Exam 3: Biological Foundations of Behaviour

Though neurons are the building blocks of our nervous systems,they can't do everything alone.______________ cells guide neurons into place during prenatal development,hold them still after the nervous system has developed,and keep the neurons safe from toxins.

Stoddard,Raine,Bihrle,and Buchsbaum (1997)were interested in what might cause people,who had not been abused,neglected,or raised in disrupted households,to kill.Using PET scans,they determined that the murderers' brains had lower-than-normal prefrontal activity.This finding can help us understand why these individuals were more likely to kill because this part of the brain is

Vallari has a busy life,but she finds that meditation helps quiet her mind and relax her body after a long or stressful day.The nervous system that slows down Vallari's body processes and gives her a feeling of tranquility is the _________________ nervous system.

Derek has been asked to hand-deliver a message to Adeline.Adeline lives across the river from Derek,and there is no bridge;therefore,Derek must take a boat across the channel.When he reaches the shore,he ties the boat to the dock so he can take the message to Adeline.If we compare Derek's actions to those that occur in neurons,we can say that the dock,where Derrek binds his boat,is like a

According to the research in your textbook on the neuroscience of music:

Derek has been asked to hand-deliver a message to Adeline.Adeline lives across the river from Derek,and there is no bridge.Derek's friends Hakeem,Geoff,and Rion have also been asked to carry messages across the river.The four friends agree that they will share a boat across the channel so they can deliver their messages.If we compare this scenario to neuron communication,we can say that the boat,which contained the messengers,is like a

The neurotransmitter dopamine has been implicated in psychosis.Antipsychotic medications decrease dopamine activity to reduce psychotic symptoms.Antipsychotics must therefore be

One of the reasons it's important never to move someone who's been in a car accident unless absolutely necessary is that broken bones in the neck could damage the spinal cord or the ____________,which is the part of the brain responsible for breathing and heartbeat.

Derek has been asked to hand-deliver a message to Adeline.Adeline lives across the river from Derek,and there is no bridge.Therefore,Derek must take a boat across the channel to deliver the message.If we compare Derek's actions to those that occur in neurons,we can say that Derek,the person who carries the message across the channel,is like a

When neurotransmitters plug into the appropriate neuron receptors,sodium ions very briefly flood through potassium channels like water through dam floodgates.This changes the neuron's electrical balance and is called

After a neuron has sent a nerve impulse,it has to rest for a few milliseconds,a timeframe referred to as

On a hot summer day,five children decide to fill up Brock's kiddie pool.Yesterday,Brock's father ran over the hose with the lawnmower,so the hose is not working.The children decide to create a bucket line from the faucet to the pool.The first child passes the full bucket to the second child,the second to the third,and so on until the last child empties the bucket into the pool and tosses the bucket back to the first child.If we compare the children's bucket line to a SINGLE neuron,we can say that the water,which is passed from child to child until it reaches the pool,is like the __________________,or nerve impulse,which is passed through the axon.

If an infant and an adult sustain the exact same kind of brain damage,the infant will recover more quickly and completely than the adult.This is due to

Dr.Kelsey is working with a split-brain patient to better understand what the different parts of the brain do.She finds that when words are flashed to the left side of the visual field,so they are sent to the right hemisphere,patients can't describe what they have seen using words.This tells Dr.Kelsey that language abilities are at least somewhat localized in one hemisphere of the brain.This localization is called

Professor Kendell is explaining how neurons work.He uses the metaphor of an electrical cord to explain neuron structure.Like the wires inside the electrical cord,he says,the ___________ carries the neuron's electrical message;like the rubber protecting the cord's wires,the neuron's _____________ ensures that the signal goes where it's supposed to.

Ashley plays cello in an orchestra.The neurons responsible for carrying messages to move her hands to play her cello are ________________ neurons.

Anton's grandfather had a stroke.When the family arrives at the hospital,Grandfather is unable to speak.The family gives him some paper and a pencil,but Grandfather is unable to write,either.A speech therapist explains that Grandfather probably knows what he wants to say,but the part of his brain that allows him to produce speech has been damaged by the stroke,causing a condition called _________________.She plans to work with Grandfather to help him learn to speak again.

The hippocampus produces new neurons all the time,a process that is called _______________.This process is believed to be important to learning and memory.

Monica is going to the dentist to get her first filling.She tries to be responsible about all medications,so before he numbs her mouth,she asks the dentist to explain how Novocain works.The dentist tells Monica that Novocain creates numbness and prevents pain by _______________ in the target area.

Research on the brains of people with schizophrenia suggests problems with the structure that organizes sensory information and routes it to appropriate parts of the brain;that is,the ________________.This malfunctioning structure may therefore be responsible for schizophrenic hallucinations and other disturbing sensory experiences.