Question 1

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 2

When the electrical charge inside a neuron is negative in relation to the outside, the neuron is said to be in a state of ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  shock 
B)  polarization 
C)  equilibrium 
D)  depolarization

Question 3

A nerve is really a(n) ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  cell nucleus 
B)  group of axons bundled together 
C)  group of dendrites bundled together 
D)  afferent neuron

Question 4

Insulin and glucagon are secreted by the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  adrenal gland 
B)  hypothalamus 
C)  pancreas 
D)  pituitary gland

Question 5

The fact that language is usually related most closely to the left hemisphere explains why ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  damage to the left hemisphere may cause language disorders 
B)  the right hemisphere is usually larger than the left 
C)  the left hemisphere is usually larger than the right 
D)  stroke victims with paralysis on the left side of the body may have severe speech problems

Question 6

After an industrial accident in which George fell from a scaffold and hit his head, he has had trouble following directions or completing his normal work tasks. He is also apathetic, although he has periods of boastfulness and silliness. The damaged part of his brain is probably the ________ lobes.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 7

________ techniques are used to obtain an overall picture of activity in particular regions of the brain.

Accepted Answer

A)  Microelectrode 
B)  Macroelectrode 
C)  Functional imaging 
D)  Structural imaging

Question 8

The messages in the nervous system are carried through nerves; the messages in the endocrine system are carried through ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  the somatic system 
B)  the bloodstream 
C)  ducts 
D)  glands

Question 9

Loss of motivation and ability to concentrate is the major outcome of damage to the ________ lobe.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 10

The "all or none law" is the principle stating that ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  a neuron fires at full strength or not at all 
B)  all neurons in an area fire at the same intensity or not at all 
C)  a neuron must be receiving only "fire" messages through its dendrites or it will not fire at all 
D)  all the neurons in a particular area of the brain fire simultaneously or not at all

Question 11

The area of the frontal lobe that is crucial in our ability to talk is ________ area.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

A)  He has difficulty with geometry. 
B)  He has difficulty perceiving concepts and spatial relationships. 
C)  He has difficulty learning to read. 
D)  He has difficulty recognizing people's faces.

Question 13

The poison of the black widow spider works by causing an outpouring of ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  endorphins 
B)  acetylcholine 
C)  serotonin 
D)  dopamine

Question 14

The cerebellum ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  controls blood pressure 
B)  relays messages from the sensory receptors 
C)  coordinates actions so that movements are efficient 
D)  is involved in emotional behavior

Question 15

Jessica's mother has blue eyes, with two recessive genes for blue eyes. Her father 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)  75 percent 
C)  50 percent 
D)  25 percent

Question 16

In recent research, Rosenweig found that a stimulating environment results in larger neurons with more synaptic connections ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  in rats of any age 
B)  only in infant rats 
C)  only in adolescent rats 
D)  only in mature rats

Question 17

Explain what plasticity and neurogenesis are. Briefly summarize the research regarding stem cells and the possibility of growing new neurons in the human brain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain what plasticity and neurogenesis are. Briefly...

Question 18

In tests with animals, stem cells transplanted into a brain or spinal cord ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  functioned for a while, but slowly died off 
B)  died almost immediately 
C)  survived but did not function or replace damaged cells 
D)  migrated to damaged areas and began to generate specialized neurons for replacement

Question 19

A technique in which a tiny quartz or glass pipette (smaller in diameter than a human hair) that is filled with conducting fluid and placed on the surface of a neuron so that scientists can study changes in the electrical conditions of that particular neuron is called ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  structural imaging 
B)  a macroelectrode technique 
C)  a microelectrode recording technique 
D)  functional imaging

Question 20

When brain researchers want to map the structures in a living human brain, they use ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  an EEG 
B)  MEG or MSI 
C)  a CAT scan or an MRI 
D)  EEG imaging

Exam 2: The Biological Basis of Behavior