Question 1

Jessica's mother has brown eyes, with a dominant gene for brown eyes and a recessive gene for blue eyes. Her father also has brown eyes, with a dominant gene for brown eyes and a recessive gene for blue eyes. What are the chances that Jessica has blue eyes?

Accepted Answer

A)  0 percent 
B)  50 percent 
C)  25 percent 
D)  75 percent

Question 2

The part of the brain that acts as a switchboard or relay station, sending incoming messages to the appropriate areas of the brain, is the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  thalamus 
B)  pons 
C)  medulla 
D)  hypothalamus

Question 3

A young woman returns from a day at the beach to find she has developed severe sunburn. Which neurons are sending messages from her burned skin to her brain informing her of the pain from the burn?

Accepted Answer

A)  motor neurons 
B)  interaction neurons 
C)  afferent neurons 
D)  efferent neurons

Question 4

________ has long been linked to aggressive behavior.

Accepted Answer

A)  Thyroxin 
B)  Progesterone 
C)  Testosterone 
D)  Melatonin

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

The language used by neurons to communicate ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  involves simple "yes-no," "on-off" electrochemical impulses 
B)  is not yet known, despite years of research 
C)  is extremely flexible and complex, similar to human spoken language 
D)  involves neurons transitioning from one of four different electrochemical states to another Incorrect. Neurons really only have two "solid" states, on or off.

Question 7

Strain studies involve intensive inbreeding of close relatives among animals.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Neurons that carry messages from the spinal cord or the brain to the muscles and glands are called ________ neurons.

Accepted Answer

A)  inter- 
B)  sensory 
C)  efferent 
D)  afferent

Question 9

Eating, drinking, sexual behavior, sleeping, and temperature control are most strongly influenced by the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  medulla 
B)  pons 
C)  hypothalamus 
D)  amygdala

Question 10

Antipsychotic medications help reduce schizophrenic hallucinations by ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  preventing dopamine from binding to receptor sites 
B)  helping dopamine bind to receptor sites 
C)  stimulating the release of dopamine 
D)  preventing the release of dopamine

Question 11

The area at the back of the temporal lobe that is crucial in our ability to listen, process, and understand what others are saying is ________ area.

Accepted Answer

A)  Gall's 
B)  Korsakoff's 
C)  Broca's 
D)  Wernicke's

Question 12

A young man is taking an important test in a large room. He is progressing nicely when, about ten minutes into the exam, the proctor opens the window and he becomes distracted by the noise of the traffic outside. Which of the following psychological explanations is the least plausible explanation for what occurred when the window was opened?

Accepted Answer

A)  The neurons involved went into their absolute refractory period. 
B)  The volume of the traffic sounds reached the threshold needed to fire many of his neurons. 
C)  The number of neurons firing increased considerably, bringing the noise of the traffic into his conscious awareness. 
D)  The neurons involved began to fire more quickly than they had before.

Question 13

Specifically describe the effects of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and endorphins.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Specifically describe the effects of the neurotransmitters...

Question 14

A baby is born with an impairment of her right cerebral hemisphere, but it is not discovered until years later, when certain clues are pieced together. Which of the following is least likely to be one of those clues?

Accepted Answer

A)  She has trouble picking up objects with her left hand. 
B)  She has trouble understanding the meaning of a story that is read to her. 
C)  She has difficulty perceiving spatial relationships. 
D)  She has severe language problems.

Question 15

The outer surface of the two cerebral hemispheres that regulate most complex behavior is called the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  cerebral cortex 
B)  cerebellum 
C)  corpus callosum 
D)  substantia nigra

Question 16

It's midnight and you are alone in your room studying. You hear a loud crash outside your room. Your body instantly reacts to this potential threat as you feel your heart pounding and your senses sharpening. Then you see your lumbering English sheep dog walking around the hallway corner and realize that the crash was undoubtedly from something he knocked over. Recovering from your alarm, your body now relaxes and you return to normal. The body system helping you to return to normal is the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  somatic nervous system 
B)  sympathetic division 
C)  parasympathetic division 
D)  spinal cord

Question 17

A group of axons bundled together is called a ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  myelinated pathway 
B)  synaptic vesicle 
C)  primary cluster 
D)  tract

Question 18

The central nervous system consists of ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  all the nerves in the center of the body that take messages from the environment and send them to the brain and spinal cord 
B)  the somatic and autonomic nervous systems 
C)  the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions, which control the inner or central part of the body 
D)  the brain and the spinal cord

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

A)  conduct electrical electrochemical 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 20

Strain studies involve ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  a single generation of animals 
B)  inbreeding of close relatives of animals over several generations 
C)  adopting children with similar traits 
D)  breeding animals which have a trait with other animals that share that trait

Exam 2: The Biological Basis of Behavior