Chapter 3

Question 1

What does dorsal mean?

Answer 1

Toward the back.

Question 2

If one structure is on the left and another is on the right, what is their relationship?

Answer 2

Contralateral.

Question 3

What is a gyrus in the brain?

Answer 3

A bulge in the cortex.

Question 4

What is the function of the ventral roots of the spinal cord?

Answer 4

They control motor output.

Question 5

The side effects of most cold remedies demonstrate the effects of what?

Answer 5

The sympathetic nervous system.

Question 6

What controls breathing, heart rate, and salivation?

Answer 6

Medulla.

Question 7

What part of the brain is the hippocampus in?

Answer 7

The forebrain.

Question 8

What sensation reaches the cerebral cortex without passing through the thalamus?

Answer 8

Olfaction.

Question 9

Which brain area controls the secretions from the pituitary gland?

Answer 9

Hypothalamus.

Question 10

What do the ventricles contain?

Answer 10

Cerebrospinal fluid.

Question 11

What term means toward the midline, and what is its opposite?

Answer 11

Ventral means toward the stomach side. Its opposite is dorsal.

Question 12

If two structures are both on the left side of the body, they are _____ to each other. If one is on the left and the other is on the right, they are _____ to each other.

Answer 12

Ipsilateral; contralateral.

Question 13

Motor nerves leave from which side of the spinal cord: dorsal or ventral?

Answer 13

Ventral.

Question 14

Which functions are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system? Which are controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system?

Answer 14

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the organs for vigorous fight-or-flight activity. The parasympathetic system increases vegetative responses such as digestion.

Question 15

Most of the cranial nerves connect to which brain area?

Answer 15

The medulla and pons.

Question 16

Which area provides most of the input to the cerebral cortex?

Answer 16

Thalamus.

Question 17

Which area occupies about the same percentage of the brain in almost all mammals?

Answer 17

The cerebellum.

Question 18

The cerebral cortex has (at most) how many laminae?

Answer 18

Six.

Question 19

If a group of neurons have similar properties, what is probably true of them?

Answer 19

They are in the same column.

Question 20

The occipital cortex includes the primary area for what sense?

Answer 20

Vision.

Question 21

Where is the primary somatosensory cortex?

Answer 21

Postcentral gyrus.

Question 22

Which human cortical area is specialized for hearing, language, and face recognition?

Answer 22

Temporal lobe.

Question 23

Where is the primary motor cortex?

Answer 23

Precentral gyrus.

Question 24

Which cortical area is specialized for choosing the action with the best probable outcome?

Answer 24

Anterior prefrontal cortex.

Question 25

What is the binding problem?

Answer 25

The question of how we perceive separate sensations as a single object.

Question 26

When are we likely to bind visual, auditory, and touch stimuli?

Answer 26

If they appear to come from the same place at the same time.

Question 27

Why does the thickness of laminae IV and V vary from one cortical area to another?

Answer 27

Lamina IV, which receives sensory input, is thickest in areas that deal with sensation. Lamina V, with motor output, is thickest in areas that control movement.

Question 28

What are the primary functions of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 28

The posterior portion contributes to the control of movement. The middle portion pertains to working memory, cognitive control, and emotion. The anterior portion compares various types of information for making a decision.

Question 29

The first demonstration that a brain area controlled a particular aspect of behavior pertained to which type of behavior?

Answer 29

Language.

Question 30

Why is it difficult to draw scientific conclusions from the study of human brain damage?

Answer 30

Few people have damage to one and only one area.

Question 31

What method can produce a temporary “virtual lesion” of a brain area?

Answer 31

Transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Question 32

What method can control the excitation or inhibition of a particular type of cell in a single area with millisecond accuracy?

Answer 32

Optogenetics.

Question 33

Why are zebrafish larvae useful for certain types of brain research?

Answer 33

They are transparent.

Question 34

Which methods are most useful for detecting momentary changes in brain activity?

Answer 34

EEG and MEG.

Question 35

Which methods are most useful for detecting the location of brain areas that become active during some behavior?

Answer 35

PET and fMRI.

Question 36

Which of these is the first step for positron-emission tomography (PET)?

Answer 36

Inject a radioactive chemical into the blood.

Question 37

What is one advantage of fMRI over PET scans?

Answer 37

The fMRI technique does not expose the brain to radioactivity.

Question 38

Why should no one draw conclusions about a given individual based on fMRI results?

Answer 38

The fMRI results do not have high enough reliability.

Question 39

What is the difference between a lesion and an ablation?

Answer 39

A lesion is damage to a structure. An ablation is removal of the structure.

Question 40

What does fMRI measure?

Answer 40

It detects the percentage of hemoglobin lacking oxygen.

Question 41

Suppose fMRI research demonstrates that a particular brain area becomes active when people listen to music. When that area becomes active later, can we conclude that a person is listening to or thinking about music?

Answer 41

No, because the area may perform functions in addition to music. Also, fMRI data are not reliable enough to draw any conclusions about an individual.

Question 42

What are the similarities and differences between MRI and fMRI?

Answer 42

Both methods measure the responses of brain chemicals to a magnetic field. MRI depicts the anatomy of the brain. The fMRI method shows which brain areas are most active at the moment.