Practice Test questions and answers
with solutions
1. The basic structure of a neuron is composed of: - ANSWER a. Depolarization, soma, and
neurotransmitters.
b. Cell body, axon, and dendrites.
c. Synapse, axon, and neurotransmitters.
d. Refractory cells, axon, and cell body.
B: Cell body, axon and dendrites. The basic structure of a neuron (nerve cell) is composed of one
cell body (soma), one axon, and one or more dendrites. The cell body contains many structures,
including all the general parts of a cell. It is basically the control center. Dendrites receive their
information from other neurons and transmit that information to the cell body. The axon
extends away from the cell body to transmit or relay the neural signal.
2. What are the three major layers of the brain? - ANSWER a. Hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain
b. Corpus callosum, temporal lobe, and frontal lobe
c. Basil ganglia, cerebellum, and parietal
d. Midbrain, highbrain, and forebrain
A: Hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain. The hindbrain is at the central core of the brain and
includes many parts that regulate such things as sensory perception and motor functions. The
midbrain, just as it sounds, is located between the hindbrain and forebrain. It acts as a relay
station between the forebrain and the spinal cord. The forebrain includes the most complex
actions of the neural network in the central nervous system and is associated with information
processing and visceral and motor functions.
There are two types of glandular systems in the body. What are they? - ANSWER a. Exocrine and
adrenal
,b. Parathyroid and endocrine
c. Thyroid and adrenal
d. Endocrine and exocrine
Endocrine and exocrine. The endocrine system secretes hormones directly into the bloodstream
where they are carried to various cells throughout the body. Many endocrine hormones
regulate body processes that happen more slowly (like cell growth). Others, such as epinephrine
(adrenalin) and norepinephrine from the adrenal glands, rapidly mobilize the body's fight-flight
syndrome. Exocrine glands secrete fluids directly through a duct (or tube) that ultimately leads
to the surface of the body. Examples include sweat, tears, and saliva, as well as prostate fluids,
pancreatic fluids, and bile.
What does it mean when we say that the brain has "plasticity"? - ANSWER a. It has a
consistency that resists complex cellular divisions
b. It cannot be altered
c. It can be altered
d. Some of its basic components are similar to polymers
It can be altered. As individuals experience new things, learn and grow, and adapt to injuries
such as physical trauma or stroke, the brain also adapts and changes. Neural pathways
reorganize over the span of the lifetime, depending upon the individual life experiences.
Research has indicated that the environment can have a significant impact on brain function.
For instance, in a stimulating environment, the number of synaptic connections in the brain is
increased. In contract, subjects who are environmentally more restricted may demonstrate less
synaptic connections.
Which of the following is primarily used to measure brain activity? - ANSWER a. WISC
b. Stanford Binet
c. MRI
d. WAIS
,MRI. The Stanford Binet, as well as the WISC and WAIS are primarily intelligence tests. An MRI
(magnetic resonance imaging) is a technique used to view the internal structure of the body in a
very detailed way. It is a noninvasive medical test that uses a magnetic field, radio frequency
pulses, and a computer to allow doctors to see things that other tests (such as CT scans and x-
rays) cannot show. A "functional" MRI is increasingly being used because it can detect metabolic
changes that take place in the active part of the brain, which aids in determining healthy brain
activity or dysfunction.
Piaget's sensorimotor stage takes place from... - ANSWER a. birth to two years of age.
b. two to four years of age.
c. seven to twelve years of age.
d. three to six years of age.
Birth to two years of age. In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the sensorimotor stage
takes place from a child's birth to two years of age. During this stage the child moves from
learning through the senses and reflexes, to organizing activities according to their
environment. The sensorimotor stage is divided into six separate substages: reflexes, primary
circular reactions, secondary circular reactions, coordination of reactions, tertiary circular
reactions and early representational thought. Through these substages, the child develops from
simple stimulus-motor responses to mental processing.
Object permanence takes place in which of Piaget's stages of cognitive development? - ANSWER
a. Preoperational
b. Concrete operations
c. Sensorimotor
d. Formal operations
Sensorimotor. The most important achievement of the sensorimotor stage, object permanence,
is accomplished when the child is able to realize that something or someone continues to exist
even when it is no longer within sight. This understanding of object permanence gradually takes
, place over a series of six substages. Beginning with not being aware of an object's existence
when it disappears from sight in the first substage (age 0-4 months), a child generally develops a
full understanding of object permanence by substage 6, which emerges from age 18 months on.
The "absolute" sensory threshold is... - ANSWER a. the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can
be perceived.
b. the highest intensity at which a stimulus can be perceived.
c. the point at which stimuli comes into conscious awareness.
d. a term to indicate the absolute intensity of sensory tolerance.
The lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be perceived. Under ideal conditions, the human
senses are able to perceive a variety of subtle stimuli. The level of stimuli sensitivity however,
depends upon the level of background stimulation present. For example, one may hear rain
falling on a tin roof quite easily, unless a loud party is taking place inside the building at the
same time.
What does opponent-process theory explain? - ANSWER a. An auditory process
b. A self-imposed organizational structure
c. The afterimages seen after a flash of bright light
d. A conflict resolution process
The afterimages seen after a flash of bright light. Opponent-process theory was proposed by
Hering in 1920, later developed by Hurvich & Jameson in 1957, and extended further by
Devalois & Devalois in 1975. It proposes that our perception of color is dependent upon more
than the typical trichromatic theory of vision, but also on a blue-yellow and red-green system of
visualization that we never actually see. This theory explains that excitatory and inhibitory
responses are controlled by opponent neurons that respond to certain wavelengths of color in
the visual spectrum.
with solutions
1. The basic structure of a neuron is composed of: - ANSWER a. Depolarization, soma, and
neurotransmitters.
b. Cell body, axon, and dendrites.
c. Synapse, axon, and neurotransmitters.
d. Refractory cells, axon, and cell body.
B: Cell body, axon and dendrites. The basic structure of a neuron (nerve cell) is composed of one
cell body (soma), one axon, and one or more dendrites. The cell body contains many structures,
including all the general parts of a cell. It is basically the control center. Dendrites receive their
information from other neurons and transmit that information to the cell body. The axon
extends away from the cell body to transmit or relay the neural signal.
2. What are the three major layers of the brain? - ANSWER a. Hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain
b. Corpus callosum, temporal lobe, and frontal lobe
c. Basil ganglia, cerebellum, and parietal
d. Midbrain, highbrain, and forebrain
A: Hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain. The hindbrain is at the central core of the brain and
includes many parts that regulate such things as sensory perception and motor functions. The
midbrain, just as it sounds, is located between the hindbrain and forebrain. It acts as a relay
station between the forebrain and the spinal cord. The forebrain includes the most complex
actions of the neural network in the central nervous system and is associated with information
processing and visceral and motor functions.
There are two types of glandular systems in the body. What are they? - ANSWER a. Exocrine and
adrenal
,b. Parathyroid and endocrine
c. Thyroid and adrenal
d. Endocrine and exocrine
Endocrine and exocrine. The endocrine system secretes hormones directly into the bloodstream
where they are carried to various cells throughout the body. Many endocrine hormones
regulate body processes that happen more slowly (like cell growth). Others, such as epinephrine
(adrenalin) and norepinephrine from the adrenal glands, rapidly mobilize the body's fight-flight
syndrome. Exocrine glands secrete fluids directly through a duct (or tube) that ultimately leads
to the surface of the body. Examples include sweat, tears, and saliva, as well as prostate fluids,
pancreatic fluids, and bile.
What does it mean when we say that the brain has "plasticity"? - ANSWER a. It has a
consistency that resists complex cellular divisions
b. It cannot be altered
c. It can be altered
d. Some of its basic components are similar to polymers
It can be altered. As individuals experience new things, learn and grow, and adapt to injuries
such as physical trauma or stroke, the brain also adapts and changes. Neural pathways
reorganize over the span of the lifetime, depending upon the individual life experiences.
Research has indicated that the environment can have a significant impact on brain function.
For instance, in a stimulating environment, the number of synaptic connections in the brain is
increased. In contract, subjects who are environmentally more restricted may demonstrate less
synaptic connections.
Which of the following is primarily used to measure brain activity? - ANSWER a. WISC
b. Stanford Binet
c. MRI
d. WAIS
,MRI. The Stanford Binet, as well as the WISC and WAIS are primarily intelligence tests. An MRI
(magnetic resonance imaging) is a technique used to view the internal structure of the body in a
very detailed way. It is a noninvasive medical test that uses a magnetic field, radio frequency
pulses, and a computer to allow doctors to see things that other tests (such as CT scans and x-
rays) cannot show. A "functional" MRI is increasingly being used because it can detect metabolic
changes that take place in the active part of the brain, which aids in determining healthy brain
activity or dysfunction.
Piaget's sensorimotor stage takes place from... - ANSWER a. birth to two years of age.
b. two to four years of age.
c. seven to twelve years of age.
d. three to six years of age.
Birth to two years of age. In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the sensorimotor stage
takes place from a child's birth to two years of age. During this stage the child moves from
learning through the senses and reflexes, to organizing activities according to their
environment. The sensorimotor stage is divided into six separate substages: reflexes, primary
circular reactions, secondary circular reactions, coordination of reactions, tertiary circular
reactions and early representational thought. Through these substages, the child develops from
simple stimulus-motor responses to mental processing.
Object permanence takes place in which of Piaget's stages of cognitive development? - ANSWER
a. Preoperational
b. Concrete operations
c. Sensorimotor
d. Formal operations
Sensorimotor. The most important achievement of the sensorimotor stage, object permanence,
is accomplished when the child is able to realize that something or someone continues to exist
even when it is no longer within sight. This understanding of object permanence gradually takes
, place over a series of six substages. Beginning with not being aware of an object's existence
when it disappears from sight in the first substage (age 0-4 months), a child generally develops a
full understanding of object permanence by substage 6, which emerges from age 18 months on.
The "absolute" sensory threshold is... - ANSWER a. the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can
be perceived.
b. the highest intensity at which a stimulus can be perceived.
c. the point at which stimuli comes into conscious awareness.
d. a term to indicate the absolute intensity of sensory tolerance.
The lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be perceived. Under ideal conditions, the human
senses are able to perceive a variety of subtle stimuli. The level of stimuli sensitivity however,
depends upon the level of background stimulation present. For example, one may hear rain
falling on a tin roof quite easily, unless a loud party is taking place inside the building at the
same time.
What does opponent-process theory explain? - ANSWER a. An auditory process
b. A self-imposed organizational structure
c. The afterimages seen after a flash of bright light
d. A conflict resolution process
The afterimages seen after a flash of bright light. Opponent-process theory was proposed by
Hering in 1920, later developed by Hurvich & Jameson in 1957, and extended further by
Devalois & Devalois in 1975. It proposes that our perception of color is dependent upon more
than the typical trichromatic theory of vision, but also on a blue-yellow and red-green system of
visualization that we never actually see. This theory explains that excitatory and inhibitory
responses are controlled by opponent neurons that respond to certain wavelengths of color in
the visual spectrum.
