Psychology 427: Physiological

Spring 2001- Exam 4

Name _______________________________

Multiple Choice [worth 2 points each]

1. Pavlov believed that classical conditioning reflected a strengthened connection between two brain areas representing:

a. reinforcement and punishment

b. a response and a consequence

c. a UCS activity and a UCR activity

d. a CS activity and a UCS activity

2. Recent researchers have felt that Lashley's conclusions about the results of his search for the engram reflected some INAPPROPRIATE assumptions. One of those assumptions was that:

a. memory involves a physical change in the nervous system.

b. the best place to search for the engram is the cerebral cortex.

c. more than one kind of memory exists.

d. different memories involve different sets of neurons.

3. In studies that paired a tone with a puff of air to the cornea of rabbits, learning was found to depend on one nucleus of the:

a. cerebellum

b. hypothalamus

c. thalamus

d. hippocampus

4. Exciting experiences are remembered because such experiences arouse the sympathetic nervous system, increasing secretions of _______________ into the bloodstream.

a. GABA

b. acetylcholine

c. endorphin

d. epinephrine

5. According to Baddeley and Hitch, what stores auditory information, including words?

a. a phonological loop

b. a visuospatial loop

c. the central executive

d. long term memory

 

 

 

6. The delayed matching-to-sample task and the delayed nonmatching-to-sample tasks are considered to be examples of :

a. Korsakoff's syndrome

b. Implicit memory tasks

c. Procedural memory

d. Declarative memory

7. Plaques and tangles in the cerebral cortex are characteristic of people with

a. retrograde amnesia

b. anterograde amnesia

c. Korsakoff's syndrome

d. Alzheimer's syndrome

8. Several months after split-brain surgery the number of incidents of conflicts between the two hemispheres diminishes because:

a. portions of the corpus callosum grow back.

b. the right hemisphere begins to control all body muscles.

c. the hemispheres learn ways of cooperating with each other.

d. the cerebellum assumes the former functions of the corpus callosum.

9. People who speak with little inflection or expression usually have suffered from damage to the :

a. ventromedial spinal pathway

b. corpus callosum

c. left hemisphere

d. right hemisphere

10. A similarity between a young child and a split-brain patient is that both:

a. show frequent spontaneous changes in personality.

b. have trouble describing what they see through the left eye.

c. have a greater than normal number of back-and-forth eye movements.

d. have trouble comparing what they feel with the two hands at one time.

11. Children with Williams syndrome are characterized by:

1. good language abilities despite low overall intelligence.
2. loss of language abilities at approximately four years of age.
3. Problems creating grammatical sentences.
4. Repetitions of what they hear others say, with little indication of understanding.

1. Alex was a parrot who demonstrated what:

1. excellent understanding of concepts, such as texture, color, and shape.
2. poor understanding of abstract concepts, such as texture, color, and shape.
3. excellent repetition of words but no way to use them for practical purposes.
4. poor repetition of words but apparent understanding of concepts by his behavior.

1. According to the results of recent research, one task people with dyslexia can generally do better on than normal readers is:

a. solving geometrical problems.

b. reading words in the periphery of their vision.

c. reading words that are spelled incorrectly.

d. forming near-photographic mental images of what they have seen.

2. Physiologically, the drug Antabuse decreases the consumption of alcohol by:

1. Blocking the enzyme that breaks it down into acetic acid.
2. Modifying the taste buds
3. Increasing the rate of activity in the left frontal cortex.
4. Inducing a temporary "high" that competes with the effects of alcohol.

1. If you ask depressed people to solve a cognitive problem, they are more likely than other people to:

1. look straight ahead
2. look up
3. gaze to the right
4. gaze to the left

1. You are a psychiatrist dealing with a severely depressed patient and want to recommend a therapy. Your main concern is that it takes effect as rapidly as possible, therefore you recommend:

1. tricyclic drugs
2. electroconvulsive shock therapy
3. monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
4. insight-oriented psychotherapy

1. The season-of-birth effect is sometimes taken as evidence that schizophrenia is caused by:

1. genetics
2. viruses
3. stressful experiences
4. vitamin deficiencies

1. Research suggests that the brain abnormalities of schizophrenics develop:

1. early and progressively get worse.
2. early and then remain fairly steady.
3. late in life and progressively get worse.
4. late in life and remain fairly steady.

1. The cerebral ventricles of a person with schizophrenia are _______ than normal; we conclude therefore that such a person has _______ neurons than normal.

1. smaller; more
2. smaller; fewer
3. larger; more
4. larger; fewer

1. A family history of depression increases your risk more strongly if you are:

1. female
2. male
3. left-handed
4. right-handed

Fill-in-the-blank(s) with the appropriate word(s) [worth 3 points each]

The idea that the entire cortex contributes equally to complex behaviors is called ______________________.

The lateral interpositus nucleus (LIP) is necessary for learning classical conditioning, where as the _____________________ is necessary for carrying out the learned behavior.

The prefrontal cortex is critical for what type of memory? _______________________________

_________________ aphasia results in seriously impaired speech production, whereas _________________ aphasia results primarily in impaired comprehension. A particular symptom of Wernick's aphasia is inability to recall the name of an object. This symptom is called __________________.

The ______________________________ is an experimental task involving water that is used to test memory in rats.

If someone cannot remember when he or she first used a computer this would indicate impaired ___________________ memory, whereas their inability to actually use the computer would indicate impaired ___________________ memory.

Which area of the brain is particularly important for enhancing memory through emotion? _______________________

Short Answer [worth 5 points each] Answer only 3 of the following.

1. Compare the first search for the engram with that of the modern search. What areas of the brain were investigated in each and how did the researchers go about their search differently?
2. Describe the three ways in which we know about the functions of each hemisphere.
3. Describe the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
4. What arguments can be made against evidence of genetic links found through twin and adoption studies?

Essay [worth 15 points]

Answer only 1 of the following. You should write a detailed answer of at least 8-12 sentences.

1. Explain long-term potentiation. Include the following in your discussion: (a) what it is exactly, (c) why this proposed mechanism is appealing as a hypothesis, and (c) the role of any relevant neurotransmitters/hormones believed to be involved.

*Bonus: Describe how Lashley's search for the engram is related to long-term potentiation. (worth up to 4 points)

2. Explain the competing theories behind the evolution of language. What evidence is there for each? Be sure to include the "critical period" hypothesis in your discussion.

*Bonus: Describe the research of Judy Kegal, the American linguist in Nicaragua. How has her research supported the idea of the critical period? (worth up to 4 points)

3. Compare and contrast the Dopamine Hypothesis and the Glutamate Hypothesis. Include in your discussion the following: (a) what do these hypotheses refer to, (b) what evidence is there for each, and (c) what problems have been raised with each?