EXAM 1 Flashcards
The biological psychology perspective on social behavior is particularly concerned with
Learning and memory
Raising young rats alone, rather than in the company of other rats, may cause
A decrease in the size of an odor processing structure
Parallel fibers are a feature of the
cerebellum
The human brain contains approximately how many neurons?
100-150 billion
Which technique does not provide any information about the activity of brain regions
CT
Describe the blood-brain barrier
It is a property of closely packed endothelial cells of the walls of brain capillaries that prevents large molecules from entering the brain
Which of the following is not a consequence of parasympathetic activation?
Increased heart rate
The____ and____ are two parts of the limbic system that form arcs under the surface
Fornix; hippocampus
A group of axons traveling together within the brain is called a
Tract
The process by which an individual changes over the life span is called
Ontogeny
The ability of the brain in development and in adulthood to be changed by environmental inputs is called
Plasticity
Winning a game of chess is likely to cause a man’s___ levels to___
testosterone; increase
Biological psychology…
Spans several scientific disciplines
A feature of neurons that is particularly plastic is the
synaptic spine
The publication of Principles of Psychology by ___ heralded the modern era of biological psychology
William James
Which of these is using the “mechanisms” perspective in bio psych?
What physiological changes in the brain encode memories
Dendritic spines can change shapes in the course of
seconds
In which part of the neurons are synaptic vesicles found?
Synaptic bouton
Which plane divides the body into left and right portions?
Sagittal
The ventricular system contains
Cerebrospinal fluid
The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by____?
The corpus callosum
Which type of cell gives rise to brain tumors?
Glial cells
The vast majority of neurons
are classified as interneurons
The specialized vascular tissue that produces the cerebrospinal fluid is called the
Choroid Plexus
The brain and spinal cord are wrapped in protective membranes known collectively as the
Meninges
How much of the surface of the cortex is hidden within the convolutions of the brain?
Two thirds
Which region of the cortex is crucial for motor control?
Pre-central Gyrus
A ligand is a
substance that binds to receptor molecules at the surface of the cell
The “lock-and-key” analogy relates to the
action of neurotransmitters on receptors
At metabotropic synapses, seconds messengers are activated in postsynaptic neurons by
transmitter-receptor combinations
Most IPSPs are attributable to the
opening of chloride channels
The term “metabotropic” refers to
slow synapses
The number of receptors for a particular transmitter that are present in the brain may vary as a consequence of ___factors, biological_____, or the effects of____.
Developmental; rhythms; drugs
Otto Loewi’s experiments were the first to demonstrate the actions of neurotransmitter. He eventually showed that the
Vagus nerve releases acetylcholine, which decreases heart rate
Which of the following describes directly coupled synapses?
Fast, ligand-activated, Inotropic
Current research suggests that this substance may be an endogenous ligand for cannaboid receptor
Anandamide
Which of the following is not considered to be part of the cholinergic system of the basal forebrain?
Substantia Nigra
In the mammalian brain, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter is?
GABA
Muscarinic receptors
May be either excitatory or inhibitory
Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, appear to modulate the activity of receptors for the neurotransmitter
GABA
People with alcohol addiction may develop neural degeneration and Korsakoff’s syndrome as a result of a dietary deficiency of
Thiamine
Cocaine and amphetamine both potently affect the ___ of catecholamine neurotrasmitters
Reuptake
When the minimum criteria for substance dependence have not been met, but there is evidence of maladaptive patterns of use that persists for at least one month, the diagnosis is?
Substance abuse
Which of the following neurotransmitters, by acting as a retrograde messenger, has a role in maintaining smooth muscle relaxation, increasing blood flow to the penis, and thereby maintaining erection?
NO
Which of the following drugs is not found in nature?
Amphetamine
One of the consequences of a diet that contains insufficient iodine is
Cretinism
If a hormone secreting cell is affected by the hormone that is synthesizes, the hormone is said to act in a____ fashion
Autocrine
The steroid hormones cortisol and corticosterone are released by the____in response to the hormone _____
Adrenals; ACTH
The hormone that controls the milk letdown reflex is
Oxytocin
Male mice with knockout of the __gene display “social amnesia” failing to recognize previously encountered females
Oxytocin
Rodents given supplementary doses of ___ spend increased time in physical contact with one another
Oxytocin
Neurosecretory cells of the hypothalamus release___into the bloodstream
Hormones
Based on what we know about meadow vole (i.e they do not form pair-bonds and they have multiple mating partners), which peptide hormone receptor would you expect to show decreased levels in promiscuous human males in comparison to monogamous human males?
Vasopressin
The appropriate technique for measuring the concentration of a hormone in a sample of blood is
Radioimmunoassay
Glucocorticoids can have a potent inhibitory action on
Inflammation
The greater the influx on calcium into the presynaptic axon terminal , the greater the
Release of neurotransmitter
Most ACh receptors in the brain are
Muscarinic
Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials are characterized by____ of the postsynaptic membrane
Hyperpolarization
The nicotinic ACh receptors is made up of ____ subunits
Five
The substance TTX found in the ovaries of puffer fish is useful for stydying the ionic mechanisms of the neurons because it
Selectively blocks sodium channels
Muscarine and nicotine mimic the action of
Acetylcholine
Spontaneous electrical rhythms that can be recorded from the surface of the scalp are
Generated by the activity of populations of neurons
Postsynaptic potentials are a type of
Graded potential
What is involved in chemical synaptic transmission
Binding to auto receptors, Releases of neurotransmitters, reuuptake
The ____ is the site at which the action potential is initiated
Axon hillock
Curare is a drug that selectively blocks receptors for
Acetylcholine
The presence of selective benzodiazepine receptors in the brain implies that the brain must produce endogenous substances that bind to these receptors. Some investigators have suggested that this endogenous substance is
Allopregnanolene
Which of the following substances competes with the neuromodulator adenosine?
Caffeine
If drug A is found to bind to a certain type of receptor for longer than drug B does, then drug A is said to have greater
Affinity
The major site of origin of projections using the neurotransmitter serotonin is the
Raphe nucleus
The mood stabilizing drug lithium acts by
Inhibiting cAMP
One perspective on drug addiction proposes that a feature shared by all habit-forming drugs is that they
Have strong rewarding properties
LSD appears to exert its effects through its interactions with receptors for the neurotransmitter
Serotonin
People who have used a particular dose of a drug several times may come to experience a much larger effect of the same doses. This is an example of
Sensitization
A major site of origin of projections using the transmitter norepinephrine is the
Locus coeruleus
