Question 1

Which of the following best summarizes the main function(s) of your nervous system?

Accepted Answer

A)  It allows the right side of your brain to communicate with the left side of your brain. 
B)  It regulates the oxygen in your blood, protects you from pain, and helps your body eliminate waste. 
C)  It allows you to receive sensory information, process that information, and then respond to it. 
D)  It produces vital bodily fluids such as bile and regulates the body's secretion of these fluids.

Question 2

Mario is highly afraid of spiders. Which part of the brain would be activated if he were to enter a room that had a lot of spiders?

Accepted Answer

A)  hypothalamus 
B)  hippocampus 
C)  amygdala 
D)  thalamus

Question 3

While speaking to a large audience, Dr. Neuro states that the brain has plasticity. Your classmate turns to you and says, "I have no idea what plasticity means." Explain to your classmate what brain plasticity is and provide an example of brain plasticity.

Accepted Answer

The answer of While speaking to a large audience, Dr....

Question 4

The somatic nervous system processes information between the central nervous system and one's

Accepted Answer

A)  glands. 
B)  internal organs. 
C)  skin, muscles, and joints. 
D)  eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Question 5

Teresa was out shopping when she suddenly started convulsing. While in the emergency room, her fried Eva explained to the doctor what she had witnessed, so the doctor ordered an electroencephalograph (EEG) to assess if Teresa may have experienced an epileptic seizure, given this test is used to study the ________ in the brain.

Accepted Answer

A)  electrical activity 
B)  overall functioning 
C)  blood flow 
D)  oxygenation

Question 6

Visual information is primarily processed in the ________ lobes of the cerebral cortex.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 7

When inactive, the electrical charge inside a neuron is slightly more negative than the electrical charge outside the neuron. This difference in the electrical charge inside and outside the neuron is the

Accepted Answer

A)  action potential. 
B)  resting state. 
C)  inhibitory signal. 
D)  excitatory signal.

Question 8

When a neuron is stimulated enough, it

Accepted Answer

A)  fires an action potential. 
B)  becomes an agonist. 
C)  achieves a resting state. 
D)  becomes an antagonist.

Question 9

The idea that the brain is extremely malleable and is continuously changing as a result of injury, experiences, or substances is known as

Accepted Answer

A)  myelination. 
B)  genetics. 
C)  plasticity. 
D)  phenotype.

Question 10

Behavioral geneticists are primarily interested in

Accepted Answer

A)  natural selection and the evolution of genes. 
B)  discovering how genes control behaviors. 
C)  proving that genes have the strongest influence on behavior. 
D)  studying the interaction between genes and environment.

Question 11

A myelin sheath is a fatty layer that protects the axon, so it is most like the

Accepted Answer

A)  remote control for a TV. 
B)  insulation around a wire. 
C)  layers of a cake. 
D)  thermostat of a heater.

Question 12

Miranda is working in a laboratory and comes across a rat that is grossly overweight and seems unable to stop eating. The researcher tells Miranda that the rat has a brain lesion. Which part of the forebrain most likely has the lesion?

Accepted Answer

A)  amygdala 
B)  hypothalamus 
C)  substantia nigra 
D)  pons

Question 13

Lisa has problems sleeping, so she goes to a sleep clinic. At the clinic the researchers measure her brain's electrical activity as she sleeps by using the technique of

Accepted Answer

A)  electroencephalographs (EEGs). 
B)  transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). 
C)  functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 
D)  phrenology.

Question 14

Because nicotine increases how the neurotransmitter acetylcholine functions, it is an

Accepted Answer

A)  inhibitory neurotransmitter. 
B)  excitatory neurotransmitter. 
C)  antagonist. 
D)  agonist.

Question 15

If your hand were to automatically jerk back after accidentally touching a hot kettle, which of the following nervous systems would be responsible for this moment?

Accepted Answer

A)  somatic 
B)  sympathetic 
C)  parasympathetic 
D)  autonomic

Question 16

Benita is playing a very exciting video game and she finds that she wants to keep playing it more and more. Benita's desire is most likely activating the neurons in her brain that produce more of the neurotransmitter

Accepted Answer

A)  acetylcholine. 
B)  epinephrine. 
C)  serotonin. 
D)  dopamine.

Question 17

Chung started having trouble with his vision several months after experiencing a concussion. Chung's doctor found nothing wrong with his eyes, so he wanted to explore blood flow to the parts of the brain that process visual information. What modern brain imaging method must the doctor use to achieve this goal?

Accepted Answer

A)  an electroencephalograph (EEG) 
B)  a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) 
C)  a psychograph 
D)  a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Question 18

Marco has great difficulty walking due to uncontrollable tremors and shakiness. His doctor told him that this was due to a decreasing amount of a neurotransmitter in his brain. Which of the following neurotransmitters would be likely to cause this difficulty?

Accepted Answer

A)  epinephrine 
B)  norepinephrine 
C)  glutamate 
D)  dopamine

Question 19

Graham went out for a walk on a cool, fall evening. He forgot to bring a sweater and started feeling cold. The ________ nervous system received the sensory information that the temperature outside was too cold.

Accepted Answer

A)  central 
B)  peripheral 
C)  sympathetic 
D)  autonomic

Question 20

The dendrites are the part of the ________, where signals from neighboring neurons are received.

Accepted Answer

A)  terminal buttons 
B)  axon 
C)  cell body 
D)  synapse

Exam 2: The Role of Biology in Psychology