psb3340 final study guide

what is another name for the hormone producing glands

endocrine

chemical communication that affects nearby target cells is

paracrine communication

steroid hormones are stored in vesicles

false

what class of hormones can only act very locally

prostaglandins

—-is a hydrophobic hormone; and —-is a hydrophilic hormone

cortisol; gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH)

what endocrine gland releases TSH, LH, FSH, ACTH, and PL

anterior pituitary

why are some neurohormones released in a pulsatile manner

to prevent or minimize desensitization

which hormone is most likely to complex with a receptor and then function as a transcription factor?

estradiol

which of the following is the most important evolutionary advantage that is only found in vertebrate species?

myelinated neurons

mus musculus and mus spretus are species of mice that have small genomic differences, but dramatically different phenotypes

false

which of the following us an example of homoplasy

the flipper of a dolphin and the fin of a fish

the fact that humans evolved a large brain is an example of

directional selection

what is the most important reason why humans have a greater intelligence than all other species

neoteny

In a study, different species of primates were taught a discrimination task. Then a second discrimination task (a reversal) was presented. What did the researchers find?

Ease of learning the second task was correlated with estimates of brain complexity.

Which statement best describes the “radiator hypothesis”?

The skulls of hominids are more porous than the skulls of Australopithecus.

16. Neoteny is __________

An evolutionary process that produced an extended period of juvenile development

The central nervous system arises from the __________; and the autonomic nervous system arises from the __________

c. ectoderm; neural crest

18. What is apoptosis?

a. programmed cell death

Which two processes are particularly highly coordinated in precursors of cells that form the peripheral nervous system

a. migration and differentiation

Most neurogenesis in early development occurs in the __________.

a. ventricular zone

Which of the following facts is NOT compatible with the chemoaffinity hypothesis?

if ½ of the optic tectum is lesioned, incoming retinal axons will fill the remaining half

Why is it that every axon in an adult mammal synapses on at least one target cell (muscle cell, organ, or other neuron)?

Axons that fail to find the correct target cell die.

The embryonic precursor of the hindbrain is called the __________.

rhombencephalon

Which of the following DOES NOT promote apoptosis?

a. Bcl-2

If you cut the optic nerve of a frog, rotate the eye, and replace the eye in the socket, what happens?

The fibers grow back and attach to their original targets.

Which developmental event is initiated by spontaneous waves of activity in the retina during fetal development of the visual system?

topographic organization of the tectum

Some axons will extend their growth cones along a path that is made by other axons that grew out earlier. This process is known as _______

fasciculation

The study of mechanisms that regulate gene expression is important in our understanding of development. This field of study is known as _____

epigenetics

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Offspring of high arched back / licking and grooming mothers exhibit impaired negative feedback regulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis when exposed to stress

When brains of older people were studied, which of the following measures was strongly correlated with decline in delayed memory?

atrophy of the hippocampal formation

When elderly people were studied, which of the following variables was positively correlated with diminished cognitive function?

patient currently experiences major depression

Which of the following statements accurately describes adult learning?

Survival of newly synthesized neurons is facilitated by learning.

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Although drugs are available that improve cognitive function, there is no effective way to decrease the progression of Alzheimer’s disease

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Perception is typically an accurate internal representation of the external environment.

Which of the following is an example of sensory "reception".

b. bending auditory hair cells

Which of the following is an example of sensory "transduction".

closing cation channels in photoreceptors

How does the nervous system encode information about the intensity of a stimulus when the range of intensity exceeds the maximal range of frequency of firing of the neurons?

Neurons that differ in threshold are recruited.

From among the choices that are offered, the highest density of somatosensory receptive fields is found in the __________; and a very low density of somatosensory receptive fields is found in the __________

e. the lips; the back

Wavelength is associated with__________, saturation is associated with __________; and intensity is associated with _____

b. color; purity; brightness

If you perceive a light as red in color, the electromagnetic energy will likely have which of the following properties?

a. predominantly long wavelengths

Light from the upper-left half of the visual field strikes what part of the retina of the right eye?

a. the lower-lateral half

Light from the left half of the visual field is processed in which hemisphere of the brain?

b. the right hemisphere only

Which of the following characterizes the fovea?

It conveys the greatest perception of detail.

The cones primarily input to which kind of circuit?

a. parvocellular and koniocellular

Which receptors are in circuits that have a low degree of convergence?

cones

Why are humans unable to distinguish colors in their extreme peripheral vision?

The edges of the retina contain only rods.

When tracking an object that is moving through your visual field, you engage in __________ movements; When scanning across the horizon without a moving stimulus to track, you engage in ______ movements

e. pursuit; saccadic

According to the opponent-process theory of color vision, how do we perceive color?

in terms of red vs. green and yellow vs. blue

What shape are the receptive fields of retinal ganglion cells?

Retinal ganglion cell receptive fields are concentric circles.

Which of the following DOES NOT HAPPEN when a photon of light strikes a photoreceptor?

c. The photoreceptor is depolarized.

Which of the following distinguishes animals from the other 4 kingdoms of living species?

They have neurons and muscles.

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Chimpanzee bodies are very different from humans, but their brains are very similar.

Which of the following is NOT one of Darwin's" Principles of Evolution"?

Parental traits are blended in the offspring.

Which of the following are NOT homologous structures (i.e. which structures are NOT based upon the same evolutionary origins)?

the flipper of a dolphin and the fin of a fish

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Encephalization consists of the evolutionary addition of new structures to the brain.

9. What does "umwelt" mean?

b. the species-specific perceptual world

Johannes Mueller’s theory of Specific Nerve Energies has been replaced by what theory.

a. labelled line theory

What is the main function of lateral inhibition in the somatic nervous system?

It sharpens up somatosensory perception.

Which of the following receptors exhibit sustained, unchanging activity during prolonged exposure to a stimulus

c. tonic receptors

Which of the following receptors participates in protopathic somatosensation?

e. free nerve ending

In colour vision, the purity of a perceived colour results from __________.

the saturation with a particular wavelength

Light from the far left half of the visual field strikes what part of the retina of the left eye?

a. the medial half

Which of the following characterizes the fovea?

b. It innervates parvocellular circuits.

In vertebrate retinas, what is the correct sequence through which VISUAL INFORMATION is processed by neurons? (Note, Do not confuse this with the sequence through which incoming light passes.)

receptor cells, then bipolar cells, then ganglion cells

The cell bodies of some retinal ganglion cells are closer to the blind spot than are the cell bodies of other retinal ganglion cells. How does this affect our vision?

Axons of ganglion cells from the edges of the retina conduct messages slightly faster than those close to the blind spot do, so our vision is not distorted

The optic nerve conveys visual information from the retina to synapse at the _______?

lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus

_____ are in circuits that have a low degree of convergence; and __________ are in circuits that have a high degree of convergence

a. cones; rods

Your eyes can move in saccades or smooth pursuit movements. Which part of the brain coordinates pursuit movements

a. superior colliculus

If light shines in the receptive field of a bipolar cell of the visual system, what effect will it have on the activity of that cell?

It may excite or inhibit the cell.

The cells of which pathway are most specialized for perception of movement?

a. magnocellular pathway

What would an investigator find concerning the properties of successive cells in a single column of the visual cortex, inside of a cytochrome oxidase blob

They all respond to color.

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Open loop systems utilize feedback signals and error detectors to correct movement errors.

A Golgi tendon organ responds to which of the following?

increases in the tension or force on the muscle

A single alpha motor neuron, and all the myofibers it innervates is a __________.

a. motor unit

Which of the following DOES NOT happen in normal adult muscle fibers?

spatial summation of motor neuron inputs.

You are walking across a room when you step on a tack. Ouch. A reflex arc causes you to withdraw the injured foot. What mechanism causes you to set your stance on the other leg

c. a central pattern generator

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Most neurons of the Primary Motor Cortex (M1) are responsible for determining which specific muscles will move during complex sequences of muscle activity.

When are the cells in area F5 active?

both when observing or performing a movement

The dorsolateral tracts are important for _____.

independent movement of the distal limbs

Why can the eye muscles be moved with greater precision than the biceps muscles?

Each axon of a motor neuron innervating the eye muscles innervates very few muscle fibers.

Which part of the cerebellum receives vestibular and other sensory inputs, and is implicated in control of the trunk and posture

b. the medial zone

The human genome project is an investigation of __________; whereas the human connectome project examines __________; and the human proteome project examines ______

the linear code of DNA; projections between different brain regions; interactions between gene products

Which of the following is an example of reductionism?

explaining behavior in terms of underlying circuits, cells, and molecules

Adult male songbirds are only able to sing their species-specific song if they have heard it during an early sensitive period. This is an example of what type of explanation of behavior?

ontogenetic

You are a neurologist on your first day at work (Congratulations!) and your first patient does not recognize objects in the left half of her extrapersonal space. In what part of the brain was her stroke?

a. right parietal cortex

Myelin sheaths are made by __________ in the central nervous system; and by __________ in the peripheral nervous system

c. oligodendrocytes; Schwann cells

The drawing at right is a __________ neuron, a type of neuron that is implicated in __________.

e. multipolar neuron; movement

Which of the following proteins are responsible for transport of vesicles along an axon?

b. kinesin and dynein

Which word best describes 2 structures that are in opposite brain hemispheres?

contralateral

Which division of the nervous system consists of neurons that control the heart, intestines, and other organs?

e. autonomic

Which of the following structures are contained in the forebrain.

b. cortex and thalamus

What is the function of the postcentral gyrus in the parietal lobes?

d. processing of somatosensory input

Which brain region is NOT part of the limbic system?

putamen

A change in the membrane potential from -70mV to -73mV is called __________.

hyperpolarization

When a neuron is at resting potential, and a sodium channel opens, what forces act upon sodium ions?

Both an electrical gradient and a concentration gradient push Na+ into the cell.

Which of the following is NOT synonymous with afterhyperpolarization

voltage-gated Na+ channels are refractory.

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

An ionotropic receptor forms an ion channel that can close when a neurotransmitter binds.

Metabotropic receptors are to __________; as ionotropic receptors are to __________.

slow onset and enduring actions; rapid onset and transient actions

A certain weak stimulus produces no action potential, but a rapid repetition of that stimulus may produce an action potential. What is this phenomenon called

d. temporal summation

A postsynaptic receptor antagonist has ________; and a postsynaptic receptor agonist has ________.

high affinity and low efficacy; high affinity and high efficacy