Chapter 6.2: The Mechanical Senses

Question 1

The vestibular system is responsible for which of these observations about behavior?

Answer 1

You can read a page better while shaking your head than while shaking the page

Question 2

Under which of these circumstances would be the semicircular canals respond most vigorously?

Answer 2

When you are moving and changing speed

Question 3

To what extent does the nervous system maintain separate representations of touch, heat, pain, and other aspects of somatic sensation?

Answer 3

Different types of sensation remain separate even in the cerebral cortex

Question 4

In which of these ways do coldness receptors differ from heat receptors?

Answer 4

Coldness receptors respond to a change in temperature, not to the absolute temperature

Question 5

What does the anterior cingulate cortex contribute to both the sense of touch and the sense of pain?

Answer 5

It responds to the emotional aspect of the sensation

Question 6

Suppose you suffer a cut through the spinal cord on the left side only. For the part of the body below that cut, you will lose pain sensation on the right side of the body and touch sensation on the left side. Why?

Answer 6

Pain axons cross the spinal cord at once, but touch fibers do not

Question 7

Certain drugs that relieve pain also relieve which of the following?

Answer 7

Hurt feelings

Question 8

In what way does pain relief by cannabinoids differ from pain relief by opiates?

Answer 8

Cannabinoids act on the periphery, not the brain

Question 9

Do placebos relieve pain just by relaxation? And what is the evidence?

Answer 9

No. A placebo can relieve pain in one body part without affecting another

Question 10

Why do many people suffer chronic pain long after an injury has healed?

Answer 10

The brain has learned to increase its pain perception

Question 11

Which type of sensation inhibits itch sensations?

Answer 11

Pain