Review Questions

Where does perception occur?

1. spinal cord
2. cerebral cortex
3. receptors
4. thalamus

If a person’s cold receptors no longer convert cold stimuli into sensory signals, that person has a problem with the process of ________.

1. reception
2. transmission
3. perception
4. transduction

After somatosensory transduction, the sensory signal travels through the brain as a(n) _____ signal.

1. electrical
2. pressure
3. optical
4. thermal

Many people experience motion sickness while traveling in a car. This sensation results from contradictory inputs arising from which senses?

1. Proprioception and Kinesthesia
2. Somatosensation and Equilibrium
3. Gustation and Vibration
4. Vision and Vestibular System

_____ are found only in _____ skin, and detect skin deflection.

1. Meissner’s corpuscles; hairy
2. Merkel’s disks; glabrous
3. hair receptors; hairy
4. Krause end bulbs; hairy

If you were to burn your epidermis, what receptor type would you most likely burn?

1. free nerve endings
2. Ruffini endings
3. Pacinian corpuscle
4. hair receptors

Many diabetic patients are warned by their doctors to test their glucose levels by pricking the sides of their fingers rather than the pads. Pricking the sides avoids stimulating which receptor?

1. Krause end bulbs
2. Meissner’s corpuscles
3. Ruffini ending
4. Nociceptors

Which of the following has the fewest taste receptors?

1. fungiform papillae
2. circumvallate papillae
3. foliate papillae
4. filiform papillae

How many different taste molecules do taste cells each detect?

1. one
2. five
3. ten
4. It depends on the spot on the tongue.

Salty foods activate the taste cells by _____.

1. exciting the taste cell directly
2. causing hydrogen ions to enter the cell
3. causing sodium channels to close
4. binding directly to the receptors

All sensory signals except _____ travel to the _____ in the brain before the cerebral cortex.

1. vision; thalamus
2. olfaction; thalamus
3. vision; cranial nerves
4. olfaction; cranial nerves

How is the ability to recognize the umami taste an evolutionary advantage?

1. Umami identifies healthy foods that are low in salt and sugar.
2. Umami enhances the flavor of bland foods.
3. Umami identifies foods that might contain essential amino acids.
4. Umami identifies foods that help maintain electrolyte balance.

In sound, pitch is measured in _____, and volume is measured in _____.

1. nanometers (nm); decibels (dB)
2. decibels (dB); nanometers (nm)
3. decibels (dB); hertz (Hz)
4. hertz (Hz); decibels (dB)

Auditory hair cells are indirectly anchored to the _____.

1. basilar membrane
2. oval window
3. tectorial membrane
4. ossicles

Which of the following are found both in the auditory system and the vestibular system?

1. basilar membrane
2. hair cells
3. semicircular canals
4. ossicles

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is a disorder where some of the calcium carbonate crystals in the utricle migrate into the semicircular canals. Why does this condition cause periods of dizziness?

1. The hair cells in the semicircular canals will be constantly activated.
2. The hair cells in the semicircular canals will now be stimulated by gravity.
3. The utricle will no longer recognize acceleration.
4. There will be too much volume in the semicircular canals for them to detect motion.

Why do people over 55 often need reading glasses?

1. Their cornea no longer focuses correctly.
2. Their lens no longer focuses correctly.
3. Their eyeball has elongated with age, causing images to focus in front of their retina.
4. Their retina has thinned with age, making vision more difficult.

Why is it easier to see images at night using peripheral, rather than the central, vision?

1. Cones are denser in the periphery of the retina.
2. Bipolar cells are denser in the periphery of the retina.
3. Rods are denser in the periphery of the retina.
4. The optic nerve exits at the periphery of the retina.

A person catching a ball must coordinate her hand and eyes. What part of the brain is helping to do this?

1. hypothalamus
2. pineal gland
3. thalamus
4. superior colliculus

A satellite is launched into space, but explodes after exiting the Earth’s atmosphere. Which statement accurately reflects the observations made by an astronaut on a space walk outside the International Space Station during the explosion?

1. The astronaut would see the explosion, but would not hear a boom.
2. The astronaut will not sense the explosion.
3. The astronaut will see the explosion, and then hear the boom.
4. The astronaut will feel the concussive force of the explosion, but will not see it.