Exam 4: The Brain and Nervous System

Describe the electrical and chemical communication within and between neurons.

Illiterate individuals tend to have less white matter in a part of the parietal cortex when compared with literate people.

Which of the following chemicals in the nervous system is considered a neurotransmitter?

The functioning of blood vessels, glands, and internal organs is regulated by the:

Which part of a neuron acts like an antenna to receive messages from other neurons and transmit these messages toward the cell body?

Abnormally low levels of serotonin and dopamine have been associated with harmful effects. Explain these effects and describe what psychologists know about this relationship using your knowledge of correlational studies. What might be an easy assumption to make that may not necessarily be accurate?

Thousands of people have taken courses and bought tapes that promise to develop the creativity and intuition of their right hemispheres. What characteristics of human thought might explain the eagerness of some people to glorify "right-brainedness" and disparage "left-brainedness" (or vice versa)?

What are the three structures of the brain stem described in your textbook? What function is associated with each structure?

Many axons are insulated by a surrounding layer of fatty material called the myelin sheath.

Axons commonly divide at the end into branches called axon terminals.

Differences in the brain always account for the differences in people's behavior across situations.

After a serious head injury, Tom faced difficulty in doing a series of tasks in the proper sequence. It is most likely that Tom's _______________ was injured.

If a surgeon applied electrical currents to a part of your brain and you felt nothing, it would indicate brain damage.

Why is the parasympathetic nervous system compared to the brake of a car?

The _______________ is the most recently evolved part of our brains and is associated with such complex abilities as reasoning, decision making, and planning.

Adrenal hormones are produced by the pineal gland.

The somatic nervous system is also called the:

_______________ are special molecules in the membrane of a receiving neuron's dendrites with which neurotransmitter molecules bind.

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

The serotonin transporter is a neuromodulator that removes neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft.