery and visual dreams
D. ability to answer some questions about visual stimuli despite lack of conscious vision
ANS: D
REF: occipital cortex
OBJ: remembering
129. What is impaired in someone with damage to the temporal lobe of the cortex?
A. control of fine movements
B. hearing
C. sense of rhythm
D. hunger
ANS: B
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
130. Which brain area is most important for hearing, the ability to recognize complex patterns (such as
faces), language comprehension, and emotion?
A. medulla oblongata
B. temporal lobe
C. occipital lobe
D. parietal lobe
ANS: B
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
131. One person recognizes faces easily and the other has much trouble. How do they probably differ?
A. eye color (brown, blue, green)
B. distance between the two eyes
C. connections to one brain area
D. speed of action potentials
ANS: C
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
105
132. How does damage to the temporal lobe of the cortex alter vision, if at all?
A. It causes total blindness.
B. It impairs complex aspects of vision, such as recognizing faces and seeing motion.
C. It causes the same impairments as if someone were cross-eyed.
D. It has no effect on vision.
ANS: B
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
133. If you were “motion blind,” what disability would you have?
A. You would find it difficult to see that something is moving.
B. You would find it difficult to see anything while you are moving.
C. You would have blurry vision when you came to a stop after long travel.
D. You would confuse parts of one moving object with parts of another.
ANS: A
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
134. Normal people become briefly motion-blind during which activity?
A. walking
B. listening to music
C. laughter
D. voluntary eye movements
ANS: D
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
135. Under what circumstances do healthy, normal people experience motion blindness?
A. late at night
B. while making voluntary eye movements
C. at the end of a long trip, especially by bicycle
D. after drinking too much alcohol
ANS: B
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
136. During a voluntary eye movement, people suffer a temporary impairment in which of these?
A. ability to recognize faces
B. ability to see that something is moving
C. color vision
D. ability to localize sounds
ANS: B
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
137. You see someone else’s eyes move, but you can’t see your own eyes move in a mirror. Why not?
A. Mirrors distort light, making movement seem smaller than it really is.
B. You move your own eyes more slowly when looking at a mirror.
C. It is easier to pay attention to someone else’s eyes than your own.
D. Part of the brain becomes inactive during voluntary eye movements.
ANS: D
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: application and understanding
138. Brain damage can sometimes produce which of the following?
A. a change in sexual orientation
B. a change in food preferences
C. inability to recognize one’s mother (despite recognizing other people)
D. inability to see that something is moving (despite otherwise normal vision)
ANS: D
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
106
139. Various parts of the cortex--such as the occipital, parietal, and temporal lobes--control different
A. aspects of personality.
B. sensory systems.
C. muscles.
D. emotions.
ANS: B
REF: cerebral cortex
OBJ: application and understanding
140. The occipital, parietal, and temporal lobes are responsible for
A. different types of motivation.
B. different aspects of personality.
C. control of the muscles in different parts of the body.
D. different sensory systems.
ANS: D
REF: cerebral cortex
OBJ: application and understanding
141. Impaired facial recognition, impaired motion perception, and impaired interpretation of emotional
information can all be caused by
A. specific kinds of brain damage.
B. particular kinds of genetic mutations.
C. chemical imbalances in the brain.
D. side-effects of certain drugs.
ANS: A
REF: cerebral cortex
OBJ: application and understanding
142. If we measure how strongly people react to sudden loud noises, what can we use those measurements
to predict?
A. attitudes toward use of police and military power
B. preference for spicy vs. mild foods
C. probable choice of a job
D. hobbies and other interests
ANS: A
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
143. If we want to predict people’s attitudes toward use of police and military power, which of the
following would be best to measure?
A. people’s ability to recognize faces
B. how well people can use the left hand to respond to right-side visual signals
C. the speed of action potentials in people’s spinal cords
D. people’s responses to sudden loud noises
ANS: D
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: remembering
144. What evidence suggests that brain activities influence political leanings?
A. Measures of response to loud noises predict attitudes toward use of force.
B. Conservatives and liberals differ in the size of their corpus callosum.
C. Speed of action potentials correlates with attitudes toward taxation.
D. People with larger brains change their opinions more frequently than others do.
ANS: A
REF: temporal cortex
OBJ: application and understanding
107
145. Parietal lobe damage interferes with which aspect of vision?
A. perceiving motion
B. recognizing faces
C. identifying color
D. detecting the location of objects
ANS: D
REF: parietal cortex
OBJ: remembering
146. After damage to part of the somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe, someone no longer has any
conscious sensation of touch on the arm. Nevertheless, touch produces what effect?
A. The person can report the location of the touch on the arm.
B. The person screams in pain after a touch to the arm.
C. The person feels pleasant emotion after light strokes on the arm.
D. The person can report how many times someone has touched the arm.
ANS: C
REF: parietal cortex
OBJ: remembering
147. Which of the following has been observed in people with a certain kind of brain damage?
A. emotional responses to stimulation on the arm that the person doesn’t feel
B. inability to perceive green, despite normal ability to perceive all other colors
C. switch from a heterosexual orientation to a homosexual orientation
D. loss of ability to use or understand adverbs, despite otherwise normal language
ANS: A
REF: parietal cortex
OBJ: remembering
148. Which lobe of the cortex processes touch sensation and the location of objects in space?
A. frontal
B. temporal
C. parietal
D. occipital
ANS: C
REF: parietal cortex
OBJ: remembering
149. After damage to the cerebral cortex, a person has an impairment in body perception (touch, etc.) and
impaired perception of object locations. Where is the damage probably located?
A. parietal lobe
B. frontal lobe
C. temporal lobe
D. occipital lobe
ANS: A
REF: parietal cortex
OBJ: remembering
150. Which of the following sometimes occurs in people with damage to the parietal cortex?
A. Insisting that male faces look female, and female faces look male
B. Remembering the locations of objects, without remembering seeing them before.
C. Reporting the loudness of a sound, without hearing the sound consciously.
D. Smiling after a light stroke on the arm, despite not feeling it consciously
ANS: D
REF: parietal cortex
OBJ: remembering
151. Which lobe of the cerebral cortex includes the motor cortex, which controls fine movements?
A. frontal
B. temporal
C. occipital
D. parietal
ANS: A
REF: frontal cortex
OBJ: remembering
108
152. You have to choose between an immediate pleasure and a greater one later. Which brain area makes
the greatest contribution to this process?
A. cerebellum
B. occipital cortex
C. prefrontal cortex
D. medulla oblongata
ANS: C
REF: frontal cortex
OBJ: remembering
153. Damage or immaturity of which brain area is linked to impulsive decisions?
A. hypothalamus
B. prefrontal cortex
C. occipital cortex
D. corpus callosum
ANS: B
REF: frontal cortex
OBJ: remembering
154. What neurons are active when you do something and when you watch others do the same thing?
A. inhibitory neurons
B. mirror neurons
C. pyramidal neurons
D. occipital neurons
ANS: B
REF: frontal cortex
OBJ: remembering
155. When are mirror neurons active?
A. when you watch yourself in the mirror
B. during arousal of the sympathetic nervous system
C. when you first do something and then do the opposite
D. when you do something or when you see someone else do the same thing
ANS: D
REF: frontal cortex
OBJ: remembering
156. What evidence CONFLICTS with the idea that you are born with mirror neurons that produce
imitation?
A. Genetic differences lead to differences in mirror neurons among different people.
B. Neurons that produce one movement can learn to respond to seeing a different one.
C. Autistic children are less likely than others to imitate what people do.
D. Newborn infants sometimes imitate the facial expressions they see.
ANS: B
REF: frontal cortex
OBJ: remembering
157. The ability of newborn infants to imitate facial expressions suggests which of these?
A. mirror neurons
B. Lamarckian evolution
C. motion blindness
D. neurotransmitter reuptake
ANS: A
REF: frontal cortex
OBJ: remembering
109
158. The left hemisphere of the cortex receives input from the ____ side of the body and controls muscles
on the ____ side of the body.
A. left... left
B. left... right
C. right... left
D. right... right
ANS: D
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
159. The left hemisphere controls ________ and the right hemisphere controls _________.
A. sensation...movement
B. movement...sensation
C. the right side of the body...the left side of the body
D. the left side of the body...the right side of the body
ANS: C
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
160. In most people, the control of language depends mostly on
A. the pineal gland.
B. the corpus callosum.
C. the right hemisphere of the brain.
D. the left hemisphere of the brain.
ANS: D
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
161. Which of these functions depends mainly on the left hemisphere, in most people?
A. hunger
B. vision
C. language
D. emotion
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
162. For the great majority of people, the ability to speak depends mainly on the __________ hemisphere,
which controls muscles on the __________ side of the body.
A. left...left
B. left...right
C. right...left
D. right...right
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
163. What does the right hemisphere of the brain do, in most people?
A. It controls language.
B. It controls hunger and thirst.
C. It feels the right half of the body and controls muscles on the right side.
D. It feels the left half of the body and controls muscles on the left side.
ANS: D
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
164. What is the corpus callosum?
A. a set of axons connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain
B. an area of the brain important for production and understanding of language
C. a gland that secretes the hormones insulin and glucagon
D. a device used for measuring changes in brain activity
ANS: A
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
110
165. What does the corpus callosum do?
A. It exchanges information between the left and right hemispheres.
B. It regulates hunger, thirst, and sexual motivation.
C. It controls movement of the arms and legs.
D. It compares visual information with simultaneous hearing information.
ANS: A
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
166. The corpus callosum connects which two structures?
A. the sensory areas of the cortex and the motor areas
B. the intellectual areas of the cortex and the emotional areas
C. the left and right hemispheres of the cortex
D. the brain and the spinal cord
ANS: C
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
167. What connects the left hemisphere of the brain to the right hemisphere?
A. limbic system
B. corpus callosum
C. medulla oblongata
D. sympathetic nervous system
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
168. Which part of the brain enables the left half of the brain to know what the right half is doing?
A. limbic system
B. corpus callosum
C. sympathetic nervous system
D. parasympathetic nervous system
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
169. For what medical purpose have surgeons sometimes cut the corpus callosum?
A. to control aggressive behavior
B. to control epilepsy
C. to reduce blood pressure
D. to relieve the problems caused by a prefrontal lobotomy
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
170. Surgeons have sometimes cut the corpus callosum as a treatment for which disorder?
A. schizophrenia
B. bipolar disorder
C. epilepsy
D. outbursts of excessive violence
ANS: C
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
171. A split-brain patient has surgical damage to which brain structure?
A. visual cortex
B. corpus callosum
C. frontal cortex
D. cerebellum
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
111
172. After split-brain surgery, what can a person NO LONGER do?
A. Describe in words what he/she feels with the left hand
B. Perceive the speed and direction of a moving object
C. Perceive that an object seen is the same thing as an object heard or felt
D. Move the left and right hands at the same time
ANS: A
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: application and understanding
173. What is difficult for a split-brain person to do?
A. describe in words what the left hand feels
B. perceive that something heard, seen, and felt is the same object
C. visually perceive the movement of an object
D. walk and talk at the same time
ANS: A
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: application and understanding
174. Which of the following sometimes happens in people with damage to the corpus callosum?
A. pointing to the correct answer with the left hand while saying, “I don’t know.”
B. smiling after a gentle stroke on the right arm, without consciously feeling it
C. seeing an object but not being able to identify which direction it is moving
D. speaking the correct words, but saying them backwards
ANS: A
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
175. Under what circumstances can a split-brain person feel something and say what it is?
A. only after feeling it with the left hand
B. only after feeling it with the right hand
C. after feeling it with either hand
D. only after feeling it with both hands at the same time
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: remembering
176. A split-brain patient (with damage to the corpus callosum) feels something with the left hand. In which
way, if any, can this person tell us what he/she felt?
A. Can point to the correct object with either hand.
B. Can point to the correct object, but only with the left hand.
C. Can describe the object in words.
D. Cannot tell us about the correct object in any way.
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: application and understanding
177. A man with damage to his corpus callosum stares at a point straight ahead while someone flashes
HOUSEBOAT on a screen for a split second. The word HOUSE is on the left half of the screen and
BOAT is on the right. He is asked what he saw. What will he probably reply?
A. "house"
B. "boat"
C. "houseboat"
D. "nothing"
ANS: B
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: application and understanding
112
178. Someone who has control of speech in the left hemisphere and whose corpus callosum has been split
can describe what he or she sees if and only if it is seen
A. in the right half of the visual field.
B. in the left half of the visual field.
C. in either half of the left eye.
D. in either half of the right eye.
ANS: A
REF: hemispheres
OBJ: application and understanding
179. EEG, MEG, PET, and fMRI are all methods of measuring what?
A. intelligence
B. visual perception
C. emotional maturity
D. brain activity
ANS: D
REF: measuring
OBJ: remembering
180. What does “fMRI” stand for?
A. full mental restoration instrument
B. fractional modulation of random integers
C. functional magnetic resonance imaging
D. familial modern restructuring industry
ANS: C
REF: measuring
OBJ: remembering (definition)
181. What does fMRI measure?
A. how well people can remember instructions and follow them later
B. people’s ability to recognize facial expressions
C. resemblances among people within a family
D. which brain areas are using the most oxygen
ANS: D
REF: measuring
OBJ: remembering
182. PET scans and fMRI provide similar information. What is an advantage of fMRI?
A. It does not expose the brain to ionizing radiation.
B. It requires no special equipment or training.
C. It measures activity of individual neurons.
D. It can be used without asking for informed consent.
ANS: A
REF: measuring
OBJ: remembering
183. How does functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measure brain activity?
A. by causing detectable vibrations in various brain areas
B. by detecting radiation emitted by radioactive chemicals in various brain areas
C. by detecting how much oxygen various brain areas have removed from the blood
D. by directly recording the electrical activity of individual neurons
ANS: C
REF: measuring
OBJ: remembering
184. A brain scan records the activity of various brain areas during a memory task. Before we can draw
conclusions about those brain areas, what other information do we need?
A. recordings of activity from other body organs during the same task
B. a measurement of how well the person remembers the material much later
C. recordings of brain activity during a comparison task
D. a measurement of the participants’ speed of action potentials
ANS: C
REF: measuring
OBJ: application and understanding
113
185. How does the cerebral cortex control muscle movements?
A. Axons go directly from the cortex to the muscles.
B. Axons go from the cortex to the medulla and spinal cord, which control muscles.
C. Dendrites go directly from the cortex to the muscles.
D. Dendrites go from the cortex to the medulla and spinal cord, which control muscles.
ANS: B
REF: subcortical
OBJ: remembering
186. Which part of the nervous system controls reflexes, such as the knee-jerk reflex?
A. cerebral cortex
B. cerebellum
C. spinal cord
D. thalamus
ANS: C
REF: subcortical
OBJ: remembering
187. After damage to the upper spinal cord, what happens?
A. The person loses many reflexes, but continues to have voluntary muscle control.
B. The person loses voluntary muscle control, but continues to have many reflexes.
C. The person loses both the reflexes and voluntary muscle control.
D. The person loses neither the reflexes nor voluntary muscle control.
ANS: B
REF: subcortical
OBJ: application and understanding
188. Which brain area is most responsible for movements that require precise timing?
A. cerebellum.
B. pons.
C. amygdala.
D. thalamus.
ANS: A
REF: subcortical
OBJ: remembering
189. What does the autonomic nervous system control?
A. muscles of the hands and feet
B. vision and hearing
C. reflexes such as the knee-jerk reflex
D. the heart and other organs
ANS: D
REF: autonomic/endocrine
OBJ: remembering
190. What part of the nervous system controls the heart, intestines, and other organs?
A. corpus callosum
B. prefrontal cortex
C. autonomic nervous system
D. spinal cord
ANS: C
REF: autonomic/endocrine
OBJ: remembering
191. What does the sympathetic nervous system do?
A. It controls the mirror neuron system.
B. It controls the skeletal muscles responsible for walking.
C. It promotes digestion and other vegetative activities.
D. It readies the body for vigorous emergency activity.
ANS: D
REF: autonomic/endocrine
114
OBJ: remembering
192. What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?
A. It promotes digestion and other activities that occur during rest.
B. It readies the body for vigorous fight or flight activities.
C. It controls movements of the skeletal muscles.
D. It integrates information from two or more sensory systems.
ANS: A
REF: autonomic/endocrine
OBJ: remembering
193. During danger, the ___ system is more active. When danger passes, the ___ system is more active.
A. sympathetic... sympathetic
B. sympathetic... parasympathetic
C. parasympathetic... sympathetic
D. parasympathetic... parasympathetic
ANS: B
REF: autonomic/endocrine
OBJ: remembering
194. How do hormones reach various body organs?
A. They travel through the skin.
B. They travel through the blood.
C. Axons release them adjacent to their receptors.
D. Each organ makes its own hormone, and then responds to it.
ANS: B
REF: autonomic/endocrine
OBJ: remembering
195. What is the endocrine system?
A. axons that carry messages back and forth between the brain and spinal cord
B. chemicals that inhibit pain and produce relaxation
C. glands that produce and release hormones
D. neurons active when you do something and when you see others do the same thing
ANS: C
REF: autonomic/endocrine
OBJ: remembering (definition)
196. Undifferentiated cells that can develop into neurons are known as
A. stem cells.
B. glia cells.
C. pyramidal cells.
D. T cells.
ANS: A
REF: plasticity
OBJ: remembering (definition)
197. Can the adult nervous system develop new neurons?
A. Yes, anywhere in the nervous system at any time.
B. No, never.
C. Yes, but only in certain areas such as the olfactory bulb and hippocampus.
D. Yes, but only after brain damage.
ANS: C
REF: plasticity
OBJ: remembering
198. Which of the following is true of the nervous system?
A. The left hemisphere controls the left half of the body.
B. The adult nervous system can make some new neurons.
C. Ordinarily, people use only about 10% of their brain.
D. An axon can increase the speed and magnitude of its action potentials.
ANS: B
REF: plasticity
OBJ: application and understanding
115
199. What effect do new experiences have on neurons?
A. Some dendrites turn into axons.
B. Some axons turn into dendrites.
C. Axons and dendrites withdraw old branches and grow new ones.
D. Axons produce larger and faster action potentials.
ANS: C
REF: plasticity
OBJ: remembering
200. Researchers found several changes in children’s brains after 15 months of music lessons. What else
did they have to do before drawing any conclusions?
A. Examine the children’s brains after an additional 15 months.
B. Look for changes in other parts of the body besides the brain.
C. Ask the children’s parents for their opinions of how the children had developed.
D. Compare results to other children who did not take music lessons.
ANS: D
REF: plasticity
OBJ: application and understanding
201. Does extensive practice at playing stringed music instruments change the brain? If so, how?
A. Axons in the hearing areas of the brain produce faster and larger action potentials.
B. Brain areas responsible for hearing and finger sensations expand in size.
C. Many dendrites in certain brain areas turn into axons.
D. Such practice has no measureable effects on the brain.
ANS: B
REF: plasticity
OBJ: remembering
202. Researchers have demonstrated changes in the size of certain brain areas as a result of what?
A. daydreaming
B. taking a multivitamin pill each day
C. extensive practice at playing musical instruments
D. moving from one time zone to another
ANS: C
REF: plasticity
OBJ: remembering
203. Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the brain and experience?
A. Practicing a particular skill expands the entire brain.
B. New experiences exert effects mostly by changing the speed of action potentials.
C. As muscle size increases, brain size decreases.
D. Experience can increase size and connections of brain areas related to the task.
ANS: D
REF: plasticity
OBJ: application and understanding
204. Because researchers have found that different brain areas control vision, hearing, touch, and so forth, a
new theoretical question has arisen:
A. How does the brain control movement?
B. Is brain organization the same among different animal species?
C. How long is the delay between receptor activation and conscious perception?
D. How does the brain perceive a unified object?
ANS: D
REF: binding problems
OBJ: application and understanding
116
205. The question of how separate brain areas produce a unified perception of an object is the
A. binding problem.
B. Zeigarnik effect.
C. nature-nurture question.
D. Young-Helmholtz issue.
ANS: A
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
206. The "binding problem" is the question of
A. how a person coordinates the left arm with the right arm.
B. how children learn to produce grammatical, meaningful sentences.
C. how it is possible for people with different personalities to work together.
D. how activity in separate brain areas produces a single experience.
ANS: D
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
207. The “binding problem” refers to which theoretical question?
A. how the abilities present in other primates evolved into human language
B. how people manage to restrain or inhibit their unwanted impulses
C. how people learn to live together in a peaceful community
D. how we perceive what we see, hear, and feel as a single object
ANS: D
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
208. Which question is posed by the “binding problem”?
A. What processes enable the brain to change structure in response to experience?
B. How do split-brain people manage to coordinate their left and right sides?
C. How do you know that some object you feel is also what you hear and see?
D. How can we get people of different backgrounds to work together?
ANS: C
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
209. The "binding problem" is most related to which of these theoretical issues?
A. relative roles of nature and nurture
B. free will vs. determinism
C. relationship of mind to brain
D. how to overcome prejudice
ANS: C
REF: binding problems
OBJ: application and understanding
210. The "binding problem" is the question of how we
A. perceive what we see, hear, and touch as a single object.
B. develop social attachments to other people early in life.
C. learn to think about categories of objects.
D. communicate between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
ANS: A
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
211. The ability to “bind” sensations to perceive an object depends on brain areas that do what?
A. perceive the color of objects
B. perceive the location of objects
C. perceive the size of objects
D. perceive the weight of objects
ANS: B
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
117
212. To “bind” the sensations of an object as a single experience, the various sensations need to be
A. equal in intensity.
B. unequal in intensity.
C. alternating.
D. simultaneous.
ANS: D
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
213. In which of these cases are you UNLIKELY to bind what you see and hear as a single object?
A. You listen to your cell phone while holding it at arm’s length and staring at it.
B. You watch and listen to a singer on stage, while many other people crowd you.
C. You watch a film of yourself walking and talking.
D. You watch a film in which the sound track doesn’t match the picture.
ANS: D
REF: binding problems
OBJ: application and understanding
214. To sense that the cell phone you feel is also what you see and hear which is necessary?
A. Having all the sensations converge onto a single area in the center of the brain.
B. Receiving the sensations simultaneously from the same location.
C. Experiencing an increase in brightness followed by an increase in loudness.
D. Learning how to use the cell phone.
ANS: B
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
215. To perceive sight, sound, and touch as coming from the same object, what is necessary?
A. The stimulations must be either moving or increasing in strength.
B. The stimulations must be perceived unconsciously.
C. The stimulations must be brief.
D. The stimulations must be simultaneous.
ANS: D
216.
REF: binding problems
OBJ: remembering
Rather than ask which is more important, heredity or environment, what is a better question?
A. What percentage of the observed behavior depends on heredity?
B. What percentage of the observed behavior depends on environment?
C. What happens when people have no heredity or no environment?
D. Do differences among people depend more on differences in heredity or environment?
ANS: A
REF: introduction
OBJ: application and understanding
217. How do genes influence development?
A. Genes attach to cell membranes and alter their structure.
B. Genes are the building blocks from which the body makes its structures.
C. Genes move from one cell to another to provide communication.
D. Genes control production of RNA, which controls protein production.
ANS: D
REF: genetic principles
OBJ: remembering
218. A particular gene leads to Huntington’s disease, even if someone has the gene on one chromosome and
not the other. We therefore call that gene
A. dominant
B. recessive
C. sex-linked
D. mutated
ANS: A
REF: genetic principles
OBJ: remembering (definition)
118
219. What sex chromosomes does a man have?
A. two X chromosomes
B. two Y chromosomes
C. one X and one Y
D. one Y
ANS: C
REF: sex chromosomes
OBJ: remembering
220. What sex chromosomes does a woman have?
A. two X chromosomes
B. two Y chromosomes
C. one X and one Y
D. one X
ANS: A
REF: sex chromosomes
OBJ: remembering
221. The X chromosome has the colorblindness gene. Why is colorblindness more common in men?
A. Men have only one X chromosome.
B. Men have two X chromosomes.
C. Women have no X chromosomes.
D. Men’s X chromosome is larger than women’s X chromosome.
ANS: A
REF: sex chromosomes
OBJ: application and understanding
222. An X-linked recessive gene has greater effects on whom?
A. adults more than children
B. children more than adults
C. men more than women
D. women more than men
ANS: C
REF: sex chromosomes
OBJ: application and understanding
223. Suppose a father is red-green color blind and the mother has normal color vision. What color vision
will their children have?
A. The sons will be color blind and the daughters will have normal color vision.
B. The daughters will be color blind and the sons will have normal color vision.
C. Half of the sons will be color blind and the daughters will have normal color vision.
D. All will have normal color vision, but the daughters could have color-blind children.
ANS: D
REF: sex chromosomes
OBJ: application and understanding
224. What is meant by “epigenetics”?
A. the study of how genes influence behavior
B. measurements of genetic differences among groups of people
C. measurements of genetic differences between males and females
D. ways in which the environment changes gene expression
ANS: D
REF: more complex
OBJ: remembering (definition)
119
225. If a rat is malnourished during her pregnancy, her offspring behave differently from normal throughout
life. What is the field that studies effects like this one?
A. heritability
B. epigenetics
C. symbiosis
D. mutation
ANS: B
REF: more complex
OBJ: remembering
226. What do the findings in epigenetics imply about the concept of heritability?
A. Heritability is almost always .5.
B. It is difficult or impossible to separate the effects of heredity and environment.
C. Heritability tends to decrease from one generation to the next.
D. Genes affect body development but they have no influence on behavior.
ANS: B
REF: more complex
OBJ: application and understanding
227. Under which of these circumstances would heritability of some trait probably INCREASE?
A. if everyone lived in an equally good environment
B. if everyone had the same genes
C. if some people had substantially better opportunities than others did
D. if behavioral measurements were inaccurate
ANS: A
REF: heritability
OBJ: application and understanding
228. Most evidence about heritability in humans comes from studies of
A. twins and differences among cultures.
B. twins and adopted children.
C. adopted children and generation differences.
D. generation differences and differences among cultures.
ANS: B
REF: heritability
OBJ: application and understanding
229. What is meant by the term “monozygotic twins”?
A. twins who were reared by separate families
B. twins who were reared by the same family
C. twins who developed from a single fertilized egg
D. twins who developed from different fertilized eggs
ANS: C
REF: heritability
OBJ: remembering (definition)
230. What is meant by the term “dizygotic twins”?
A. twins who were reared by separate families
B. twins who were reared by the same family
C. twins who developed from a single fertilized egg
D. twins who developed from different fertilized eggs
ANS: D
REF: heritability
OBJ: remembering (definition)
231. To estimate heritability of some behavior, what kinds of people do researchers usually study?
A. people from different cultures
B. twins and adopted children
C. uneducated adults
D. surgical patients
ANS: B
REF: heritability
OBJ: remembering
120
232. To estimate the heritability of a human behavior, what have investigators usually examined?
A. differences between one culture and another
B. differences between the average for one generation and another
C. differences between children of one age and another
D. twins and adopted children
ANS: D
REF: heritability
OBJ: remembering
233. Which of the following would count as evidence suggesting heritability of a behavior?
A. Dizygotic twins resemble each other more than monozygotic twins do.
B. Dizygotic twins resemble each other exactly as much as monozygotic twins do.
C. Adopted children resemble their biological parents.
D. Children resemble their mothers more than their fathers.
ANS: C
REF: heritability
OBJ: application and understanding
234. Which of the following is considered strong evidence in favor of heritability?
A. Adopted children resemble their adoptive parents more than their biological parents.
B. Adopted children resemble their biological parents more than their adoptive parents.
C. Dizygotic twins resemble each other more than monozygotic twins do.
D. Monozygotic twins reared together resemble each other.
ANS: B
REF: heritability
OBJ: application and understanding
235. If the heritability of something is high, which of these should we expect?
A. Dizygotic twins resemble each other more than monozygotic twins do.
B. Monozygotic and dizygotic twins resemble each other equally.
C. Monozygotic twins separated at birth resemble each other.
D. Adopted children resemble their adoptive parents and not the biological parents.
ANS: C
REF: heritability
OBJ: application and understanding
236. Whether a given child speaks English, Spanish, or Portuguese depends on the _____, and therefore the
heritability is approximately_____.
A. genetics... 0
B. genetics... 1
C. environment... 0
D. environment... 1
ANS: C
REF: heritability
OBJ: application and understanding
237. When adopted children strongly resemble their biological mothers, the likely interpretation is _____
heritability, but another possible explanation is _____.
A. high... prenatal environment
B. high... mutation
C. low... prenatal environment
D. low... mutation
ANS: A
REF: heritability
OBJ: application and understanding
238. Most Asian adults consume little milk or other dairy products. What is the main reason?
A. They have a cultural taboo against dairy products.
B. They have different taste buds compared to non-Asians.
C. People in most Asian countries cannot afford milk.
D. Most Asians are genetically unable to digest dairy products quickly.
ANS: D
REF: direct and indirect
OBJ: remembering
121
239. Variations in one gene affect people’s milk drinking. What does that gene do?
A. It alters the responses of taste buds.
B. It alters the activity of brain areas controlling hunger.
C. It alters people’s ability to metabolize a sugar found in milk.
D. It increases the velocity of action potentials in nerves controlling salivation.
ANS: C
REF: direct and indirect
OBJ: remembering
240. A gene that influences lactose metabolism varies among human populations. What behavior does the
gene influence?
A. response to pain
B. milk consumption
C. depressed mood
D. adjustment to changes in time zone
ANS: C
REF: direct and indirect
OBJ: remembering
241. A gene is largely responsible for why most Europeans drink more milk than most Asians. What does
that gene do?
A. It alters taste buds.
B. It changes blood flow to the lateral hypothalamus in the brain.
C. It controls ability to metabolize milk sugars.
D. It alters the sense of smell.
ANS: C
REF: direct and indirect
OBJ: remembering
242. Chinese and Japanese people are less likely than northern Europeans to enjoy drinking large amounts
of milk, because of a genetic difference. What does that gene control?
A. the ability to metabolize the sugars in milk
B. the taste of milk
C. the total rate of body activity
D. development of certain brain areas
ANS: A
REF: direct and indirect
OBJ: remembering
243. Because of the multiplier effect, we should expect heritability estimates to be higher for whom?
A. They should be higher for adults than for children.
B. They should be higher for children than for adults.
C. They should be higher for men than for women.
D. They should be higher for women than for men.
ANS: A
REF: multiplier
OBJ: application and understanding
244. With regard to genetics, what is meant by the “multiplier effect”?
A. Heritability estimates are larger for people in large groups than in small groups.
B. Environmental influences increase small tendencies that genes produce.
C. A large number of genes combine their effects to influence behavior.
D. Genes that increase brain size also increase intellectual ability.
ANS: B
REF: magnifier
OBJ: remembering (definition)
122
245. PKU (phenylketonuria) is an inherited condition that leads to mental retardation. However, a family
can prevent the mental retardation by controlling which of these?
A. the child’s exposure to sunlight
B. the child’s diet
C. the child’s sleeping habits
D. the child’s friendships
ANS: B
REF: modification OBJ: remembering
246. Studies on PKU (phenylketonuria) support which of these generalizations?
A. Nearly every behavior depends on contributions from many brain areas.
B. Extensively practicing a particular skill alters the anatomy of certain brain areas.
C. Addictive drugs act by increasing dopamine release in certain brain areas.
D. Environmental changes can alter the effects of genes.
ANS: D
REF: modification OBJ: application and understanding
247. Which of these demonstrates that changes in the environment can alter the effects of genes?
A. the effects of brain damage on people’s ability to recognize faces
B. the effects of diet on PKU (phenylketonuria)
C. the chemical similarity between LSD and the neurotransmitter serotonin
D. the ability of fMRI to detect changes in brain activity
ANS: B
REF: modification OBJ: application and understanding
248. Some people claim that if something is under genetic control, we can’t do anything about it. Which of
these contradicts that idea?
A. the effect of sleep deprivation on people’s ability to stay alert
B. the effect of visual stimulation on fMRI
C. the effect of a full moon on behavior
D. the effect of diet on PKU (phenylketonuria)
ANS: D
REF: modification OBJ: application and understanding
249. One example of evolutionary psychology is that kittiwake chicks, living on a cliff ledge,
A. remain motionless until they are able to fly.
B. show intense fear when they look down.
C. often wander from one nest to another.
D. eat a more varied diet than chicks of related species.
ANS: A
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: remembering
250. One example of evolutionary psychology is the difference between kittiwake chicks and chicks of
other gull species with regard to which behavior?
A. wake-sleep cycle
B. ability to hear high-frequency sounds
C. walking around
D. food preference
ANS: C
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: remembering
251. Why do people get “goose bumps” when they are cold?
A. They gain an advantage by increasing blood flow to the skin.
B. They inherited this behavior from ancestral species, for whom it was useful.
C. They gain an advantage by increasing brain activity.
D. They learn this behavior by imitating others.
ANS: B
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: application and understanding
123
252. Human infants tightly grasp anything placed in the palm of the hand. Why?
A. Grasping something increases activity in the brain.
B. Grasping something decreases heart rate.
C. Humans inherited this behavior from monkey-like ancestors.
D. They learn this behavior by watching their parents.
ANS: C
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: application and understanding
253. The grasp reflex is useless for human infants. What is its use for monkey infants?
A. It helps them find food.
B. It helps them hold on to the mother as she walks.
C. It helps them protect themselves against predators.
D. It helps them hold onto a tree.
ANS: B
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: remembering
254. Which of these questions is a primary concern for evolutionary psychologists?
A. Can we locate the genes that influence particular behaviors?
B. What benefits favored selection of certain genes?
C. What is the best way for people to behave?
D. How will people continue to evolve in the future?
ANS: B
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: application and understanding
255. Which of these questions is of greatest interest to an evolutionary psychologist?
A. Does brain size predict intelligence?
B. What is the best way to teach children to respect the rights of others?
C. Where on the chromosomes are the genes responsible for color vision?
D. Why are more men than women eager for multiple sex partners?
ANS: D
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: application and understanding
256. What explanation do evolutionary psychologists suggest for why men might be more interested in
casual sex than women are?
A. Casual sex can spread a man’s genes.
B. Men learn this expectation from their culture.
C. Women have lower testosterone levels.
D. Men have lower moral integrity.
ANS: A
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: remembering
257. Of these claims by certain evolutionary psychologists, which one is most controversial?
A. Humans get goose bumps because goose bumps were useful to our ancestors.
B. Human infants have a grasp reflex because it was useful to monkey ancestors.
C. Men seek multiple sex partners because that behavior helps spread their genes.
D. Kittiwake chicks remain motionless because moving could be fatal to them.
ANS: C
REF: evolutionary psych
OBJ: remembering
124