Exam 8: The Anatomy and Physiology of Personality

Norepinephrine is both a neurotransmitter in the brain and a hormone in the body.

What term describes the junction between two neurons?

Evidence from research and from brain damage case studies suggests that the ________ is/are the location of cognitive control, serving to anticipate and plan the future and help to regulate emotions in response to it.

Chemicals that facilitate communication between neurons are called ________.

Which hormone seems to play an important role in bonding and romantic attachment?

What symptom is associated with Capgras syndrome?

According to one theory proposed by Australian psychologists, oxytocin is more than just a "love" hormone because it seems to ________.

A general tendency toward excessive behavior and numerous sex partners has been linked to ________.

According to DeYoung's theory, which neurotransmitter is the foundation of plasticity?

What part of Phineas Gage's brain was damaged in his accident?

What technique can be used to temporarily knock out regions of the brain without having to create lasting lesions?

In 1966, Charles Whitman killed his wife, his mother, and 14 more people at the University of Texas before he was killed by police. An autopsy revealed a tumor affecting Whitman's ________.

Damasio's patient named Elliott had brain damage to the same region that was injured in Phineas Gage.

How did researchers first learn about the functions of the frontal lobes? What are those functions? Describe the consequences of severe frontal lobe damage. What does this tell us about personality?

One reason why the results of psychosurgeries are often erratic is that ________.

According to DeYoung's theory, which neurotransmitter is the foundation of stability?

Galen suggested that there were ________ basic types of personality, each linked to an excessive amount of a different ________.

Explain why it is so difficult to study links between personality and the brain. What methods have been proposed and what are the difficulties associated with each of these methods?

DeYoung has identified two metatraits of personality (stability and plasticity) and linked those domains to the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. Please describe these metatraits and explain their links with biology. How might this approach to understanding the biology of personality help to organize this area of study? What are some of the advantages of this approach? What are some limitations of this model?

Which of the following would NOT be a pronounced symptom in a patient who suffers frontal lobe damage?