AP Psychology Practice Test

The neurotransmitter that is primarily associated with the feeling of wanting something is

• oxytocin

• dopamine

• norepinephrine

• serotonin

What is the best way to ensure that results of a study are generalizable to a population?

• By making sure to use as many participants as possible

• By making sure the results are significant

• By using random assignment

• By using a random selection of people in that population

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a doctor would likely find which of the following?

• An abnormality in the brain tissue of the left hemisphere

• An increase in brain activity in the left frontal lobe

• An abnormal growth in the right frontal lobe

• A pattern of red and yellow highlighting activity in Broca’s area

What condition occurs when the immune system causes the deterioration of the myelin sheath?

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Multiple sclerosis

• Autism

• Myasthenia gravis

The network of structures involved in emotion, motivation, and memory is the

• limbic system

• corpus callosum

• occipital lobe

• parietal lobe

Which of the following is the correct term for the time shortly after a neuron fires and before it fires again?

• the refractory period

• the reticular formation

• depolarization

• the neurotransmitter

When excitatory neurotransmitters stimulate a single neuron, the neuron

• becomes more likely to produce an action potential

• becomes less likely to produce an action potential

• produces a stronger action potential

• becomes more polarized

Which of the following is the correct term for the process that prevents the neurotransmitter serotonin from being reabsorbed into the neuron after it fires?

• depolarization

• lateral inhibition

• reuptake

• synaptic transmission

The person’s reaction is most directly enabled by

• the hypothalamus

• the cerebellum

• a spinal reflex

• the sensory cortex

The sequence of shifts in the electrical charge of a neuron is called

• neural integration

• refraction

• synaptic transmission

• the action potential