Exam 3: Biological Foundations of Behaviour

Very young children have about 50 percent more brain synapses than do mature adults.

The area of the brain that plays a role in vital life functions, such as heart rate and respiration, is the

When the brain is damaged, surviving neurons can restore functioning by modifying themselves either structurally or biochemically.

A new study is being conducted to assess the brain chemistry of patients who are newly diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Which neurotransmitter should this study measure?

The term "executive functions" has the strongest association with which of the following?

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

Levitin of McGill University studies the neuroscience of music. How has his research demonstrated that, when listening to music, not only the parts of the brain that we would expect to be involved in listening to sound, but also areas that suggest movement are activated, even for non-musicians?

In neurotransmission at the synapse, after a neurotransmitter is released, it diffuses across the synaptic cleft and ___________.

CT scans, PET scans, and MRIs are all similar in that they all can ____________.

While the hypothalamus is known to play a role in the formation of motivational and emotional urges, it is thought that the coordination of the behaviours needed to satisfy these urges is performed by the _______.

Which neurotransmitter is excitatory?

Describe and list the functions of the three primary structures in the hindbrain. For each structure, state what typically happens if that structure is damaged.

Branchlike fibers that collect messages from adjacent neurons and pass them along to the cell body of the receiving neuron are called ____________.

Is it true that at birth you have all the neurons you will ever have?

Steve has aphasia. He can talk, but his communication is telegraphic-he has difficulty stringing words together in a sentence. Most likely, Steve has damage to an area in the

Derek has been asked to hand-deliver a message to Adeline. Adeline lives across the river from Derek, and there is no bridge. Derek's friends Hakeem, Geoff, and Rion have also been asked to carry messages across the river. The four friends agree that they will share a boat across the channel so they can deliver their messages. If we compare this scenario to neuron communication, we can say that the boat, which contained the messengers, is like a

Sally suffered a stroke on her left hemisphere in her frontal lobe. Now Sally is unable to produce speech. Sally's stroke damaged what area in her brain?

Describe the roles played by the ascending and descending reticular formation. Why is it called the "brain's gatekeeper"?

Describe what happens to a neuron when an impulse is triggered. Your answer should include a discussion and clarification of the following terms: resting potential, polarization, graded potential, ion channels, action potential threshold, depolarization, and absolute refractory period.

Under neuron resting conditions, the outside of the neuron has more sodium than the outside