Q&A Hero

Q: A disruption of circadian rhythms due to crossing time zones is known as: a. circashift. b. phaselag. c. jetlag. d. zeitgeber.

Q: Which of the following would most likely help someone adjust to jet lag? a. taking a nap during the day b. taking melatonin when you need to wake up c. keeping the room light when you need to stay awake d. darkening the room when you need to stay awake

Q: When traveling across time zones, adjustments are easier when traveling which direction? a. Travel to the east is easier. b. Travel to the west is easier. c. There is no difference. d. It varies greatly from person to person.

Q: In the absence of any light, dark, or time cues, human circadian rhythms would: a. become much shorter than 24 hours. b. become slightly longer than 24 hours. c. cease to exist. d. make the person crazy.

Q: What happens if people live in an environment in which the cycle of light and dark is other than 24 hours? a. Within a few days, they adjust to waking and sleeping on the new schedule, whatever it is. b. They adjust better if the cycle is some multiple of 24 (e.g., 48). c. They adjust better if the cycle is close to 24 (e.g., 25). d. They fail to adjust at all.

Q: What is the principal zeitgeber for land animals? a. Light b. The tides c. Temperature d. Barometric pressure

Q: A stimulus that resets the circadian rhythm is referred to by the German term: a. lichtgeber. b. zeitgeber. c. zeitadian. d. circazeit.

Q: A "zeitgeber" is a(n): a. biological clock. b. animal that does not have a biological clock. c. environmental cue that resets a biological clock. d. body activity that is controlled by a biological clock.

Q: A person's circadian activity cycle would most likely drift out of phase with the activity of other people if the person: a. spends a period of time in the wilderness, away from clocks. b. habitually eats a big meal just before bedtime. c. spends a period of time in seclusion, away from sunlight. d. lives near the equator, where the seasons do not vary.

Q: An astronaut orbiting earth experiences 45-minute periods of daylight alternating with 45-minutes of darkness. What is likely to happen? a. The alternating patterns allow for normal rhythm development. b. They are fully alert during wakeful periods. c. They are able to sleep during rest periods. d. They sleep poorly during rest periods.

Q: What happens if people are put in an environment that is constantly dark? a. It does not affect them in any way. b. They complain that they cannot sleep. c. They complain that they have difficulty waking up. d. They follow a cycle closer to 28 hours than to 24 hours.

Q: Social stimuli " that is, the effects of other people " are weak ____, unless they induce exercise or other vigorous activity. a. effects b. motivators c. rhythms d. zeitgebers

Q: What happens if people are put in an environment that is constantly light? a. It does not affect them in any way. b. They complain that they cannot sleep. c. They complain that they have difficulty waking up. d. They follow a cycle closer to 28 hours than to 24 hours.

Q: Which of the following people would be most alert when watching a late-night movie? a. 40 year old b. 20 year old c. 16 month baby d. a morning person

Q: Based on research, it has been determined that the human circadian rhythm appears to be: a. shorter than 24 hours. b. exactly 24 hours. c. just over 24 hours. d. closer to 28 hours.

Q: Suppose you work on a submarine with only artificial light. You are required to follow a schedule of working for 12 hours and then sleeping for 6. What rhythm, if any, will your alertness and body temperature show? a. They will follow a rhythm of 18 hours. b. They will follow the usual rhythm of 24 hours. c. They will follow a rhythm of 21 hours. d. They will cease to show any consistent rhythm.

Q: Someone who considers herself a "morning person" should take college classes at what time of the day? a. right after lunch b. in the late evening c. early morning d. after sleep deprivation

Q: Mammals have circadian rhythms: a. only for their sleep/activity cycle. b. only for frequency of eating and drinking. c. for sleep and body temperature only. d. for a variety of activities, including sleep.

Q: Which of the following is TRUE concerning the duration of a self-generated sleep/activity cycle? a. It is unreliable in most species, and dependably close to 24 hours only in primates. b. It is longer if the organism is normally active in the dark. c. There is little or no variability from one individual to another. d. It is highly consistent in a given individual in a given environment.

Q: A human's body temperature over the course of 24 hours is usually highest: a. about the time of awakening. b. mid-morning. c. mid to late afternoon. d. in the middle of the night.

Q: Suppose you fell into a cave and lost your watch. Without any time cues, your circadian rhythm would: a. increase dramatically over time. b. cease to exist. c. decrease over time. d. remain relatively stable.

Q: Which of the following is most clearly under the control of a circadian rhythm in most animals? a. Sleep b. storage of body fat c. migration d. Mating

Q: Circadian cycles are to ____ as circannual cycles are to ____. a. light-dark; temperature b. endogenous; exogenous c. mating; hibernating d. daily; yearly

Q: Animals produce endogenous circadian rhythms that: a. last about an hour. b. last about a day. c. last about a week d. last more then a day.

Q: What does "endogenous" mean? a. occurring at regular intervals b. learned c. sensitive to light/dark patterns d. generated from within

Q: If a migratory bird is kept in a laboratory without any cues to the season, it will become: a. more active in the spring. b. less active in the spring. c. more active in the summer. d. more active in the winter.

Q: If a migratory bird is kept in a laboratory room with constant temperature and 12 hours of light each day, when does it show migratory restlessness? a. steadily at all times b. never c. at approximately the correct time of year for migration d. at random intervals throughout the year

Q: Psychologists in the early to mid part of the 20th century had difficulty with the notion that wake and sleep cycles were generated from within the body because: a. there was no scientific evidence to support this notion. b. all species operate on the same cycle. d. they accepted the theory that all behaviors were responses to stimuli.

Q: The activation-synthesis theory of dreams argues that dreams are the result of random brain activity.

Q: REM deprivation is more difficult for a person to deal with than NREM deprivation.

Q: In general, animals that have the most total sleep also have the highest percentage of REM sleep.

Q: Temporary sleep deprivation causes the body to respond in a similar manner as it does to being ill.

Q: Night terrors occur during NREM sleep.

Q: Narcolepsy is a condition characterized by frequent periods of sleepiness during the day.

Q: Sleep apnea is characterized by sleep attacks during wakefulness.

Q: The regular use of tranquilizers can result in insomnia.

Q: REM sleep depends on a relationship between the neurotransmitters serotonin and acetylcholine.

Q: Muscle relaxation during REM sleep occurs because of decreased activity in the pons.

Q: Orexin is not necessary for waking up, but it is for staying awake.

Q: The onset of sleep requires active brain processes.

Q: Arousal seems to be regulated by a single structure in the brainstem.

Q: After removing all sensory input to the brain, an animal would continue to have periods of sleep and wakefulness.

Q: Dreams only occur during REM sleep.

Q: REM is usually the first stage of sleep after a person goes to bed.

Q: Stages 2 and 3 together constitute slow-wave sleep (SWS).

Q: Alpha waves are characteristic of relaxation, not of all wakefulness.

Q: Changes in EEG waves occur when neurons fire in synchrony.

Q: Melatonin is released by the SCN.

Q: Inactivation of the "Tim" protein resets the biological clock.

Q: High levels of "Per" and "Tim" are associated with sleepiness.

Q: Melanopsin is required for producing circadian rhythms.

Q: The biological clock depends on part of the hypothalamus, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

Q: Biological clocks are very resistant to environmental influences.

Q: Blind and deaf animals do not have circadian rhythms.

Q: A disruption of circadian rhythms due to crossing time zones is known as jet lag.

Q: The dominant zeitgeber for land animals is light.

Q: The stimulus that stops the circadian rhythm is referred to by the German termzeitgeber.

Q: The mean preferred time of going to sleep gets later and later until about age 20 and then starts a gradual reversal.

Q: Bright light late in the afternoon shortens the circadian rhythm.

Q: Young children are more likely to be "morning people" than older adults.

Q: Animals produce endogenous circadian rhythms that last about a day.

Q: Alternation between wakefulness and sleep depends completely on stimuli in the environment.

Q: Discuss the leading theories on the biological perspectives on dreaming.

Q: Discuss the relationship between sleep and memory.

Q: Describe brain function during REM sleep.

Q: The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a set of receptors located: a. in the inner ear. b. near, but separate from, the olfactory receptors. c. in the throat. d. in the cerebral ventricles.

Q: Deleting a single gene for potassium channels in mice led to an amazing superpower related to the sense of: a. touch. b. smell. c. sight. d. hearing.

Q: Given a very faint odor of air freshener, who is most likely to detect it? a. male b. post-menopausal female c. cycling female d. pre-pubertal female

Q: What is unusual about olfactory receptors compared to most other mature mammalian neurons? a. They have more than one axon each. b. They have no axons. c. They are replaceable when old neurons die. d. They use more than one neurotransmitter.

Q: Olfactory receptors carry their message to the: a. cochlea. b. NTS. c. insular cortex. d. olfactory bulb.

Q: Analogous to lateral inhibition, when olfactory receptors are stimulated, they: a. inhibit the activity of other receptors. b. quickly die. c. inhibit cell reproduction. d. inhibit nausea.

Q: Rats and mice are better able to discriminate odors than humans because they: a. have a greater variety of olfactory receptors. b. are closer to the ground. c. have more practice. d. have shorter olfactory cilia.

Q: How is olfactory information coded in receptor cells? a. Each odor produces a different ratio of firing across three types of olfactory cells. b. Each odor produces a different ratio of firing across six types of olfactory cells. c. There are hundreds of types of receptor molecules, each responsive to a different chemical. d. Chemicals in the air are transported to the olfactory cortex.

Q: Olfactory receptor sites are located: a. in the brain. b. on cilia. c. in the olfactory bulb. d. on the basilar membrane.

Q: In mammals, each olfactory cell has threadlike dendrites that: a. extend from the cell body into the mucous surface of the nasal passage. b. extend from the cell body directly into the brain. c. extend from the mucous surface of the nasal passage to the base of the skull. d. intermingle with one another to form a web-like structure.

Q: How many kinds of olfactory receptors do we have? a. two or three b. seven c. twenty d. hundreds

Q: Olfaction also plays a subtle role in: a. sleeping. b. social behavior. c. touch sensation. d. vestibular sensation.

Q: If you are a supertaster, then: a. you require high concentrations of a particular taste to be able to identify it. b. you have more fungiform papillae in the center of your tongue. c. you are more sensitive than the average person to nearly all tastes. d. your ability to taste makes up for your lack of ability to identify odors by smell.

Q: Which of the following would be able to tolerate the highest level of PTC? a. people with many fungiform papillae near the tip of the tongue b. people with few fungiform papillae near the tip of the tongue c. supertasters d. a pregnant woman

Q: The primary taste cortex is known as the: a. flavor cortex. b. olfactory cortex. c. insular cortex. d. occipital cortex.