Smell, Taste, Pain and Hearing

Question 1

Lisa was standing at an intersection when she heard a loud noise. Even before she looked up, she realized that the sound she heard was a traffic accident. The term that best describes Lisa's interpretation of the sound is:
Select one:
a. volume.
b. stimulation.
c. sensation.
d. perception.

Answer 1

d. perception.

Question 2

Qualitative coding occurs because individual receptor cells:
Select one:
a. generate higher rates of action potentials for stronger stimuli than for weaker ones.
b. are tuned such that different cells respond best to somewhat different stimuli.
c. create different kinds of receptor potentials to different kinds of stimuli.
d. generate action potentials with different amplitudes to stimuli that are qualitatively different.

Answer 2

b. are tuned such that different cells respond best to somewhat different stimuli.

Question 3

Which report would suggest that at least some sensory adaptation occurs in the brain rather than in receptor cells?
Select one:
a. Participants who have had electrodes taped to their skin progressively report lower levels of discomfort from the electrodes.
b. Participants who are asked to listen to music with one ear plugged report that the music sounds louder when they later unplug the ear.
c. Participants who smell garlic with one nostril plugged report after a few minutes that the smell is much fainter than at first, even after they switch which nostril is plugged.
d. Participants who watch a clip from a horror movie report that they feel less horror if they watch with their ears plugged than if they listen with their eyes covered.

Answer 3

c. Participants who smell garlic with one nostril plugged report after a few minutes that the smell is much fainter than at first, even after they switch which nostril is plugged.

Question 4

Human senses are designed to alert individuals to ______ in the environment.

Select one:

a. changes
b. steady states
c. specific sounds
d. bright light

Answer 4

a. changes

Question 5

All are qualitative dimensions of sensory coding EXCEPT the:

Select one:

a. loudness of two tones at the same pitch.
b. smell of two different chemicals.
c. difference in wavelengths of two lights
d. pitch of two different tones equal in volume.

Answer 5

a. loudness of two tones at the same pitch.

Question 6

During transduction, variations of the quality of the stimulus are coded as:

Select one:

a. the speed of sensory adaptation.
b. the ratio of activity from different sets of receptors.
c. the strength of the receptor potentials.
d. the speed of action potentials in the sensory neurons.

Answer 6

b. the ratio of activity from different sets of receptors.

Question 7

As Masako listens to Beethoven's 5th Symphony on the radio, her auditory receptors receive and produce electrical changes in response to both the loudness of the music and the different notes that are being played. This electrical preservation of both the quantity and quality of the stimulus is referred to as:
Select one:
a. sensory coding.
b. adaptation.
c. transduction.
d. psychophysics.

Answer 7

a. sensory coding.

Question 8

Psychophysics is the study of the relationship between:
Select one:
a. physical stimuli and the sensory experiences they produce.
b. physical stimuli and motivational states.
c. motivational states and physiological responses.
d. quantities and qualities of stimuli.

Answer 8

a. physical stimuli and the sensory experiences they produce.

Question 9

Assuming that Weber’s law is correct, if one can just barely distinguish a 103-gram weight from a 100-gram weight, one should be able just barely to distinguish a _____ weight from a 300-gram weight.

Select one:

a. 303 gram
b. 309 gram
c. 310 gram
d. 306 gram

Answer 9

b. 309 gram

Question 10

The _____ is the faintest detectable sound from a flute, and _____ refers to the minimal difference in intensity between two otherwise identical stimuli, such as a flute and a piccolo (a small flute).
Select one:
a. sensory magnitude; difference exponent
b. difference threshold; difference exponent
c. stimulus magnitude; just-noticeable difference
d. absolute threshold; just-noticeable difference

Answer 10

d. absolute threshold; just-noticeable difference

Question 11

According to Weber’s law, the just-noticeable difference for stimulus magnitude is:
Select one:
a. a constant proportion of the magnitude of the original stimulus.
b. proportional to the logarithm of the difference between the original stimulus and the comparison stimulus.
c. the magnitude of the original stimulus raised to the power 3.42.
d. the average of the responses obtained through the method of magnitude estimation.

Answer 11

a. a constant proportion of the magnitude of the original stimulus.

Question 12

Fechner stated that the magnitude of the sensory experience of a stimulus is directly proportional to the logarithm of the physical magnitude of the stimulus. The logarithmic nature of the relationship represents the fact that:
Select one:
a. as the physical intensity increases, the magnitude of the sensory experience diminishes by a constant amount. .
b. as the physical scale increases geometrically, the sensory scale increases arithmetically.
c. all just-noticeable differences are physically but not subjectively equivalent to one another.
d. as the physical scale increases arithmetically, the sensory scale increases geometrically.

Answer 12

b. as the physical scale increases geometrically, the sensory scale increases arithmetically.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a correct statement?
Select one:
a. The theory of signal detection uses hit and false alarms rates to isolate the effects of response bias from sensitivity.
b. The theory of signal detection proposes that on each trial subjects must decide whether the they are witnessing an event from a distribution of neural noise, or from a distirbution of signal plus noise
c. A person who adpots a lenient criterion will have a high hit rate and a low false alarm rate
d. Aperosn who adpots a strict criterion will make relatively few false alarms.

Answer 13

c. A person who adpots a lenient criterion will have a high hit rate and a low false alarm rate

Question 14

Quantitative coding for the sense of smell is based on:
Select one:
a. the ratio of activity across different glomeruli.
b. the total amount of activity taking place in the glomeruli responding to the odorant.
c. the type of olfactory sensory neuron sending input to a glomerulus in the olfactory bulb.
d. the number of glomeruli responding to the odorant.

Answer 14

b. the total amount of activity taking place in the glomeruli responding to the odorant.

Question 15

Which is correct?

Select one:

a. Each different odorant has an ability to produce a unique ratio of activity across the various glomeruli.
b. The total amount of activity indicates the type of odorant in a given region of the olfactory bulb.
c. Each different odorant stimulates one and only one type of sensory neuron.
d. Each different odorant produces a different total amount of activity in the glomeruli.

Answer 15

a. Each different odorant has an ability to produce a unique ratio of activity across the various glomeruli.

Question 16

Research findings concerning the physiology of smell indicate that most of the output from the glomeruli goes to:
Select one:
a. the orbitofrontal cortex, which is critical for motivating individuals to seek out smell stimuli.
b. the orbitofrontal cortex, an area crucial to basic drives and emotions.
c. the limbic system and hypothalamus, areas that are critical for making fine distinctions among odors.
d. the limbic system and hypothalamus, areas involved in basic drives and emotions.

Answer 16

d. the limbic system and hypothalamus, areas involved in basic drives and emotions.

Question 17

Which statement MOST accurately describes flavor?
Select one:
a. Flavor is the sensation of taste.
b. Flavor is the sensation of taste and sight combined.
c. Flavor is the sensation of taste and smell combined.
d. Flavor is the sensation of smell.

Answer 17

c. Flavor is the sensation of taste and smell combined.

Question 18

Experiments have shown that people’s ability to identify foods by flavor:

Select one:

a. declines when both nostrils are open.
b. declines when both nostrils are shut.
c. improves when one’s nose is clogged
d. improves when only one nostril is shut

Answer 18

b. declines when both nostrils are shut.

Question 19

Johanna is competing in a cheese-smelling contest, and the grand prize will be won by telling the difference between mild and sharp cheddar by smell alone. Given their age and gender, which person is MOST likely to be the toughest competition?
Select one:
a. Richard, a 35-year-old man
b. Rhoda, an 80-year-old woman
c. Elsie, a 25-year-old woman
d. Charles, a 65-year-old man

Answer 19

c. Elsie, a 25-year-old woman

Question 20

Researchers have found that women in their reproductive years become increasingly sensitive to particular odors as a result of repeated exposure. Such findings are consistent with theories that olfaction serves one or more special functions related to reproduction in women EXCEPT:

Select one:

a. caring for other’s infants
b. choosing mates
c. bonding with infants
d. avoiding toxins during pregnancy

Answer 20

a. caring for other’s infants

Question 21

Naomi is writing a report about the differences in the ability to smell and odor sensitivity. Who should she include in her report as the most sensitive to odors?
Select one:
a. girls in their prepubescent years
b. women in their reproductive years
c. middle-aged men
d. postmenopausal women

Answer 21

b. women in their reproductive years

Question 22

From an evolutionary perspective, mice choose mates that smell maximally different from them because this will:
Select one:
a. add new genetic variation to the mix of disease-fighting cells that develop in their offspring.
b. increase the amount of sex hormones associated with the opposite sex.
c. increase the chance of an individual being healthy and fertile.
d. add to the likelihood that at least one in the mating pair will go undetected by predators and survive to care for their offspring.

Answer 22

a. add new genetic variation to the mix of disease-fighting cells that develop in their offspring.

Question 23

Sergei and Natasha's offspring would MOST benefit from Sergei and Natasha:
Select one:
a. sharing most, but not all, MHCs.
b. having the same MHCs.
c. having different MHCs.
d. sharing few MHCs.

Answer 23

c. having different MHCs.

Question 24

Josh’s friend was hoping to improve his chances of finding a date by buying human pheromone to add to his cologne. The advertisement claimed it would make him irresistible to women. Based on what he knows from research on sex-attractant pheromones in humans, what advice should Josh give his friend?
Select one:
a. Buy it; research indicates that, like other mammals, humans clearly produce and respond to sex-attractive pheromones.
b. Don’t buy it; there’s no convincing evidence that humans produce sex-attractant pheromones.
c. Buy it; while pheromones won’t help in all cases, women have been shown to be moderately attracted by them while the women are ovulating.
d. Don’t buy it; studies have shown that adding more pheromones than what is naturally produced by the body has the reverse effect and would make the friend less attractive to women.

Answer 24

b. Don’t buy it; there’s no convincing evidence that humans produce sex-attractant pheromones.

Question 25

Giselle's chinchilla releases a chemical substance called a \_\_\_\_\_ in order to attract mates.
Select one:
a. hormone
b. pheromone
c. neurotransmitter
d. neurohormone

Answer 25

b. pheromone

Question 26

Which statement about taste receptors is FALSE?
Select one:
a. Taste receptors, located in spherical structures called taste buds, exist only on the tongue.
b. They facilitate the sensation of taste.
c. The specific mechanism of transduction is specialized for different types of taste receptors.
d. There are five types of taste receptors.

Answer 26

a. Taste receptors, located in spherical structures called taste buds, exist only on the tongue.

Question 27

Which statement is an actual research finding that supports an evolutionary perspective on why individuals experience bitter tastes as unpleasant and consequently avoid them?
Select one:
a. Women are most sensitive to bitter tastes during the first three months of pregnancy, the period in which the fetus is most vulnerable to poisons.
b. Adults are more sensitive to bitter taste than children, because adults are responsible for locating foods that are safe to eat.
c. Avoidance of all bitter tastes is the optimal strategy in terms of natural selection and can protect the individual fully without need for learning.
d. Only a few chemical substances taste bitter to humans, because bitter receptor cells have evolved to contain just one of the 50 to 80 different types of receptor sites known to exist.

Answer 27

a. Women are most sensitive to bitter tastes during the first three months of pregnancy, the period in which the fetus is most vulnerable to poisons.

Question 28

\_\_\_\_\_ are myelinated, fast-conducting fibers that signal the first wave of pain upon injury.
Select one:
a. A-delta fibers
b. C fibers
c. Cranial nerves
d. Free nerve endings

Answer 28

a. A-delta fibers

Question 29

The cingulate cortex and the insular cortex, which are found in the limbic system, are responsible for:
Select one:
a. enabling individuals to perceive pain as a sensation.
b. motivating individuals to escape from painful stimuli.
c. allowing individuals to localize pain in a particular area of the body.
d. affecting one’s level of worry about the meaning of pain.

Answer 29

b. motivating individuals to escape from painful stimuli.

Question 30

Cindy wasn’t paying attention while cooking and put her hand on the hot stove. She quickly pulled away when the first, initial wave of pain hit and put ice on the burn to ease the second, longer-lasting wave of pain. The first wave of pain was a response to _______, ultimately activating interneurons of the brainstem, while the second wave was caused by __________.

Select one:

a. unmyelinated A-delta fibers; myelinated C fibers
b. myelinated S-alpha fibers; V fibers
c. myelinated A-delta fibers; unmyelinated C fibers
d. morphine; endorphins

Answer 30

c. myelinated A-delta fibers; unmyelinated C fibers

Question 31

The existence of phantom-limb pain suggests that:
Select one:
a. sensation is not entirely a physiological phenomenon.
b. the brain’s pain mechanisms can be activated by factors other than sensory input.
c. scientists do not have an adequate understanding of where pain sensory neurons are.
d. destruction of the peripheral nerves sets up a pain reflex in the spinal cord.

Answer 31

b. the brain’s pain mechanisms can be activated by factors other than sensory input.

Question 32

The major gate in the gate-control theory of pain is the point where pain sensory neurons enter the \_\_\_\_\_ and synapse on second-order pain neurons.
Select one:
a. thalamus and basal ganglia
b. limbic system and cerebellum
c. spinal cord and brainstem
d. hypothalamus and corpus callosum

Answer 32

c. spinal cord and brainstem

Question 33

Consistent with the gate-control theory of pain, activation of neurons in the PAG of the midbrain inhibits pain by way of axons that run:

Select one:

a. down to the lower brainstem and spinal cord, where pain sensory neurons enter.
b. up to the pain centers in midline nuclei in the thalamus.
c. up to pain centers in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
d. down to pain centers in the parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex

Answer 33

a. down to the lower brainstem and spinal cord, where pain sensory neurons enter.

Question 34

Research on pain sensitivity following injury suggests that generally:
Select one:
a. second-order pain neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem become less responsive to later input for minutes to weeks after injury.
b. heightened sensitivity to pain occurs at the injury site as a result of local changes as well as increased sensitivity in the central nervous system.
c. sensory neurons require much stronger stimuli in order to respond, resulting in lowered sensitivity at the injury site.
d. decreased sensitivity occurs at the injury site partly because chemicals released from damaged cells induce changes in free nerve endings.

Answer 34

b. heightened sensitivity to pain occurs at the injury site as a result of local changes as well as increased sensitivity in the central nervous system.

Question 35

Which statement is TRUE of the periaqueductal gray (PAG)?
Select one:
a. Small amounts of alcohol if injected directly into the PAG relieve pain.
b. The PAG is located in the frontal cortex, which allows it to reduce pain cognitively.
c. Electrical stimulation of the PAG can reduce or stop chronic pain.
d. Hormones produced in the PAG are the primary means by which it reduces pain.

Answer 35

c. Electrical stimulation of the PAG can reduce or stop chronic pain.

Question 36

Jon uses opiates, such as morphine, codeine, and heroin, because these drugs reduce pain and create a euphoric feeling. These drugs are effective because they chemically mimic \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, (a) naturally occurring chemical(s) in the body.
Select one:
a. endorphins
b. dopamine
c. serotonin
d. norepinephrine

Answer 36

a. endorphins

Question 37

Russell gets hit by a car on his way home from school. At first he feels fine, but after a while he discovers his leg is broken. What would explain the fact that he didn't feel his broken leg?
Select one:
a. belief-induced analgesia
b. stress-induced analgesia
c. A-delta fibers
d. transduction

Answer 37

b. stress-induced analgesia

Question 38

Scientists know that stress-induced analgesia is mediated by endorphins because rats injected with endorphin(s):
Select one:
a. did not experience stress.
b. while under stress continued to show evidence of undiminished pain sensitivity.
c. blockers while under stress stopped exhibiting signs of pain.
d. blockers and then subjected to stress showed no sign of the usual stress-induced analgesia.

Answer 38

d. blockers and then subjected to stress showed no sign of the usual stress-induced analgesia.

Question 39

Which pain reduction method can work for humans but not for rats?
Select one:
a. electrical stimulation of the PAG
b. stress-induced analgesia
c. endorphins
d. belief- induced analgesia

Answer 39

d. belief- induced analgesia

Question 40

In pain reduction, which is MOST likely to mediate the placebo effect?

Select one:

a. endorphin production
b. the inhibition of the PAG (periaqueductal gray)
c. heightened sensitivity of A-delta fibers
d. the reabsorption of potassium by C fibers

Answer 40

a. endorphin production

Question 41

If a piano's notes were getting softer and higher pitched, its \_\_\_\_\_ as measured in \_\_\_\_\_ would be decreasing and its \_\_\_\_\_ as measured in \_\_\_\_\_ would be increasing.
Select one:
a. frequency; decibels; amplitude; hertz
b. amplitude; decibels; frequency; hertz
c. frequency; hertz; amplitude; decibels
d. amplitude; hertz; frequency; decibels

Answer 41

b. amplitude; decibels; frequency; hertz

Question 42

The ossicles increase the pressure exerted by the sound waves on the inner ear by funneling the pressure from the:
Select one:
a. tympanic membrane to the much smaller oval window.
b. tympanic membrane to the much larger oval window.
c. oval window to the much smaller tympanic membrane.
d. oval window to the much larger tympanic membrane.

Answer 42

a. tympanic membrane to the much smaller oval window.

Question 43

The major function of the structures in the middle ear is to _____ the inner ear

Select one:

a. increase the frequency of sound waves reaching
b. reduce the frequency of sound waves reaching
c. increase the pressure that sound waves exert on
d. reduce the pressure that sound waves exert on

Answer 43

c. increase the pressure that sound waves exert on

Question 44

Which statement accurately describes transduction in hearing?
Select one:
a. Hair cells on the basilar membrane bend as they are pressed against the tectorial membrane by the basilar membrane’s movement.
b. Hair cells on the basilar membrane bend as a result of fluid within the cochlea flowing past.
c. Wavelike movement of the basilar membrane causes similar movement in the tectorial membrane, which synapses directly on auditory neurons.
d. Movement of the basilar membrane pushes directly against the auditory neurons.

Answer 44

a. Hair cells on the basilar membrane bend as they are pressed against the tectorial membrane by the basilar membrane’s movement.

Question 45

A conventional hearing aid can help \_\_\_\_\_ deafness.
Select one:
a. only sensorineural
b. only conduction
c. both sensorineural and conduction
d. neither sensorineural nor conduction

Answer 45

b. only conduction

Question 46

A cochlear implant will alleviate deafness caused by:
Select one:
a. brain damage to the primary auditory cortex.
b. destruction of the hair cells in the inner ear.
c. destruction of the auditory nerve.
d. blockage of the auditory canal.

Answer 46

b. destruction of the hair cells in the inner ear.

Question 47

The neurons near the proximal end of the basilar membrane fire rapidly, while other neurons on the membrane barely fire. The brain interprets this as:
Select one:
a. a high-pitched sound.
b. a low-pitched sound.
c. no sound.
d. a combination of widely varying tones.

Answer 47

a. a high-pitched sound.

Question 48

The position on the basilar membrane at which the sound waves reach their peak amplitude depends on the:

Select one:

a. frequency of the sound
b. timbre of the sound.
c. pitch of the sound
d. pressure of the sound

Answer 48

a. frequency of the sound

Question 49

Which statement concerning Bekesy’s traveling wave theory is TRUE?
Select one:
a. Bekesy’s traveling wave theory is incorrect.
b. It can fully explain the entire range of pitch perception.
c. It must be supplemented by a theory about the timing of vibration on the basilar membrane for sounds below about 4000 Hz.
d. The theory is correct but only for sounds below about 4000 Hz.

Answer 49

c. It must be supplemented by a theory about the timing of vibration on the basilar membrane for sounds below about 4000 Hz.

Question 50

Neurons in the primary auditory cortex are tonotopically organized, meaning that:
Select one:
a. each neuron is responsive to sounds of all frequencies for maximum efficiency of processing.
b. each neuron is systematically arranged such that high and low frequency tones activate neurons at opposite ends.
c. they convert complex sound waves into constant-frequency sound waves known as pure tones.
d. each neuron is designed to preserve both the quantitative and qualitative variation of every tone that is processed in this area.

Answer 50

b. each neuron is systematically arranged such that high and low frequency tones activate neurons at opposite ends.