Question 1
3/ 3pts
What is meant by “motion blindness”?
Inability to see that something is moving
Inability to see while you are moving
Visual impairment caused by a blow to the head
Failure to use vision to guide movement
Motion blindness is being able to see objects but unable to see whether they are moving or, if so, which
direction and how fast.
Question 2
3/ 3pts
If someone has dense cataracts and the cataracts are removed years later, what happens?
The person has continuing limitations in depth and motion perception.
The person has continuing limitations on color perception.
The person remains permanently blind.
The person gradually recovers all aspects of vision.
Some aspects of vision, such as motion perception and depth perception, never reached normal levels.
Question 3
3/ 3pts
If you found a species with a high ratio of cones to rods in its retina, what would you predict about its
way of life?
It is active in the day, and not at night.
It is a prey species with dangerous enemies.
It spends its time mostly in a forested area.
It lives in a close-knit social group.
We should expect this species to be highly active during the day and seldom active at night.
Question 4
3/ 3pts
What is a simple way to determine whether a cell in the primary visual cortex is a simple cell or a
complex cell?
Compare how it responds to a single line vs. a face.
Count the number of synapses attached to its dendrites.
Tilt the stimulus and see whether the cell continues responding.
Test whether it responds to a stimulus in one place or in several locations.
The best way to classify a cell as simple or complex is to present a stimulus in several locations. A cell
that responds to a stimulus in only one location is a simple cell. One that responds anywhere within a
larger area is a complex cell.
I Question 5
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How does a simple cell differ from a complex cell in the visual cortex?
A simple cell responds to a single point of light.
A simple cell responds only in a fixed location.
A simple cell responds only to one color of light.
A simple cell responds to one eye and not the other.
A simple cell has a receptive field with fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones. Complex cells, located in
areas V1 and V2, also respond to bars and edges, but they respond equally anywhere within a large
receptive field.
I Question 6
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What is a consequence of having a higher than average number of axons in the optic nerve?
Perception of a wider than average range of wavelengths of light
Better detection of brief or rapidly changing stimuli
Decreased effect of lateral inhibition
Blurry vision toward the periphery of the visual field
Some people have two or three times as many axons from the eyes to the brain as others do. They also
have more cells in their visual cortex and greater ability to detect brief, faint, or rapidly changing visual
stimuli.
Question 7
3/ 3pts
What is color constancy?
The ability to recognize an object’s color after a change in lighting
The tendency of some people to see everything as shades of one color
The ability to perceive color even in the faintest light
The ability of people in all cultures to recognize the same colors
Neither the trichromatic theory nor the opponent-process theory can easily explain color constancy, the
ability to recognize colors despite changes in lighting.
Question 8
3/ 3pts
What accounts for motion blindness during a saccade (voluntary eye movement)?
Suppressed activity in area MT
Decreased activity in the parvocellular system
Slower action potentials in the optic nerve
Suppressed activity in the corpus callosum
People become motion blind shortly before and during a saccade (voluntary eye movement), because of
suppressed activity in area MT.
I Question 9
0/ 3pts
In which of these ways is a hawk’s eye specialized?
It has an equal number of rods and cones.
It has more receptors in the periphery than in the center of the retina.
It has more receptors in the left eye than in the right.
It has more receptors on the top half of the retina than the bottom.
Hawks and other predatory birds have a greater density of visual receptors on the top half of their retinas
(looking down) than on the bottom half (looking up).
Question 10
3/ 3pts
What do people lose after damage to area V1?
Color vision only
Depth vision only
Visual movement detection only
All conscious vision
People with damage in and around area V1 report no conscious vision, no visual imagery, and no visual
dreams.
Question 11
3/ 3pts
People with aphantasia and hyperphantasia differ in what?
Their motion detection
Their visual imagery
Their depth perception
Their color vision
About 1 to 3 percent of people have no visual imagery at all, a condition called aphantasia. People with
hyperphantasia can imagine a visual scene almost as vividly as actually seeing it.
Question 12
3.1/ 3.1pts
Suppose you suffer a cut through the spinal cord on the right side only. For the part of the body below
that cut, where will you lose touch sensation?
On the left side
On the right side
On both sides
On neither side
You will lose pain sensation on the left side of the body because pain information crosses the spinal cord
at once. You will lose touch sensation on the right side because touch pathways remain on the ipsilateral
side until they reach the medulla.
Question 13
3.1/ 3.1pts
If a sound reaches one of your ears before the other, what does that enable you to do?
Locate the source of the sound
Determine the frequency of the sound
Calibrate the loudness of the sound
Store a memory of the sound in just one hemisphere
You compare the responses of your two ears to locate a sound. You compare the9times of arrival9at the
two ears. A sound coming directly from the side reaches your closer ear about 600 microseconds (μs)
before the other.
Question 14
3.1/ 3.1pts
What causes conductive deafness?
Impairment of the bones of the middle ear
Damage to the cochlea
Damage to the auditory nerve
Damage to the auditory cortex
Diseases, infections, or tumorous bone growth can prevent the bones of the middle ear from transmitting
sound waves properly to the cochlea. The result, conductive deafness or middle-ear deafness, is
sometimes temporary.
I Question 15
0/ 3.1pts
In addition to stimulating different receptors, how else do tastes differ?
They have different effects on the olfactory system.
They send their input to different lobes of the cerebral cortex.
They generate different velocities of action potentials.
They generate different temporal patterns of action potentials.
In addition to the fact that different chemicals excite different receptors, they also produce different
rhythms of action potentials.
I Question 16
0/ 3.1pts
Humans detect odors better than we generally imagine, although most of us are poor at what?
Distinguishing sweet from bitter
Detecting an odor as male or female
Distinguishing odors from tastes
Naming the odors we detect
Humans detect odors better than we generally imagine (McGann, 2017), although most of us are poor at
naming the odors we detect.
Question 17
3.1/ 3.1pts
When ancient fish evolved into land animals, why did they need to evolve the elaborate mechanisms of
the middle ear and inner ear?
To remember sounds
To distinguish among pitches
To amplify sounds
To protect the auditory cortex from damage
Because animal tissues respond to water vibrations almost the same way that water itself does, fish have
relatively simple hearing receptors that would not respond well to vibrations in the air.
I Question 18
0/ 3.1pts
Most neurons in the primary auditory cortex (A1) respond best to what?
A pure tone
A dominant tone and its harmonics
A sound that is moving from one location to another
Meaningful sounds, such as music or speech
Although some cells in the auditory cortex respond well to a single tone, most cells respond best to a
complex sound, such as a dominant tone and its harmonics.
I Question 19
0/ 3.1pts
How does neuropathic pain differ from most other types of pain?
Neuropathic pain is inherited.
Neuropathic pain responds well to a placebo.
Neuropathic pain is located to a single part of the skin.
Neuropathic pain lasts longer.
Pain axons produce collateralsprouts that take over receptors previously sensitive
to touch, such as Meissner’s corpuscles. From then on, even light touch stimulates pain messages.
Neuropathic pain is difficult to treat.
I Question 20
0/ 3.1pts
Why do different musical instruments sound different when they play the same note?
They differ in speed of onset.
They differ in pitch.
They differ in timbre.
They differ in amplitude.
In addition to amplitude and pitch, the third aspect of sound is timbre (TAM-ber), meaning tone quality or
tone complexity. Different musical instruments playing the same note sound different. An instrument
playing a note at any frequency also produces notes at multiples of that frequency, the harmonics of the
principal note. The harmonics differ among instruments.
Question 21
3.1/ 3.1pts
Which of the following could cause nerve deafness?
Impairment of the bones of the middle ear
Damage to the pinna
Damage to the hair cells
Damage to the auditory cortex
Nerve deafness, or inner-ear deafness, results fromdamage to the cochlea, the hair
cells, or the auditory nerve.
If it is confined to one part of the cochlea, it impairs hearing of certain frequencies and not others.
I Question 22
0/ 3.1pts
Mutations in the gene for the human PER protein cause changes in what?
Length of the circadian rhythm
Hours of sleep per night
Ratio of REM to non-REM sleep
Ability to stay awake during the day
People with certain PER mutations have a circadian rhythm shorter than 24 hours, as if they were moving
about a time zone east every day. Other genetic mutations can cause the reverse condition, a circadian
rhythm longer than 24 hours, marked by difficulty waking up on time in the morning.
Question 23
3.1/ 3.1pts
The fact that bacteria and jellyfish sleep suggests that the original function of sleep might be which of the
following?
Protection from predators
Consolidation of memory
Conservation of energy
Readjustment of synapses
Sleep probably started with a simple function to which evolution added others later. Even bacteria and
jellyfish have circadian rhythms of activity and inactivity.
Question 24
3.1/ 3.1pts
The PGO in PGO waves is an abbreviation for what?
Pons-geniculate-occipital
Paradoxical-general-optimal
Periodic-GABA-orexin
Phenylalanine-glutamate-oxygen
REM sleep is associated with a distinctive pattern of high-amplitude electrical potentials known as PGO
waves, for pons-geniculate-occipital.
I Question 25
0/ 3.1pts
Lucid dreaming and somnambulism have what in common?
They indicate a deficit of orexin.
They illustrate that sleep can be local.
They suggest the onset of a psychological disorder.
They are more common in old age.
For sleepwalkers, much of the brain is asleep, but the motor cortex and a few other areas are awake.
Another example is lucid dreaming. During lucid dreaming, someone is dreaming but aware of being
asleep and dreaming. Enough activity occurs in the frontal and temporal cortex to enable conscious
monitoring of the dreams that the rest of the brain is generating.
Question 26
3.1/ 3.1pts
Unlike adults, infants alternate between short waking periods and short naps. What can we infer about
their neurotransmitters?
Not much serotonin
Not much norepinephrine
Not much orexin
Not much GABA
Orexin is relevant to an older person’s problem of waking up in the middle of the night. In the cells that
release orexin, the resting potential of the axon rises with aging and gets closer to the threshold for firing.
The increased resting potential relates to a change in the potassium channels. As a result, these cells are
easily excitable, causing wakefulness. From this we can infer that wakefulness in infants is related to low
orexin levels.
I Question 27
0/ 3.1pts
When an animal awakens at almost the same time every day in an unchanging environment, it provides
evidence for which of the following?
Zeitgebers
Paradoxical sleep
Endogenous circadian rhythms
Endogenous circannual rhythms
Even in an unchanging environment, an animal generates a consistent rhythm of activity and sleep.
I Question 28
0/ 3.1pts
The onset of increased REM depends mainly on what?
How long you have been asleep
The time
The temperature in the room
The season of year
The onset of REM depends on time of day more than how long you have been asleep. If you go to sleep
later than usual, you still increase REM at about the same time as usual.
I Question 29
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In terms of brain activity, REM sleep is most similar to what?
Stage 1 sleep
Stage 2 sleep
Slow-wave sleep
Wakefulness
REM sleep is light and similar to stage 1, except for the eye movements.
I Question 30
0/ 3.1pts
Workers on certain submarines work 6 hours, relax 6 hours, and then sleep 6 hours. After weeks on this
schedule, what happens to their circadian rhythms?
It continues to average a bit more than 24 hours.
It adjusts to produce an 18-hour rhythm.
It produces a rhythm intermediate between 18 and 24 hours.
It stops producing any rhythm at all.
Although they try to sleep on this 18-hour schedule, their bodies generate rhythms of alertness and body
chemistry that continue to average a bit more than 24 hours, and their alertness suffers.
Question 31
3.1/ 3.1pts
When do dolphins, whales, and elephants sleep less than usual?
When food is readily available
While responsible for protecting others
When the weather is getting warmer
While living in large social groups
After a dolphin or whale gives birth, both mother and baby stay awake 24 hours a day for the first couple
of weeks while the baby is especially vulnerable. Neither shows any sign of harm from sleep deprivation.
Two elephant matriarchs, who take charge of protecting their troops, were observed to sleep two hours or
less per night.
I Question 32
0/ 3pts
Output from the hunger cells also inhibits areas that facilitate what?
Feeling tired
Learning
Sexual behaviors
Glucose levels
Output from the hunger cells inhibits areas that facilitate sexual behaviors and responses to itch and
inflammatory pain.
I Question 33
0/ 3pts
When you have a fever, what causes the fever?
The immune system delivers chemicals that stimulate the hypothalamus.
The immune system decreases blood flow to the brain.
The infective agent stimulates the heart to beat faster.
The infective agent impairs the activity of the hypothalamus.
When you have a fever, you shiver or sweat whenever your temperature deviates from the new level.
Moving to a cooler room does not lower your fever. Your body just works harder to keep its temperature
at the feverish level. In other words, fever is something the hypothalamus directs the body to produce.
Question 34
3/ 3pts
People of what ancestry are least able to digest milk sugars?
Southern European
Northern European
Arabic
Southeast Asian
Nearly all the adults in China and surrounding countries are unable to metabolize lactose.
Question 35
3/ 3pts
Why do people get “goose bumps” when it is cold?
Increased blood flow to the skin forces the hairs outward.
For our ancestors, this mechanism increased insulation.
This action prevents sweating.
We obtain sympathy from others.
We humans fluff out our “fur” by erecting the tiny hairs on our skin—“goose bumps.” Our remote
ancestors with a full coat of fur evolved that mechanism and we inherited it, though it does us little or no
good.
I Question 36
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What is the only physiological mechanism for cooling the body?
Shivering
Evaporation
Decreased blood flow to the skin
“Goose bumps”
Only one physiological mechanism, evaporation, cools the body in a hot environment. Humans sweat to
expose water for evaporation.
Question 37
3/ 3pts
What are the sources of input that enable the POA/AH to regulate body temperature?
Temperature sensors in the heart and in the blood vessels.
Temperature sensors in the skin and organs, and in the OVLT and SFO.
Temperature sensors in the skin and organs, and in the POA/AH itself.
Temperature sensors in the bones and in the blood vessels.
The POA/AH receives input from temperature receptors in the skin and organs, and about 30 percent of
the neurons in the POA/AH sense changes in their own temperature.
I Question 38
0/ 3pts
Which of the following would a low level of leptin cause?
Salt preference
Restless energy
Lack of appetite
Delayed puberty
In adolescence, a certain level of leptin triggers the onset of puberty. On average, thinner people enter
puberty later.
Question 39
3/ 3pts
Which of the following enables animals to store extra fat to prepare for hibernation?
Increased insulin
Increased glucagon
Increased aldosterone
Increased leptin
In autumn, animals that are preparing for hibernation have constantly high insulin levels. They rapidly
deposit much of each meal as fat and glycogen, quickly grow hungry again, and continue gaining weight.
Question 40
3/ 3pts
Behavioral methods that regulate body temperature depend mainly on which brain area?
Hypothalamus
Prefrontal cortex
Basal ganglia
Cerebellum
Behavioral methods of temperature regulation, such as finding a cooler or warmer place, depend on the
hypothalamus.
I Question 41
0/ 3pts
What causes the adrenal glands to release more of the hormone aldosterone?
Low body temperature
High osmotic pressure
Sodium deficiency
Immune system activity
