Deck 5: The Research Methods of Biopsychology

Question 1

Vestibular function can be assessed by assessing a patient's reaction to

A) facial nerve stimulation.
B) electroencephalography.
C) cold water flushed in the ear.
D) needles inserted in the face.
E) needles inserted in the foot.

Answer 1

cold water flushed in the ear.

Question 2

Unlike brain-imaging techniques, TMS permits the study of __________ between human cortical activity and cognition.

A) links
B) causal relations
C) correlations
D) neural connections
E) communication

Answer 2

causal relations

Question 3

In human patients, EEG activity is commonly recorded directly from

A) muscle.
B) the hippocampus.
C) the scalp.
D) the neocortex.
E) the heart.

Answer 3

the scalp.

Question 4

Which method provides structural and functional information about the living human brain on the same image?

A) functional MRI
B) angiography
C) PET
D) CT
E) EEG

Question 5

The ironic case of Professor P. makes the point that

A) two brains are better than one.
B) Alzheimer's disease can have an early onset.
C) many research methods of biopsychology are used in clinical settings.
D) brain tumors can be bilateral.
E) cortical tumors are usually malignant.

Question 6

A patient is sometimes injected with radioactive 2-deoxyglucose before

A) a CT scan.
B) magnetic resonance imaging.
C) a contrast X-ray.
D) positron emission tomography.
E) a sodium amytal test.

Question 7

Which technique is illustrated here?

A) computed tomography
B) cerebral angiography
C) electroencephalography
D) magnetic resonance imaging
E) positron emission tomography

Question 8

Functional MRI generates images of increases to areas of the brain of

A) oxygenated blood flow.
B) water flow.
C) nitric oxide flow.
D) alpha waves.
E) 2-DG.

Question 9

Which technique records the BOLD signal?

A) MRI
B) CT
C) fMRI
D) PET
E) MEG

Question 10

Which of the following is a contrast X-ray technique?

A) angiography
B) magnetoencephalography
C) positron emission tomography
D) structural magnetic resonance imaging
E) functional MRI

Question 11

Which contrast X-ray technique is designed to locate vascular abnormalities in the brains of human patients?

A) cerebral angiography
B) X-ray photography
C) pneumoencephalography
D) CT scans
E) PET scans

Question 12

A computed tomography (CT) scan of the human brain is usually presented as a series of eight or nine

A) horizontal sections.
B) frontal sections.
C) coronal sections.
D) sagittal sections.
E) midsagittal sections.

Question 13

Which of the following is a method used by cognitive neuroscientists to turn off part of the brain while the effects on cognition and behavior are assessed?

A) 2-DG.
B) ERP.
C) TMS.
D) PET.
E) EEG.

Question 14

Which of the following provides the most detailed three-dimensional view of the structure of the living human brain?

A) CT
B) PET
C) angiography
D) EEG
E) MRI

Question 15

Functional MRI requires the injection of radioactive

A) water.
B) glucose.
C) 2-DG.
D) oxygen.
E) none of the above

Question 16

Alpha wave EEG activity is associated with

A) high arousal.
B) sleep.
C) relaxed wakefulness.
D) epilepsy.
E) evoked potentials.

Question 17

The reason why radioactive 2-DG is useful for revealing the level of activity of neurons in different parts of the brain is that 2-DG

A) is absorbed by neurons in relation to their level of activity.
B) is metabolized by neurons in relation to their level of activity.
C) is not metabolized by neurons.
D) both A and C
E) both A and B

Question 18

Positron emission tomography is a valuable research tool because it

A) pictures the brain in fine detail.
B) involves angiography.
C) provides an image of brain function.
D) provides an image of brain structure.
E) involves low levels of radioactivity.

Question 19

An electroencephalograph is

A) a gross measure of the electrical activity of the brain.
B) a gross measure of the electrical activity of the cortex.
C) a gross measure of the electrical activity of neurons.
D) a gross measure of the electrical activity of groups of neurons.
E) an EEG machine.

Question 20

Which of the following procedures is not an adaptation of X-ray photography?

A) computed tomography
B) MRI
C) CT
D) angiography
E) both A and C

Question 21

The signals in the first few milliseconds of the average auditory evoked potential

A) always originate next to the scalp electrode.
B) are far-field potentials.
C) originate in the sensory nuclei of the brain stem.
D) all of the above
E) both B and C

Question 22

In electrooculography, how many electrodes are typically used to monitor the movements of one eye?

A) 4
B) 8
C) 3
D) 1
E) 6

Question 23

If you were startled by a loud noise, there would be an increase in your skin's conductance of electricity. This response is called

A) a skin conductance response.
B) an EKG.
C) a skin conductance level.
D) an average evoked potential.
E) a P300 wave.

Question 24

Which of the following is a record of a person's heart beat?

A) electrocardiogram
B) ECG
C) EKG
D) all of the above
E) both A and B

Question 25

Hypertension is

A) stress.
B) caused by excitement.
C) chronic high blood pressure.
D) chronic low blood pressure.
E) a sphygmomanometer.

Question 26

Electrooculography is

A) usually performed with one electrode mounted on each cornea.
B) a method of estimating eye movement.
C) a method of measuring skin conductance.
D) an indirect method of measuring pupil constriction.
E) both A and B

Question 27

Electrooculography is a technique for monitoring

A) penile engorgement.
B) cortical activity.
C) blood pressure.
D) eye movement.
E) muscle tension.

Question 28

The level of 130/70 mmHg is

A) indicative of stress.
B) the ratio of diastolic to total systolic blood pressure.
C) a healthy human blood pressure.
D) indicative of hypertension.
E) both a and c

Question 29

The P300

A) is an EEG wave that often occurs after the presentation of a momentary stimulus meaningful to the volunteer.
B) is a negative EEG wave.
C) is a far-field potential occurring 300 mm from the electrode.
D) occurs about 300 seconds prior to a response.
E) is a component of the potential evoked by a meaningless click.

Question 30

Which of the following have traditionally been used by physicians to measure blood pressure?

A) sphygmomanometers
B) plethysmographs
C) oscilloscopes
D) electrodes
E) ERPs

Question 31

The main difference between an average evoked potential (AEP) and a "raw" evoked potential is that

A) an AEP is usually unobservable.
B) an AEP is an alpha wave.
C) a raw evoked potential is often unobservable amidst the random noise of the ongoing EEG signal.
D) an AEP is a unit response.
E) a raw evoked potential is likely to be larger.

Question 32

Signal averaging is commonly used in the recording of ERPs because it reduces the magnitude of

A) large signals.
B) sensory evoked potentials.
C) random signals.
D) the P300.
E) far-field potentials.

Question 33

MEG records

A) the time of particular EEG signals.
B) changes in magnetic fields on the surface of the scalp.
C) the frequency of particular EEG signals.
D) the latency of far-field potentials.
E) the P300.

Question 34

Muscle tension is monitored by

A) electroencephalography.
B) electromyography.
C) electrooculography.
D) ERPs.
E) MEGs.

Question 35

Which gland or glands directly influence the SCL and the SCR?

A) gonads
B) pituitary gland
C) sweat glands
D) pancreas
E) adrenal glands

Question 36

The short-latency low-amplitude signals (indicated by the arrow) in this average auditory evoked potential are termed

A) the P300.
B) the P400.
C) the ERP.
D) the sensory evoked potential.
E) far-field potentials.

Question 37

Which of the following biopsychologists would be most likely to study cortical ERPs in human volunteers?

A) a neuropsychologist
B) a psychophysiologist
C) a physiological psychologist
D) a psychopharmacologist
E) a comparative psychologist

Question 38

Which of the following technique measures changes in magnetic fields on the surface of the brain?

A) MRI
B) fMRI
C) MEG
D) EMG
E) EEG

Question 39

Components of AEPs recorded in the first few milliseconds after a stimulus are

A) almost always auditory.
B) almost always visual.
C) not usually influenced by the meaning of the stimulus.
D) of special interest to cognitive psychologists.
E) almost always influenced by the meaning of the stimulus.

Question 40

Illustrated here is

A) electroencephalography.
B) magnetoencephalography.
C) electrooculography.
D) plethysmography.
E) electromyography.

Question 41

Lesions that are commonly referred to as amygdala lesions often

A) damage neural structures other than the amygdala.
B) do not destroy the entire amygdala.
C) damage prefrontal cortex.
D) both A and B
E) both B and C

Question 42

The reference point for many stereotaxic atlases of the rat brain is

A) smegma.
B) lambda.
C) the intersection between two major tracts.
D) bregma.
E) both C and D

Question 43

Bregma is

A) the point of intersection between two major skull sutures.
B) a common reference point for rat stereotaxic brain surgery.
C) a naughty word.
D) a type of electrode holder.
E) both A and B

Question 44

Intracellular unit recording is not commonly used in biopsychological research because

A) it is too difficult for biopsychologists.
B) biopsychologists are usually not interested in neurons.
C) it is a neurophysiological procedure.
D) it is very difficult to keep the tip of a microelectrode inside a single neuron in a moving subject.
E) all of the above

Question 45

Intracellular unit recording is particularly difficult in

A) humans.
B) monkeys.
C) rats.
D) freely moving animals.
E) higher species.

Question 46

Unlike subcortical lesions, cortical lesions are often made by

A) the electrolytic method.
B) aspiration.
C) radio-frequency current.
D) transection.
E) stereotaxic surgery.

Question 47

Extracellular unit recording provides information about

A) the magnitude of the membrane potential.
B) the wave form of action potentials.
C) EPSPs.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 48

Lesions restricted to structures in one half of the brain usually have effects that are much less severe than do comparable

A) unilateral lesions.
B) bipolar lesions.
C) cryogenic lesions.
D) aspiration lesions.
E) bilateral lesions.

Question 49

Lesions restricted to structures on one half of the brain are called

A) unilateral lesions.
B) bilateral lesions.
C) monopolar lesions.
D) bipolar lesions.
E) unitary lesions.

Question 50

Which of the following brain lesion techniques is least likely to be associated with damage to major blood vessels?

A) aspiration lesions
B) electrolytic lesions
C) radio-frequency lesions
D) knife cuts
E) lobotomy

Question 51

The method by which the experimental devices are accurately positioned in subcortical structures of human patients and animal subjects is

A) autoradiography.
B) cryogenesis.
C) perfusion.
D) stereotaxic surgery.
E) aspiration.

Question 52

A temporary or reversible lesion can be produced by

A) excision or cutting.
B) aspiration or suction.
C) cooling the target brain structure or injecting an anesthetic into it.
D) radio-frequency current.
E) invasive EEG.

Question 53

Unlike other electrophysiological methods of recording neural activity, intracellular unit recording provides measurements of

A) cell firing.
B) action potentials.
C) the membrane potential.
D) reductions in neural firing.
E) EEG activity.

Question 54

Which method was used to record this signal?

A) extracellular unit recording
B) intracellular unit recording
C) electroencephalography
D) multiple-unit recording
E) plethysmography

Question 55

The __________ created by the current is the main cause of tissue damage produced by a radio-frequency lesion.

A) vibration
B) current induction
C) heat
D) ion deposits
E) acid

Question 56

Cooling can be used to produce a functional or reversible brain lesion because

A) the damage that it produces lasts only a few weeks.
B) the damage that it produces lasts only a day or two.
C) it can temporarily suppress neural activity in a particular area of the brain without damaging the brain.
D) it produces lesions that can be reversed with drugs.
E) the subjects usually survive.

Question 57

Penile erection is

A) a muscular response.
B) an electromyographic response.
C) a plethysmographic response.
D) a sphygmomanometric response.
E) an aberrant response.

Question 58

Reversible lesions can be produced by microinjection directly into the target brain structure of a

A) local anesthetic such as lidocaine.
B) a micro knife blade.
C) coolant followed by antifreeze.
D) both A and B
E) both B and C

Question 59

Reversible brain lesions, if properly done,

A) destroy only those neurons that have been cooled.
B) produce a discrete area of permanent damage.
C) destroy neurons by freezing them.
D) produce no permanent neural damage.
E) eliminate all neural activity in the brain for about 3 hours.

Question 60

Stereotaxic surgery in human patients typically requires

A) a stereotaxic atlas.
B) a stereotaxic instrument.
C) a head holder.
D) an electrode holder.
E) all of the above

Question 61

Which of the following is a weakness of the gene knockout technique as a method of biopsychological research?

A) Most behavioral traits are influenced by many interacting genes.
B) Elimination of one gene often influences the expression of other genes.
C) The effects of some gene knockouts are likely to depend on experience.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 62

Drugs that do not penetrate the blood brain barrier can be administered to particular neural structures

A) by SC injection.
B) through a stereotaxically positioned cerebral cannula.
C) through an intracerebral microelectrode.
D) by IV injection.
E) by injection into a carotid artery.

Question 63

Which of the following is a technique for locating particular proteins in the brain?

A) immunocytochemistry.
B) the 6-OHDA technique.
C) in situ hybridization.
D) both A and B
E) both A and C

Question 64

Transgenic mice always possess

A) more chromosomes than normal.
B) genes of the other sex.
C) the behavioral characteristics of the other sex.
D) fewer chromosomes than normal.
E) genes of another species.

Question 65

A method of measuring changes in the extracellular concentrations of various neurochemicals in particular sites in the brains of active laboratory animals is

A) cerebral dialysis.
B) the 6-OHDA histological technique.
C) in situ hybridization.
D) immunocytochemistry.
E) electroencephalography.

Question 66

The neurotoxin, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) selectively destroys

A) neurons that release dopamine or norepinephrine.
B) axons.
C) cell bodies.
D) multipolar neurons.
E) the hypothalamus.

Question 67

The final stage of the 2-deoxyglucose technique involves

A) autoradiography.
B) injecting 2-DG.
C) injecting radioactive 2-DG.
D) immunocytochemistry.
E) cerebral dialysis.

Question 68

Cerebral dialysis is a method of

A) stimulating the brain.
B) stimulating the neuroendocrine system.
C) measuring changes in the extracellular concentrations of various neurochemicals at particular sites in the brains of active animals.
D) 6-OHDA.
E) recording AEPs.

Question 69

Multiple-unit signals are typically

A) recorded through microelectrodes.
B) recorded through electrodes that are larger than microelectrodes.
C) integrated, or added together, to facilitate their interpretation.
D) both A and C
E) both B and C

Question 70

Both ibotenic acid and kainic acid

A) are neurotoxins.
B) destroy neurons whose cell bodies are at the tip of an intracerebral cannula, while leaving axons passing through the region undamaged.
C) are selective dopamine agonists.
D) are selective dopamine antagonists.
E) both A and B

Question 71

Green fluorescent protein

A) was first isolated from a species of jelly fish.
B) fluoresces when exposed to blue light.
C) has been used to visualize neurons in a few plants, but not yet in animals.
D) all of the above
E) both A and B

Question 72

Melanopsin knockout mice have difficulty

A) adjusting their circadian rhythms in response to changes in the daily light-dark cycle.
B) seeing.
C) sleeping on a regular schedule.
D) displaying circadian rhythms.
E) recognizing circadian signals.

Question 73

IP, SC, and IM are all

A) recording methods.
B) drugs.
C) stimulation methods.
D) cranial nerves.
E) routes of drug administration.

Question 74

Which of the following procedures employs labeled antibodies?

A) immunocytochemistry
B) in situ hybridization
C) cerebral dialysis
D) electroencephalography
E) both A and B

Question 75

Knockout mice are mice that

A) have had a concussion.
B) are susceptible to concussion.
C) have amnesia.
D) both A and C
E) none of the above

Question 76

In immunocytochemistry, the labeled ligand is

A) an amino acid.
B) a microelectrode.
C) an antibody.
D) a neurotransmitter.
E) a receptor.

Question 77

Which method was used to record this signal?

A) extracellular unit recording
B) intracellular unit recording
C) electroencephalography
D) integrated multiple unit recording
E) plethysmography

Question 78

Immunocytochemistry is to in situ hybridization as

A) antibody is to messenger RNA.
B) DNA is to antibody.
C) neurotransmitter is to cell body.
D) antibody is to DNA.
E) RNA is to antibody.

Question 79

A method of identifying all of the brain areas of a laboratory animal that were particularly active during a behavioral test is

A) cerebral dialysis.
B) the 2-deoxyglucose technique.
C) immunocytochemistry.
D) the 6-OHDA technique.
E) the kainic acid technique.

Question 80

In laboratory animals, cortical EEG signals are commonly recorded through

A) stainless steel skull screws.
B) electrodes placed around the eyes.
C) subcortical electrodes.
D) disk electrodes taped to the scalp.
E) cortical pipettes.