Chapter 1

Question 1

bilateral symmetry

Answer 1

Body plan in which organs or parts present on both sides of the body are mirror images in appearance. For example, the hands are bilaterally symmetrical, whereas the heart is not.

Question 2

traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Answer 2

Wound to the brain that results from a blow to the head.

Question 3

spinal cord

Answer 3

Part of the central nervous system encased within the vertebrae (spinal column); provides most of the connections between the brain and the rest of the body.

Question 4

central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 4

The brain and spinal cord, which together mediate behavior.

Question 5

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Answer 5

All of the neurons in the body outside the brain and spinal cord; provides sensory and motor connections to and from the central nervous system.

Question 6

neuron

Answer 6

Specialized nerve cell engaged in information processing.

Question 7

cerebrum (forebrain)

Answer 7

Major structure of the forebrain that consists of two mirror-image hemispheres (left and right) and is responsible for most conscious behavior.

Question 8

hemisphere

Answer 8

Literally, half a sphere, referring to one side of the cerebrum.

Question 9

brainstem

Answer 9

Central structure of the brain; responsible for most unconscious behavior.

Question 10

cerebellum

Answer 10

Major brainstem structure specialized for learning and coordinating movements; assists the cerebrum in generating many behaviors.

Question 11

embodied behavior

Answer 11

Theory that the movements we make and the movements we perceive in others are central to communication with others.

Question 12

locked-in syndrome

Answer 12

Condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally because of complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles except the eyes.

Question 13

psyche

Answer 13

Synonym for mind, an entity once proposed to be the source of human behavior.

Question 14

mind

Answer 14

Proposed nonmaterial entity responsible for intelligence, attention, awareness, and consciousness.

Question 15

mentalism

Answer 15

Explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind.

Question 16

dualism

Answer 16

Philosophical position that both a nonmaterial mind and a material body contribute to behavior.

Question 17

mind–body problem

Answer 17

Difficulty of explaining how a nonmaterial mind and a material body interact.

Question 18

materialism

Answer 18

Philosophical position that behavior can be explained as a function of the nervous system without recourse to the mind.

Question 19

natural selection

Answer 19

Darwin’s theory for explaining how new species evolve and how existing species change over time. Differential success in the reproduction of different characteristics (phenotypes) results from the interaction of organisms with their environment.

Question 20

species

Answer 20

Group of organisms that can interbreed.

Question 21

phenotype

Answer 21

Set of individual characteristics that can be seen or measured.

Question 22

genotype

Answer 22

Particular genetic makeup of an individual.

Question 23

epigenetics

Answer 23

Differences in gene expression related to environment and experience.

Question 24

cell assembly

Answer 24

Hypothetical group of neurons that become functionally connected via common sensory inputs; proposed by Hebb as the basis of perception, memory, and thought.

Question 25

minimally conscious state (MCS)

Answer 25

Condition in which a person can display some rudimentary behaviors, such as smiling or uttering a few words, but is otherwise not conscious.

Question 26

persistent vegetative state (PVS)

Answer 26

Condition in which a person is alive but unaware, unable to communicate or to function independently at even the most basic level.

Question 27

clinical trial

Answer 27

Consensual experiment directed toward developing a treatment.

Question 28

deep brain stimulation (DBS)

Answer 28

Neurosurgery in which electrodes implanted in the brain stimulate a targeted area with a low-voltage electrical current to facilitate behavior.

Question 29

common ancestor

Answer 29

Forebear of two or more lineages or family groups; ancestral to both groups.

Question 30

nerve net

Answer 30

Simple nervous system that has no center but consists of neurons that receive sensory information and connect directly to other neurons that move muscles.

Question 31

segmentation

Answer 31

Division into a number of parts that are similar; refers to the idea that many animals, including vertebrates, are composed of similarly organized body segments.

Question 32

ganglia

Answer 32

Collection of nerve cells that function somewhat like a brain.

Question 33

chordate

Answer 33

Animal that has both a brain and a spinal cord.

Question 34

hominid

Answer 34

General term referring to primates that walk upright, including all forms of humans, living and extinct.

Question 35

encephalization quotient (EQ)

Answer 35

Jerison’s quantitative measure of brain size obtained from the ratio of actual brain size to expected brain size, according to the principle of proper mass, for an animal of a particular body size.

Question 36

neoteny

Answer 36

Process in which juvenile stages of predecessors become adult features of descendants; idea derived from the observation that more recently evolved species resemble the young of their common ancestors.

Question 37

plasticity

Answer 37

The nervous system’s potential for physical or chemical change; enhances its adaptability to environmental change and its ability to compensate for injury. (Also called neuroplasticity.)

Question 38

species-typical behavior

Answer 38

Behavior that is characteristic of all members of a species, such as walking in amphibians.

Question 39

culture

Answer 39

Learned behaviors that are passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and imitation.

Question 40

meme

Answer 40

An idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.

Question 41

cladogram

Answer 41

Phylogenetic tree that branches repeatedly, suggesting a taxonomy of organisms based on the time sequence in which evolutionary branches arise.