Problem Set #3

Short Answer Questions:

1. What is the sympathetic nervous system?
The sympathetic nervous system is associated with processes that burn energy. This is the system responsible
for the heightened state of physiological arousal known as the foight-or-flight reaction.
2. What is the parasympathetic nervous system.
The parasympathetic system is the system responsible for conserving energy.
3. What is the somatic nervous system?
The somatic nervous system is responsible for voluntary movement of large skeletal muscles.
4. What is the autonomic nervous system?
The autonomic nervous system controls the cardiac and smooth muscles, such as those of the heart and
digestive tract.
5. The two hemispheres are joined together in the center of the brain by a dense band of nerves called what?
The corpus callosum.
6. What purpose does myelin serve?
Myelin serves as insulation for the electrical impulses carried down the axon, and also speeds up the rate at
which electrical information travels down the axon.

1
Multiple Choice Questions:
Correct answers are in bold.

1. A lesion to Broca’s area in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain would likely result in which of the
following?
(a) Echolalia
(b) Apraxia
(c) Alexia
(d) Agnosia
(e) Aphasia
2. In the neuron, the main function of the dendrites is to:
(a) release neurotransmitters to signal subsequent neurons.
(b) preserve the speed and integrity of the neural signal as it propagates down the axon.
(c) perform the metabolic reactions necessary to nourish and maintain the nerve cell.
(d) receive input from other neurons.
(e) connect the cell body to the axon.
3. Veronica is having trouble balancing as she walks, and her muscles seem to have lost strength and tone.
A neuroanatomist looking into her condition would most likely suspect a problem with Veronica’s:
(a) medulla oblongata.
(b) right cerebral hemisphere.
(c) cerebellum.
(d) occipital lobes.
(e) thalamus.
4. Which of the following neurotransmitters is generally associated with the inhibition of continued neural
signaling?

(a) Dopamine.
(b) Adrenaline.
(c) GABA.
(d) Seratonin.
(e) Acetylcholine.

5. A phenotype is best defined as:

(a) an observable trait or behavior that results from a particular genetic combination.
(b) the underlying genetic composition of a species.
(c) a biological unit within which genetic information is encoded.
(d) a recessive genetic combination that remains physically unexpressed.
(e) the genetic combination given by a parent to its offspring.