Question 1

After split-brain surgery,patients are unable to walk or to care for the physical needs of everyday life.

Accepted Answer

After split-brain surgery, patients may experience some temporary difficulty with coordination and balance, but they are generally able to walk and care for their physical needs. The main effect of split-brain surgery is a disruption of communication between the two hemispheres of the brain, leading to changes in cognitive processing and behavior.

Question 2

The action potential is a chemical substance that alters the activity of a receiving neuron.

Accepted Answer

The action potential is not a chemical substance. It is an electrical signal that travels down the axon of a neuron and triggers the release of neurotransmitters, which can then alter the activity of a receiving neuron.

Question 3

The brain stem's two main structures are the medulla and the pons.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. The brain stem consists of the medulla oblongata and the pons, among other structures.

Question 4

Serotonin affects neurons involved in sleep,appetite,and mood.

Accepted Answer

Serotonin is well-known for its effects on mood, but it also plays a role in regulating sleep and appetite.

Question 5

Monozygotic twins are more likely to share a trait with high heritability than are dizygotic twins.

Accepted Answer

Monozygotic (identical) twins share 100% of their genes, while dizygotic (fraternal) twins share only 50%, on average. Therefore, if a trait has a high heritability (meaning genetic factors play a large role in determining individual differences in the trait), it is more likely to be shared by monozygotic twins than by dizygotic twins.

Question 6

The autonomic nervous system controls skeletal muscles.

Accepted Answer

The autonomic nervous system controls smooth and cardiac muscles, not skeletal muscles. Skeletal muscles are controlled by the somatic nervous system.

Question 7

Transcranial magnetic stimulation uses a powerful magnetic field to temporarily stimulate or inactivate neural circuits.

Accepted Answer

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) does use a powerful magnetic field to temporarily stimulate or inactivate neural circuits in the brain.

Question 8

Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.

Accepted Answer

Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, totaling 46 chromosomes in each cell of the body.

Question 9

A heritability estimate around .53 for a trait indicates that 0.53% of the individual differences in the trait can be attributed to genetic factors in the population that was studied.

Accepted Answer

A heritability estimate around .53 indicates that 53% of the individual differences in the trait can be attributed to genetic factors in the population that was studied, not 0.53%.

Question 10

Neurons greatly outnumber glial cells in the brain.

Accepted Answer

Although early studies estimated that there were 10 times as many glial cells as neurons in the brain, recent research suggests that there may be a more equal or even greater proportion of neurons to glial cells in the brain.

Deck 3: A: Biological Psychology