45. Nervous System

Which would be present in an animal with a nerve net?

What is the difference between a neuron and a nerve?

A neuron that transmits an impulse to the central nervous system after the neuron is stimulated by the environment is called a(n) __________.

Which of the following is specific to the central nervous system?

Which of the following is a true statement regarding a reflex response?

Which class of glial cells contributes most to the formation of the blood-brain barrier?

The glia cells present throughout the vertebrate central nervous system include __________.

Which of the following systems includes all the others?

While sitting quietly watching television, you suddenly hear the sound of glass breaking. Which of the following is responsible for your resulting rapid heartbeat?

The gray matter of the cerebral cortex, where most higher-level thinking occurs, is composed mostly of __________.

Which of the following structures constitutes the mammalian forebrain?

A car accident victim presents with no memory of the accident or events following the accident but can clearly recall events that occurred prior to the accident. Neurologists thus suspect damage to the __________.

The developing embryonic brain is shaped by __________.

After a stroke, Bill can feel his left leg but is unable to move it. His neurologists suspect damage to the __________.

Which of the following is not regulated by the association areas in the cerebral cortex?

The auditory (hearing) centers are located in the __________.

Which of the following parts of the nervous system would allow you to discover the qualities of a mouthful of black pepper?

Damage to the occipital lobe would be most likely result in __________.

As a child you stepped on a wasp's nest and were stung numerous times. Many years later, you see a wasp's nest and immediately your heart begins racing and you break out in a cold sweat. This "emotional memory" is stored in what part of your brain?

A physician friend tells you about a patient with a head injury who suddenly stopped breathing during an examination. What portion of the brain was probably injured?

As you start to pick up your biology book, you suddenly realize that it is much heavier than you expected. Which of the following brain regions is responsible for the rapid adjustment of muscle force that allows you to pick up the book smoothly?

The limbic system is involved in __________.

One of the functions of the __________ is monitoring breathing centers in the medulla.

The main input center for sensory information going to the cerebrum is the __________.

An important concept in biology is that evolution is a process that remodels ancestral body plans. Developmental sequences in embryos often display evidence of evolutionary relationships. Using this evidence, which part of the brain was most prominent in early vertebrates?

A man is admitted to the hospital suffering from an abnormally low body temperature, a loss of appetite, and extreme thirst. A brain scan shows a tumor located in the __________.

The corpus callosum connects the __________.

In humans, the part of the brain that increases in size and complexity most significantly during the second and third month of embryonic development is derived from the embryonic __________.

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 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

DRAW IT 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. (b) Draw a simple diagram of the brain indicating where pain would eventually be perceived.

DRAW IT 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. (a) 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.

Design an experiment with a group of taxi drivers in a new city to examine the role of neuroplasticity on learning. Assume you have the ability to image their brains to measure changes in the volume of gray matter.

Alzheimer's disease is a common form of dementia affecting millions of people, especially the elderly. Two regions of the brain are particularly affected, often shrinking dramatically and accumulating large deposits of extracellular material. Based on your knowledge of memory, what two brain regions do you think these are? Explain.