AP Psych - Unit 3 multiple choice

Researchers study the brains of nonhuman animals because

A) it is not ethical to study human brains

B) human brains are too complex to study meaningfully

C) the same principles govern neural functioning in all species

D) it is too expensive to study human brains

E) the technology is still being developed for the study of human brains

C

A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon is called

A) action potential

B) resting potential

C) all-or-none impulse

D) refractory period

E) myelination response

A

The basic building block of the nervous system is the

A) neurotransmitter

B) brain

C) synapse

D) neuron

E) dendrite

D

Which of the following does the endocrine system rely on to communicate?

A) action potentials

B) hormones

C) agonists

D) neurotransmitters

E) reuptake

B

An individual is having trouble with cognitive tasks related to learning and memory. Which of the following neurotransmitters is most likely to be involved with the problem?

A) Acetyllcholine

B) dopamine

C) serotonin

D) the endorphins

E) GABA

A

The most influential of the endocrine gland is the

A) pituitary

B) adrenal glands

C) dendrites

D) threshold glands

E) parasympathetic

A

The purpose of the myelin sheath is to

A). Make the transfer of information across synapse more efficient

B) increase the amount of neurotransmitters available in the neuron

C) reduce the antagonistic effect of certain drugs

D) establish a resting potential in the axon

E) speed the transmission of information within a neuron

E

The peripheral nervous system

A) connects the brain to the spinal cord

B) calms the body after an emergency

C) is limited to the control of voluntary movement

D) controls the arms and the legs

E) is the part of the nervous system that does not include the brain and the spinal cord

E

The cells most important for processing information are

A) interneurons

B) sensory neurons

C) motor neurons

D) endocrine cells

E) sympathetic nervous system cells

A

Drugs that amplify neurotransmitter activity are called

A) addictive

B) excitatory

C) antagonists

D) agonists

E) inhibitory

D

To walk across a street, a person would rely most directly on his

A) central nervous system

B) somatic nervous system

C) peripheral nervous system

D) autonomic nervous system

E) parasympathetic nervous system

B

The nervous system is of critical importance to psychology because

A) all psychological processes depend upon it

B) it is the largest system in the human body

C) it is a model for the functioning of other body systems

D) it is the mechanism by which the endocrine system exerts its functions

E) it is the most recent human system to have eveolved

A

Phrenology is the study of

A) the bumps on the skull

B) the influence of neurotransmitters

C) the function of the peripheral nervous system

D) endocrine glands and their hormones

E) heredity's influence on nervous system development

A

understanding people as Biopsychosocial systems means that

A) biological factors have the largest influence on people, followed by psychological factors and finally social factors.

B) the nervous system. Is equal parts biological, psychological, and sociological

C) to understand people we must study how biological, psychological, and social-cultural systems work and interact.

D) the nervous system is less important in the understanding of people than was believed a decade ago

E) psychology is the central component in the understanding of human behavior

C

Opiate drugs such as morphine are classified as

A) antagonists, because they block neurotransmitter receptors for pain

B) agonists, because they mimic other neurotransmitters' pain-diminishing effects

C) excitatory neurotransmitters, because they activate pain control mechanisms

D) sympathetic nervous system agents, because they prepare the body for a challenge

E) parasympathetic nervous system agents, because they calm the body.

B

Breathing and heartbeat are controlled by the

A) pons

B) corpus callousness

C) parietal lobe

D) hippocampus

E) medulla

E

Perception, thinking and language can operate at conscious, deliberate levels and also at unconscious, automatic levels. This best describes

A) cognitive neuroscience

B) dual processing

C)selective attention

D) selective in attention

E) change blindness

B

A PET scan best allows researchers to determine

A) the presence of tumors in the brain

B) electrical activity on the surface of the brain

C) the size of the internal structures of the brain

D) the location of strokes

E) the functions of various brain regions

E

Damage to the hippocampus would result in

A) difficulties with balance and coordination

B) memory problems

C) the false sensation of burning in parts of the body

D) emotional outbursts

E) death

B

Surgical stimulation of the sensory cortex might result in the false sensation

A) of music

B) of flashes of colored light

C) that someone is whispering your name

D) that someone is tickling you

E) of a bad odor

D

Awareness of ourselves and our environment best describes

A) consciousness

B) dual processing

C) inattentional blindness

D) change blindness

E) cognitive neuroscience

A

The link between the nervous system and. The endocrine system is maintained by the

A) hypothalamus

B) temporal lobe

C) cerebellum

D) thalamus

E) motor cortex

A

A researcher interested in determining the size of a particular area of the brain would be most likely to use an

A) lesion

B) EEG

C) MRI

D) fMRI

E) PET scan

C

The support cells that provide nourishment and help the brain in numerous other ways are called

A) neurons

B) interneurons

C) glial cells

D) endocrine cells

E) myelin cells

C

Which of the following is a task more likely to be accomplished by the right hemisphere of the brain?

A) solving a mathematical problem

B) reading

C) making a brief oral presentation to a class

D) recognizing a friend's face

E) solving a logic problem

D

If you flashed a picture of a spoon to the left visual field of a person whose corpus callousness had been severed (so it was transmitted to her right hemisphere), she would

A) be able to draw a spoon with her right hand but would not be able to say she had seen a spoon

B) be confused about whether she had seen a spoon

C) be able to draw a spoon with her left hand but would not be able to say she had seen a spoon

D) be able to tell you she had seen a spoon

E) be able to tell you she had seen something that rhymes with spoon

C

Brain plasticity refers to the

A) feel of healthy human brain tissue

B) ability of the brain to transfer information from one hemisphere to the other

C) way a brain gets larger as a child grows

D) wide variety of functions performed by the human brain

E) ability of brain tissue to take on new functions

E

When Heinrich Kluver and neurosurgeon Paul Bucy surgically lesion end the amygdaloid of a Theseus monkey's brain, the monkey

A) lost its ability to coordinate movement

B) died because it's heartbeat became irregular

C) became less aggressive

D) lost its memory of where food was stored

E) sank into an irreversible coma

C

the reward deficiency syndrome argues that addictive disorders may be partially explained by genetic flaws in the

A) brain stem

B) cerebral cortex

C) limbic system

D) endocrine system

E) cerebrum

C

An individual experiences brain damage that produces a coma. Which part of the brain was probably damaged?

A) corpus callosum

B) reticular formation

C) frontal lobe

D) cerebellum

E) limbic system

B

The axon of certain neurons are covered by a layer of fatty tissue that helps speed neural transmission. This tissue is

A) dopamine

B) myelin sheath

C) acetylcholine

D) an endorphin

B

Heartbeat, digestion, and other self regulating bodily functions are governed by the

A) voluntary nervous system

B) automatic nervous system

C) sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system

D) somatic nervous system

B

A strong stimulus can increase the

A) speed of the impulse the neuron fires

B) intensity of the impulse the neuron fires

C) number of times the neuron fires

D) threshold that must be reached before the neuron fires

C

The pain of heroin withdrawal may be attributed to the fact that

A) under the influence of heroin the brain ceases production of endorphins

B) under the influence of heroin the brain ceases production of all neurotransmitters

C) during heroin withdrawal the brain's production of all neurotransmitters is greatly increased

D) heroin destroys endorphin receptors in the brain

A

The brain research technique that involves monitoring the brain's usage of glucose is called (in abbreviated form) the

A) PET scan

B) fMRI

C) EEG

D) MRI

A

The effect of a drug that is an antagonist is to

A) cause the brain to stop producing certain neurotransmitters

B) mimic a particular neurotransmitter

C) block a particular neurotransmitter

D) disrupt a neuron's all-or-none firing pattern

C

Though there is no single "control center" for emotions, their regulation is primarily attributed to the brain region known as

A) limbic system

B) reticular formation

C) brain stem

D) cerebellum

A

Which is the correct sequence in the transmission of a simple reflex?

A) sensory neuron, interneuron, sensory neuron

B) interneuron, motor neuron, sensory neuron

C) sensory neuron, interneuron, motor neuron

D) interneuron, sensory neuron, motor neuron

C

In a resting state, the axon is

A) depolarized, with mostly negatively charged ions outside and positively charged ions inside

B) depolarized, with mostly positively charged ions outside and negatively charged ions inside

C) polarized with mostly negatively charged ions outside and positively charged ions inside

D) polarized, with mostly positively charged ions outside and negatively charged ions inside

D

Which of the following is typically controlled by the right hemisphere?

A) language

B) learned voluntary movements

C) arthimetic reasoning

D) perceptual tasks

D

Dr. Hernandez is studying neurotransmitter abnormalities in depressed patients. She would most likely describe herself as a

A) personality psychologist

B) phrenologist

C) psychoanalyst

D) biological psychologist

D

The increasing complexity of animals' behavior is accompanied by an

A) increase in the size of the brain stem

B) increase in the depth of the corpus callosum

C) increase in the size of the frontal lobe

D) increase in the amount of association area

D

Voluntary movements, such as writing with a pencil, are directed by the

A) sympathetic nervous system

B) somatic nervous system

C) parasympathetic nervous system

D) autonomic nervous system

B

A neuron will generate action potentials when it

A) remains below its threshold

B) receives an excitatory input

C) receives more excitatory than inhibitory inputs

D) is stimulated by a neurotransmitter

C

Which is the correct sequence in the transmission of a neural impulse?

A) axon, dendrite, cell body, synapse

B) dendrite, axon, cell body, synapse

C) synapse, axon, dendrite, cell body

D) dendrite, cell body, axon, synapse

D

Chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands are called

A) agonists

B) neurotransmitters

C) hormones

D) enzymes

C

Following a head injury, a person has ongoing difficulties staying awake. Most likely, the damage occurred to the

A) thalamus

B) corpus callosum

C) reticular formation

D) cerebellum

C

An experimenter flashes the word FLYTRAP onto a screen facing a split-brain patient so that FLY projects to her right hemisphere and TRAP to her left hemisphere. When asked what she saw, the patient will

A) say she saw FLY

B) say she saw TRAP

C) point to a fly using her right hand

D) point to a trap using her left hand

B

Cortical areas that are not primarily concerned with sensory, motor, or language functions are

A) called projection areas

B) called association areas

C) located mostly in the parietal lobe

D) located mostly in the temporal lobe

B

In the brain, learning occurs as experience strengthen certain connections in cell work groups called

A) action potentials

B) neural networks

C) endocrine systems

D) dendrites

B

The visual cortex is located in the

A) occipital lobe

B) temporal lobe

C) frontal lobe

D) parietal lobe

A

Which of the following is typically controlled by the left hemisphere?

A) spatial reasoning

B) word recognition

C) the left side of the body

D) perceptual skills

B

When Sandy scalded her toe in a tub of hot water, the pain message was carried to her spinal cord by the _______ nervous system

A) somatic

B) sympathetic

C) parasympathetic

D) central

A

Which of the following are governed by the simplest neural pathways?

A) emotions

B) physiological drives, such as hunger

C) reflexes

D) movements, such as walking

C

Melissa has just completed running a marathon. She is so elated that she feels little fatigue or discomfort. Her lack of pain is probably the result of the release of

A) ACh

B) endorphins

C) dopamine

D) norepinephrine

B

In the brain, I outnumber neurons. I also provide nutrients to the neurons and help remove excess neurotransmitters. I am

A) hormone

B) myelin sheath

C) glial cell

D) gland

C

The technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer images of structures within the brain is called

A) the EEG

B) a lesion

C) a PET scan

D) MRI

D

The myelin sheath that is on some neurons

A) increases the speed of neural transmission

B) slows neural transmission

C) regulates the release of neurotransmitters

D) prevents positive ions from passing through the membrane

A

I am a relatively fast-acting chemical messenger that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousaal. What am I?

A) acetylcholine

B) dopamine

C) norepinephrine

D) scrotonin

D

The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) is most likely to be found

A) at the junction between sensory neurons and muscle fibers

B) at the junction between motor neurons and muscle fibers

C) at junctions between interneurons

D) in all of these locations

B

The gland that regulates body growth is the

A) adrenal

B) thyroid

C) hypothalamus

D) pituitary

D

Epinephrine and norepinephrine are ____ that are released by the _____ gland

A) neurotransmitters; pituitary

B) hormones; pituitary

C) neurotransmitters; thyroid

D) hormones; adrenal

D

Jessica experienced difficulty keeping her balance after receiving a blow to the back of her head. It is likely that she injured her

A) medulla

B) thalamus

C) hypothalamus

D) cerebellum

D

Moruzzi and Magoun caused a cat to lapse into a coma by severing neural connections between the cortex and the

A) reticular formation

B) hypothalamus

C) thalamus

D) cerebellum

A

Research has found that the amount of representation in the motor cortex reflects the

A) size of the body parts

B) degree of precise control required by each of the parts

C) sensitivity of the body region

D) area of the occipital lobe stimulated by the environment

B

The effect of a drug that is an agonist is to

A) cause the brain to stop producing certain neurotransmitters

B) mimic a particular neurotransmitter

C) block a particular neurotransmitter

D) disrupt a neuron's all-or-none firing pattern

B

The nerve fibers that enable communication between the right and left cerebral hemispheres and that have been severed in split-brain patients form a structure called the

A) reticular formation

B) association areas

C) corpus callosum

D) parietal lobes

C

Beginning at the front of the brain and moving toward the back of the head, then down the skull and back around to the front, which of the following is the correct order of the cortical regions?

A) occipital lobe; temporal lobe; parietal lobe; frontal lobe

B) temporal lobe; frontal lobe; parietal lobe; occipital lobe

C) frontal lobe; occipital lobe; temporal lobe; parietal lobe

D) frontal lobe; parietal lobe; occipital lobe; temporal lobe

D

Following a nail gun wound to his head, Jack became more uninhibited, irritable, dishonest, and profane. It is likely that his personality change was the result of injury to his

A) parietal lobe

B) temporal lobe

C) occipital lobe

D) frontal lobe

D

3 year old Marco suffered damage to the speech area of the brain's left hemisphere when he fell from a swing. Research suggests that

A) he may never speak again

B) his motor abilities may improve so that he can easily use sign language

C) his right hemisphere may take over much of the language function

D) his earlier experience with speech may enable him to continue speaking

C

A biological psychologist would be more likely to study

A) how you learn to express emotions

B) how to help people overcome emotional disorders

C) life-span changes in the expression of emotions

D) the chemical changes that accompany emotions

D

The part of the human brain that is most like that of a fish is the

A) cortex

B) limbic system

C) brain stem

D) right hemisphere

C

You are able to pull your hand quickly away from hot water before pain is felt because

A) movement of the hand is a reflex that involves intervention of the spinal cord only

B) movement of the hand does not require intervention by the central nervous system

C) the brain reacts quickly to prevent severe injury

D) the autonomic division of the peripheral nervous system intervenes to speed contraction of the muscles of the hand

A

In order to pinpoint the location of a tumor, a neurosurgeon electrically stimulated parts of the patient's sensory cortex. If the patient was conscious during the procedure, which of the following was probably experienced?

A) "hearing" faint sounds

B) "seeing" random visual patterns

C) movement of the arms or legs

D) a sense of having the skin touched

D

If Dr. Rogers wishes to conduct an experiment on the efforts of stimulating the reward centers of a rat's brain, he should insert an electrode into the

A) thalamus

B) sensory cortex

C) hypothalamus

D) corpus callosum

C

A split-brain patient has a picture of a knife flashed to her left hemisphere and that of a fork to her right hemisphere. She will be able to

A) identify the fork using her left hand

B) identify a knife using her left hand

C) identify a knife using either hand

D) identify a fork using either hand

A

Several shy neuron's send an inhibitory message to neighboring neuron [on]. At the same time, a larger group of party-going neuron's sends {on} excitatory messages. What will [on] do?

A) fire, assuming that her threshold has been reached

B) not fire, even if her threshold has been reached

C) center a refractory period

D) become hyperpolarized

A

Following Layshree's near-fatal car accident, her physician noticed that the pupillary reflex of her eyes was abnormal. This may indicate that Layshree's _________ was damaged in the accident.

A) occipital cortex

B) autonomic nervous system

C) left temporal lobe

D) cerebellum

B

Anton is applying for a technician's job with a neurosurgeon. In trying to impress his potential employer with his knowledge of the brain, he says,"After my father's stroke I knew immediately that the blood clot had affected his left cerebral hemisphere because he no longer recognized a picture of his friend." Should Anton be hired?

A) Yes. Anton obviously understands brain structure and function

B) No. The right hemisphere, not the left, specializes in picture recognition

C) Yes. Although blood clots never form in the left hemisphere, Anton should be rewarded for recognizing the left hemisphere's role in picture recognition.

D) No. Blood clots never form in the left hemisphere, and the right hemisphere is more involved than the left in recognizing pictures.

B

I am a relatively fast-acting chemical messenger that influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion. What am I?

Acetylcholine

Dr. Johnson briefly flashed a picture of a key in the right visual field of a split-brain patient. The patient could probably

A) verbally report that a key was seen

B) write the word key using the left hand

C) draw a picture of a key using the left hand

D) do none of these things

A

In primitive vertebrate animals, the brain primarily regulates _________; in lower mammals, the brain enables____________

A) emotion; memory

B) memory; emotion

C) survival functions; emotion

D) reproduction; emotion

C

Since Malcolm has been taking a drug prescribed by his doctor, he no longer enjoys the little pleasures of life, such as eating and drinking. His doctor explains that this is because the drug

A) triggers release of dopamine

B) inhibits release of dopamine

C) triggers release of ACh.

D) inhibits release of ACh.

B

A scientist from another planet wishes to study the simplest brain mechanisms underlying emotion and memory. You recommend that the scientist study the

A) brain stem of a frog

B) limbic system of a dog

C) cortex of a monkey

D) cortex of a human

B

Which of the following was a problem with phrenology?

A) It was "ahead of its time" and no one believed it could be true

B) the brain is not neatly organized into structures that correspond to our categories of behavior

C) The brains of humans and animals are much less similar than the theory implied

D) All of these problems with phrenology

B

I am a relatively slow acting (but long lasting) chemical messenger carried throughout the body by the bloodstream.

A) a hormone

B) a neurotransmitter

C) acetylcholine

D) dopamine

A

Your brother has been taking prescription medicine and experiencing a number of unpleasant side effects, including unusually rapid heartbeat and excessive perspiration. It is likely that the medicine is exaggerating activity in the

A) reticular formation

B) sympathetic nervous system

C) parasympathetic nervous system

D) amygdala

B

Dr. Frankenstein made a mistake during neurosurgery on his monster. After the operation, the monster "saw" with his ears and "Heard" with his eyes. It is likely that Dr. Frankenstein "rewired" neural connections in the monster's

A) hypothalamus

B) cerebellum

C) amygdala

D) thalamus

D

A bodybuilder friend suddenly seems to have grown several inches in height. You suspect that your friend's growth spurt has occurred because he has been using drugs that affect the

A) pituitary gland

B) thalamus

C) adrenal glands

D) medulla

A

Raccoons have much more precise control of their paws than dogs. You would expect that raccoons have more cortical space dedicated to "paw control" in the __________ of their brains.

A) frontal lobes

B) parietal lobes

C) temporal Lobes

D) occipital lobes

A