Midterm 1 (PART II)

Question 1

If survival of the young is difficult without a lot of cooperation of both parents in raising them, then there is a selection for genes favoring _________; if, on the other hand, survival is rather easy, the best strategy to promote a male’s genes far and wide is __________.

Answer 1

Monogamy; polygamy… polygynous species, for the male, gives way to the sexual dimorphism of males being larger than females.

Question 2

Males are rather selfish… females are rather not. When it comes to jealousy, elaborate.

Answer 2

In females, jealousy is predicated on emotional commitment (so men won’t go astray), while in males, jealousy from sexual infidelity is completely predicated on the placement of his genes.

Question 3

What are physically attractive features, most commonly?

Answer 3

Clear skin, shiny hair, no visible deformities, and, especially, faces that are left-right symmetrical and “average” in terms of width, eye size, etc.

Question 4

Typically, symmetry is associated with ________________ and _________________.

Answer 4

Good health; performance.

Question 5

What are the three phases of female sexual readiness?

Answer 5

1) The “follicle growth” phase.
2) The “preparation of the uterus” phase.
3) The “menstrual flow” phase.

Question 6

A period of sexual receptivity is known as ______; the female will ______ and __________ a male’s advances but at other times (except _________) will reject them.

Answer 6

Estrus; accept and encourage; in humans.

READ ABOUT FEMALE SEXUAL READINESS ON PAGE 65.

Question 7

In detail, the first part of “follicle growth” phase:

__________________ hormone (GnRH) in the hypothalamus causes the pituitary gland to release _________________ hormone (FSH) which causes the _____________ of a rather quiscent _____ (egg) in the ovaries.

Answer 7

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH); Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH); development; ovum.

Question 8

In detail, the second part of “follicle growth” phase:

The ______ containing that ____ (egg) then releases ________ which causes the pituitary to emit __________ hormone (LH). This LH stimulates the follicle to _______ and release the _____ (egg). This causes ________.

Answer 8

Follicle; ovum; estrogen; luteinizing hormone (LH); rupture; ovum; ovulation.

Question 9

During the “preparation of the uterus” phase, the animal is in what state?

Answer 9

Estrus.

Question 10

The “preparation of the uterus” phase, in detail:

The LH also __________the__________ of the follicle to thicken into what is termed a ________________ which in turn secretes another hormone, _____________ and more estrogen.

The estrogen during the phase stimulates certain structures in the ______________ to make the animal behaviorally receptive for sex.

The two aforementioned hormones, thicken the ______ of the _______ for ___________ and also inhibit the development of another ____ for release.

Answer 10

Stimulates the remains; corpus luteum; progesterone.

Hypothalamus.

Walls; uterus; pregnancy; ovum.

Question 11

The “menstrual flow” phase, in detail:

If no ______________ embeds itself in the _____, the thickened wall sloughs off in a process termed _____________ and the whole cycle starts over again. However, if a ______________ has been embedded, there are further steps: a) In preparing the ______ to support a developing ______ and b) in inhibiting the resumption of the _____________ and further ovulation during the course of __________.

Answer 11

Fertilized egg; uterus; menstruation; fertilized egg; uterus; embryo; menstrual cycle; preganancy.

Question 12

What are the four phases of human copulatory sexual response?

Answer 12

1) Excitement.
2) Plateau.
3) Orgasm.
4) Resolution.

Question 13

What is reciprocal altruism?

Answer 13

Reciprocal altruism is the concept of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”… almost like The Golden Rule.

Question 14

What is kin selection?

Answer 14

Kin selection is the concept of caring for another with the same genes as you would care for yourself. In this spirit, a maiden aunt or bachelor uncle would care for their nieces and nephews as if they were children of their own.

Question 15

Explain drive-reduction theory.

Answer 15

Drive-reduction theory is the belief that the optimum level of arousal (drive) is essentially zero; in this spirits, all motives are there to get rid of a noxious state: pain, nutrient deficit, sexual tension (arousal-related).

Question 16

Hull, in drive-reduction theory, believes what about objects in relation to drive?

Answer 16

Objects and behaviors in life that are rewarding are those which result in a reduction of drive.

Question 17

Why is drive-reduction theory untenable?

Answer 17

Some objects and behaviors that mainly increase arousal (drive) are just clearly rewarding (try sex).

Question 18

The body produces its own opioid analgesics for blocking pain. What are they, and what do they do?

Answer 18

Endogenous endorphins, released as inhibitory neurotransmitters at various places in the nervous system (like the spinal cord) can block pain signals from disruptive access to conscious perception and behavioral reactions.

Question 19

Not all analgesic effects can be blocked by an opioid can be blocked by an opioid antagonist. What’s an example of this? What’s the example of an opioid that can block the placebo effect?

Answer 19

Analgesia produced by paralysis.

Naloxone.

Question 20

What evidence is there of the “pleasure center” in human brains?

Answer 20

James Olds discovered that rats will learn to press a level to give themselves a brief burst of electrical stimulation to the medial forebrain bundle running through the lateral hypothalamus and to certain regions of the limbic system.

Question 21

Messages traveling in the ___________________ trigger the nucleus accumbens to, in turn, activate the _______________; pharmacological evidence suggests that this activation is ___________________.

Answer 21

Medial forebrain bundle; ventral tegmental area; dopamine-mediated.

Question 22

__________ & ___________, which are both dopamine agonists by virtue of their ability to prolong dopamine action within the ________ by blocking its ___________ reuptake, greatly enchance ___________________ while dopamine ___________ do the opposite.

Answer 22

Cocaine & amphetamine; synapse; presynaptic; self-stimulation; antagonists.

Question 23

How are the rewarding effects of opiates (& possibly alcohol) achieved?

Answer 23

They activate effects in the ventral tegmental area reporting to nucleus accumbens; that both “uppers” (cocaine, amphetamine) and “downers” (heroin, alcohol) yield pleasure is evidence in favor of a general reward system.

Question 24

A reflex is designed mechanically to _________ or _______ the _________ of the _________ giving rise to it.

Answer 24

Terminate or limit; action; stimulus.

An example of this is the withdrawal reflex with a hand’s touching of a very hot radiator.

Question 25

LIst the major parts of the neuron.

Also, list kinds of neurons.

Answer 25

Dendrites; Axon Hillock; Cell Body; Axon; Axon Terminal.

Sensory neuron, interneuron, motor neuron.

Question 26

Functions of the dedrites:

• RECEPTION of ________&________ messages from upstream neurons, as conveyed in ________________ from across synapses.
• TRANSDUCTION of the messages into an __________ form.
• CONDUCTION of the ___________ messages a short distance to the ____________ by means of ________________.

Answer 26

RECEPTION; excitatory & inhibitory; neurotransmitters.

TRANSDUCTION; electrical.

CONDUCTION; electrical; cell body; passive spread.

Question 27

What is the function of the cell body?

Answer 27

INTEGRATION of all the excitatory & inhibitory messages.

Question 28

What is the function of the axon hillock?

Answer 28

DECISION whether or not to further the messages to downstream neurons, based on the net summation of what the cell body finds.

Question 29

What is the function of the axon?

Answer 29

CONDUCTION of the electrical messages to neurons located long distances away by means of active propagation.

Question 30

What is the function of the axon terminal?

Answer 30

TRANSDUCTION of the electrical messages into a chemical form in terms of a reaction expressed as a release, into synapse, of a myriad of vesicles of neurotransmitter stored in the axon terminal.

Question 31

DIAGRAM ‘The Basic Nervous Functions: Reception, Integration, Reaction (from lecture).’

Answer 31

DIAGRAM.

Question 32

The roles played by glia:

1) As ______ ferrying newborn _______________ both to their proper locations and to their proper connection with other neurons.
2) As providers of _________ sheathing to _________ the axons in ______________ from one another to prevent “shorts” between them and to form the basis of _______ of ________ to speed ________________ of messages along the ______.
3) To “talk back” to the _______ in ways the help ________ the strength of connections between _______________ and __________ of the neurons themselves.
4) As perhaps a slow-conducting message circuit in their own right.

Answer 32

Guides; migrating neurons.

Myelin; insulate; nerve bundles; nodes of Ranvier; neural conduction; axons.

Neurons; regulate; adjacent neurons; sensitivity.

Question 33

A ________________ inserted into a _______ can act like a voltmeter to ________ the __________ activity at a particular time and place on the _______.

Answer 33

Microelectrode; neuron; measure; electrical; neuron.

Question 34

A cell’s resting potential is the electrical potential recorded by a microelectrode when no messages are being sent by a neuron. It’s -70 millivolts. Why is this number negative?

Answer 34

1) The cell has a mechanism the slowly pumps sodium from the inside to the outside of the membrane, in exchange for potassium.
2) The membrane, in resting state, is rather impermeable to sodium, but very permeable to potassium.
3) Because of this, higher concentration of sodium is found outside the cell.
4) Since sodium molecules have positive charge… the number is simply saying “with respect to the outside, it’s more negatively charged on the inside,” with the measurement.

Question 35

In response to the right ________________ being excreted at a _________ onto the neuron, ______________-dependent gates blocking pores in the membrane open up so that the membrane in that _________’s vicinity temporarily becomes more _________ to sodium.

Local changes surrounding the sodium inside a neuron are called ______________________, and if they occur at enough synapses at approximately the same time, it creates a larger, positive shift in body voltage.

Answer 35

Neurotransmitters; synapse; neurotransmitter; synapse; permeable.

Graded potentials.

Question 36

If in the axon hillock, the decrease in negativity (from graded potentials) reaches a _______ threshold (__________ threshold) of approx. -55 millivolts, an _________ potential is emitted which propagates down the _____ and into the _____________.

Answer 36

Decision; excitation; action; axon; axon terminal.

Question 37

From a molecular standpoint, the opening of ________-dependent _______ gates along the axon __________________________ and spreading down the axon is like a row of _____________.

Answer 37

Voltage; sodium; starting at the axon hillock; falling dominos.

Question 38

How is an action potential “all-or-none,” in a sense?

Answer 38

Action potentials always have the same other amplitude as any other action potential; the amplitude of the action potential stays the same as it reaches the axon hillock as it was when it started.

Question 39

Because of amplitude measures, the propagating property of the _____ allows the _______ to communicate reliably with other ________ located at ________________ from it.

Answer 39

Axon; neuron; neurons; long distances.

Question 40

How does a neuron communicate intensity?

Answer 40

By measuring the action potential frequency (because stimuli of higher intensity cause more excitatory messages to arrive at a neuron), one can illustrate trends about the stimulus intensity.

Question 41

READ AND STUDY THE POSTSTIMULATION EXCITABILITY CYCLE.

Answer 41

READ AND STUDY THE POSTSTIMULATION EXCITABILITY CYCLE.

Question 42

READ AND STUDY THE RELATIVE REFRACTORY PERIOD (RRP).

Answer 42

READ AND STUDY THE RELATIVE REFRACTORY PERIOD (RRP).

Question 43

STUDY SHERRINGTON’S INFERENCE OF THE SYNAPSE ON SLIDES 79 AND 80.

Answer 43

STUDY SHERRINGTON’S INFERENCE OF THE SYNAPSE ON SLIDES 79 AND 80.

Question 44

What is temporal summation in the synapse?

Answer 44

Temporal summation indicates that while one stimulus below threshold will not elicit a certain reflex, two or more of them may do so if presented in succession.

Question 45

Summation over such comparatively _________ intrevals don’t occur within an individual ____________, suggesting that temporal summation takes place at the __________________ between neurons.

Answer 45

Long-form; axon fiber; crossover point.

Question 46

Sherrington thought that there’s a kind of excitatory process which accumulates at the synapse and builds up until it reachers a high enough level to trigger the next neuron into action. Explain this in human terms.

Answer 46

Each time Cell A fires, a tiny amount of the excitatory substance is liberated into the synaptic gap between Cell A and Cell B.

Question 47

What does Sherrington refer to when he talks about the central excitatory state?

Answer 47

When extending the talk of Cell A/B, where B is the receiver, the total quantity fired that exceeds the threshold of Cell B is this phenomoenon.

Question 48

What is spatial summation?

Answer 48

Spatial summation is when several neurons funnel in upon one output, and if two or more of them at the same time are fired, the output neuron will fire.

Question 49

When spatial summation happens, __________ groups of nerve fibers _________ on one output, the ________________.

Answer 49

Two or more; converge; final common path.

Question 50

If Neuron A sends a signal to Neuron C to halt a message to Neuron B, then what does that make Neuron A’s transmitter? What does that do?

Answer 50

The transmitter of Neuron A is inhibitory; this serves to increase, rather than decrease, the negativity of Neuron C.

Question 51

Neurons sending messages are ____________ to ones targeted to receive messages. Their receivers have a ___________ surface.

Answer 51

Presynaptic; postsynaptic.

Question 52

When locating synaptic transmission, what determines the possibility of a neuron being more or less negative?

Answer 52

1) The sign of the charge of the molecules that are now allowed to move down their concentration gradients across the membrane.
2) The direction of the movement.

Question 53

How long the neurotransmitter will have an excitatory or inhibitory effect will depend on the ________ of the transmitter in the _________. The lifetime is determined by either “___________” mechanisms (enzymes that break up the neurotrasnsmitter molecules) or by “__________” mechanisms involving the reabsorption into the presynaptic ___________________ of the neurotransmitter it had released.

Answer 53

Lifetime; synapse; inactivation; reuptake; axon terminal.

Question 54

Here’s a few transmitters that serve in the nervous system: Acetylcoline, Serotonin, GABA, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Talk about the functions of all of them.

Answer 54

Acetylcoline = First discovered transmitter, widely used, makes muscle fibers contract.

Serotonin = Involved in sleep, mood, and arousal.

GABA = Most widely distributed inhibitory transmitter in CNS.

Dopamine/Norepenephrine = Notable when conversing about drug effects, schizophenia, dpression, and other mental illnesses.

Question 55

Explaining lock-and-key transmitters: a given type of neurotransmitter will only affect the ______________________ if the shape of the molescules of that type fit into certain ________________ molecules like a key fits to a lock.

Answer 55

Postsynaptic membrane; synaptic receptor molecules.

Question 56

Explain the functions of conditional transmitters, electrical synapses, and so-called second messenger transmitters (especially in relation to its primary transmitter).

Answer 56

Conditional transmitters only work when other transmitters have already worked their locks, so to say.

In response to systems requiring extremely fast message transmission across synapses, these synapses operate by direct electrical activation through the sending and receiving neurons. That’s the electrical synapse.

A second transmitter can sometimes, because of this, be released and change the postsynaptic neuron’s reactivity to the primary messenger transmitter.

Question 57

___________ are drugs that act like neurotransmitters because postsynaptic receptors respond to them as if they were that way.

___________ occupy postsynaptic sites but don’t actually activate them, blocking that gateway for actual neurotransmitters.

Answer 57

Agonists; antagonists.

Question 58

An example of an antagonist that works by blocking receptors is curare. How does curare work?

Answer 58

Curare blocks the transmitter action of acetylcholine at the synaptic junctions between motor neurons and muscle fibers; the result here is total paralysis.

Question 59

What is EEG?

Answer 59

It’s a recording of electrical activity from the cortex of the brain as detected by electrodes on the scalp.

Question 60

What’s event-related potential (ERP)?

Answer 60

They are electrical changes in the brain that correspond to the brain’s response to a specific event as measured with EEG.

Question 61

STUDY HEMISPHERICAL INFORMATION.

Answer 61

STUDY HEMISPHERICAL INFORMATION.

Question 62

What is the corpus callosum?

Answer 62

The corpus callosum is a thick bundle of fibers just under the cortex that’s a commissure, sharing information inputs and command outputs between the two sides of the brain.

Question 63

Very general analytics of the four lobes can be made. Tell what the four lobes are and also, what they analyze/function with.

Answer 63

Occipital lobe = Visual information.

Temporal lobe = Auditory information.

Parietal lobe = Tactile information.

Frontal lobe = Devoted to the implementation of motor plans and to the activation of movements that subserve them.

Question 64

The _________________ of the cortex serve as receiving stations for sensory information or as dispatching centers for motor commands.

Answer 64

Projection areas.