PSYC380 / Quiz: Sensory Systems and Sleep
Question 1
3 / 3 pts
Where does the optic nerve start?
Area V1 of the cerebral cortex
The lateral geniculate nucleus
Rods and cones in the retina
Ganglion cells in the retina
Question 2
3 / 3 pts
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
Question 3
3 / 3 pts
Where is the primary visual cortex?
Parietal cortex
Frontal cortex
Temporal cortex
Occipital cortex
Question 4
3 / 3 pts
What might cause someone to be unable to perceive visual motion?
Damage to the muscles controlling the eyes
Damage to brain area MT
Fewer than average cells in the parvocellular pathway
Astigmatism
Question 5
3 / 3 pts
Area MT, also known as V5, is especially important for which of the following?
Coordinating vision with hand movements
Recognizing faces
Perceiving visual movement
Color constancy
Question 6
3 / 3 pts
What is true of the parvocellular ganglion cells in the retina?
They have small receptive fields, mostly in the periphery.
They have small receptive fields, mostly near the fovea.
They have large receptive fields, distributed evenly throughout the retina.
They have large receptive fields, mostly near the fovea.
Question 7
3 / 3 pts
Hyperphantasia is more common among:
young children than older adults.
women than men.
men than women.
older adults than young children.
Question 8
3 / 3 pts
Which of the following makes inhibitory contact onto bipolar cells, which, in turn, make synapses onto
amacrine cells and ganglion cells?
Vertical cells
Horizontal cells
Ganglion cells
Midget ganglion cells
I Question 9
0 / 3 pts
Why is the periphery of the retina nearly color-blind?
The lens cannot focus light on the periphery of the retina.
The periphery of the retina suffers damage during prenatal development.
The periphery of the retina has few cones.
The periphery of the retina has much convergence of input.
Question 10
3 / 3 pts
What is the fovea?
The border between the rod area and the cone area
The point where the optic nerve exits the eye
The center of the retina
The area between the pupil and the retina
Question 11
3 / 3 pts
Which of these is another term for the ventral stream in the visual system?
The “what” pathway
The “where” pathway
The “how” pathway
The “why” pathway
Question 12
3 / 3 pts
What is meant by “blindsight”?
Detecting colors by touch instead of vision
Responding to visual stimuli without perceiving them consciously
Using echolocation to navigate in the dark
Forming a visual image of something with one’s eyes closed
Question 13
3 / 3 pts
What is one reason why you don’t notice the blind spot of the eye in everyday life?
Anything in the blind spot of one eye is visible to the other eye.
The blind spot is too small to be noticeable.
The blind spot is far toward the periphery of the visual field.
The rods and cones in the blind spot have spontaneous activity.
Question 14
3 / 3 pts
Where does light from the right side of the world go?
To the left retina
To the right retina
To the left half of each retina
To the right half of each retina
Question 15
3 / 3 pts
If you look in a mirror and shift your focus from one eye to the other, you do not see your eyes moving.
Why not?
The information falls onto the blind spot of the retina.
Parts of your brain shut down during voluntary eye movements.
The movement is too fast.
The movement is too slight.
Question 16
3 / 3 pts
Why do some people have greater ability to detect brief, faint, or rapidly changing visual stimuli?
They have a higher ratio of receptors to bipolar cells.
They have an equal ratio of cones to rods.
They have more axons in the optic nerve.
They had a briefer sensitive period during early development.
Question 17
3 / 3 pts
Which of the following suggests that certain cortical cells operate as feature detectors?
The law of specific nerve energies
Strabismus
Blindsight
The waterfall illusion
I Question 18
0 / 3 pts
Compared to many birds, what is true of human color vision, and why?
Humans are color-vision deficient, because we do not see infrared radiation.
Humans are color-vision deficient, because we do not see ultraviolet radiation.
Humans have better color vision, because we have three types of cones instead of two.
Humans have better color vision, because we have three types of cones instead of one.
Question 19
3 / 3 pts
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
Question 20
3 / 3 pts
What function does lateral inhibition serve in the visual system?
It adjusts the pupil for changes in the intensity of light.
It increases the speed of recognizing faces.
It sharpens contrast at borders.
It enables stereoscopic depth perception.
Question 21
3 / 3 pts
How do opiates reduce pain?
By reducing blood flow to the somatosensory cortex
By blocking pain receptors in the skin
By slowing the conduction of myelinated axons
By binding to receptors in the spinal cord and midbrain
Question 22
3 / 3 pts
What structure enables us to localize sounds in the up–down axis?
The semicircular canals
The pinna
The basilar membrane
The tectorial membrane
Question 23
3 / 3 pts
Varga is healing after a deep cut on the leg and now the wound is starting to itch. What type of
treatment will help reduce the itchy feeling Varga is experiencing?
Aspirin
Acetaminophen
Novocain
Antihistamines
Question 24
3 / 3 pts
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.
Question 25
3 / 3 pts
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.
Question 26
3 / 3 pts
The anterior cingulate cortex and the insular cortex respond to what aspect of skin sensations?
Novelty or familiarity
Location
Pleasantness or unpleasantness
Duration
Question 27
3 / 3 pts
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
Question 28
3 / 3 pts
Numbsense is analogous to which of the following?
Amusia
Nerve deafness
Blindsight
Phantom limb
Question 29
3 / 3 pts
How does a placebo affect pain?
People say they feel better, but the brain shows no difference.
The emotional response is decreased.
The receptors themselves become desensitized.
The pain axons slow their conduction velocities.
Question 30
3 / 3 pts
Why do opiates relieve dull pain and not sharp pain?
Opiates act in the periphery and not in the central nervous system.
Opiates act mainly by decreasing the velocity of action potentials.
Opiates stimulate both glutamate and GABA receptors.
Opiates block messages from thin fibers and not thick fibers.
Question 31
3 / 3 pts
Which of the following often triggers an attack of cataplexy in a person with narcolepsy?
Standing in one position for too long
Reading
Strong emotions
Eating carbohydrates
Question 32
3 / 3 pts
According to the neurocognitive model, why do dreams sometimes make an incoherent or illogical
story?
The brain tries to incorporate information coming from several sense organs.
Increased activity in the amygdala means conflict between incompatible emotions.
Low activity in the prefrontal cortex means poor memory for what just happened.
Most real-life experiences are incoherent and illogical.
I Question 33
0 / 3 pts
When do young adults usually report their time of greatest positive mood?
Early in the morning
Late in the afternoon
Just before bedtime
While taking multiple-choice tests like this one
Question 34
3 / 3 pts
When is the locus coeruleus most active?
During memorable or stressful events
During non-REM sleep
During the transition from sleeping to waking
During restful wakefulness
Question 35
3 / 3 pts
Why do many allergy medications cause sleepiness?
They block the effects of histamine in the brain.
They block blood flow to the brain.
They lower body temperature.
They stimulate the production of serotonin.
Question 36
4 / 4 pts
How does insulin affect glucose?
It moves glucose out of cells and into the blood.
It moves glucose into cells.
It moves glucose from the stomach to the intestines.
It makes glucose easier to digest.
Question 37
4 / 4 pts
Adding salt to the body’s extracellular fluids would have what effect?
Decreased hypovolemic thirst
Increased hypovolemic thirst
Decreased osmotic thirst
Increased osmotic thirst
Question 38
4 / 4 pts
Food deprivation causes an increase of which hormone?
Insulin
Aldosterone
Ghrelin
Leptin
Question 39
4 / 4 pts
Behavioral methods that regulate body temperature depend mainly on which brain area?
Hypothalamus
Prefrontal cortex
Basal ganglia
Cerebellum
Question 40
4 / 4 pts
Menstruation or extensive sweating tends to increase the preference for what taste?
Sweet
Sour
Salty
Bitter
Quiz Score: 116 out of 125
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Time: 65 minutes
Current Score: 116 out of 125
Kept Score: 116 out of 125
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