Deck 3: Biological Foundations of Behaviour

Question 1

Most of the time our internal organs are in a state of equilibrium.This is due to the interaction between these two systems.

A) peripheral nervous system and somatic nervous system
B) central nervous system and immune system
C) sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system
D) somatic nervous system and central nervous system
E) endocrine system and somatic nervous system

Answer 1

sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system

Question 2

An EEG is able to measure

A) brain structures.
B) glucose activity.
C) exact locations of brain deterioration.
D) blood flow and neurotransmitter activity.
E) electrical activity in the cortexbrain.

Answer 2

electrical activity in the cortexbrain.

Question 3

Carol suffers from multiple sclerosis.According to your textbook,this is an issue of a disruption in the timing of nerve impulses due to

A) a decrease in Ach.
B) damage to the myelin sheath.
C) high conduction speeds.
D) a constant state of polarization.
E) the size of the synaptic cleft.

Answer 3

damage to the myelin sheath.

Question 4

According to the text,which of following neurotransmitters should you target if you wanted to treat depression?

A) serotonin
B) GABA
C) acetylcholine
D) dopamine
E) neuromodulators

Question 5

Both the cerebellum and the basal ganglia are involved in the control of movement.However,they have very different roles.The basal ganglia is responsible for ___________ movement whereas the cerebellum is involved in ___________ movement.

A) fast;slow
B) initiating;automatic
C) involuntary;voluntary
D) reflexive;rapid
E) initiating;voluntary

Question 6

Sonny went to a party and drank more alcohol that his body could handle.In fact,Sonny became unconscious.His friends called 9-1-1 and he was taken to the hospital.The emergency staff quickly realized that Sonny had high levels of alcohol intoxication and put him on life support.Your textbook mentions that this could be because the alcohol had

A) damaged the functions of the thalamus.
B) decreased the activity of the hippocampus.
C) increased the activity of the pituitary gland.
D) suppressed the activity of his medulla.
E) damaged his corpus callosum.

Question 7

When researchers are interested in making a lesion in a specific area of the brain,they can

A) surgically remove the area.
B) destroy the area with electricity.
C) produce a lesion with cold or heat.
D) destroy the area with chemicals.
E) all of these answers are correct.

Question 8

Wilder Penfield was a prominent Canadian neurosurgeon who is known to have gathered much of our knowledge of the functions of the human cerebral cortex before the advent of modern brain-imaging techniques.In particular,he found that

A) stimulation in front of the central sulcus produced movement.
B) blood flow increased in the brain during different tasks.
C) a lesion behind the central sulcus produced somatic sensory experiences.
D) a certain area of the brain was responsible for speech.
E) the frontal lobe was not completely developed until age 25.

Question 9

If your hypothalamus happens to be damaged in a stroke,there is a good chance that you would

A) show disruptions in your biological drives.
B) have memory problems.
C) have problems with goal-directed behaviour.
D) show increased responses to sensory input.
E) display problems with language comprehension.

Question 10

If the absolute refractory period did not exist in the cycle of an action potential,which of the following should be possible?

A) Sodium would not have to be recycled
B) There should be almost no limit on how fast a neuron can fire
C) The resting potential of a neuron would be zero
D) Action potentials would be much larger
E) There would be no need for a postsynaptic receptor site

Question 11

Brian's grandmother is showing signs of memory loss and most likely has other symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease.It is likely that she has

A) an oversupply of serotonin.
B) an abundance of dopamine.
C) an undersupply of acetylcholine (ACh).
D) no GABA producing neurons.
E) an undersupply of dopamine.

Question 12

You are looking at the electrical activity at a receptor site on the postsynaptic membrane.The measured potential is -80 millivolts (below the resting potential).How is this possible?

A) No neurotransmitters were released into the synaptic cleft
B) A neurotransmitter has hyperpolarized the postsynaptic membrane
C) A neurotransmitter has depolarized the postsynaptic membrane
D) Positive ions have entered ion channels near the receptor site
E) The postsynaptic membrane is an axon

Question 13

As the result of a car accident,Joe has some difficulty speaking.If he wanted a glass of water,he might say,"Give,glass,me." Where would you expect to find damage in Joe's brain?

A) the cerebellum
B) the motor projection area
C) Wernicke's area
D) Broca's area
E) the corpus callosum

Question 14

Glial cells have many functions and scientists are beginning to understand that these cells are responsible for more than just "custodial" tasks.According to your textbook,one of the most recent discoveries about glial cells is that

A) they collect messages from other neurons and send them on to the cell body.
B) there are over 200 types.
C) there are less glial cells than previously thought.
D) they can help modulate the amount of neurotransmitter that is released.
E) they are more important than neurons.

Question 15

Neurons are the basic building blocks of the nervous system.They operate by generating ____________ and releasing ___________.

A) electrical signals;chemicals
B) particles;ions
C) axons;hormones
D) chemicals;pheromones
E) nodes;vesicles

Question 16

While a neuron will fire more frequently as stimulus intensity increases,there is a limit on how frequently a neuron can generate an action potential.This limit is set by the neuron's

A) threshold.
B) absolute refractory period.
C) relative refractory period.
D) depolarization potential.
E) degree of myelination.

Question 17

Before an action potential can begin,the neuron's membrane must

A) become hyperpolarized.
B) shift from a negative voltage towards a more positive voltage.
C) keep the sodium ions outside the cell membrane.
D) pump out the potassium ions.
E) interact with glial cells.

Question 18

Neurotransmitters can have an excitatory effect or an inhibitory effect at the postsynaptic membrane.The difference between these two effects is that

A) an excitatory effect makes the postsynaptic cell less negative,and an inhibitory effect makes it more negative.
B) an excitatory effect hyperpolarizes the postsynaptic cell,and an inhibitory effect polarizes it.
C) an excitatory effect stores the neurotransmitter,and an inhibitory effect releases the neurotransmitter.
D) an excitatory effect decreases the likelihood of an action potential,and an inhibitory effect increases the likelihood of an action potential.
E) an excitatory effect is caused by the neurotransmitter binding to the receptor whereas the inhibitory effect is caused when the neurotransmitter is denied access.

Question 19

To achieve a resting potential of -70 millivolts

A) there must be no protein in the neuron.
B) the neuron must depolarize.
C) the neuron must use graded potentials.
D) there must be a higher concentration of negative ions inside the cell.
E) there must be a higher concentration of negative ions outside the cell.

Question 20

Under very controlled laboratory conditions,split-brain patients show some very interesting phenomenon.In particular,if these patients are made to focus on a fixation point and they are flashed a picture of a hammer in the left visual field,they

A) cannot find the object if they search for it with their left hand.
B) can name the object.
C) are not able to name the object.
D) can find the object only if they search for it with their right hand.
E) can name the object,but it appears backwards to them.

Question 21

If you wanted to get information on brain activity rather than just structure,which of the following would be the WORST imaging technique to use?

A) PET scan
B) MRI
C) fMRI
D) CAT scan
E) EEG

Question 22

If you were to successfully walk backwards placing your feet together heel to toe,which part of the brain would you be relying on?

A) reticular formation
B) pons
C) medulla
D) hypothalamus
E) cerebellum

Question 23

Your best friend,Mo,is right-handed.Most likely,Mo would also

A) have a high degree of neural plasticity.
B) have a small prefrontal cortex.
C) show language dominance in the right hemisphere.
D) show language dominance in the left hemisphere.
E) have a smaller than normal corpus callosum.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the brain and aging?

A) Neurogenesis has been demonstrated in primates
B) Adults have more synapses than children
C) Children recover from brain damage faster than adults
D) Every neuron is programmed for cell death
E) Stem cells have been successfully transplanted into the spinal cords of injured animals

Question 25

Helina fell off her bike and hit her head hard.When she woke up in hospital,she was not able to see.Most likely,this was from the pressure on the

A) top of her head.
B) frontal lobes.
C) back of her head.
D) motor cortex.
E) somatic sensory area.

Question 26

Julie has damage to Wernicke's area and her friend Jorge has damage to Broca's area.Both Julie and Jorge are likely to suffer from

A) lateralization.
B) antisocial personality disorder.
C) Parkinson's disease.
D) schizophrenia.
E) aphasia.

Question 27

Let's say you are a doctor and one of your patients has trouble speaking.There is nothing wrong with his vocal chords,mouth,or tongue.Most likely,if there is a brain abnormality you would expect to find it in

A) Wernicke's area.
B) the primary auditory cortex.
C) Broca's area.
D) the nucleus accumbens.
E) Wilder's area.