Deck 2: The Biological Basis of Behavior

Question 1

The division of the nervous system that connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body is the ________ system.

A) central nervous
B) endocrine
C) peripheral nervous
D) secondary nervous

Answer 1

peripheral nervous

Question 2

The complex molecule that forms the code for all genetic information is ________.

A) RNA
B) messenger RNA
C) monoamine oxidase
D) DNA

Answer 2

DNA

Question 3

The scientist who proposed the mechanism of natural selection to explain the process of evolution was ________.

A) Pasteur
B) Watson
C) Darwin
D) Freud

Answer 3

Darwin

Question 4

Phineas Gage was a foreman on a railroad crew who suffered brain damage in a blasting accident. After the accident, he lost interest in his job and had difficulty maintaining any goal-directed behaviors. He seemed apathetic and capable of only shallow emotions. The damaged part of his brain was probably the ________ lobe.

A) parietal
B) temporal
C) occipital
D) frontal

Question 5

Recent evidence suggests that glial cells and astrocytes may play an important role in ________.

A) learning and memory
B) endocrine functioning
C) maturation and aging
D) growth and metabolic regulation

Question 6

How can the nervous system represent increases in the intensity of a stimulus?

A) By increasing the number of neurons firing and the frequency of firing in each neuron.
B) Only by an increase in the number of neurons being fired.
C) Only by an increase in the frequency of firing in each neuron.
D) Only by an increase in the size of the action potential in each neuron that fires.

Question 7

A "split-brain" patient is asked to stare at a spot on a screen. When a picture of an object is shown to the right of the spot, the patient can ________.

A) pick the object out of a group of hidden objects using her right hand, but cannot identify it verbally
B) identify the object verbally and pick it out of a group of hidden objects using her left hand
C) identify the object verbally and pick it out of a group of hidden objects using her right hand
D) pick the object out of a group of hidden objects using her left hand, but cannot identify it verbally

Question 8

An imaging technique that has been useful in helping researchers discover the biological origins of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is ________.

A) magnetoencephalogaphy (MEG)
B) positron emission tomography (PET) scanning
C) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
D) magnetic source imaging (MSI)

Question 9

The function of the neuron's axon is to ________.

A) conduct electrical impulses toward other neurons, muscles, or glands
B) receive messages from neighboring neurons
C) regulate the neuron's life processes
D) insulate against leakage of electrical impulses

Question 10

Studies of heritability in humans that assume that if genes influence a certain trait, close relatives should be more similar with that trait than distant relatives are called ________ studies.

A) strain
B) selection
C) family
D) twin