Test yourself repeatedly throughout your studies. This will not only help you figure out what you know and don’t know; the testing itself will help you learn and remember the information more effectively thanks to the testing effect.
1. The neuron fiber that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles and glands is the ___________.
axon
2. The tiny space between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite or cell body of another is called the
- a. axon terminal.
- b. branching fiber.
- c. synaptic gap.
- d. threshold.
c
3. Regarding a neuron’s response to stimulation, the intensity of the stimulus determines
- a. whether or not an impulse is generated.
- b. how fast an impulse is transmitted.
- c. how intense an impulse will be.
- d. whether reuptake will occur.
a
4. In a sending neuron, when an action potential reaches an axon terminal, the impulse triggers the release of chemical messengers called _____________.
neurotransmitters
5. Endorphins are released in the brain in response to
- a. morphine or heroin.
- b. pain or vigorous exercise.
- c. the all-or-none response.
- d. all of the above.
b
6. The autonomic nervous system controls internal functions, such as heart rate and glandular activity. The word autonomic means
- a. calming.
- b. voluntary.
- c. self-regulating.
- d. arousing.
c
7. The sympathetic nervous system arouses us for action and the parasympathetic nervous system calms us down. Together, the two systems make up the___________nervous system.
autonomic
8. The neurons of the spinal cord are part of the_____________nervous system.
central
9. The most influential endocrine gland, known as the master gland, is the
- a. pituitary.
- b. hypothalamus.
- c. thyroid.
- d. pancreas.
a
10. The_________________ _______________secrete(s) epinephrine and norepinephrine, helping to arouse the body during times of stress.
adrenal glands
11. The part of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing is the
- a. cerebellum.
- b. medulla.
- c. cortex.
- d. thalamus.
b
12. The thalamus functions like a
- a. memory bank.
- b. balance center.
- c. breathing regulator.
- d. sensory control center.
d
13. The lower brain structure that governs arousal is the
- a. spinal cord.
- b. cerebellum.
- c. reticular formation.
- d. medulla.
c
14. The part of the brain that coordinates voluntary movement and balance is the _______________.
cerebellum
15. Two parts of the limbic system are the amygdala and the
- a. cerebral hemispheres.
- b. hippocampus.
- c. thalamus.
- d. pituitary.
b
16. A cat’s ferocious response to electrical brain stimulation would lead you to suppose the electrode had touched the _________________.
amygdala
17. The neural structure that most directly regulates eating, drinking, and body temperature is the
- a. endocrine system.
- b. hypothalamus.
- c. hippocampus.
- d. amygdala.
b
18. The initial reward center discovered by Olds and Milner was located in the _________________.
hypothalamus
19. If a neurosurgeon stimulated your right motor cortex, you would most likely
- a. see light.
- b. hear a sound.
- c. feel a touch on the right arm.
- d. move your left leg.
d
20. How do different neural networks communicate with one another to let you respond when a friend greets you at a party?
The visual cortex is a neural network of sensory neurons connected via interneurons to other neural networks, including auditory networks. This allows you to integrate visual and auditory information to respond when a friend you recognize greets you at a party.
21. Which of the following body regions has the greatest representation in the somatosensory cortex?
- a. Upper arm
- b. Toes
- c. Lips
- d. All regions are equally represented.
c
22. Judging and planning are enabled by the________________lobes.
frontal
23. What would it be like to talk on the phone if you didn’t have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand?
You would hear sounds, but without the temporal lobe association areas you would be unable to make sense of what you were hearing.
24. The “uncommitted” areas that make up about three-fourths of the cerebral cortex are called______________ ___________.
association areas
25. Plasticity is especially evident in the brains of
- a. split-brain patients.
- b. young adults.
- c. young children.
- d. right-handed people.
c
26. An experimenter flashes the word HERON across the visual field of a man whose corpus callosum has been severed. HER is transmitted to his right hemisphere and ON to his left hemisphere. When asked to indicate what he saw, the man says he saw_________________but points to _________________.
ON; HER
27. Studies of people with split brains and brain scans of those with undivided brains indicate that the left hemisphere excels in
- a. processing language.
- b. visual perceptions.
- c. making inferences.
- d. neurogenesis.
a
28. Damage to the brain’s right hemisphere is most likely to reduce a person’s ability to
- a. recite the alphabet rapidly.
- b. make inferences.
- c. understand verbal instructions.
- d. solve arithmetic problems.
b
29. Failure to see visible objects because our attention is occupied elsewhere is called_____________ _____________.
inattentional blindness
30. Inattentional blindness and change blindness are forms of___________attention.
selective
31. Our body temperature tends to rise and fall in sync with a biological clock, which is referred to as our_______________ _____________.
circadian rhythm
32. During the NREM-1 sleep stage, a person is most likely to experience
- a. deep sleep.
- b. hallucinations.
- c. night terrors or nightmares.
- d. rapid eye movements.
b
33. The brain emits large, slow delta waves during_____________sleep.
NREM-3
34. As the night progresses, what happens to the REM stage of sleep?
It increases in duration.
35. Which of the following is NOT one of the theories that have been proposed to explain why we need sleep?
- a. Sleep has survival value.
- b. Sleep helps us recuperate.
- c. Sleep rests the eyes.
- d. Sleep plays a role in the growth process.
c
36. What is the difference between narcolepsy and sleep apnea?
With narcolepsy, the person periodically falls directly into sleep, sometimes REM sleep, with no warning; with sleep apnea, the person repeatedly awakens during the night.
37. In interpreting dreams, Freud was most interested in their
- a. information-processing function.
- b. physiological function.
- c. manifest content, or story line.
- d. latent content, or hidden meaning.
d
38. What is the neural activation theory of dreaming?
The neural activation theory suggests that dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural activity.
39. “For what one has dwelt on by day, these things are seen in visions of the night” (Menander of Athens, Fragments). How might the information-processing perspective on dreaming interpret this ancient Greek quote?
The information-processing explanation of dreaming proposes that brain activity during REM sleep enables us to sift through what one has dwelt on by day (that is, the daily events and activities one has been thinking about).
40. The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation is referred to as__________________ _______________.
REM rebound
Answering these questions will help you make these concepts more personally meaningful, and therefore more memorable.
41. Can you think of a time when endorphins may have saved you or a friend from feeling intense pain? What happened?
42. Think back to a time when you felt your autonomic nervous system kick in. What was your body preparing you for?
43. Do you remember feeling the lingering effects of hormones after a really stressful event? How did it feel? How long did it last?
44. In what ways has learning about the physical brain influenced your thoughts about human nature?
45. If most information in the brain is processed outside of our awareness, how can we ever really know ourselves?
46. Why do you think humans are not driven to a frenzy, as the rats were, by stimulation of their “reward centers” in the limbic system?
47. Why do you think our brain evolved into so many interconnected structures with varying functions?
48. How would you respond if your friend complained, “I wish I were more right-brained”?
49. Can you think of a time when you focused your attention on one thing so much that you did not notice something else? What happened?
50. Do you ever text, watch TV, or talk on the phone while studying? What impact do you think this multitasking has on your learning?
51. What have you learned about sleep that you could apply to yourself?
52. Which explanation for why we dream makes the most sense to you? How well does it explain your own dreams?