Chapter Three
Biological Aspects
of Psychology
Question
___________ play(s) an important role in
speeding up the action potential as it
moves through a neuron.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Glia
Myelin
Mitochondria
The soma
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Answer
Choice b is correct.
Myelin is a fatty substance that wraps
around some axons and speeds action
potentials. (Chapter 3, Action Potentials
section)
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Question
Communication between neurons in your
central nervous system could NOT occur
without which of the following chemical
messengers?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Schwann cells
Neurotransmitters
Synapses
Oligodendrites
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Answer
Choice b is correct.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals released
by one neuron that bind to receptors on a
second neuron. Neurotransmitters are
chemical messengers that instruct the
second neuron to fire or not to fire an
action potential. (Chapter 3, Synapses
and Communication Between Neurons
section)
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Question
Which of the following answer choices
correctly summarizes the sequence of
structures through which a message
travels within a single neuron?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Dendrite, axon, cell body, synapse
Cell body, dendrite, axon, synapse
Axon, synapse, cell body, dendrite
Dendrite, cell body, axon, synapse
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Answer
Choice d is correct.
An action potential moves through a
single neuron in this order: dendrite, cell
body, axon, synapse. (Chapter 3,
Synapses and Communication Between
Neurons section)
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Question
If the fire alarm were to go off in the
classroom right now, your jumpy reaction
to this stimulus would be mediated by the
activity of the __________.
a)
b)
c)
d)
parasympathetic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system
corpus callosum
hippocampus
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Answer
Choice b is correct.
The sympathetic division of the autonomic
nervous system readies your body for
action in the face of stress. It is said to
mediate the body’s fight-or-flight
response. (Chapter 3, The Autonomic
Nervous System section)
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Question
Your cousin fell off his bike and injured his
head. At the hospital, the doctors decide to use
a brain imaging technique that involves the
injection of a tiny, harmless amount of
radioactively tagged glucose. Your aunt asks
you what this technique is called. You tell her
that it’s called a(n) __________.
a)
b)
c)
d)
MRI
fMRI
PET scan
EEG
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Answer
Choice c is correct.
A PET scan can measure brain activity by
recording where glucose becomes
concentrated after being made radioactive
and injected into the bloodstream.
(Chapter 3, The Brain section)
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Question
Your father is a police officer. You wonder why
he often asks drivers that he pulls over to walk
a straight line. He tells you that alcohol impairs
walking and other well-rehearsed motor skills.
He also mentions that these skills are managed
by the functioning of the __________.
a)
b)
c)
d)
midbrain
cerebellum
reticular formation
medulla
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Answer
Choice b is correct.
The cerebellum is the part of the
hindbrain that controls finely coordinated
movements. It is in charge of muscle
movement coordination and balance. It is
also one of the first areas impaired by the
intake of alcohol. (Chapter 3, The
Hindbrain section)
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Question
Chicago’s O’Hare airport is a major airline hub
in the Midwest. Many airplanes are routed
through O’Hare on their way to other
destinations around the United States. The
________ is like O’Hare, in that sensory
information is routed through it as that
information makes its way to other destinations
in the brain.
a)
b)
c)
d)
thalamus
hypothalamus
reticular formation
amygdala
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Answer
Choice a is correct.
The thalamus serves as a relay center for
sensory information for every sense other
than smell. It sends this sensory
information on to higher brain areas.
(Chapter 3, The Forebrain section)
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Question
Who am I? I am the brain structure in
charge of helping you form new
memories. I am likely damaged in
individuals like the protagonist in
Memento and Dory in Finding Nemo. I am
the __________.
a)
b)
c)
d)
amygdala
hippocampus
hypothalamus
basal ganglia
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Answer
Choice b is correct.
The hippocampus is a forebrain structure
that plays an important role in the
formation of new memories. Patients with
damage to the hippocampus often cannot
form new memories, a condition referred
to as anterograde amnesia. (Chapter 3,
The Forebrain section)
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Question
Which of the following choices shows the
correct matching of lobe of the cortex with the
specialized function of that cortical area?
a) frontal – motor cortex; parietal –
somatosensory cortex
b) frontal – somatosensory cortex; parietal –
motor cortex
c) occipital – motor cortex; frontal –
somatosensory cortex
d) parietal – motor cortex; occipital –
somatosensory cortex
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Answer
Choice a is correct.
The frontal lobe contains the motor cortex
that controls voluntary movements in
specific parts of the body. The parietal
lobe contains the somatosensory cortex
that receives skin sensations from the
body. (Chapter 3, The Cerebral Cortex
section)
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Question
Split-brain studies highlight the role of the
_________ in integrating information
between the two cerebral hemispheres.
a)
b)
c)
d)
optic chiasm
association cortex
gyri
corpus callosum
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Answer
Choice d is correct.
Split-brain patients have had their corpus
callosum cut as a treatment of last resort
for epilepsy. This surgical procedure
isolates the two hemispheres from each
other because the corpus callosum
“bridge” between the two hemispheres is
no longer present. (Chapter 3, The
Divided Brain in a Unified Self section)
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Question
Deficits in which neurotransmitter are
seen in patients with Alzheimer’s
disease?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Serotonin
GABA
Dopamine
Acetylcholine
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Answer
Choice d is correct.
In Alzheimer’s disease, there is a nearly
complete loss of cholinergic neurons
(neurons that use acetylcholine) in a
nucleus in the forebrain that sends fibers
to the cerebral cortex and hippocampus.
(Chapter 3, Three Classes of
Neurotransmitters section)
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Question
A friend informs you that she is currently taking
an anti-depressant medication to help with her
mood symptoms. She specifically tells you that
the medication is Zoloft. Given this information,
you inform her that Zoloft affects __________
levels in the brain.
a)
b)
c)
d)
acetylcholine
norepinephrine
serotonin
GABA
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Answer
Choice c is correct.
Anti-depressant medications such as Prozac,
Zoloft, and Paxil appear to relieve some of the
symptoms of depression by acting on serotonin
systems to maintain optimal levels of this
neurotransmitter. These medications belong to
a class of drugs known as selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). (Chapter 3, Three
Classes of Neurotransmitters section)
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Question
The endocrine system consists of
_________, which secrete chemicals
known as __________.
a)
b)
c)
d)
muscles; gonadotropins
neurotransmitters; glands
glands; hormones
papillae; cerebrospinal fluid
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Answer
Choice c is correct.
The endocrine system consists of cells
that form organs called glands. Glands
secrete chemicals known as hormones.
Well-known hormones include estrogen,
androgen, and cortisol. (Chapter 3, The
Endocrine System: Coordinating the
Internal World section)
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