IB Psychology – Biological Approach Practice Test

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• Which term refers to the brain's ability to adapt by forming new connections as a result of experience, learning, or injury?
• Fraternal twins are no more genetically similar than regular siblings. Which term describes these twins?
• Which statement best describes neuroplasticity in relation to environmental enrichment?
• Which hormone has been linked to aggression and status-seeking behavior in rats?
• What kind of relationship can pictures of the living brain establish with regard to behaviour?
• Which imaging technique primarily shows brain anatomy?
• Which measure is used to describe how genetically similar two individuals are, often used in twin studies?
• Which imaging technique is used to identify problems with blood circulation in the brain?
• What are cells that respond to a hormone signal called?
• What is the role of the limbic system in emotion and memory?
• Favourable characteristics which help an organism survive and reproduce are referred to as what?
• Which outcome is commonly associated with damage to the prefrontal cortex?
• Incidental findings in neuroimaging involve ethical considerations such as what?
• What is a common limitation of neuroimaging studies in brain-behavior research?
• Which brain region is associated with navigation and was found to differ in London taxi drivers?
• How do lesion studies in animals help establish localization of function?
• Which brain structure is the emotional center of the brain and is part of the limbic system?
• What field studies environmental influences on gene expression that occur without changes to the DNA sequence?
• What is the outermost layer of the frontal lobe responsible for many executive functions?
• Phineas Gage: what happened and what did it demonstrate?
• How do GABA and glutamate influence neural transmission and behavior?
• In humans, how many chromosomes are typically found in somatic cells?
• Martinez and Kesner (1991): what did the study reveal about acetylcholine and memory?
• Which of the following is a key practical advantage of using animal models in research?
• A limitation of fMRI?
• What are chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands that travel through the bloodstream to affect other tissues?
• Which is an effect described for cortisol (glucocorticoid)?
• Which term describes the brain's reallocation of function after injury?
• In HM, which type of memory was impaired?
• The nucleus accumbens encodes reward value as part of which dopamine pathway?
• What term describes the criticisms of human pheromones?
• What effect does elevated cortisol have on declarative memory?
• Which study suggested that individuals with the 5-HTTT gene reacted to stressful life events with more depressive symptoms?
• Which imaging technique is used to observe functional brain activity during tasks?
• Dopamine and schizophrenia: what does the dopamine hypothesis propose?
• Rosenzweig, Bennet, and Diamond: what did enriched environments do to the brain in rats?
• Which statement correctly describes autonomic nervous system branches and their primary neurotransmitters?
• Which ethical issue is most relevant to case studies like HM and Phineas Gage?
• Which statement best describes excitatory neurotransmitters?
• Which statement best describes why animal models are used in studies of brain and behavior?
• Current evidence regarding pheromones in humans is:
• How do PET scans work and what do they measure?
• Monozygotic twins share what percentage of genes?
• What term describes a quantitative measure of the relative contribution of genetic factors to a trait, typically estimated with twin, family, and adoption studies?
• Which statement best captures how neurotransmitter imbalances relate to mental disorders?
• Which statement best captures how environment interacts with biology in shaping behavior?
• Which statement best illustrates the MAOA gene-environment interaction in aggression?
• MRI stands for which term?
• Which term is NOT part of the 3Rs framework in animal research ethics?
• Which brain region is associated with speech articulation?
• Chemical substances that mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter on receptor sites, increasing or decreasing the activity of that cell are called what?
• Which best describes the hypothalamus' role in endocrine regulation and behavior?
• What is the current evidence for adult hippocampal neurogenesis?
• What roles does the prefrontal cortex play?
• Neuroplasticity refers to which of the following?
• According to the biological approach, what is the role of biology in behavior?
• Damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex would most likely impair which cognitive function?
• Which brain region is involved in non-declarative memory?
• Which theory posits that cognitive functions arise from networks across multiple brain regions rather than isolated areas?
• Which researcher is associated with research showing that caregiving for a chronically ill relative can delay wound healing via elevated cortisol?
• What term describes the scientific study of heredity?
• Chemical signals released by an animal that communicate information and affect the behavior of other animals of the same species are called:
• Which statement would the biological approach most likely endorse?
• Retrograde memory refers to memory for events prior to the event?
• What stops the impulse, producing a calming effect on the brain?
• Which compound found in sweat has been proposed to signal sexual attractiveness?
• Which imaging technique measures brain structure?
• Which statement is true about neural development in gene-environment interaction?
• Drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter are known as:
• A strength of MRI?
• Post-mortem studies in the biology of behavior are best described as:
• Which option describes what fMRI registers?
• What allows the impulse to cross the synapse and produce a stimulating effect on the brain?
• Which statement best reflects evidence for left-hemisphere language dominance in most right-handed individuals?
• In the 3 Rs framework, what does Refinement refer to?
• If the reward outcome is better than expected, what happens to the associative strength in reward-based learning?
• How does dopamine relate to prediction error in reward-based learning?
• How does the IB biological approach typically handle explanations that include multiple factors?
• Why is the effect of pheromones in humans considered debatable?
• Which concept describes Lashley's finding that some functions are localized while others are widely distributed?
• What is the role of the amygdala in fear and memory?
• Which molecule stores genetic information and serves as the blueprint for protein synthesis, and is located in the nucleus?
• How are the amygdala and emotional memory connected?
• What is a primary ethical concern when using PET scans?
• Caspi et al. (2003): how does 5-HTTLPR relate gene-environment to depression?
• Which option describes the role of experience in neural development within this framework?
• Which statement aligns with the idea that experience can influence neural development in the biological approach?
• The Antonova scopolamine study demonstrates which statement about acetylcholine and spatial memory?
• Which imaging technique is used mainly to show brain anatomy rather than function?
• Which statement reflects a core assumption of the biological approach in psychology?
• What ethical issue is highlighted by generalizing findings from animal studies to humans?
• A reductionist explanation for behaviour suggests there could be many other things affecting behaviour. Which term best captures this critique?
• Which concept critiques strict localization by showing that some functions can shift after damage?
• Which brain structure within the limbic system is essential for forming new episodic memories?
• Which researchers proposed that androstadienone found in sweat may signal sexual attractiveness?
• Brain imaging techniques: differentiate MRI, fMRI, PET, and EEG.
• Which imaging technique measures metabolic activity using radioactive tracers?
• In HM, which type of memory was preserved?
• Which statement best captures the biological approach's view of biology and environment in behavior?
• What are receptors for a particular hormone called?
• Which study showed posterior hippocampus enlargement in London taxi drivers?
• What term describes the observable characteristics of an organism resulting from the interaction between its genotype and the environment?
• Which brain region is activated during a virtual navigation task, as shown in Antonova's study?
• What does higher concordance for a trait in monozygotic twins compared with dizygotic twins suggest?
• Role of neuroimaging in brain-behavior research: strengths and limits?
• What is the basic building block of the nervous system?
• In Antonova's study, what happened to hippocampal activity and performance when scopolamine was administered during a navigation task?
• Which process describes organisms that are better adapted passing on their genes to strengthen the gene pool?
• Which statement best describes the key distinction between MRI and fMRI?
• What is the function of the vomeronasal organ in pheromone detection?
• Which statement aligns with the central claim of the interactionist view in biology and environment?
• HM and memory: what does HM tell us about memory?
• What process occurs when a hormone binds to its receptor and triggers a cascade of changes inside the cell?
• Which hormone is associated with a deepened voice, muscle development, and increased competitiveness and aggression?
• Cerebellum role in motor learning: which statement is true?
• Which study demonstrated that a more stimulating environment alters brain structure via neuroplasticity?
• In working memory, what is the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)?
• Which scenario best illustrates gene-environment interaction?
• Through which pathway do hormones travel to reach distant tissues?
• Which brain region is involved in declarative (explicit) memory?
• Which statement about MRI safety is true?
• Which area is associated with speech articulation and is located in the left frontal lobe?
• Which neurotransmitter is central to NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation, a cellular basis of learning?
• Which term refers to the idea that the brain is made up of specialized modules, and that each module has a specific function?
• What are the four types of animal models used in experimental research?
• What are key considerations in animal research ethics within the biological approach?
• Which term refers to twins that originate from one zygote that splits apart very early in development and share 100% of their genes?
• What best describes gene-environment interaction in behavior?
• Which statement best reflects MAOA gene-environment interaction in aggression?
• What term best describes the molecules that contain the instructions for producing proteins that regulate body processes and influence traits such as intelligence?
• What term refers to the genetic structure an organism inherits from its parents?
• What type of evidence supports left-hemisphere language dominance in most right-handed individuals?
• Which imaging technique is associated with the potential for early detection of Alzheimer's disease in the material?
• Maguire taxi drivers: what was found about hippocampal structure?
• Adrenergic arousal during emotional events affects memory encoding by:
• What are the 3 Rs of animal research?
• Which two language areas and their roles?
• Which statement about chromosomes is true?
• Which statement best captures the stated strengths of animal research?
• Which statement reflects a limitation of MRI/fMRI regarding causality?
• HM case HM memory: which structure's removal caused anterograde amnesia?
• In this context, biology providing predispositions means:
• Which group of organs releases hormones?
• When brain area X assumes the functions of brain area Y due to injury.
• Sum total of all brain's neurons and the connections between them. The stronger the pathway becomes, the more likely this pathway will be activated in the future.
• Which researcher is associated with the 1986 study linking hormones to aggression in rats?
• What term describes the degree to which a trait is shared by two or more individuals or groups?
• Which statement correctly compares fMRI and EEG?
• What is the correct sequence of events in the HPA axis during the stress response?
• A practical limitation of MRI/fMRI related to environment?
• What is the process by which the part of one neuron establishes a connection with other neurons?
• Fraternal twins are known as which term?
• Which functions are associated with the parietal lobes?
• Which term describes the sum total of brain neurons and their connections?
• The biological approach suggests that behavior is best understood by considering...
• Why is glutamate important for learning?
• Pheromones are processed via the vomeronasal organ and connected to which brain region?
• How do localization and distributed processing differ?
• Which of the following are examples of hormones?
• Which structure is the emotional center of the brain and triggers fear?
• Which imaging technique registers blood flow to functioning areas of the brain?
• Which of the following statements are commonly cited as effects of testosterone?
• Which statement best describes evidence of neuroplasticity from animal studies and human learning?
• Which hormone from the pituitary stimulates cortisol release from the adrenal glands?
• Which neurotransmitter imbalance is linked to schizophrenia?
• Which option best captures the interplay of biology and environment in behavior?
• The nucleus accumbens is a key component of which brain pathway?
• What does split-brain research via corpus callosum severing demonstrate?
• The statement that organisms are driven to survive and reproduce and that members of the same population are born with randomly different traits which may help survival describes which concept?
• The claim that different traits are influenced by genetic inheritance to varying degrees and environmental factors can influence biological factors via regulation of gene expression represents which concept?
• Which statement best describes a limitation when extrapolating findings from animal enrichment studies to humans?
• What is the ability of one neuron to form new connections and break up the old ones?
• Which statement best describes the parasympathetic nervous system?
• What is a key ethical consideration when deciding to use PET scanning in research?
• Which statement best describes one of the effects of cortisol?
• What carries thousands of genes and is located in the nucleus of every human cell?
• Localization vs lateralization: which statement is true?
• In the biological approach, what do predispositions refer to?
• Which of the following best describes predispositions in the biological framework?
• Which imaging method does not involve ionizing radiation?