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
axon terminal.
branching fiber.
synaptic gap.
threshold.
c
3. Regarding a neuron’s response to stimulation, the intensity of the stimulus determines
whether or not an impulse is generated.
how fast an impulse is transmitted.
how intense an impulse will be.
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
morphine or heroin.
pain or vigorous exercise.
the all-
all of the above.
b
6. The autonomic nervous system
is also referred to as the skeletal nervous system.
controls the glands and the muscles of our internal organs.
is a voluntary system under our conscious control.
monitors sensory input and triggers motor output.
b
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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
pituitary.
hypothalamus.
thyroid.
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
cerebellum.
medulla.
cortex.
thalamus.
b
12. The thalamus functions as a
memory bank.
balance center.
breathing regulator.
sensory control center.
d
13. The lower brain structure that governs arousal is the
spinal cord.
cerebellum.
reticular formation.
medulla.
c
14. The part of the brain that coordinates voluntary movement and enables nonverbal learning and memory is the _______.
cerebellum
15. Two parts of the limbic system are the amygdala and the
cerebral hemispheres.
hippocampus.
thalamus.
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
endocrine system.
hypothalamus.
hippocampus.
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
see light.
hear a sound.
feel a touch on the right arm.
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?
Upper arm
Toes
Lips
All regions are equally represented.
c
22. The “uncommitted” areas that make up about three-
association areas
23. Judging and planning are enabled by the _______ lobes.
frontal
24. Plasticity is especially evident in the brains of
split-
young adults.
young children.
right-
c
25. 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 his left hand points to _______.
ON; HER
26. Studies of people with split brains and brain scans of those with undivided brains indicate that the left hemisphere excels in
processing language.
visual perceptions.
making inferences.
neurogenesis.
a
27. Damage to the brain’s right hemisphere is most likely to reduce a person’s ability to
recite the alphabet rapidly.
make inferences.
understand verbal instructions.
solve arithmetic problems.
b
28. Failure to see visible objects because our attention is occupied elsewhere is called _______ _______.
inattentional blindness
29. Inattentional blindness is a product of our _______ attention.
selective
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30. Our body temperature tends to rise and fall in sync with a biological clock, which is referred to as our _______ _______.
circadian rhythm
31. During the NREM-
deep sleep.
hallucinations.
night terrors or nightmares.
rapid eye movements.
b
32. The brain emits large, slow delta waves during _______ sleep.
NREM-
33. As the night progresses, what happens to the REM stage of sleep?
It increases in duration.
34. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons that have been proposed to explain why we need sleep?
Sleep has survival value.
Sleep helps us recuperate.
Sleep rests the eyes.
Sleep plays a role in the growth process.
c
35. 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.
36. In interpreting dreams, Freud was most interested in their
information-
physiological function.
manifest content, or story line.
latent content, or hidden meaning.
d
37. Which dream theory best explains why we often dream of daily things we’ve seen or done?
The information-
38. _______ _______ is the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation.
REM rebound
Find answers to these questions in Appendix E, in the back of the book.