Deck 9: Hearing, Balance, Taste, and Smell

Question 1

The decibel scale is a measurement

A) of sound frequency.
B) of change in sound.
C) of sound pressure.
D) relative to the sound of a whisper.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Frequency of sound is measured in

A) hertz.
B) Fourier units.
C) dynes.
D) decibels.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Fourier analysis

A) determines the amplitude of an auditory stimulus.
B) deconstructs the amplitudes and frequencies of an auditory stimulus.
C) explains the phases of an auditory stimulus.
D) describes the deafening properties of an auditory stimulus.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A whisper is about _______ decibels above the threshold of hearing of an average person.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 20
D) 30

Question 5

Which of the following is approximately 140 dB above the threshold of human hearing?

A) A jetliner 500 feet overhead
B) A normal conversation
C) A whisper
D) Infrasound

Question 6

Fluid builds up in the middle ear of children born with cleft palates. This condition

A) does not affect hearing-fluid conducts sound.
B) distorts hearing because it makes the ossicles move more freely.
C) dampens auditory sensations because it restricts movement of the tympanic membrane.
D) irreparably damages the cochlea, so these children will need cochlear implants.

Question 7

Refer to the figure.
Which term best identifies the structure labeled with a question mark in the figure?

A) Outer hair cell
B) Tip link
C) Kinocilium
D) Tectorial membrane

Question 8

The tiny bones of the middle ear are collectively known as the

A) stapes.
B) otoliths.
C) auditory pathway.
D) ossicles.

Question 9

The canals of the cochlea are filled with

A) fluid.
B) air.
C) otoliths.
D) ampullae.

Question 10

The stapedius muscle reflex

A) helps in sound localization.
B) intensifies auditory stimuli.
C) adjusts the tension of the eardrum to incoming sounds.
D) protects the auditory system against intense sounds.

Question 11

The stapes connects to the

A) malleus.
B) oval window.
C) round window.
D) tympanic membrane.

Question 12

There are about _______ inner hair cells in the human ear.

A) 1,500
B) 3,500
C) 7,500
D) 12,500

Question 13

The tensor tympani is attached to the

A) incus.
B) malleus.
C) oval window.
D) stapedius.

Question 14

The stereocilia of hair cells in the human ear extend into the

A) inner hair cells.
B) basilar membrane.
C) auditory nerve fibers.
D) tectorial membrane.

Question 15

Damage to the scala media would affect the

A) Organ of Corti.
B) round window.
C) oval window.
D) ossicles.

Question 16

Neighboring stereocilia on hair cells are joined by

A) Ca²⁺ channels.
B) tuning curves.
C) traveling waves.
D) tip links.

Question 17

There are about _______ outer hair cells and about _______ flask-shaped inner hair cells in the human cochlea.

A) 500; 100
B) 500,000; 200,000
C) 12,000; 3,500
D) 1 million; 500,000

Question 18

The mechanical responses of the outer hair cells appear to fine-tune the organ of Corti and

A) help determine loudness.
B) amplify sound.
C) help discriminate frequencies.
D) modify sound intensity.

Question 19

The swaying of stereocilia in response to sound waves results in an influx of _______ at the base of the hair cell.

A) Na⁺
B) K⁺
C) Cl^-
D) Ca²⁺

Question 20

The auditory stimulus is transduced into electrical signals by

A) the cochlear microphonic.
B) hair cells.
C) ossicles.
D) otoliths.

Question 21

The nerve fibers of the inner hair cells make up about _______% of the afferent fibers in the auditory nerve.

A) 5‒10
B) 20‒25
C) 60‒65
D) 90‒95

Question 22

Almost 95% of afferent auditory nerve fibers carry messages _______ hair cells _______ the brain.

A) to the inner; from
B) to the outer; from
C) from the inner; to
D) from the outer; to

Question 23

Which sound causes the greatest amount of deflection at the base of the basilar membrane?

A) Low-frequency sound
B) Both low- and high-frequency sound
C) High-frequency sound
D) None of the above; the basilar membrane does not move.

Question 24

While listening to stereo music through noise-cancelling headphones, notes that are played exclusively through the left speaker (which is also, properly, on the left ear) will stimulate

A) the right cochlear nucleus.
B) both the left and right cochlear nuclei.
C) the right inferior colliculus and medial geniculate nucleus.
D) the right cochlear nucleus and the left auditory cortex.

Question 25

Studies of cortical activation have revealed that similar brain regions are activated when a subject is listening to words and when

A) trying to lip-read.
B) speaking.
C) listening to music.
D) reading a book.

Question 26

Several regions of the auditory cortex show _______ mapping.

A) topographic
B) tonotopic
C) tomographic
D) tonic

Question 27

Which statement comparing speech and noise is true?

A) They activate similar regions of the auditory cortex.
B) Speech activates regions of the auditory cortex that are not activated by noise.
C) Only speech activates the primary auditory cortex.
D) Speech activates only the left hemisphere, whereas noise activates both hemispheres.

Question 28

_______ offer(s) the best current understanding of the mechanism of pitch perception.

A) Place coding
B) Temporal coding
C) Fourier analysis
D) Place and temporal coding together

Question 29

Since moths can hear the ultrasound that bats use for echolocation,

A) bats can always catch moths.
B) moths must have neurons whose best frequencies are tuned to ultrasonic ranges.
C) bats must be luring moths with the sounds they make.
D) moths can understand bat communication.

Question 30

In the brainstem, _______ neurons detect small binaural differences in the time of arrival of sounds at the two ears by comparing inputs to their two _______.

A) binaural; dendrites
B) auditory; nuclei
C) Purkinje; maps
D) parallel chains of; projection fields

Question 31

Binaural detection allows people to localize the source of a sound to within about _______ degree(s).

A) 1
B) 3
C) 7
D) 10

Question 32

Cortical processing of the "what" aspects of sound appears to be accomplished by a _______ stream of processing involving the _______ lobe.

A) dorsal; frontal
B) dorsal; parietal
C) ventral; temporal
D) ventral; occipital

Question 33

Cortical processing of the "where" aspects of sound appears to be accomplished by a _______ stream of processing involving the _______ lobe.

A) dorsal; frontal
B) dorsal; parietal
C) ventral; temporal
D) ventral; occipital

Question 34

Among musicians, the level of brain response to piano tones is correlated with

A) training on the piano, as opposed to a wind or string instrument.
B) the age at which musical training began.
C) verbal ability.
D) pitch sensitivity.

Question 35

Which of the following is not a principal class of deafness?

A) Central deafness
B) Conduction deafness
C) Peripheral deafness
D) Sensorineural deafness

Question 36

Refer to the figure.
Damage at area B in the figure could cause which kind of deafness?

A) Cortical deafness
B) Conduction deafness
C) Word deafness
D) Sensorineural deafness

Question 37

A patient complains of hearing loss. The patient has trouble hearing his family and friends, but can hear his own voice well enough. Based on these symptoms, you would suspect the patient is suffering from

A) conduction deafness.
B) sensorineural deafness.
C) selective listening deafness.
D) central deafness.

Question 38

Refer to the figure.
This damage shown in these images might result in

A) conduction deafness.
B) sensorineural deafness.
C) central deafness.
D) word deafness.

Question 39

A patient, who has repeatedly been treated with antibiotics due to her chronically compromised immune system, develops hearing loss. To improve her hearing, you would recommend

A) hearing aids.
B) cochlear implants.
C) the drug Atoh1.
D) accepting the loss; it cannot be fixed.

Question 40

Which structure is not part of the vestibular system?

A) Saccule
B) Semicircular canals
C) Eustachian tube
D) Utricle

Question 41

The vestibular system is believed to have evolved from the _______ system.

A) lateral-line
B) gill
C) cupula
D) auditory

Question 42

The vestibular system informs the brain about

A) acoustic stimuli.
B) mechanical forces that act on the body.
C) forces that act within the body cavities.
D) stimulation of the autonomic nervous system.

Question 43

The sensory conflict theory proposes a mechanism for

A) the failure of eyes to focus on a point when the head turns.
B) why reading on the bus makes us feel nauseous.
C) the false-climb illusion.
D) the ability to move the eyes to compensate for movement of the head.

Question 44

_______ are located on the sides of the tongue.

A) Circumvallate papillae
B) Foliate papillae
C) Fungiform papillae
D) Turbinate papillae

Question 45

On average, people with 96 fungiform papillae per square centimeter of the tongue tip are

A) nontasters of PROP.
B) tasters of PROP.
C) supertasters of PROP.
D) unable to detect any tastes.

Question 46

If you eat something extremely hot that burns the tip of your tongue, you are most likely to injure

A) the fungiform papillae.
B) the foliate papillae.
C) the circumvallate papillae.
D) all of the papillae.

Question 47

Much research has been devoted to the inability of some individuals to taste certain substances, such as PTC and PROP. Those who can taste these chemicals may belong to a category of people called

A) tasters.
B) nontasters.
C) supertasters.
D) both tasters and supertasters.

Question 48

A fifth taste, called _______, is apparently mediated by a type of _______.

A) edamame; ligand-gated sodium channel
B) umami; ligand-gated sodium channel
C) edamame; GABA receptor
D) umami; metabotropic glutamate receptor

Question 49

Cats are not sensitive to _______ tastes.

A) salty
B) sour
C) sweet
D) bitter

Question 50

If you accidentally eat a toxic substance, you probably will detect a _______ taste.

A) salty
B) sour
C) sweet
D) bitter

Question 51

If you eat something that generates hydrogen ions in your mouth, you probably will detect a _______ taste.

A) sour
B) salty
C) sweet
D) bitter

Question 52

If metabotropic receptors on the tongue are blocked, _______ tastes are unlikely to be perceived.

A) sweet
B) sour
C) salty
D) both sweet and salty

Question 53

Taste information is reported to the brain via _______ cranial nerve(s).

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 54

Refer to the figure.
Which answer provides the correct labels for the olfactory bulb in the figure?

A) I: Olfactory receptor cells; II: Olfactory cilia; III: Dendritic knob; IV: Mitral cell
B) I: Olfactory cilia; II: Olfactory receptor cells; III: Dendritic knob; IV: Mitral cell
C) I: Olfactory receptor cells; II: Dendritic knobs; III: Olfactory cilium; IV: Mitral cell
D) I: Dendritic knobs; II: Olfactory cilia; III: Mitral cell; IV: Olfactory receptor cell

Question 55

Primary olfactory cortex is located in

A) prepyriform cortex.
B) the amygdala.
C) orbitofrontal cortex.
D) the occipital lobes.

Question 56

Outputs from the olfactory bulb do not make synaptic connections to the

A) amygdala.
B) hypothalamus.
C) prepyriform cortex.
D) thalamus.

Question 57

Each olfactory receptor cell is a

A) bipolar cell with a myelinated axon.
B) small multipolar cell with a myelinated axon.
C) bipolar cell with a fine, unmyelinated axon.
D) small multipolar cell with a fine, unmyelinated axon.

Question 58

In a car accident, a person's cribriform plate may break and sever the olfactory nerve. If this happens, the person is likely to be

A) anosmic initially, but will regain his sense of smell when the nerve regenerates.
B) anosmic forever.
C) deprived forever of an accurate perception of flavor.
D) able to smell only when he has food in his mouth.

Question 59

It is estimated that there are about _______ different odorant receptor genes in the human genome.

A) 100
B) 1,000
C) 10,000
D) 100,000

Question 60

A knockout mouse that lacks a specific olfactory receptor protein for a rose scent

A) will not be able to smell any flowery scent.
B) is missing the glomeruli for that receptor protein.
C) will not be able to regenerate most the receptor neurons.
D) will be able to regenerate only the rosy scent receptor neurons.

Question 61

If gustducin were discovered in cells located in the lungs, we would suspect that these cells were involved with

A) detecting the taste of food.
B) protecting the body from microbes.
C) regulating insulin levels.
D) releasing ghrelin.

Question 62

Knockout mice that are anosmic

A) fail to produce olfactory neurons from basal cells.
B) lack glomeruli.
C) lack a specific olfactory G protein.
D) do not develop noses.

Question 63

Bloodhounds have about _______ times as many olfactory receptor cells as humans do.

A) 3
B) 5
C) 20
D) 50

Question 64

Which evidence suggests that taste-sensing cells mediate more than just chemosensation?

A) Humans have a structure that resembles a vomeronasal organ.
B) Knockout mice lacking bitter receptors have small testes.
C) Virtual reality devices induce motion sickness.
D) Psychophysical evidence that humans can detect more than 10,000 different odors.

Question 65

Although humans do not appear to have a functional vomeronasal organ, we do appear to be able to detect pheromones. The detection of pheromones probably occurs via

A) taste receptors in the nasal passageways.
B) the accessory olfactory system.
C) the gustatory system.
D) the olfactory system.

Question 66

The vomeronasal system appears to specialize in detecting

A) phosphenes.
B) pheromones.
C) phonemes.
D) photons.

Question 67

Frequency-receptive fields of auditory fibers are also called _______.

Question 68

The _______ colliculus is part of the auditory system.

Question 69

Sounds below the threshold of human hearing are called _______.

Question 70

Bats use _______ to detect information regarding objects in space.

Question 71

The idea that we use both intensity differences and differences in the time of arrival of auditory signals to localize sounds is called the _______ theory.

Question 72

Deafness that arises from problems with the middle ear is called _______ deafness.

Question 73

In deaf people who have no hair cells, hearing may be partially restored through the use of devices called _______.

Question 74

Certain antibiotics, such as streptomycin, are now known to have _______ effects.

Question 75

The auditory system is believed to have evolved from the _______ system.

Question 76

Vestibular information is conveyed to the brain via the _______ cranial nerve.

Question 77

Supertasters have about _______ times as many taste buds as nontasters, on average.

Question 78

Receptors for _______ taste are found in the testes.

Question 79

In contrast to other sensory systems, olfactory information is not conveyed to the _______ before going to its primary sensory cortex.

Question 80

Vomeronasal organ (VNO) receptors project to the _______.