Question 1

While the hypothalamus is known to play a role in the formation of motivational and emotional urges,it is thought that the coordination of the behaviours needed to satisfy these urges is performed by the _______.

Accepted Answer

The limbic system, consisting of various brain structures including the hypothalamus and amygdala, is responsible for regulating emotions, motivation, and many other behaviors related to survival and reproduction. While the hypothalamus may initiate these behaviors, it is the limbic system that coordinates them. The hippocampus is mainly associated with memory, while the thalamus is primarily a relay station for sensory information.

Question 2

The area of the brain that receives information regarding feelings such as heat,cold,touch,and our awareness of balance is called the:

Accepted Answer

The somatic sensory cortex is responsible for receiving and processing sensory information from the body, including touch, temperature, and awareness of balance. The frontal cortex is responsible for higher-order thinking and decision-making, the motor cortex controls voluntary movements, and the association cortex integrates information from different sensory modalities.

Question 3

A male rat has a particular area of its brain destroyed and it subsequently loses its sex drive.It is most likely that the site of damage was the rat's _______________.

Accepted Answer

The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating many physiological processes, including sexual behavior. Damage to this area can lead to a decrease in sex drive.

Question 4

One of the primary functions of the thalamus is to:

Accepted Answer

The thalamus acts as a relay station for sensory information from the sense organs to the appropriate areas of the brain for further processing. It receives information from all sensory modalities except the olfactory system and routes it to the appropriate cortex for further processing.

Question 5

The reticular formation is considered to be the "brain's gatekeeper" because:

Accepted Answer

The reticular formation is called the "brain's gatekeeper" because it can control or allow incoming sensory information to relay to the cerebral cortex. It can either block or permit this information to be processed in the brain.

Question 6

The function of the descending reticular formation is to:

Accepted Answer

The descending reticular formation acts as a filter for sensory information, either blocking it out or admitting it to the brain.

Question 7

Research on schizophrenia has found that men with this disorder have abnormalities that might account for their confused thinking and disordered attention.These abnormalities tended to occur in their _______________.

Accepted Answer

The thalamus is involved in processing and relaying sensory information to other parts of the brain, and abnormalities in this region can contribute to the confused thinking and disordered attention observed in schizophrenia.

Question 8

Research,like that conducted by Roy Wise of Concordia University in Montreal,has provided evidence that the area in the brain important for the value of reward and motivation is:

Accepted Answer

The nucleus accumbens is known to be a key area in the brain related to reward and motivation. This is supported by research including that of Roy Wise of Concordia University in Montreal. The other areas listed (hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) are also part of the brain's limbic system, but are not as directly related to reward and motivation.

Question 9

Which lobe is found in the back of the brain and is the location of the brain's visual system?

Accepted Answer

The occipital lobe, located in the back of the brain, is primarily responsible for processing visual information.

Question 10

The primary job of the amygdala is to:

Accepted Answer

The amygdala is responsible for organizing emotional response patterns, particularly aggression and fear. It plays a critical role in the processing and interpretation of emotional stimuli and triggering the body's instinctive fight or flight response.

Question 11

Two important structures in the limbic system are:

Accepted Answer

The two important structures in the limbic system are the hippocampus and the amygdala. The hippocampus is associated with memory formation and the amygdala is associated with emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

Question 12

Wilder Penfield's pioneering work involved the mapping of the body onto the brain for motor control and the sense of touch using the method of _______.

Accepted Answer

Wilder Penfield used destruction and stimulation techniques to map the body onto the brain for motor control and the sense of touch. He would stimulate specific areas of the brain with electrical probes and then observe which parts of the body responded. Alternatively, he would selectively destroy parts of the brain and then observe which parts of the body were affected.

Question 13

The area of the brain that is responsible for self-awareness,planning,and initiative is called the ___________ lobe.

Accepted Answer

The frontal lobe is responsible for higher order thinking processes such as problem-solving, decision-making, planning, and initiating behavior. It is also involved in self-awareness and personality. The temporal lobe is responsible for auditory processing and memory, the parietal lobe is responsible for sensory processing and spatial awareness, and the occipital lobe is responsible for visual processing.

Question 14

The basal ganglia plays an important role in:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The basal ganglia plays an important role...

Question 15

The role of the thalamus in brain functioning has been compared to a:

Accepted Answer

The thalamus is often compared to a switchboard because it acts as a relay station for sensory information to be sent to other parts of the brain for processing. It receives input from sensory organs and sends that information to other areas of the brain for further processing, interpretation, and response.

Question 16

Control of approximately 600 muscles involved in bodily movements is determined by the ____________ cortex.

Accepted Answer

The motor cortex is responsible for controlling approximately 600 muscles involved in bodily movements. The sensory cortex, on the other hand, is responsible for receiving and processing sensory information, while the association cortex integrates information from various sensory and motor areas. The occipital cortex is primarily responsible for processing visual information.

Question 17

The parietal lobe is located:

Accepted Answer

The parietal lobe is located at the top of the brain, behind the central fissure, between the frontal lobe and occipital lobe.

Question 18

The memory of a woman is substantially impaired after she injures her head falling off of a ladder.In particular,she is unable to remember recent events that have happened to her.Damage to which of the following brain areas is most likely responsible for these difficulties?

Accepted Answer

The hippocampus is critical for the formation and consolidation of new memories. Damage to this brain area can result in difficulty forming new memories and can lead to anterograde amnesia, where the person is unable to remember recent events that occurred after the injury. The other brain areas listed (thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus) are not directly involved in memory formation and would not be expected to result in the specific memory difficulties described.

Question 19

Which of the following are among the functions affected by the hypothalamus?

Accepted Answer

The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating various functions in the body, including sexual behaviour, temperature regulation, and sleeping. It does not directly affect memory encoding, storage, or retrieval, respiration or heart rate, or alerting higher brain centres about incoming sensory information.

Question 20

Though it was discussed in the context of the nervous system,the hypothalamus also plays an important role in the endocrine system because of its connection with the:

Accepted Answer

The hypothalamus is connected to the pituitary gland through the pituitary stalk, also known as the infundibulum. This connection allows the hypothalamus to regulate the release of hormones from the pituitary gland, which in turn affects the function of many other endocrine glands throughout the body, including the adrenal glands.

Quiz 3: Biological Foundations of Behaviour