Psychology Degree Psychology Degree Biological Bases of Behavior Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which neurotransmitter is most directly involved in the regulation of mood, sleep, and appetite?
- Serotonin (Correct answer)
- Acetylcholine
- Glutamate
- GABA
Correct answer: Serotonin
Serotonin plays a key role in regulating mood, sleep cycles, and appetite, and its deficiency is linked to depression.
Question 2: What structure connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres, allowing communication between them?
- Corpus callosum (Correct answer)
- Anterior commissure
- Thalamus
- Pons
Correct answer: Corpus callosum
The corpus callosum is a thick band of nerve fibers that facilitates interhemispheric communication.
Question 3: Which part of the peripheral nervous system is responsible for the 'rest and digest' response?
- Parasympathetic nervous system (Correct answer)
- Sympathetic nervous system
- Somatic nervous system
- Enteric nervous system
Correct answer: Parasympathetic nervous system
The parasympathetic division conserves energy and promotes calming functions such as digestion and lowered heart rate.
Question 4: A lesion to Wernicke's area would most likely result in which type of impairment?
- Difficulty comprehending spoken language (Correct answer)
- Inability to produce fluent speech
- Loss of motor coordination
- Impaired visual processing
Correct answer: Difficulty comprehending spoken language
Wernicke's area in the left temporal lobe is essential for language comprehension, and damage leads to fluent but nonsensical speech.
Question 5: Which brain imaging technique measures changes in blood oxygenation to map neural activity in real time?
- fMRI (Correct answer)
- CT scan
- PET scan
- EEG
Correct answer: fMRI
Functional MRI detects changes in blood oxygen levels (the BOLD signal) to identify active brain regions during tasks.
Question 6: During an action potential, what event occurs during the depolarization phase?
- Sodium ions rush into the neuron (Correct answer)
- Potassium ions flow out of the neuron
- Chloride ions enter the neuron
- The sodium-potassium pump activates
Correct answer: Sodium ions rush into the neuron
Depolarization occurs when voltage-gated sodium channels open, allowing Na+ ions to flood into the cell and reverse the membrane charge.
Which neurotransmitter is most directly involved in the regulation of mood, sleep, and appetite?