Deck 3: Biology

Question 1

Organic brain syndrome may be caused by which of the following?

A) Low oxygen levels to the brain
B) Head trauma or injury
C) An acute infection
D) Both B and C
E) All of the above

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following is true about the relationship between early brain injury and criminal behaviour?

A) Most neural connections are formed in adolescence.
B) Early neuropsychological problems are predictive of persistent delinquency in adolescence.
C) Early childhood brain injuries are relatively easy to treat and correct.
D) Early onset brain injury is not related to stable criminal behaviour in adulthood.
E) All of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which brain imaging technique allows neuropsychologists to observe the "working" brain?

A) Magnetic resonance imaging
B) Magnetic resource imaging
C) Computerized tomography
D) X-rays
E) Positron emission tomography

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which of the following was a major conclusion drawn by Bufkin and Luttrell's (2005) review of studies on brain imaging and aggression?

A) Temporal lobe dysfunction contributes to aggressive behaviour.
B) Sex offenders are more likely to exhibit dysfunction in the occipital lobe.
C) The parietal lobe plays an important role in aggressive behaviour.
D) Occipital lobe dysfunction contributes to aggressive behaviour.
E) There is no relationship between brain dysfunction and aggressive behaviour.

Question 5

Phineas Gage suffered a traumatic head injury as a result of an accident. What specific area of his brain was injured?

A) Limbic system
B) Parietal lobe
C) Occipital lobe
D) Corpus callosum
E) Frontal lobe

Question 6

As a result of frontal lobe damage, some people exhibit rapid changes in mood or their emotional expressions. What is this referred to as?

A) Sequencing deficits
B) Emotional lability
C) Organic mood disorder
D) Plasticity
E) Rigidity

Question 7

Frontal lobe damage may alter behaviour by adversely impacting which of the following?

A) Executive control functions
B) Cortisol levels
C) The functioning of the autonomic nervous system
D) Lateralization of functions
E) The moderation of testosterone levels

Question 8

Impulsive criminal behaviour may be the result of which of the following?

A) Low prefrontal functioning and excessive subcortical functioning
B) Low lateralization functioning and excessive cerebral functioning
C) Low temporal lobe functioning and excessive frontal lobe functioning
D) Low subcortical functioning and excessive prefrontal functioning
E) Low frontal lobe functioning and excessive temporal lobe functioning

Question 9

Episodic dyscontrol syndrome (EDS), or intermittent explosive disorder (IED), is classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as which of the following?

A) Personality disorder
B) Impulse control disorder
C) Psychotic disorder
D) Substance use disorder
E) Anxiety disorder

Question 10

Which subcortical structure processes emotional information from the environment and plays a role in somatic memory?

A) Hippocampus
B) Amygdala
C) Prefrontal cortex
D) Temporal lobe
E) Hypothalamus

Question 11

The sensation of embarrassment or discomfort you may have experienced when disciplined as a child is an aspect of what type of memory recorded by the amygdala?

A) Somatic memory
B) Autobiographical memory
C) Spatial memory
D) Congruent memory
E) Procedural memory

Question 12

James Blair (1995) argues that facial expressions that convey fear or sadness act as non-verbal cues of submission during aggressive attacks, which should activate which of the following?

A) Bystander effect
B) Violence inhibition mechanism
C) Avoidance learning mechanism
D) Central nervous system
E) Fight-or-flight response

Question 13

Theories that focus on hemispheric dysfunction argue that psychopaths and violent offenders are less lateralized for which of the following?

A) Spatial processes
B) Serotonin production
C) Language and linguistic processes
D) Logical processes
E) Social information processing

Question 14

Dichotic listening task studies comparing psychopaths and non-psychopathic offenders have shown which of the following?

A) Non-psychopaths show greater recall for stimuli presented to the right ear.
B) Psychopaths show greater recall for stimuli presented to the right ear.
C) Psychopaths show greater recall for stimuli presented to the left ear.
D) Both A and B
E) Both A and C

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT true regarding violent behaviour and brain dysfunction?

A) Violent offenders are less lateralized for language.
B) Violent murderers show higher levels of activation in subcortical structures.
C) Impulsive murderers show lower levels of activation in the pre-frontal cortex.
D) Violent offenders tend to be left-handed more often than normal adults.
E) Violent offenders tend to be right-handed more often than normal adults.

Question 16

According to the BAS-BIS model, problems with the BIS system likely involve which of the following?

A) The neurotransmitter serotonin, probably leading to impulsive behaviour
B) The neurotransmitter serotonin, probably leading to behaviour overly focused on rewards
C) The neurotransmitter dopamine, probably leading to behaviour overly focused on rewards
D) The neurotransmitter dopamine, probably leading to impulsive behaviour
E) None of the above

Question 17

Which biological communication system includes a network of glands that secrete hormones into our bloodstream to regulate several functions, including growth, metabolism, and sexual development?

A) Behavioural activation system
B) Fight-or-flight system
C) Behavioural inhibition system
D) Endocrine system
E) Nervous system

Question 18

Which biological communication system includes a network of nerve cells that regulate and coordinate all of the body's activities?

A) Endocrine system
B) Nervous system
C) Behavioural inhibition system
D) Behavioural activation system
E) Fight-or-flight system

Question 19

Disruptions in the levels of which neurotransmitter can result in behaviour being activated in the absence of a reward, a threat, or other appropriate stimuli?

A) Serotonin
B) Cortisol
C) Monoamine Oxidase
D) Norepinephrine
E) Dopamine

Question 20

Higher levels of which neurotransmitter, which plays a role in many functions governed in the autonomic nervous system, may be related to increases in aggression?

A) Norepinephrine
B) Estrogen
C) Tryptamine
D) Serotonin
E) Cortisol

Question 21

Abnormally low levels of which neurotransmitter have been linked with suicide, mood disorders, alcoholism, and impulsive violent behaviour?

A) Dopamine
B) Testosterone
C) Serotonin
D) Norepinephrine
E) Monoamine oxidase

Question 22

Which chemical messengers play a role in several vital bodily functions, including sexual development?

A) Neurotransmitters
B) Dopamine
C) Serotonin
D) Hormones
E) Insulin

Question 23

Studies examining testosterone levels and aggressive behaviour fairly consistently show which of the following?

A) Testosterone is only correlated with increased aggressiveness among female animals.
B) Testosterone is negatively correlated with aggressiveness.
C) Testosterone is correlated with increased aggressiveness.
D) Testosterone is not correlated with increased aggressiveness.
E) Animals do not produce testosterone.

Question 24

Some research has found higher rates of aggressive behaviour among people afflicted with which disorder, characterized by the production of excessive levels of androgens?

A) Lycanthropy
B) Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
C) Andromeda Strain
D) Psychopathy
E) MacGregor's Syndrome

Question 25

Higher levels of testosterone may be correlated with a specific form of non-physical aggression characterized by behaviours designed to achieve higher rankings in social peer groups. Which type of aggression is this referred to as?

A) Passive aggression
B) Social stratification
C) Social dominance
D) Reactive aggression
E) Instrumental aggression

Question 26

The ________ nervous system prepares the body for fight-or-flight by activating certain internal functions, while the ________ nervous system reduces these internal functions when fear or a threat subsides.

A) somatic; autonomic
B) parasympathetic; sympathetic
C) sympathetic; parasympathetic
D) somatic; central
E) central; somatic

Question 27

Psychologist David Lykken refers to the process of learning to initiate or inhibit certain behaviours in response to aversive stimuli as which of the following?

A) Avoidance learning
B) Social learning
C) Operant conditioning
D) Classical conditioning
E) Differential reinforcement

Question 28

Poor performance on the Avoidance Learning Task may be the result of which of the following?

A) Under-responsive central nervous system
B) Over-responsive autonomic nervous system
C) Over-responsive parasympathetic nervous system
D) Over-responsive prefrontal cortex
E) Under-responsive autonomic nervous system

Question 29

Which of the following has been used in research as an indicator of autonomic nervous functioning?

A) Skin conductance
B) Cerebrospinal fluid
C) Heart rate
D) Both A and C
E) Both A and B

Question 30

According to psychophysiological theories of crime, low levels of which of the following are consistent with poor fear conditioning?

A) Testosterone
B) Skin conductance
C) Estrogen
D) Dopamine
E) Subcortical functioning

Question 31

Identify and describe the two major symptoms of frontal lobe dysfunction. Provide an example of each. Identify and describe four ways in which these major symptoms may contribute to violence.

Question 32

Explain how hemispheric asymmetry or dysfunction, particularly deficits in the lateralization of language, is related to criminal and violent behaviour.

Question 33

Compare and contrast the roles of the Behavioural Activation System (BAS) and the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) in violent behaviour. Identify and describe the specific roles played by various neurotransmitters in these two systems.

Question 34

Explain how testosterone levels might be linked to social dominance.

Question 35

Explain how autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning may be connected to higher stimulation-seeking or lower levels of empathy. Use two indicators of ANS functioning to support your answer.

Question 36

Discuss how the frontal lobe, particularly the prefrontal cortex, and the limbic system contribute to criminal behaviour.