Behavioral Neuroscience Review Questions
Course Introduction
Behavioral Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary course that explores the biological bases of behavior by examining the structure and function of the nervous system. Students will investigate how neural mechanisms underlie processes such as perception, learning, memory, emotion, and motivation. The course integrates concepts from psychology, biology, and physiology to provide a comprehensive understanding of how brain activity influences behavior, utilizing both animal and human research models. Topics also include neural development, neuroplasticity, and an introduction to neurological disorders, fostering an appreciation for how the brains complexities contribute to both normal and abnormal behavior.
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
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) The speed of an action potential down an unmyelinated axon is best described as ____.
A) the speed of electricity, regardless of the size of the axon
B) less than 1 meter per second, regardless of the size of the axon
C) faster in thin axons than in thick ones
D) faster in thick axons than in thin ones
Answer: D
Q3) The greater the surface area of a dendrite, the more information it can receive from other neurons.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Synapses
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Sample Questions
Q1) The "spontaneous firing rate" of a neuron refers to ____.
A) its resting potential
B) its rate of energy consumption
C) its rate of producing action potentials even when it is not stimulated
D) the velocity of its action potentials under normal conditions
Answer: C
Q2) Spatial summation is the result of synaptic inputs from different locations arriving at the same time.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) How are neurotransmitters removed from the synapse?
Answer: Some neurotransmitters like acetylcholine are broken down by enzymes into inactive components. Other neurotransmitters are taken back up through specialized membrane proteins called transporters. Finally, other neurotransmitters like the neuropeptides diffuse away from the synapse.
Q4) Metabotropic synapses use a large variety of transmitters.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Anatomy and Research Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) Rudy has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He will have damage to his ____ neurons in the _______.
A) serotonin; substantia nigra
B) dopamine; substantia nigra
C) norepinephrine; cerebellum
D) dopamine; cerebellum
Answer: B
Q2) Briefly describe the main categories of methods for studying brain function.
Answer: 1. Examine the effects of brain damage. After damage or temporary inactivation, what aspects of behavior are impaired?
2. Examine the effects of stimulating a brain area. Ideally, if damaging some area impairs a behavior, stimulating that area should enhance the behavior.
3. Record brain activity during behavior. We might record changes in brain activity during fighting, sleeping, finding food, solving a problem, or any other behavior.
4. Correlate brain anatomy with behavior. Do people with some unusual behavior also have unusual brains? If so, in what way?
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Chapter 4: Genetics, Evolution, Development, and Plasticity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Proteins called ____ bind DNA into a shape that is more like string wound around a ball.
A) enzymes
B) histones
C) esters
D) acetyl groups
Q2) The fluid-filled cavity of the developing neural tube becomes the ____.
A) forebrain
B) midbrain
C) spinal cord
D) ventricular system
Q3) Alcohol suppresses the release of ____, the brain's main excitatory neurotransmitter.
A) 5-HT (serotonin)
B) dopamine
C) GABA
D) glutamate
Q4) Marren has had an ischemic stroke. Sarai has had a hemorrhagic stroke. Discuss the differences in the types of stroke each patient had. Then, discuss how some treatments would be similar and others would be different.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Vision
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose someone has a genetic defect that prevents the formation of horizontal cells in the retina. Which visual phenomenon is most likely to be impaired?
A) Lateral inhibition
B) Movement perception
C) Dark adaptation
D) Size constancy
Q2) Light energy converts 11-cis-retinal to ____.
A) opsins
B) unstable proteins
C) all-trans-retinal
D) sodium
Q3) Professor Hancock is giving a lecture about peripheral vision. Which is the most likely to say?
A) It is very sensitive to detail.
B) It is easier to recognize single objects in the periphery that are not surrounded by other objects.
C) It is not very sensitive to light.
D) It is most sensitive to color, which helps to differentiate multiple objects clearly.
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7
Chapter 6: Other Sensory Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why can't Torie tickle herself?
A) A person cannot reach his/her own tickle receptors.
B) Because her brain is comparing the sensation to what is "expected" and creates a weaker response.
C) She is left-handed.
D) She lacks tickle receptors.
Q2) There are hundreds of different types of olfactory receptors.
A)True
B)False
Q3) According to the frequency theory, the ____.
A) tectorial membrane vibrates in synchrony with the auditory nerve
B) auditory nerve is responsible for perception of sound but not loudness
C) basilar membrane vibrates in synchrony with a sound, producing action potentials at the same frequency
D) basilar membrane is tuned to a specific frequency and vibrates whenever that frequency is present
Q4) Vella has amusia and, therefore, cannot hear.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe in detail one of the ways of relieving pain.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Movement
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Sample Questions
Q1) Stacia has damage to her lateral corticospinal tract. What sorts of movements would she have trouble doing?
Q2) In contrast to people with posterior parietal damage, people with damage to certain parts of the occipital cortex outside the primary visual cortex ____.
A) cannot locate the source of sounds
B) lose their ability to see everything
C) can accurately describe what they see but cannot reach out to grasp it
D) cannot accurately describe what they see but can reach out to grasp it
Q3) Jeanette is planning to take part in a charity bicycle race. Describe what types of muscle fibers she will need to use at the beginning of the race as opposed to several miles into the race and why.
Q4) The role of the Golgi tendon organs is to ____.
A) prevent extreme muscle contractions
B) guard against fatigue of muscles
C) produce rapid repetitive movements such as finger tapping
D) regulate blood flow to the tendons and muscles
Q5) What are the three types of muscles seen in the human body and where might they be found?
Q6) Describe the significance of mirror neurons.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Wakefulness and Sleep
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Sample Questions
Q1) In comparison to NREM dreams, REM dreams ____.
A) are less likely to include striking visual imagery
B) are more likely to include complicated plots
C) do not contain violence
D) are almost always less than five minutes
Q2) Carlee's EEG recording shows a predominant amount of alpha waves. What is going on?
A) She is in REM sleep.
B) She is in NREM sleep.
C) She is sleepwalking.
D) She is very relaxed but still awake.
Q3) Which claim is most consistent with the evolutionary perspective of sleep?
A) The function of sleep is similar to that of hibernation.
B) More highly evolved species, such as humans, need more sleep than other species.
C) During sleep, we relive the experiences of past generations.
D) Sleep enables the body to repair and restore itself to promote survival.
Q4) Olinda is blind; therefore, she does not have circadian rhythms.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Internal Regulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) There are many chemicals and brain areas that contribute to feeding and satiety. Why might this be?
A) Humans are the evolutionary combination of many different systems from lesser evolved organisms.
B) So that humans will always be tempted to consume sugar.
C) Because if humans are well fed, they will be able to reproduce more.
D) So that if one part of the system gets disrupted, compensation can occur to not disrupt eating behavior.
Q2) Orexin inhibits appetite.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Homeostasis refers to temperature regulation and other biological processes that keep body variables within a fixed range.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Hal is experiencing osmotic thirst. He should drink pure water.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the different causes and mechanisms of osmotic thirst.
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Chapter 10: Reproductive Behaviors
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Sample Questions
Q1) Give some examples of evolutionary interpretations of mating behavior.
Q2) A means of controlling sex offenders has involved reducing ____.
A) testosterone levels
B) estrogen levels
C) prolactin
D) the alpha-fetoprotein level in their blood
Q3) Drugs that reduce testosterone levels in males will most likely reduce their sexual behavior.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following depends on an organizing effect of hormones?
A) Whether an organism develops as male or female
B) The degree of sexual activity at any time
C) The timing of migration or hibernation
D) Current metabolic rate
Q5) In general, men are more jealous of sexual infidelity than women.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Yukiko is taking a combination birth control pill. How do they prevent her from becoming pregnant?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Emotional Behaviors
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Sample Questions
Q1) When faced with moral dilemmas involving killing one person to save five others,
A) people with the weakest autonomic arousal are the least likely to make the "logical" decision to kill one and save five others
B) people with the strongest autonomic arousal are the least likely to make the "logical" decision to kill one and save five others
C) people with the strongest somatic arousal are the least likely to make the "logical" decision to kill one and save five others
D) people with the weakest somatic arousal are the least likely to make the "logical" decision to kill one and save five others
Q2) Briefly explain why Jamel can use alcohol as a way to self-medicate his anxiety?
Q3) Psychologists typically define emotion in terms of the following components: ____.
A) actions, cognitions, emotions, and heart rate changes
B) feelings, actions, emotions, and heart rate changes
C) cognitions, actions, emotions, and physiological changes
D) cognitions, feelings, actions, and physiological changes
Q4) Briefly describe the James-Lange Theory of Emotion.
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Chapter 12: Learning, Memory, and Intelligence
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Sample Questions
Q1) Crysta is a chronic alcoholic who has developed Korsakoff's syndrome. She has damaged her neurons in the _____ which sends information to her _____ cortex.
A) dorsomedial thalamus; prefrontal
B) dorsomedial thalamus; temporal
C) lateral hypothalamus; prefrontal
D) lateral hypothalamus; temporal
Q2) Lashley found that a deep cut in a rat's cerebral cortex completely eliminated the effects of learning under what circumstances, if any?
A) if the cut was made after the learning
B) if the learned task was simple
C) if the learned task was complex
D) under none of the circumstances he studied
Q3) A rat must swim through murky water to find a rest platform that is just under the surface in the ____.
A) radial maze
B) Morris water maze
C) configurable learning task
D) delayed matching-to-sample task
Q4) Describe the role of the basal ganglia in memory function.
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Chapter 13: Cognitive Functions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Rene Descartes proposed that ____.
A) the mind and brain are the same
B) consciousness is a fundamental property of the brain
C) it makes no sense to debate the differences between the mind and brain
D) the mind and brain are different and interact at the pineal
Q2) Wernicke's aphasia is also known as ____.
A) production aphasia
B) fluent aphasia
C) spoken aphasia
D) nonfluent aphasia
Q3) Someone suffering from Wernicke's aphasia has difficulty ____.
A) articulating speech
B) reading aloud
C) understanding speech
D) using prepositions and conjunctions
Q4) Professor Prost tells her class that _____ is/are uncrossed in the brain.
A) taste only
B) taste and smell
C) vision
D) vision and hearing
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which effect would be considered to be agonistic?
A) Blocking the synthesis of neurotransmitters
B) Stimulating the release of neurotransmitters
C) Blocking the postsynaptic receptors
D) Mimicking enzymes that breakdown neurotransmitters
Q2) In contrast to tricyclics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) ____.
A) block reuptake of both catecholamines and serotonin
B) increase action potential velocity
C) block the reuptake of only serotonin
D) act on the left hemisphere while tricyclics act on the right
Q3) What is the difference between positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms?
A) Beneficial behaviors versus harmful behaviors
B) Behaviors that are present versus behaviors that are absent
C) Behaviors that are related to abnormal brain functioning versus those that are not
D) Behaviors shown by one personality versus behaviors shown by another
Q4) What is the neurodevelopmental hypothesis?
Q5) Briefly describe the four major categories of antidepressant drugs
Q6) Discuss important aspects of prenatal environments that may influence autism.
Q7) Describe the differences between antagonists and agonists.
Page 16
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