Psychobiology Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
Psychobiology is an interdisciplinary course that examines the biological foundations of behavior, integrating insights from psychology, neuroscience, and physiology. Students will explore how the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics influence processes such as perception, emotion, learning, memory, and mental health. The course covers essential topics including neuroanatomy, neural communication, sensory systems, and the biological mechanisms underlying motivation and disorders. By analyzing current research and case studies, learners gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between biological systems and psychological phenomena.
Recommended Textbook
Biological Psychology 13th Edition by James
W. Kalat
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14 Chapters
1750 Verified Questions
1750 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/213
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) In order to produce an action potential, the collective amount of depolarization must exceed the _____
A) threshold of excitation
B) energy required to open the potassium channels
C) absolute refractory period
D) resting membrane potential
Answer: A
Q2) 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
Q3) Dr. McLaughlin's lab studies how newly formed proteins are folded inside neurons. They would be most interested in studying the _____.
A) endoplasmic reticulum
B) mitochondria
C) ribosomes
D) nucleus
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Synapses
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Sample Questions
Q1) What happens when a neurotransmitter is released by a presynaptic cell?
A) It causes calcium to rush into the presynaptic neuron.
B) It causes calcium to rush into the postsynaptic neuron.
C) The neurotransmitter passively spreads across the synaptic cleft.
D) The neurotransmitter is actively transported across the synaptic cleft.
Answer: C
Q2) Ionotropic effects are characterized by ____.
A) rapid and short-lived effects
B) rapid and long lasting effects
C) excitatory effects only
D) inhibitory effects only
Answer: A
Q3) What is the synaptic cleft?
A) The gap between the presynaptic neuron and the postsynaptic neuron
B) A packet that stores neurotransmitter molecules for release
C) A subthreshold depolarization mechanism
D) The long-term storage location for calcium ions
Answer: A
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4
Chapter 3: Anatomy and Research Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) In addition to problems with balance and coordination, a person with damage to the cerebellum will likely have problems with ____.
A) reflexive changes in heart rate
B) shifting attention between auditory and visual stimuli
C) amnesia
D) rational decision-making
Answer: B
Q2) A stereotaxic instrument would most likely be used for ____.
A) placing an electrode in the brain
B) assessing regional blood flow
C) testing reflexes
D) measuring blood pressure
Answer: A
Q3) After damage to the dorsal roots of the spinal cord, an individual will suffer what kind of loss?
A) Sensation from the affected body area
B) Control of the peripheral muscles in the affected body area
C) Control of organs in the affected body area
D) Sensation of the muscles on the opposite side of the body
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Genetics, Evolution, Development, and Plasticity
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124 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The concept that neurons refine their many connections based on which ones are most successful is known as ____.
A) natural selection
B) evolution
C) survival of the fittest
D) neural Darwinism
Q2) Chemicals in the amphibian tectum guide the growth of axons from the retina to their correct location in the tectum by ____.
A) having dozens of different growth factors
B) using an electrical gradient
C) using a chemical gradient
D) glial cell transportation
Q3) Ischemia is to ____ as hemorrhage is to ____.
A) older individuals; younger individuals
B) proximal; distal
C) obstruction; rupture
D) barely noticeable; lethal
Q4) How is brain development related to adolescent impulsivity?
Q5) Describe Lamarckian evolution and the evidence for or against it.
Q6) Describe the relationship between heredity and environment.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Vision
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ventral stream of visual processing is important for identifying movement.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Karen has been staring at a poster that has blue stripes on it. When she quickly glances away towards the white wall, she sees what appears to be yellow stripes. What is this called and what color vision theory explains why it happens?
Q3) In vertebrate retinas, receptors send their messages ____.
A) straight to the brain
B) immediately to ganglion cells within the retina
C) to bipolar cells within the retina
D) to the periphery of the retina first, ganglion cells next, and bipolar cells last
Q4) Why does the fovea provide the clearest, most detailed visual information?
A) It is closest to the pupil.
B) It surrounds the optic nerve.
C) It has tightly packed receptors.
D) It contains many blood vessels for supplying energy.
Q5) Describe the functional and anatomic differences between rods and cones.
Q6) What is prosopagnosia?
Q7) Jamison has prosopagnosia. What part of his vision is disrupted?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Other Sensory Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Following exposure to painful stimuli, brain activation is limited to the somatosensory cortex.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Pacinian corpuscles respond best to ____.
A) rapid mechanical pressure
B) low frequency sounds
C) horizontal head movements
D) slow mechanical movements
Q3) During her lecture on the auditory system, Professor Breen tells the class that area A1 is located in the _____ lobe.
A) occipital
B) temporal
C) parietal
D) frontal
Q4) Deeta is a supertaster. As a result, she _____.
A) requires high concentrations of a particular taste to be able to identify it
B) has more fungiform papillae in the center of her tongue
C) is more sensitive than the average person to nearly all tastes
D) makes up for her lack of ability to identify odors by smell
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Chapter 7: Movement
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125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the areas and major functions of the primary motor cortex (include the relevant areas near to the motor cortex).
Q2) Axons of the lateral corticospinal tract extend to what area?
A) Cerebellum
B) Cerebral cortex
C) Spinal cord
D) Thalamus
Q3) The prefrontal cortex plans movements according to their probable outcomes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which muscles are especially important when running up a flight of stairs at full speed?
A) Fast-twitch muscles
B) Slow-twitch muscles
C) Smooth muscles
D) Intermediate muscles
Q5) Activation of the Golgi tendon organs results in contraction of the muscle.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Briefly describe the cellular organization of the cerebellum.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Wakefulness and Sleep
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Sample Questions
Q1) Who has the greatest risk of having sleep apnea?
A) Sebastian who is an infant.
B) Delbert who is overweight.
C) Randolph who is going through puberty.
D) Kiyoko who is female.
Q2) Charley is currently in Stage 4 sleep. The next stage he will enter will most likely be
A) stage 1
B) REM sleep
C) stage 3
D) paradoxical sleep
Q3) An electroencephalograph displays ____.
A) action potentials of individual neurons
B) a net average of all the neurons' potentials
C) the rate of glucose uptake in active regions of the brain
D) the electrical resistance of the scalp
Q4) The activation-synthesis theory of dreams argues that dreams are the result of random brain activity.
A)True
B)False
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Internal Regulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many kinds of information impinge onto two kinds of cells in one nucleus of the hypothalamus, which is regarded as the "master area" for control of appetite. That area is the ____.
A) suprachiasmatic nucleus
B) sexually dimorphic nucleus
C) solitary nucleus
D) arcuate nucleus
Q2) The increasing prevalence of obesity obviously relates to the increased availability of our diet and ____.
A) depression
B) psychological distress
C) increased activity
D) sedentary lifestyle
Q3) Who is doing a project on a homeostatic mechanism?
A) Gerard who is writing a report on how the heart pumps blood.
B) Rayford who put together a presentation on parenting behaviors.
C) Dortha who put together a presentation on blood glucose levels.
D) Maisie who is writing a report on male and female sex cells.
Q4) Rima has syndromal obesity whereas Ezra has monogenic obesity. What is the difference for these two individuals?
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Chapter 10: Reproductive Behaviors
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Sample Questions
Q1) The anterior commissure, on the average, is ____.
A) smaller in heterosexual women than heterosexual men
B) larger in heterosexual women than heterosexual men
C) smaller in homosexual men than heterosexual men
D) larger in heterosexual men than homosexual men
Q2) 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.
Q3) Terisa is pregnant and experiencing nausea. This is because of increased activity of
A) estradiol
B) serotonin receptors
C) dopamine receptors
D) her ovaries
Q4) What is a sensitive period? Give an example.
Q5) Describe some of the evidence that brain anatomy may differ as a function of sexual orientation.
Q6) Describe some of the evidence that genetic factors may influence sexual orientation.
Q7) Describe the organizing effects of sex hormones and give specific examples.
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Chapter 11: Emotional Behaviors
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Sample Questions
Q1) A study administering testosterone to women found which of these effects?
A) Testosterone increased their violent dreams.
B) Testosterone increased the amount of time they looked at angry faces.
C) Testosterone caused them to report feeling angry for no apparent reason.
D) Testosterone made them want to play pool, drink beer, and spit.
Q2) Recognition of an angry expression is faster when the face is directed ____, and a fearful expression is faster if it is directed ____.
A) toward you; to the side
B) to the side; toward you
C) toward you; toward you
D) to the side; to the side
Q3) One explanation for the difficulty that people with amygdala damage have with recognizing fearful faces is that they ____.
A) cannot see very well
B) do not remember what fear looks like
C) focus their attention on the eyes of faces instead of the nose and mouth
D) focus their attention on the nose and mouth of faces instead of the eyes
Q4) Describe the role of reappraisal as a coping mechanism.
Q5) 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) A rat with hippocampal damage has difficulty with the Morris water maze because it
A) loses its motivation to find the platform
B) cannot remember how to swim
C) has difficulty remembering where the platform is from trial to trial
D) develops a water phobia
Q2) Research indicates that the red nucleus is necessary for ____.
A) the learning of a conditioned response
B) the performance of a conditioned response
C) the learning AND performance of a conditioned response
D) suppression of the conditioned response
Q3) 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
Q4) Describe three adaptations of our ancient ancestors that allowed them to evolve a larger brain.
Q5) Describe the role of the basal ganglia in memory function.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Cognitive Functions
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is Broca's apahsia and which areas of the brain does it affect?
Q2) Briefly discuss the concept of a language acquisition device and its genetic basis.
Q3) Wilma had a loss of consciousness. When she first started to recover, she experienced _____.
A) increased connectivity between subcortical and cortical areas
B) increased activity in the cortex
C) increased connectivity between the thalamus and hypothalamus
D) increased connectivity between the thalamus and basal ganglia
Q4) A person with spatial neglect is more likely to notice an object placed in the left hand if ____.
A) they cross their left hand over to the right side of their body
B) they cross their right hand over to the left side of their body
C) they look to the right
D) you touch their right hand
Q5) The brain has ____ control of the facial muscles.
A) ipsilateral
B) contralateral
C) bilateral
D) mixed
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Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
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126 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the most common cognitive symptom of schizophrenia?
A) Obsessive concentration on a single idea
B) Alternating between one personality and another
C) Excessive attention to detail when discussing a topic
D) Impaired understanding of abstract concepts
Q2) What can be said about treatment for autism spectrum disorders?
A) While drugs like risperidone can be used to reduce stereotyped behaviors, they have a risk of dangerous side-effects.
B) The use of stimulant drugs may increase social behavior and communication.
C) New treatments, including chelation, appear to have great promise.
D) Use of the high fat, ketogenic diet used for some children with intractable epilepsy, appears helpful.
Q3) Zakoria has been diagnosed with ____ and was given ____ as a treatment option. A) schizophrenia; lithium
B) schizophrenia; LSD
C) bipolar disorder; lithium
D) bipolar disorder; neuroleptics
Q4) Differentiate between the terms agonist, antagonist, affinity, and efficacy in terms of drug use/abuse.
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