Behavioral Neuroscience Exam Practice Tests
Course Introduction
Behavioral Neuroscience explores the biological foundations of behavior, focusing on how the brain and nervous system influence actions, thoughts, and emotions. This course examines neural communication, brain structure and function, sensory processing, and the neural mechanisms underlying learning, memory, emotion, and motivation. Students will learn about experimental methods used in neuroscience research and analyze the interplay between genetics, environment, and behavior. The course integrates knowledge from psychology, biology, and neuroscience to provide a comprehensive understanding of how physiological processes drive behavior in humans and animals.
Recommended Textbook
Biological Psychology 13th Edition by James W. Kalat
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14 Chapters
1750 Verified Questions
1750 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Nerve Cells and Nerve Impulses
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125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/3133
Sample Questions
Q1) Dr. Skinner is working in the lab measuring the voltage of neurons, and during one condition, she tried to depolarize the neurons from -70 mV to -80 mV.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Which type of glia release chemicals that modify the activity of neighboring neurons?
A) Astrocytes
B) Schwann cells
C) Oligodendrocytes
D) Radial glia
Answer: A
Q3) The two basic kinds of cells in the nervous system are _____.
A) neurons and glia
B) dendrites and axons
C) ribosomes and lysosomes
D) neurons and axons
Answer: A
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3
Chapter 2: Synapses
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Vesicles are located ____.
A) in postsynaptic terminals
B) in dendrites
C) in presynaptic terminals
D) outside of the neuron in the extracellular fluid
Answer: C
Q2) What is the difference between a hormone and a neurotransmitter?
Answer: Neurotransmitters are chemicals used by the nervous system that allow individual neurons to send messages. Hormones are secreted by the endocrine system and travel (usually via the bloodstream) to other parts of the body to exert their effects.
Q3) Dr. Andrus studies reflexes and has demonstrated that a certain reflex doesn't occur if there is a single stimulus. He found that there needs to be _______ (several, rapidly produced stimuli) for the reflex to occur.
A) IPSPs
B) synaptic delay
C) temporal summation
D) spatial summation
Answer: C
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4
Chapter 3: Anatomy and Research Methods
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) People with damage of the parietal cortex tend to have trouble ____
A) hearing sounds
B) locating objects in space
C) remembering past events
D) speaking
Answer: B
Q2) Stan was in an accident and damaged his Cranial nerve II. What side-effects would doctors expect him to have?
Answer: Stan damaged his second cranial nerve called the optic nerve. He will have problems with vision if not complete blindness.
Q3) The prefrontal cortex is important for working memory.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The choroid plexus reabsorbs the cerebrospinal fluid.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Genetics, Evolution, Development, and Plasticity
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124 Verified Questions
124 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Immature neurons experimentally transplanted from one part of the developing cortex to another ____.
A) develop the properties characteristic of their new location
B) maintain the properties of their original location
C) become dysfunctional, with properties of both the original and new locations
D) die
Q2) Lola had a stroke several days ago. At this point, which treatment would be most likely to her?
A) Injecting a drug to block dopamine
B) Administering tranquilizers
C) Extensive bed rest
D) Giving stimulant drugs combined with physical therapy
Q3) On a given trait, high heritability suggests that ____.
A) adopted children will closely resemble their biological parents
B) adopted children will closely resemble their adoptive parents
C) identical twins will be less similar to each other than adopted siblings
D) fraternal twins will be more similar to each other than identical twins
Q4) What is the effect of the level of enrichment in an environment on the nervous system? Back up your answer by discussing one of the research studies mentioned in the text.
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Chapter 5: Vision
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Amacrine cells refine the input to ganglion cells, enabling them to respond specifically to shapes, movement, or other visual features.
A)True
B)False
Q2) According to the trichromatic theory of color vision, the most important factor in determining the color we see is the ____.
A) velocity of the action potential
B) absolute activity of a single cone
C) difference between cone and rod activity
D) relative activity of short, medium, and long wavelengths
Q3) The ventral stream of visual processing is important for identifying movement.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An inability to recognize objects despite otherwise satisfactory vision is called ____.
A) visual agnosia
B) blindsight
C) prosopagnosia
D) hemianopsia
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Chapter 6: Other Sensory Systems
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The somatosensory system involves sensation of ____.
A) sight and sound
B) sound and touch
C) the body and its movements
D) the head and movements of the eyes
Q2) The ____ nucleus of the thalamus is associated with pain perception of the body.
A) anterior
B) posterior
C) ventral posterior
D) ventral lateral
Q3) Which of the following is not one of the ossicles?
A) Hammer
B) Stirrup
C) Incus
D) Staplers
Q4) What is the major problem for the frequency theory of sound perception?
A) It cannot account for perception of low pitch sounds.
B) It cannot account for perception of low amplitude sounds.
C) It requires the cochlea to vibrate, and it does not.
D) It requires that neurons respond as quickly than they are able to do.
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Chapter 7: Movement
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Sample Questions
Q1) After damage to the cerebellar cortex, an individual has trouble with which part of the finger-to-nose test?
A) The initial rapid movement to the nose
B) The second step involving the hold function
C) The third step which involves the finger moving to the nose by a slow movement
D) Both the second and third steps
Q2) The premotor cortex ____.
A) is the main area for touch and other body information
B) keeps track of the position of the body relative to the world
C) is active during preparations for a movement and less active during movement itself
D) responds to lights, noises, and other signals for a movement
Q3) When are the cells in the premotor cortex (in contrast to the primary motor cortex) most active?
A) In preparation for movements
B) During movements
C) At or after the end of movements
D) During inhibition of movements
Q4) Describe the significance of mirror neurons.
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Chapter 8: Wakefulness and Sleep
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Sample Questions
Q1) Les will be taking a trip, and he is worried about how to handle his jet lag. What advice would you give him?
A) He needs to take melatonin in the morning to wake up.
B) He needs to expose himself to hot temperatures when he arrives to reset his circadian rhythm.
C) He needs to sleep in a dark room.
D) He needs to avoid bright daylight.
Q2) Describe brain function during REM sleep.
Q3) Mammals have circadian rhythms ____.
A) only for their sleep/activity cycle
B) only for frequency of eating and drinking
C) for sleep and body temperature only
D) for a variety of activities, including sleep
Q4) A small branch of the optic nerve, known as the ____ path extends directly from the retina to the SCN.
A) opticthalamic
B) retinohypothalamic
C) opticretinal
D) retinothalamic
Q5) Briefly describe the role of the locus coeruleus in arousal and attention.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Internal Regulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Obesity in Prader-Willi syndrome is linked to a problem with ____.
A) melanocortin
B) ghrelin
C) NPY
D) leptin
Q2) Dinah's body has produced aldosterone so that she _____.
A) is able to conserve sodium
B) is able to excrete excess sodium
C) is no longer interested in drinking
D) increases her cravings for pure water
Q3) Tammi has a pet lizard. How does her lizard maintain a proper body temperature?
A) By basal metabolism
B) By shivering and sweating
C) By changing the reflectivity of the skin
D) By choosing an appropriate area of the cage (e.g., heat rock)
Q4) An advantage of maintaining a constant body temperature is that it ____.
A) enables an animal to stay equally active at all environmental temperatures
B) enables an animal to survive on a wider variety of diets
C) minimizes the energy that must be expended on basal metabolism
D) enables an animal to detect changes in the temperature of the environment
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Chapter 10: Reproductive Behaviors
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the middle of the menstrual cycle, an increased release of estradiol causes a(n)
A) decrease in the release of FSH
B) decrease in the release of LH
C) sudden surge in the release of luteinizing hormone
D) increase in the release of testosterone
Q2) Professor Eisenhower explains to her class that the steroid hormones (like androgens) produce effects by _____.
A) disrupting cell membranes
B) opening ion channels
C) increasing blood pressure
D) entering cells and affecting gene expression
Q3) What causes the primitive gonads to develop into masculine structures?
A) The X chromosome
B) The sex region Y (SRY) gene
C) The sexually dimorphic nucleus
D) Müllerian inhibiting hormone
Q4) Describe the organizing effects of sex hormones and give specific examples.
Q5) Describe some of the evidence that brain anatomy may differ as a function of sexual orientation.
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Chapter 11: Emotional Behaviors
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Information from cytokines is relayed to the brain, specifically to the ____.
A) hypothalamus
B) cerebellum
C) pineal gland
D) locus coeruleus
Q2) After a loud noise, information travels from the medulla to the ____, and then to the neck muscles.
A) pons
B) caudate nucleus
C) cochlear nucleus
D) hypothalamus
Q3) Which type of leukocyte attaches to an intruder and produces a specific antibody to attack the intruder's antigen?
A) Macrophage
B) B cell
C) T cell
D) A cell
Q4) Briefly describe the role of the HPA axis and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the stress response.
Q5) Briefly describe how benzodiazepines work in the brain.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Learning, Memory, and Intelligence
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is confabulation?
A) Confusing a made-up answer as a memory of an actual experience
B) Having the two sides of the body working antagonistically
C) Confusing procedural memory for declarative memory
D) Remembering names, but being unable to put them with a face
Q2) In addition to the neurotransmitter glutamate, in order to activate the NMDA receptors, the neuron requires ____.
A) serotonin
B) dopamine
C) increased release of magnesium ions from the presynaptic neuron
D) removal of magnesium ions from sodium and calcium channels
Q3) Lorita doesn't like to get shots and each time she gets one, she cries. Last week, she went to the doctor's office. Before the doctor came in, Lorita started crying. In this scenario, explain what parts are the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli and responses.
Q4) Retrograde transmitters ____.
A) are produced in the axon terminals
B) inhibit the postsynaptic cell
C) are broken down before they are released
D) are released by the postsynaptic cell
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Cognitive Functions
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Normally, a split-brain patient should be able to name an object flashed to the left visual field.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Deliberate, top-down direction of attention depends on parts of the prefrontal cortex and the ____.
A) occipital cortex
B) corpus callosum
C) temporal cortex
D) parietal cortex
Q3) After men who reported being passionately in love received a nasal spray of oxytocin, they rated ____.
A) all women as more attractive
B) all women as less attractive
C) their partners but not other women as less attractive
D) their partners but not other women as more attractive
Q4) Nearly all current philosophers and neuroscientists reject monism.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is Broca's apahsia and which areas of the brain does it affect?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
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Sample Questions
Q1) A drug that is able to block the effects of a neurotransmitter is called a(n) ____.
A) agonist
B) antagonist
C) depressant
D) stimulant
Q2) The concordance rate of schizophrenia among twins is ____.
A) higher in dizygotic than monozygotic twins
B) higher in monozygotic than dizygotic twins
C) equally high in monozygotic and dizygotic twins
D) very difficult to determine
Q3) The ventricles are larger than normal in people with schizophrenia.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which behavior is most suggestive of schizophrenia?
A) Alternation between one personality and another
B) Outbursts of unprovoked violent behavior toward strangers
C) Deterioration of daily functioning with disorganized speech and behavior
D) Episodes of being unable to remember certain events of one's past
Q5) Discuss important aspects of prenatal environments that may influence autism.
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