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Biological Bases of Behavior (Brain + Neurons) — HS Psychology practice questions

12 multiple-choice questions and 17 flashcards on Biological Bases of Behavior (Brain + Neurons), about 8% of the HS Psychology bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by the CoStudy team · last updated 2026-10-12 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

Biological Bases of Behavior (Brain + Neurons) is one of 13 chapters in CoStudy's HS Psychology bank, and it holds 12 of the bank's 150 multiple-choice questions — roughly 8% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free Biological Bases of Behavior (Brain + Neurons) practice questions

3 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

The "fight-or-flight" response is controlled by the:

  1. parasympathetic nervous system
  2. sympathetic nervous system
  3. somatic nervous system
  4. central nervous system

Answer: B — sympathetic nervous system

B) Correct — It speeds the heart, raises blood sugar and slows digestion in an emergency. A) Calms the body after stress. C) Controls voluntary skeletal muscles. D) Is the brain and spinal cord.

A split-brain patient can't name an object shown only to the left visual field but can pick it out with the left hand, because:

  1. the left hemisphere sees it but can't move the hand
  2. the right hemisphere sees it but can't speak
  3. the corpus callosum sends it to both sides
  4. the image never reaches the brain

Answer: B — the right hemisphere sees it but can't speak

B) Correct — The left visual field goes to the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand but usually lacks speech. A) Reverses which hemisphere receives the left visual field. C) It has been cut in these patients. D) The right hemisphere does process it.

The part of a neuron that receives messages from other neurons is the:

  1. dendrite
  2. axon
  3. myelin sheath
  4. terminal button

Answer: A — dendrite

A) Correct — Dendrites are the branching fibers that take in signals. B) Carries messages away from the cell body. C) Insulates the axon to speed transmission. D) Releases neurotransmitters to the next cell.

Biological Bases of Behavior (Brain + Neurons) flashcards

4 cards from the 17 in this chapter.

Dopamine and reward?

Released for pleasurable activities. Addiction hijacks this system.

Hypothalamus?

Hunger, thirst, body temperature, hormones, sleep.

Brainstem?

Medulla (breathing, heartbeat), pons, midbrain. Vital functions.

Amygdala?

Emotion processing, especially fear. Threat detection.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full Biological Bases of Behavior (Brain + Neurons) chapter runs 29 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

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