45. Nervous System

Activation of the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system

a. Increases heart rate

b. Enhances digestion

c. Triggers release of epinephrine

d. Causes conversion of glycogen to glucose

Which of the following structures or regions is incorrectly paired with its function?

a. Limbic system—motor control of speech

b. Medulla oblongata—homeostatic control

c. Cerebellum—coordination of movement and balance

d. Amygdala—emotional memory

Patients with damage to Wernicke's area have difficulty

a. Coordinating limb movement

b. Generating speech

c. Recognizing faces

d. Understanding language

Fill in the blanks to match some brain structures with their associated functions.

a. If the ___________ is severed, the right and left cerebral hemispheres cannot communicate.

b. The ___________ system helps store emotional memories.

c. Accounting for most of the weight of your brain is the highly folded ___________ ; it is the outer region of the ___________ .

d. The ___________ is responsible for hand-eye coordination.

e. The ___________ contains a cluster of neurons that function as the biological clock.

The cerebral cortex plays a major role in

a. Emotional memory.

b. Hand-eye coordination.

c. Circadian rhythm.

d. Breath holding.

The cerebral cortex does not play a major role in

a. Short-term memory

b. Long-term memory

c. Circadian rhythm

d. Breath holding

Which of the following brain regions is responsible for the formation of new memories?

a. Brainstem

b. Cerebellum

c. Frontal lobe

d. Hippocampus

After suffering a stroke, a patient can see objects anywhere in front of him but pays attention only to objects in his right field of vision. When asked to describe these objects, he has difficulty judging their size and distance. What part of the brain was likely damaged by the stroke?

a. The left frontal lobe

b. The right frontal lobe

c. The right parietal lobe

d. The corpus callosum

Joe accidentally touched a hot pan. His arm jerked back, and an instant later, he felt a burning pain. How would you explain the fact that his arm moved before he felt the pain?

a. His limbic system blocked the pain momentarily, but the important pain signals eventually got through.

b. His response was a spinal cord reflex that occurred before the pain signals reached the brain.

c. Motor neurons are myelinated; sensory neurons are not. The signals traveled faster to his muscles.

d. This scenario is not actually possible. The brain must register pain before a person can react.

Injury localized to the hypothalamus would most likely disrupt

a. Regulation of body temperature

b. Short-term memory

c. Executive functions, such as decision making

d. Sorting of sensory information

Which division of the autonomic nervous system would you expect to be activated if a person heard an intruder at the front door?

a. Parasympathetic

b. Sympathetic

c. Enteric

The reflex that pulls your hand away when you prick your finger on a sharp object relies on a neuronal circuit with two synapses in the spinal cord. Draw a simple diagram of the brain indicating where pain would eventually be perceived.

The reflex that pulls your hand away when you prick your finger on a sharp object relies on a neuronal circuit with two synapses in the spinal cord. Using a circle to represent a cross-section of the spinal cord, draw the circuit. Label the types of neurons, the direction of information flow in each, and the locations of synapses.

Compare and contrast the somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.

Why is memory thought to involve changes in particular synapses?

a. At some synapses, more neurotransmitters are released after learning takes place.

b. At some synapses, a different type of neurotransmitter is released after learning takes place.

c. When researchers stimulated certain neurons electrically, individuals replayed memories.

d. When researchers changed synapses in the brains of patients during surgery, the patients' memories changed.