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Units 3A & 3B Practice Questions
1. A person with schizophrenia may have an overactive dopamine system. Drugs used to
treat this disorder prevent the action of dopamine by keeping it from binding to its
receptors. These drugs are
A) agonists.
B) somatic.
C) sympathetic.
D) antagonists.
E) selectively permeable.
2. The somatic nervous system is a component of the ________ nervous system.
A) peripheral
B) autonomic
C) central
D) sympathetic
E) parasympathetic
3. The brains of patients with Parkinson's disease have little dopamine. Drugs used to treat
such patients bind to dopamine receptors, thereby stimulating those receptors. These
drugs would be considered
A) antagonists.
B) sympathetic.
C) selectively permeable.
D) endorphins.
E) agonists.
4. Motor neurons are to the ________ nervous system as interneurons are to the ________
nervous system.
A) sympathetic; parasympathetic
B) central; peripheral
C) autonomic; somatic
D) parasympathetic; sympathetic
E) peripheral; central
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5. People can simultaneously process many aspects of sensory information such as color,
shape, and size. This best illustrates the functioning of multiple
A) ACh agonists.
B) dendrites.
C) endorphins.
D) neural networks.
E) ACh antagonists.
6. Sir Charles Sherrington observed that impulses took more time to travel a neural
pathway than he might have anticipated. His observation provided evidence for the
existence of
A) endorphins.
B) hormones.
C) synaptic gaps.
D) interneurons.
E) neural networks.
7. The part of a neuron that transmits neural messages to other neurons or to muscles or
glands is called the
A) dendrite.
B) synapse.
C) association area.
D) axon.
E) cell body.
8. Psychoactive drugs interfere with normal neural transmission. Where does this
interference take place?
A) axon
B) cell body
C) myelin sheath
D) synapse
E) hormones
9. If a professor accused you of cheating on a test, your adrenal glands would probably
release ________ into your bloodstream.
A) endorphins
B) acetylcholine
C) seratonin
D) epinephrine
E) insulin
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10. Nerves are neural cables containing many
A) hormones.
B) endorphins.
C) interneurons.
D) axons.
E) lesions.
11. An undersupply of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter known as ________ is linked
to seizures.
A) glutamate
B) GABA
C) serotonin
D) ACh
E) dopamine
12. With regard to the process of neural transmission, a refractory period refers to a time
interval in which
A) a neuron fires more rapidly than usual.
B) an electrical charge travels from a sensory neuron to a motor neuron.
C) positively charged ions are pumped back outside a neural membrane.
D) am individual reflexively withdraws from a pain stimulus.
E) dendrites transmit more electrical signals to axons.
13. A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron is called the
A) synapse.
B) agonist.
C) action potential.
D) myelin sheath.
E) refractory period.
14. For you to be able to run, ________ must relay messages from your central nervous
system to your leg muscles.
A) interneurons
B) agonists
C) motor neurons
D) sensory neurons
E) the autonomic nervous system
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15. The axon of a resting neuron has gates that do not allow positive sodium ions to pass
through the cell membrane. What is this characteristic called?
A) myelin sheath
B) threshold
C) selective permeability
D) action potential
E) parasympathetic nervous system
16. Endocrine glands secrete hormones directly into
A) synaptic gaps.
B) the bloodstream.
C) dendrites.
D) sensory neurons.
E) interneurons.
17. Alzheimer's disease is most closely linked to the deterioration of neurons that produce
A) dopamine.
B) acetylcholine.
C) epinephrine.
D) endorphins.
E) glutamate.
18. At the age of 22, Mrs. LaBlanc was less than 4 feet tall. Her short stature was probably
influenced by the lack of a growth hormone produced by the
A) pancreas.
B) thyroid.
C) adrenal gland.
D) pituitary gland.
E) myelin.
19. Migraine headaches are most closely linked with an
A) oversupply of GABA.
B) undersupply of serotonin.
C) oversupply of glutamate.
D) undersupply of acetylcholine.
E) oversupply of norepinepherine.
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20. The speed at which a neural impulse travels is increased when the axon is encased by
a(n)
A) sympathetic nerve.
B) myelin sheath.
C) endocrine gland.
D) pituitary gland.
E) synaptic vesicle.
21. Neurosurgeons have severed the corpus callosum in human patients in order to reduce
A) aphasia.
B) epileptic seizures.
C) depression.
D) neural plasticity.
E) reward deficiency syndrome.
22. When the cat's amygdala is electrically stimulated the cat prepares to attack by hissing
and arching its back. Which division of the autonomic nervous system is activated by
such stimulation?
A) somatic
B) parasympathetic
C) central
D) sympathetic
E) sensorimotor
23. Direct stimulation of the motor cortex would be most likely to result in
A) feelings of anger.
B) acceleration of heartbeat.
C) a sensation of being touched on the arm.
D) movement of the mouth and lips.
E) intense pain.
24. What is the interdisciplinary study of how brain activity is linked with our mental
processes called?
A) social-cultural perspective
B) psychodynamic perspective
C) cognitive neuroscience
D) industrial-organizational psychology
E) biopsychosocial approach
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25. Damage to the left cerebral hemisphere is most likely to reduce people's ability to
A) speak fluently.
B) copy drawings.
C) recognize faces.
D) recognize familiar melodies.
E) see colors.
26. What is the main difference between an MRI scan and an fMRI scan?
A) MRI scans are able to show internal structures of the brain, fMRI scans can also
show external structures.
B) MRI scans use X-rays, fMRI scans use gamma rays.
C) MRI scans measure glucose levels in the brain, fMRI scans measure oxygen levels.
D) MRI scans show structural details of the brain, fMRI scans show structure and
activity levels.
E) MRI scans measure brain wave activity, fMRI scans use a series of X-ray images
to show structural details.
27. We are usually least consciously aware of the processes and functions of which brain
structure?
A) cerebral cortex
B) motor cortex
C) sensory cortex
D) brainstem
E) Broca's area
28. If a blind person uses one finger to read Braille, the brain area dedicated to that finger
expands as the sense of touch invades the visual cortex. This is an example of
A) brain plasticity.
B) hemispheric specialization.
C) neural prosthetics.
D) integrated association areas.
E) aphasia.
29. Which region of your brainstem plays a role in arousing you to a state of alertness when
someone nearby mentions your name?
A) reticular formation
B) cerebellum
C) hypothalamus
D) amygdala
E) medulla
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30. Your life would be most immediately threatened if you suffered destruction of the
A) amygdala.
B) hippocampus.
C) angular gyrus.
D) corpus callosum.
E) medulla.
31. The concentration of glucose in active regions of the brain underlies the usefulness of
a(n)
A) MRI.
B) brain lesion.
C) EEG.
D) PET scan.
E) hemispherectomy.
32. The region of your cerebral cortex that enables you to recognize a person as your own
mother is
A) Wernicke's area.
B) the limbic system.
C) the angular gyrus.
D) Broca's area.
E) an association area.
33. The auditory hallucinations experienced by people with schizophrenia are most closely
linked with the activation of areas in which brain area?
A) motor cortex
B) amygdala
C) temporal lobes
D) hypothalamus
E) sensory cortex
34. Teaching a patient to regain the use of an impaired limb by limiting his or her use of the
good limb is called
A) functioning magnetic resonance imaging.
B) constraint-induced therapy.
C) neural prosthetics.
D) phrenology.
E) cognitive neuroscience.
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35. Which brain area is primarily involved with controlling speech?
A) sensory cortex
B) angular gyrus
C) association areas
D) Broca's area
E) hypothalamus
36. Nerve cells in the brain receive life-supporting nutrients and insulating myelin from
A) glial cells.
B) neurotransmitters.
C) motor neurons.
D) hormones.
E) sensory neurons.
37. Which region of the brain will a fMRI show as active when a person is looking at a
photo?
A) temporal lobes
B) parietal lobes
C) occipital lobes
D) frontal lobes
E) association areas
38. The ability to simultaneously copy different figures with the right and left hand is most
characteristic of those whose ________ has been cut.
A) angular gyrus
B) reticular formation
C) corpus callosum
D) motor cortex
E) sensory cortex
39. Which brain structure relays information from the eyes to the visual cortex?
A) thalamus
B) amygdala
C) medulla
D) hippocampus
E) cerebellum
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40. Someone trying to add a long series of three digit numbers is probably experiencing
increased brain waves and bloodflow to which brain structure?
A) left hemisphere
B) thalamus
C) reticular formation
D) right hemisphere
E) medulla
41. Briefly describe how one neuron transmits an impulse to another neuron using the
following terms correctly to describe the process of neural transmission: Axon, action
potential, terminal branches of axon, neurotransmitter, synapse, receptor site, dendrite.
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Students should explain the neural transmission process using the terms in context:
Signals are received by the neuron's dendrites or cell body. An action potential is
transmitted down the axon, stimulating the terminal branches of the axon to release
neurotransmitters into the synapse, which bind with receptor sites on the dendrites of the
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next neuron.
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