Test Bank

Chapter 6: Sensory systems

Multiple Choice

1. A shadow in the off-region of a cell’s receptive field will ______.

a. increase the cell’s response

b. decrease in cell’s response

c. have no effect upon the cell’s response

2. Parasol cells in the retina are particularly sensitive to ______.

a. changing stimulation

b. sustained stimulation

c. uniform illumination

3. Konio cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus are particularly sensitive to ______.

a. stimulus motion

b. red-green stimuli

c. blue-yellow stimuli

4. Simple cells in the visual cortex ______.

a. have a receptive field in only one eye

b. have a receptive field in each eye

c. may have receptive fields in one or both eyes

5. A high frequency sound produces its maximum response at ______.

a. the near end of the basilar membrane

b. the far end of the basilar membrane

c. both ends of the basilar membrane

6. Place coding of auditory pitch is most useful at ______.

a. low frequencies

b. medium frequencies

c. high frequencies

7. Interaural intensity differences are most useful for locating sounds at ______.

a. low frequencies

b. medium frequencies

c. high frequencies

8. The saccule encodes information about ______.

a. rotational head speed

b. rotational head acceleration

c. linear head acceleration

9. The vestibulo-ocular reflex produces ______.

a. compensatory movements of the head

b. compensatory movements of the eyes

c. travel sickness

10. After tissue damage, nociceptors are sensitized by the release of ______.

a. endorphins

b. prostaglandins

c. acetyl choline

11. Neurons in the substantia gelatinosa that control the spinal gate receive ______.

a. inhibitory input from nociceptors

b. excitatory input from nociceptors

c. inhibitory input from touch receptors

12. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs act primarily at ______.

a. the periphery

b. the spinal gate

c. the periaqueductal grey

13. The main receptors underpinning proprioception are ______.

a. Golgi tendon organs and Pacinian corpuscles

b. Pacinian corpuscles and muscle spindles

c. Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindles

14. Taste buds ______.

a. are distributed over the tongue to form a distinct taste map

b. always contain just one type of receptor

c. may contain more than one type of receptor

15. Taste receptors project to ______.

a. the ventral posterior medial nucleus

b. the superior posterior medial nucleus

c. the ventral anterior medial nucleus

16. Olfactory receptor neurons contain______.

a. one olfactory receptor

b. several olfactory receptors of the same type

c. several olfactory receptors of different types

17. Mitral cells project ______.

a. directly to the pyriform cortex

b. directly to the orbitofrontal cortex

c. indirectly, via the thalamus, to the olfactory cortex

Short Answer Questions

1. Explain, using examples from more than one sensory modality, the distinction between sensation and perception.

2. What is our most useful sense, and why?

3. Explain how the pitch of a sound is encoded in the early stages of the auditory system.

4. Discuss the problem of balance and explain how it is solved.

5. What are the main distinctions between tactile and haptic perception?

6. Is pain more subjective than the other senses?

7. Compare the roles of vision and of proprioception in helping us to move about the world.

8. Compare and contrast the stimuli for taste and smell, how the stimuli are encoded, and the functions of the two senses.