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(D) motor neurons

(E) interneurons

13. The part of the brain most closely associated with maintaining balance and the coordination of complex sequences of movements is the

(A) hypothalamus

(B) thalamus

(C) pons

(D) medulla

(E) cerebellum

14. Loss of the ability of the brain to produce adequate levels of dopamine often leads to

(A) aphasia

(B) Alzheimer’s disease

(C) Parkinson’s disease

(D) bipolar disorder

(E) amnesia

15. Which task is primarily a right cerebral hemisphere function in most people?

(A) understanding written language

(B) understanding spoken language

(C) processing visual information from the left eye

(D) recognizing faces

(E) processing sensory information from the right leg

Answers and Explanations

1. D—Terminal buttons secrete neurotransmitters into the synapse.

2. E—Broca’s area is a region in the left frontal lobe anterior to the motor cortex.

3. E—PET scans visualize changes in the brain as it functions. While fMRI also shows changes in the brain as it functions, MRI and CT scans show structure only.

4. D—Our simplest behaviors are reflexes. Sneezing and blinking are reflexes.

5. E—Adrenalin is a hormone that speeds up breathing and heart rate, sends a message to change stored food back to glucose, etc. The sympathetic nervous system stimulates the same changes in the body.

6. D—The center for sensation in the brain is the somatosensory region of the cerebral cortex located in the front of the parietal lobes. Nerves carrying sensations from the right side of the body cross over to the left side of the brain, so the most probable site of damage is the left parietal lobe.

7. B—Interneurons are found in the brain and spinal cord only. The others can be found in the peripheral nervous system.

8. A—The pituitary gland, which is sometimes called “the master gland,” produces many tropic hormones that stimulate other glands, including the adrenals, parathyroids, thyroid, and ovaries.

9. C—Lesions are interruptions in tissue. While the other choices may accompany wounds, tumors, and strokes, they also may not.

10. D—Presence of the Y chromosome determines the sex of a human baby. Of the choices, only a Klinefelter’s child (XXY) must have a Y chromosome.

11. B—The peripheral nervous system comprises the autonomic nervous and somatic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is subdivided into the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.

12. D—Motor neurons or efferent neurons cause muscles to contract or glands to secrete.

13. E—The cerebellum functions in balance and coordination.

14. C—Parkinson’s disease is associated with depletion of cells that produce dopamine.

15. D—Pattern matching and picture and facial recognition are all right hemispheric functions.

Rapid Review

Neuropsychologists—those who explore the relationships between brain/nervous systems and behavior. Neuropsychologists are also called biological psychologists or bio-psychologists, behavioral geneticists, physiological psychologists, and behavioral neuroscientists.

Studying patients with brain damage linked loss of structure with loss of function.

Lesions—precise destruction of brain tissue, enables more systematic study of the loss of function resulting from surgical removal (also called ablation), cutting of neural connections, or destruction by chemical applications.

CT scans and MRIs show structure.

Computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT)— creates a computerized image using x-rays passed through the brain to show structure and/or the extent of a lesion.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—creates more detailed computerized images using a magnetic field and pulses of radio waves that cause emission of signals that depend upon the density of tissue.

EEGs, PET scans, and fMRIs show function.

EEG (electroencephalogram)—an amplified tracing of brain activity produced when electrodes positioned over the scalp transmit signals about the brain’s electrical activity (“brain waves”) to an electroencephalograph machine.

Evoked potentials—EEGs resulting