PSYC 335 Final Exam

T/F: A bundle of axons conveying information from the substantia nigra in the midbrain to the basal ganglia in the cerebrum is called a nerve.

False (F)

The region of the cerebral cortex that is crucial for motor control is ___ and is located in the ___ lobe.

precentral gyrus, frontal

Match each brain region(s) with its function/description. Each answer may only be used once.

1. Responsible for conscious awareness of sensations, the ability to make decisions, and the ability to initiate voluntary movements

2. Collection of brain regions involved in generating emotion and memory formation

3. Regulates the autonomic nervous system, hormone production, body temperature, and behaviors such as rage, sleep, eating, drinking, and mating

4. Responsible for memory consolidation (conversion of short-term to long-term memories) and memory retrieval

1. Cerebral Cortex

2. Limbic system

3. Hypothalamus

4. Hippocampus

The name of the 3-layered set of protective coverings of the brain and spinal cord are called the ___, and the middle layer of these, which contains cerebrospinal fluid, is the ___.

meninges, arachnoid

T/F: If a body was cut into a left portion and a right portion, the cut was made through the sagittal plane.

True (T)

The gaps between segments of myelin along an axon are called

nodes of Ranvier

Physiological activity of the brain can be visualized using

positron emission tomography (PET)

The electrical signal that stimulates neurotransmitter release to transmit information to other neurons is called the ____ and arises in the ____.

action potential, axon hillock

Which of the following is NOT a consequence of parasympathetic nervous system activation?

increased heart rate

The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by the

corpus callosum

T/F: Synaptic vesicles are found in the postsynaptic membrane.

False (F)

The type of glial cell that myelinates axons in the central nervous system (CNS) is

oligodendrocyte

Which of the following represents the most common sequence of information flow through a neuron?

• cell body -> axon -> axon hillock -> axon terminal

• dendrite -> axon terminal -> cell body -> axon

• dendrite -> cell body -> axon -> axon hillock

• dendrite -> cell body -> axon hillock -> axon

dendrite -> cell body -> axon hillock -> axon

T/F: The blood-brain barrier is a structure comprised of special capillaries and astrocytes that prevents harmful substances (such as viruses or toxins) from diffusing out of the blood and into the brain, where the substances could damage neurons.

T

In terms of its position on your body, your nose is ___ and ___.

medial, anterior

When an action potential arrives at a neuron's axon terminal,

it opens voltage-gated calcium ion channels in the axon terminal to trigger the release of chemical neurotransmitters that signal the postsynaptic neuron

A difference in the concentration of a specific chemical dissolved in body fluids (such as a potassium ion) between two locations is called

concentration gradient

The region of the brain responsible for (1) conscious awareness of sensations, (2) decision making, and (3) generating voluntary movements to execute a behavior is

Cerebral Cortex

The difference in electrical charge between the inside and the outside of a neuron when the neuron is at rest is called the _____ and is typically ____ mV.

resting membrane potential, -70

___ is the process by which excitatory input from a presynaptic neuron causes the inside of a neuron to become more positive

depolarization

T/F: An action potential is triggered when a neuron's membrane potential reaches threshold. Threshold is the voltage that opens voltage-gated potassium ion channels in the neuron's membrane.

F

T/F: The concentration of ion X- is higher in the fluid outside the neuron than inside the neuron. As a result, it wants to move by diffusion into the neuron but can only do so if protein channels that allow ion X- to pass are open.

T

At a chemical synapse, the neuron releasing neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft is called the ____ neuron.

presynaptic

When an action potential arrives at the axon terminal, voltage gated ion channels open to permit the entry of ___ ions, which triggers the release of neurotransmitter.

calcium (Ca²⁺)

T/F: One difference between a local, graded potential and an action potential is that local, graded potentials can fade away with distance from the place where they are generated, while action potentials never fade with distance from the place where they are generated.

T

Benzodiazepines (such as Valium and Ativan) and other anxiolytics, have their effect on the brain by affecting ___.

GABA receptors

If a newly developed drug is found to bind to dopamine receptors but does not activate them, just prevents dopamine from binding them, the drug is classified as a(n) __.

antagonist

Which of the following structures does NOT contain dopaminergic neurons or receive projections from them?

cerebellum

T/F: Hallucinogenic drugs are highly addictive.

F

Most antipsychotic medications act by blocking __ receptors.

dopamine

T/F: MDMA (also known as Ecstasy or Molly) is categorized as a stimulant drug.

F

One perspective on drug addiction proposes that a feature shared by all habit-forming drugs is that they ___.

have strong rewarding properties.

When neurotransmitter binds a(n) ___ receptor, the receptor activates chemicals inside the neuron that ultimately trigger the opening of ion channels in other parts of the membrane.

metabotropic

T/F: Stimulants increase neural activity.

T

The major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain is ___.

glutamate

The perception of pain is generated by activity in __.

a network of regions in the cerebral cortex including S1, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex

T/F: A person is walking and trips on an uneven spot in the sidewalk. The main reason they are able to keep their balance and not fall down is because proprioceptive information about the "tripping" is relayed to the cerebellum, which then sends a correction signal to the primary motor cortex to modify the movement.

T

A motor unit is

a single motor neuron and all the muscle fibers (cells) it innervates and controls

The supplementary motor area and the premotor cortex are areas of ______________ and, in general, are involved in __________.

nonprimary motor cortex, planning motor sequences and storing memories of them

Afferent fibers (incoming sensory axons) from the periphery of the body that carry information about stimuli that are noxious (potentially harmful to the body) synapse with neurons in the

dorsal horn of the spinal cord

Chorea (involuntary writhing movements of the arms) that occurs in Huntington's disease are linked to problems with function of the ___________.

basal ganglia

Information about pain and temperature traveling in the _________ pathway/system decussates in the nervous system at the _________.

spinothalamic, spinal cord

Which of the following is NOT an example of the neuroplasticity of body maps in the primary somatosensory cortex?

learning to speak a second language

Somatosensory information about touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception travels through the _________ pathway/system from the skin & muscles to the brain. This pathway decussates (crosses to the contralateral/opposite) side of the nervous system in the _________.

dorsal column, medulla oblongata

T/F: The neuromuscular junction is the location where a motor neuron releases acetylcholine onto a muscle fiber (cell), which ALWAYS leads to contraction of the muscle fiber.

T

After repeated exposure to loud sounds, many people develop a permanent form of deafness called ______ deafness that is due to damage to _______

sensorineural, hair cells

If a person facing forward hears a sound, she can tell it is located to the left because

her left ear detects the sound before her right ear

Many toxic substances, such as poisons, taste

bitter

People perceive sweet taste

anywhere on the tongue where there are gustatory receptor cells with protein receptors that bind sugar molecules

The inferior colliculus is responsible for ______ and also relays auditory information to ________.

auditory reflexes, medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus

The stapes is a ________ located in the _______ and connects to the _______.

bone, middle ear, oval window

T/F: Each level of the auditory system shows tonotopic mapping, meaning each structure is organized so that certain cells are dedicated to processing specific sound frequencies.

T

The lowest level of the nervous system where sound information from the two ears interact is

superior olivary nucleus

The nervous system structure that processes gustatory neural activity to produce the conscious perception of taste is the

insula region of cerebral cortex

Which of the following is NOT a part of the vestibular apparatus?

Eustachian tube

Which statement is FALSE about sensory systems?

All sensory systems have receptors that are responsible for the process of translating stimulus energy from the environment into the energy of acton potentials.

Which statement is FALSE about sensory receptors in the somatosensory system?

They all demonstrate the property of adaptation.

T/F: Only 3 neurons total relay somatosensory information from a body region to the brain.

False

T/F: Pain perception is generated by the primary somatosensory cortex. No other cortical areas are involved.

False

Which is NOT a function of the multimodal associaton areas?

Plans movements needed for generating behavior

T/F: The function of unimodal sensory association areas is to process one type (modality) of sensory information to enable recognition of sensory stimuli

True

Information from unimodal sensory association areas is relayed to

Multimodal associaton areas

After repeated exposure to loud sounds, many people develop a permanent form of deafness called ___ deafness that is due to damage to ____

sensorineural, hair cells

If a person facing forward hears a sound, she can tell it is located to the left because

her left ear detects the sound before her right ear

Many toxic substances, such as poisons, taste

bitter

People perceive sweet taste

anywhere on the tongue where there are gustatory receptor cells with protein receptors that bind sugar molecules

The inferior colliculus is responsible for _______ and also relays auditory information to ______.

auditory reflexes, medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus

The stapes is a ______ located in the _____ and connects to the _____.

bone, middle ear, oval window

T/F: Each level of the auditory system shows tonotopic mapping, meaning each structure is organized so that certain cells are dedicated to processing specific sound frequencies.

T

The lowest level of the nervous system where sound information from the two ears interact is

superior olivary nucleus

The nervous system structure that processes gustatory neural activity to produce the conscious perception of taste is the

insula region of cerebral cortex

Which of the following is NOT a part of the vestibular apparatus?

Eustachian tube

Illusory contours activate cells located in

V2

The blind spot in our visual field is created by _____ at the _____.

a lack of photoreceptors; optic disc

The cortical region that is especially rich in color-sensitive cells is

V4

T/F: The Trichromatic Theory states that color perception is based on the pattern of activity generated in the three types of cone receptors by wavelengths of light that reach the eye. For example, when light activates short-wavelength cones more than medium- and long-wavelength cones, we will perceive the color blue.

T

The ___ is/are the main structure(s) responsible for correctly refracting light entering the eye so that it converges to form a clear image on the retina.

cornea

Individuals with blindsight

have no conscious perception of visual stimuli but still show responses to them better than would be predicted by chance alone

T/F: Wavelengths of light have distinct colors as they travel through the air.

F

Most axons of retinal ganglion cells terminate in the

lateral geniculate nucleus

There are twice as many _______ receptors than _______ receptors, and very few ____________ receptors.

L, M, S

A coffee mug is perceived as green because

medium wavelengths of light are reflected off the surface of the cup

Which statement is FALSE about sensory systems?

All sensory systems have receptors that are responsible for the process of translating stimulus energy from the environment into the energy of action potentials.

Which statement is FALSE about sensory receptors in the somatosensory system?

They all demonstrate the property of adaptation.

True/False: Only 3 neurons total relay somatosensory information from a body region to the brain.

False

True/False: Pain perception is generated by the primary somatosensory cortex. No other cortical areas are involved.

False

True/False: The function of unimodal sensory association areas is to process one type (modality) of sensory information to enable recognition of sensory stimuli

True

Information from unimodal sensory association areas is relayed to

Multimodal associaton areas

Which is NOT a function of the multimodal associaton areas?

Plans movements needed for generating behavior

T/F: Peptide hormones typically affect a cell by entering the cell, binding specific receptors in the cell to create a hormone-receptor complex that interacts with the DNA to change gene expression.

F

Which of the following functions regulated by major endocrine structures is FALSE?

The gonads regulate emotional arousal.

T/F: In the ovaries over the course of the monthly cycle, estrogen is produced by developing follicles that contain maturing egg cells (oocytes). When levels of estrogen become high, it triggers a surge of luteinizing hormone from the anterior pituitary, and the LH surge triggers ovulation of the oocyte. The remnant of the follicle stays in the ovary, develops into the corpus luteum and produces progesterone. Progesterone promotes development of the uterus to prepare it for implantation of a fertilized oocyte. If fertilization and implantation does not occur, levels of estrogen and progesterone drop and menstruation (sloughing off the uterine lining) occurs.

T

Compared to neural effects, hormone effects are typically

more widespread in the body

The gonads

originate from identical tissue in both males and females

An individual with a genotype of XY but a mutation in the gene for the androgen receptor so that cells cannot respond to androgen will have the following features in adulthood:

testes, normal male levels of testosterone, female external genitalia and behavior

Which of the following causes an XX individual to develop an anatomical appearance resembling a male?

Exposure to high androgen levels during fetal development.

T/F: When a hormone has an organizational effect on a developing human, it is creating permanent development of the body and brain.

T

T/F: Cells located in the posterior pituitary synthesize oxytocin and vasopressin (ADH) and transport the hormones to the median eminence where they are released into the bloodstream.

F

Whether an individual is XX or XY refers to their

genetic sex

A drop in extracellular fluid volume (and blood volume) is detected by specialized ____ that are located in the ______.

baroreceptors, blood vessels