Physiological Psychology Exam Review
Course Introduction
Physiological Psychology explores the intricate relationship between biological processes and behavior, emphasizing how the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics influence thoughts, emotions, and actions. The course covers foundational topics such as neural communication, sensory and motor systems, learning and memory, emotion, and the biological bases of mental health disorders. Through examining experimental research and case studies, students gain insight into how physiological mechanisms underlie psychological phenomena, fostering a deeper understanding of the mind-body connection and its implications for both health and 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) A presynaptic terminal is also known as ____.
A) an end bulb
B) a node of Ranvier
C) myelin
D) a spine
Answer: A
Q2) What is the main source of nutrition for vertebrate neurons?
A) Fats
B) Glucose
C) Sodium
D) Complex carbohydrates
Answer: B
Q3) Radial glia ____.
A) guide the migration of neurons during embryonic development
B) synchronize the activity of axons
C) wrap around the presynaptic terminals of several axons
D) build the myelin sheaths that surround and insulate certain axons
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Synapses
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) "Second messengers" carry their messages to ____.
A) the presynaptic membrane
B) areas within the postsynaptic cell
C) areas within the presynaptic cell
D) the surrounding glia
Answer: B
Q2) Charles S. Sherrington was the first to infer the properties of ____.
A) synapses
B) the refractory period
C) the sodium-potassium pump
D) dendrites and axons
Answer: A
Q3) An IPSP represents ____.
A) the location where a dendrite branches
B) a gap in a myelin sheath
C) a subthreshold depolarization
D) a temporary hyperpolarization
Answer: D
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4
Chapter 3: Anatomy and Research Methods
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which structure provides the main source of input to the cerebral cortex?
A) Limbic system
B) Medulla
C) Thalamus
D) Hypothalamus
Answer: C
Q2) Sophia is not feeling well and has been coughing and sneezing all day. These actions are controlled by her _____.
A) cerebellum
B) hypothalamus
C) basal ganglia
D) medulla
Answer: D
Q3) Kimiko has been diagnosed with cortical blindness. She has had damage to _____. A) multiple parts of the cortex
B) the occipital cortex
C) the parietal cortex
D) the central sulcus
Answer: B
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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) For natural selection to generate evolutionary change in a population ____.
A) there need not be any differences in the traits of individuals in that population
B) the change in gene frequencies must help the species in the long run
C) the differences must have a hereditary basis
D) the change in gene frequencies will probably be harmful to the species
Q2) Describe Lamarckian evolution and the evidence for or against it.
Q3) Describe the relationship between heredity and environment.
Q4) Individuals afflicted with PKU need to avoid ____.
A) foods high in phenylalanine
B) foods high in vitamin K
C) alcohol
D) sunlight
Q5) A strand of DNA serves as a template (model) for the synthesis of ____.
A) chromosomes
B) RNA
C) Proteins
D) carbohydrates
Q6) Define proliferation during neural development.
Q7) Discuss three evidences that can explain altruistic behavior.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Vision
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125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Youlanda has to wear glasses because her cornea doesn't adjust properly to focus the light onto the retina.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The opponent-process theory explains why Dania's dress still looks blue even after she dims the lights.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Amacrine cells refine the input to ganglion cells, enabling them to respond specifically to shapes, movement, or other visual features.
A)True
B)False
Q4) ____ cells axons make up the optic nerve.
A) Horizontal
B) Amacrine
C) Bipolar
D) Ganglion
Q5) Describe the trichromatic, opponent-process, and retinex theories of color vision.
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Chapter 6: Other Sensory Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) An acceleration of the head at any angle causes ____.
A) the jelly-like substance in one of the semicircular canals to move to another canal
B) the jelly-like substance in one of the semicircular canals to push against hair cells
C) fluid to spill out from the otolith organs into the semicircular canals
D) hair cells to become stiff and straight
Q2) Discuss one theory of why a person might experience synesthesia.
Q3) The receptors for taste are ____.
A) true neurons
B) covered in myelin
C) modified skin cells
D) modified blood cells
Q4) A mild degree of pain releases the neurotransmitter ____. A more intense pain also releases ____.
A) glutamate; substance P
B) GABA; substance P
C) glutamate; dopamine
D) GABA; dopamine
Q5) Describe how the auditory cortex parallels the visual cortex.
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Chapter 7: Movement
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Early symptoms of Huntington's disease usually include ____.
A) paralysis
B) jerky arm movements and body tremors
C) rapid fatigue
D) difficulty coordinating the left hand with the right hand
Q2) 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
Q3) Delora has posterior parietal damage. As a result, she ____.
A) can see an object, but is unable to describe it
B) has good hand-eye coordination only if she closes one eye
C) has difficulty accurately locating and approaching a sound
D) will not step over an obstacle, although she can accurately describe it
Q4) What is a limitation of using L-dopa for Parkinson's disease?
A) It only helps those who are in the later stages.
B) It does not cross the blood-brain barrier.
C) It can contribute to a greater loss of dopamine neurons.
D) It blocks glutamate receptors.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Wakefulness and Sleep
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) During ____, cells in the pons send messages that inhibit the motor neurons that control the body's large muscles.
A) wakefulness
B) REM sleep
C) NREM sleep
D) transitions from wakefulness to sleep or sleep to wakefulness
Q2) What happens after damage to the suprachiasmatic nucleus itself?
A) Light no longer resets the biological clock, but the animal continues generating a 24-hour rhythm.
B) Animals' activity patterns become less consistent and no longer respond to light and dark cycles.
C) Animals lose their biological rhythms of temperature, but keep other circadian rhythms.
D) Animals begin to maintain a constant level of activity throughout the 24-hour day.
Q3) Describe a normal sleep cycle.
Q4) Discuss the leading theories on the biological perspectives on dreaming.
Q5) Discuss the relationship between sleep and memory.
Q6) Briefly describe the role of the locus coeruleus in arousal and attention.
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Chapter 9: Internal Regulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Homeothermic organisms include ____.
A) amphibians and reptiles
B) reptiles and fish
C) amphibians and fish
D) mammals and birds
Q2) What effect does the hormone angiotensin II have?
A) Increased storage of food as fat
B) Constriction of blood vessels
C) Decreased emptying of the stomach
D) Increased growth of the gonads
Q3) Small birds generally eat ____.
A) as much as they can at one time
B) only what they need at the moment
C) three discrete meals per day
D) mostly during the night
Q4) Allyn suffers from anorexia. After she eats, she purges her food by forcing herself to vomit.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the different causes and mechanisms of osmotic thirst.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Reproductive Behaviors
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Sample Questions
Q1) Bruno has been given Viagra to treat his impotence. How does it work?
A) By increasing sensitivity to female's pheromones.
B) By increasing release of nitric oxide in the hypothalamus and penis.
C) By decreasing dopamine release in the hypothalamus.
D) By blocking pain receptors in the spinal cord.
Q2) 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
Q3) One way that estrogen increases sexual responsiveness is by ____.
A) synchronizing activity between the hypothalamus of the left and right hemispheres
B) suppressing the release of competing hormones such as testosterone
C) decreasing the rate of overall body activity
D) increasing the sensitivity of nerves in the pubic area
Q4) Janette is having twins, a boy and a girl. Early in development, describe what the boy and girl babies would have in common and how they will grow to become a boy vs. a girl.
Q5) Describe activating effects of sex hormones and give specific examples.
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Chapter 11: Emotional Behaviors
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Charlene is participating in a research study where she is looking at pictures of emotional facial expressions. While looking, she would have increased activity in her
A) frontal lobe
B) hippocampus
C) pons
D) amygdala
Q2) Why do individuals with prefrontal cortex damage often make bad decisions?
A) They can't understand complexly worded questions.
B) They don't anticipate the unpleasantness of likely outcomes.
C) They conform readily to whatever other people are doing.
D) They can't predict the consequences of one decision or another.
Q3) According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, we experience physiological changes first and then label these changes as an emotion.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Briefly describe how benzodiazepines work in the brain.
Q5) Briefly describe the James-Lange Theory of Emotion.
Q6) Briefly explain why Jamel can use alcohol as a way to self-medicate his anxiety?
Q7) Describe the role of heredity and environment of violent behavior.
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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) Jeramy's cat always purrs when she eats her food. Each day, Jeramy would use the can opener to open the cat food and after a while, he found that his cat would purr each time he used the can opener even if he didn't give her food. What happened?
A) His cat has amnesia.
B) His cat learned via classical conditioning.
C) His cat learned via instrumental conditioning.
D) His cat has developed LTD.
Q3) Which action is most difficult to classify as classical or instrumental conditioning?
A) Pressing a lever to get food
B) Pressing a lever to escape shock
C) Salivating after a sound previously paired with food
D) Song learning by male birds
Q4) Describe the difference between declarative and procedural memory.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Cognitive Functions
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A person with Broca's aphasia ____.
A) has lost total knowledge of grammar
B) has lost total knowledge of use of verbs
C) recognizes that something is wrong with grammatically incorrect sentences
D) insists that his or her utterances are grammatically correct and that other people are wrong
Q2) The left and right hemispheres exchange information through a set of axons called the corpus callosum.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Professor Xing tells his class that evolution enabled humans to develop language because _____.
A) we evolved it as a specialization
B) we use fewer gestures than other primates
C) we have the largest brains
D) we have the most highly developed corpus callosum
Q4) Nearly all current philosophers and neuroscientists reject monism.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Provide a detailed description of spatial neglect.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
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126 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) Attempts to identify individual genes associated with addiction have found ____.
A) many genes, each with a small effect
B) a small number of genes with limited cumulative effects
C) many genes, each with a substantial effect
D) a small number of genes with substantial cumulative effects
Q3) Atypical antipsychotics are effective in treating only the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Barrett has schizophrenia. What cognitive symptoms might he experience?
A) Weak emotional expressions
B) Hallucinations
C) Delusions
D) Trouble maintaining and focusing attention
Q5) Define major depression.
16
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