Chapter 2 Study Guide/Online

Question 1

The axons of certain neurons are covered by a layer of fatty tissue that helps speed neural transmission. This tissue is:

Answer 1

the myelin sheath

Question 2

Heartbeat, digestion, and other self-regulating bodily functions are governed by the:

Answer 2

autonomic nervous system

Question 3

A strong stimulus can increase the:

Answer 3

number of times the neuron fires

Question 4

The pain heroin withdrawal may be attributable to the fact that:

Answer 4

under the influence of heroin, the brain ceases production of endorphins

Question 5

The brain research technique that involves monitoring the brain’s usage of glucose is called the:

Answer 5

PET scan

Question 6

In a resting state, the axon is:

Answer 6

Polarized, with mostly positively charged ions outside and negatively charged ions inside

Question 7

Though there is no single “control center” for emotions, their regulation is primarily attributed to the brain region known as the:

Answer 7

limbic system

Question 8

Which is the correct sequence in the transmission of a simple reflex?

Answer 8

1) sensory neuron
2) interneuron
3) motor neuron

Question 9

Damage to ______ will usually cause person to lose the ability to comprehend language.

Answer 9

Wernicke’s area

Question 10

What is typically controlled by the right hemisphere?

Answer 10

perceptual tasks

Question 11

Dr. Hernandez is studying neurotransmitter abnormalities in depressed patients. She would most likely describe herself as a:

Answer 11

biological psychologist

Question 12

The increasing complexity of animals’ behavior is accompanied by an:

Answer 12

increase in the amount of association area

Question 13

Voluntary movements, such as writing with a pencil, are directed by the:

Answer 13

somatic nervous system

Question 14

A neuron will generate action potentials more often when it:

Answer 14

receives more excitatory than inhibitory inputs

Question 15

What is the correct sequence int he transmission of a neural impulse?

Answer 15

1) dendrite
2) cell body
3) axon
4) synapse

Question 16

Chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands are called:

Answer 16

hormones

Question 17

Following a head injury, a person has ongoing difficulties staying awake. Most likely the damage occurred to the:

Answer 17

reticular formation (arousal)

Question 18

Based on research, what seems true about the specialized functions of the right and left hemispheres?

Answer 18

Most complex activities emerge from the integrated activity of both hemispheres

Question 19

Cortical areas that are not primarily concerned with sensory, motor, or language functions are:

Answer 19

called association areas

Question 20

In the brain, learning occurs as experience strengthen certain connections in cell work groups called:

Answer 20

neural networks

Question 21

The visual cortex is located in the:

Answer 21

occipital lobe

Question 22

What is typically controlled by the left hemisphere?

Answer 22

word recognition

Question 23

When Sandy scalded her toe in a tub of hot water, the pain was carried other spinal cord by the ________ nervous system.

Answer 23

somatic

Question 24

The nerve fibers that enable communication between the right and left cerebral hemispheres and that have been severed in split-brain patients form a structure called the:

Answer 24

corpus callosum

Question 25

Beginning at the front of the brain and moving toward the back of the head, then down the skull and bak around to the front, what is the order of the cortical regions?

Answer 25

1) frontal
2) parietal
3) occipital

Question 26

Three-year-old Marco suffered damage to the speech area of the brain’s left hemisphere when he fell from a swing. Research suggests that:

Answer 26

his right hemisphere may take over much of the language function

Question 27

A split-brain patient has a picture of a knife flashed to her left hemisphere and that of a fork flashed to her right hemisphere. She will be able to:

Answer 27

identity the fork using her left hand

Question 28

Following Jayshree’s near-fatal car accident, her physician noticed that the pupillary reflex of her eyes were abnormal. This may indicate that Jayshree’s ______ was damaged in the accident.

Answer 28

autonomic nervous system

Question 29

I am a slow-acting (but long-lasting) chemical messenger carried throughout the body by the bloodstream. What am I?

Answer 29

a hormone

Question 30

What is the major problem with phrenology?

Answer 30

the brain is not neatly organized into structures that correspond to our categories of behavior