Deck 3: A--Biological Psychology

Question 1

Neurons are able to communicate with each other by "skipping" action potentials across the synapse.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Action potentials are sent according to the all-or-none law.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A physiological explanation describes the mechanisms that produce a behavior.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The outer covering of the forebrain is known as the cerebral cortex.

Question 5

The action potential remains equally strong along the entire length of the axon, no matter how long the axon is.

Question 6

The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord.

Question 7

Damage to the prefrontal cortex is likely to produce poor performance on a delayed-response task, which indicates a difficulty in remembering what has just happened.

Question 8

Exactly five chemicals are used as neurotransmitters in the human brain.

Question 9

Glia support the neurons in many ways such as by insulating them, synchronizing activity among neighboring neurons, and removing waste products.

Question 10

Parkinson's disease is thought to be caused by a deficiency in the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Question 11

The basic function of the axon is to receive information from other neurons.

Question 12

A postsynaptic neuron will likely produce an action potential if it receives more excitation than inhibition at any given moment.

Question 13

Stimulants are drugs that increase energy, alertness, and activity.

Question 14

Mirror neurons are active when you make a movement, and also when you watch someone else make a similar movement.

Question 15

Each neurotransmitter regulates one, and only one, important type of behavior.

Question 16

Hormones and neurotransmitters are similar in that each is carried through the body by our blood.

Question 17

People with Parkinson's disease have trouble in inhibiting emotional outbursts.

Question 18

When the axon is not stimulated, its membrane has a resting potential.

Question 19

Narcotics are drugs that produce drowsiness, insensitivity to pain, and decreased responsiveness.

Question 20

The occipital lobe is specialized for hearing.

Question 21

A ____________________ is a junction where one neuron communicates with another.

Question 22

Nicotine is classified as a ____________________.

Question 23

____________________ is caused by a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.

Question 24

____________________ support the neurons in many ways such as by insulating them, synchronizing activity among neighboring neurons, and removing waste products.

Question 25

The resting potential of an axon is due to different distributions inside and outside the cell of ____________________ and ____________________.
or

Question 26

The three parts of a neuron are the cell body, the ____________________, and the ____________________.
or

Question 27

Brain volume tends to get smaller in old age.

Question 28

At the synaptic level, the effects of alcohol are most similar to those of ____________________.

Question 29

The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique can indicate which brain areas are the most active while the person performs some mental activity.

Question 30

Neurotransmitter molecules are stored in packets within the cell called ____________________.

Question 31

An action potential takes place by the movement of ____________________ ions across the membrane.

Question 32

During the resting potential, an axon's interior has a ____________________ charge relative to the outside of the cell.

Question 33

The order of how information is processed in a neuron goes from ____________________ to ____________________ to ____________________.

Question 34

Parkinson's disease can be helped by taking pills that contain ____________________.

Question 35

Research on the cerebral cortex has failed to find any one "master area" or "central processor" that pulls together all the current activity of the brain.

Question 36

In a typical neuron, during the resting potential the inside of the axon has an electrical charge of around ____________________.

Question 37

The peripheral nervous system is made up of the ____________________ nervous system, which controls muscles, and the ____________________ nervous system, which controls the organs.

Question 38

Brain researchers now believe that humans grow new neurons just as routinely as new skin cells or blood cells.

Question 39

LSD produces hallucinogenic experiences by attaching mainly to brain receptors sensitive to the neurotransmitter ____________________.

Question 40

Nearly all medical and recreational drugs that modify people's experiences exert their effects at ____________________.

Question 41

If a researcher wants to measure the electrical activity of the brain on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis, the best available technique would be ____________________.
or

Question 42

Neurons are cells in the nervous system that function to process information. Each neuron consists of three parts. Name and describe each of the three parts.

Question 43

Otto Loewi conducted an experiment in which he answered a key question about the nature of signaling across the synapse. Briefly describe the hypothesis, method, results, and interpretation of Loewi's study.

Question 44

Janet suffers from severe epileptic seizures that are untreatable with medicine. Her doctor decides to perform a callostomy (severing of the corpus callosum). Following surgery, her neuropsychologist conducts some tests to assess the effects of the surgery. During a divided visual field study, Janet is flashed words to both of her visual fields and asked to read the words. When some of the images are flashed, Janet experiences difficulty stating the word that was flashed. Explain which visual field presentation likely causes Janet the most difficulty when asked to state the word that was flashed and why.

Question 45

The ____________________ is the set of fibers that connect the left hemisphere of the brain to the right hemisphere.

Question 46

Stimulants, depressants and narcotics are types of drugs that have varied effects on an individual. Briefly describe the effects associated with each class of drugs and give a specific example of a drug in each class (e.g. opiates).

Question 47

Damage to the____________________ tends to cause an impairment in planning and organizing movements.

Question 48

Alex has been in a bicycling accident and has suffered a concussion. He is presenting to his doctor with a variety of symptoms. Please describe at least one symptom that you might expect to see if damage occurred to the following locations; prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and parietal lobe.