Biological Bases of Behavior Flashcards

A person hiking in the woods suddenly encounters a bear. Their heart begins to race, their breathing becomes rapid, and their pupils dilate. This physiological arousal is primarily driven by the activation of which part of the nervous system?

Answer: Sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system is the division of the autonomic nervous system responsible for the body's 'fight-or-flight' response. It mobilizes energy and prepares the body for action in response to a perceived threat, causing increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and pupil dilation.

A patient who has suffered a stroke can speak fluently, but their speech is nonsensical and they have great difficulty understanding spoken or written language. This condition, known as fluent aphasia, is most likely caused by damage to which brain region?

Answer: Wernicke's area

Wernicke's area, typically located in the left temporal lobe, is critical for language comprehension. Damage leads to Wernicke's aphasia, where a person can produce fluent but meaningless speech and cannot properly understand language.

Which of the following is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, playing a crucial role in reducing neuronal excitability and often targeted by anti-anxiety medications?

Answer: GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Its function is to slow down brain activity and reduce neuronal excitability. Many anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) drugs work by enhancing the effects of GABA.

The brief period following an action potential, during which a neuron is unable to fire another action potential regardless of the stimulus strength, is called the:

Answer: Absolute refractory period

The absolute refractory period is the interval immediately after an action potential during which the voltage-gated sodium channels are inactivated and cannot be opened again. This makes it physiologically impossible for another action potential to be generated.

A patient is having difficulty processing visual information, such as recognizing faces and interpreting what they are seeing, despite their eyes being perfectly healthy. Damage to which lobe of the cerebral cortex is the most likely cause?

Answer: Occipital lobe

The occipital lobe, located at the back of the brain, is the primary visual processing center. Damage to this area can lead to various visual impairments, including difficulty recognizing objects, faces (prosopagnosia), and colors, even when the eyes are functioning correctly.

Which of the following correctly describes the primary function of the hippocampus?

Answer: Playing a critical role in the formation of new long-term memories.

The hippocampus is a key structure in the limbic system that is essential for consolidating information from short-term memory to long-term memory. It is also heavily involved in spatial memory and navigation.