Deck 7: Physiological Analysis of Behavior- the Endocrine System

Question 1

Hormones

A) are chemical substances that are both secreted and have their effect within the same part of the body.
B) can be secreted either by endocrine glands or by neurons.
C) are delivered by means of specialized ducts.
D) all of the above.

Answer 1

can be secreted either by endocrine glands or by neurons.

Question 2

Endocrine systems, in contrast with neural systems, produce a response that is

A) highly localized.
B) rapid in onset.
C) secreted slowly.
D) short in duration.

Answer 2

secreted slowly.

Question 3

Hormones that are water-soluble and usually affect cells by binding to receptor molecules on the cell surface are known as

A) genomic effector hormones.
B) neurosteroid hormones.
C) peptide hormones.
D) steroid hormones

Answer 3

peptide hormones.

Question 4

Progestins, androgens, and estrogens

A) are chemically derived from cholesterol.
B) are peptide hormones.
C) are rigidly determined by sex.
D) bind to receptors on the cell membrane.

Question 5

Female domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) are able to detect lower quantities of the boar pheromone, 16-androsterone, than are males. This illustrates best the way in which hormones influence behavior by means of their effect on

A) muscles and motor neurons.
B) changes in social preference.
C) sensory or perceptual mechanisms.
D) the central nervous system.

Question 6

Sex differences in the size of brain nuclei that control song are established in zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) as a result of the hormonal environment that exists soon after hatching. This illustrates best the way in which hormones influence behavior by means of their effect on

A) muscles and motor neurons.
B) changes in social preference.
C) sensory or perceptual mechanisms.
D) the central nervous system.

Question 7

Sex differences in the calling behavior of clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) can be traced, in part, to hormone-induced changes in the number and type of muscle fibers in the frog's larynx. This illustrates best the way in which hormones influence behavior by means of their effect on

A) muscles and motor neurons.
B) changes in social preference.
C) sensory or perceptual mechanisms.
D) the central nervous system.

Question 8

In general, an interventional approach to the study of hormone function

A) has become largely irrelevant due to the development of genetic knockout techniques.
B) normally requires the use of antihormones.
C) will allow us to determine if a hormone causes the change we observe in behavior.
D) will allow us to look at associations between changes in hormones and changes in behavior, but without any basis for determining which causes which.

Question 9

If an intruder male green anole lizard fails to display a submissive posture after the resident male has performed his lateral orientation and stereotyped bobbing dewlap display, then the resident male is likely to escalate his aggressive behavior in which of the following orders?

A) acquiring a crest along its back and neck and a black spot above each eye; faster bobbing dewlap displays; wrestling with locked jaws.
B) acquiring a crest along its back and neck and a black spot above each eye; wrestling with locked jaws; faster bobbing dewlap displays.
C) faster bobbing dewlap displays; acquiring a crest along its back and neck and a black spot above each eye; wrestling with locked jaws.
D) wrestling with locked jaws; faster bobbing dewlap displays; acquiring a crest along its back and neck and a black spot above each eye.

Question 10

Removal of the testes in the male green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) resulted in a

A) reduction in aggressive behavior, but only if the male was returned to his home cage afterwards, rather than to a new cage.
B) reduction in aggressive behavior that resisted later testosterone replacement.
C) reduction in sexual behavior that gradually recovered with experience.
D) reduction in sexual behavior that was maintained thereafter unless treated with testosterone.

Question 11

The finding that aggressive behavior in the green anole lizard appears to be only partially dependent on gonadal hormornes and subject to influence by social factors such as resident status resulted from a study of which of the following types?

A) correlational
B) interventional
C) monitoring
D) organizational

Question 12

A correlational study of hormonal influence on behavior is likely to make use of which of the following techniques?

A) development of specialized genetic knockout strains
B) removal of an endocrine gland
C) repeated sampling of hormone levels
D) use of an antihormone

Question 13

During which of the following periods have the testosterone levels in the male song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) been found to be highest?

A) During the initial period of territory establishment and when the female is laying the first clutch of eggs.
B) During the initial period of territory establishment but only after a second female has also begun laying eggs.
C) While maintaining an established territory and when the female is laying a second clutch of eggs.
D) Testosterone levels remain at consistently high levels throughout the breeding season.

Question 14

Wingfield's 1984 and 1987 studies of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) demonstrated that circulating levels of testosterone waxed and waned in parallel with changing patterns of male territorial aggression. These studies were examples of which of the following types of methodology?

A) correlational
B) interventional
C) monitoring
D) organizational

Question 15

Interestingly, it has been determined that aggressive behavior is not limited to the breeding season among nonmigratory (sedentary) populations of song sparrows, and that the behavior is regulated by

A) estradiol during the breeding season, but testosterone during the nonbreeding season.
B) high levels of testosterone during the breeding season, but low levels of testosterone during the nonbreeding season.
C) surprisingly low levels of testosterone during the breeding season, but higher levels of testosterone during the nonbreeding season.
D) testosterone during the breeding season, but estradiol during the nonbreeding season.

Question 16

When steroid hormones have organizational effects on behavior, those effects

A) occur early in life, usually just before or after birth.
B) tend to be transient.
C) usually involve subtle changes in previously established connections.
D) all of the above.

Question 17

When steroid hormones have activational effects on behavior, those effects

A) produce structural changes in the brain or other long term cellular changes.
B) tend to be permanent.
C) usually occur in adulthood.
D) all of the above.

Question 18

Differences in patterns of adult rat copulatory behavior are due to differences in the brains of males and females, differences that were induced by the irreversible actions of androgens in late fetal and early neonatal life. This suggests that the differences were produced by _____ effects of hormones.

A) activational
B) organizational
C) reciprocal
D) relatively plastic

Question 19

If removal of the testes occurs in a rat soon after birth, the result is

A) an adult with a reduced capacity to display masculine patterns of sexual behavior.
B) an adult with an enhanced capacity to display feminine patterns.
C) an adult that displays normal male sexual behavior if injected with testosterone before five days of age and throughout adulthood.
D) all of the above.

Question 20

A single injection of testosterone into a female rat soon after birth produces

A) an adult with a hyper-female brain.
B) an adult that displays normal female sexual behavior as soon as the effects of the testosterone wear off.
C) an effect on later sexual behavior only if her ovaries are also removed at that time.
D) irreversible effects on her adult sexual behavior.

Question 21

Estradiol is

A) the hormone that is actually responsible for masculinizing the brain in rats.
B) chemically derived from testosterone once it enters specific brain regions.
C) very similar in chemical structure to testosterone.
D) all of the above.

Question 22

Alpha-fetoprotein

A) binds androgens and, thus, prevents testosterone from reaching target cells in the female rat's brain and inducing masculinization.
B) binds androgens and, thus, prevents testosterone from reaching target cells in the male rat's brain and inducing masculinization.
C) binds estrogen and, thus, prevents estradiol from reaching target cells in the female rat's brain and inducing masculinization.
D) binds estrogen and, thus, prevents estradiol from reaching target cells in the male rat's brain and inducing masculinization.

Question 23

An adult female rat whose ovaries have been removed will not copulate unless she receives injections of estrogen and progesterone. Similarly, removal of the testes in an adult male rat eventually eliminates copulatory behavior, unless he is given injections of testosterone. This suggests that the effects of these steroid hormones in these situations is

A) activational
B) organizational
C) reciprocal
D) relatively plastic

Question 24

Male and female rats that have had their testes or ovaries removed in adulthood generally

A) cannot be induced to behave like members of the opposite sex, even with administration of the appropriate (opposite) hormones.
B) have mature brains that are no longer capable of responding to hormonal signals of the opposite sex.
C) possess a thoroughly differentiated male or female nervous system.
D) all of the above.

Question 25

Some male tree lizards (Urosaurus ornatus) are aggressive while others are nonaggressive. They are one phenotype or the other and remain so for life. These alternative phenotypes are said to be

A) developmentally fixed.
B) developmentally plastic.
C) dichotomously flexible.
D) dichotomously segregated.

Question 26

Male tree lizards (Urosaurus ornatus) of the nonaggressive phenotype are flexible in their territorial behavior, switching between territorial and nomadic behavior in response to environmental conditions. When conditions become stressful, levels of the hormone corticosterone rise, eventually triggering the switch to nomadic behavior.

A) This switch in behavior is prompted by hormone changes that occur during the neonatal period and are, therefore, activational in nature.
B) This switch in behavior is prompted by hormone changes that occur during the neonatal period and are, therefore, organizational in nature.
C) This switch in behavior is prompted by hormone changes that occur in adulthood and are, therefore, activational in nature.
D) This switch in behavior is prompted by hormone changes that occur in adulthood and are, therefore, organizational in nature.

Question 27

Arnold and Breedlove (1985) questioned the usefulness of the distinction between organizational and activational effects of steroid hormones on behavior.

A) Arnold and Breedlove were unable to uncover biochemical or anatomical evidence of two fundamentally different ways in which steroid hormones act on the nervous system.
B) Arnold and Breedlove believed that the distinction was too restrictive.
C) The authors of your text acknowledge the concerns but continue to find the traditional distinction useful in categorizing hormonal effects.
D) All of the above.

Question 28

When male marine toads (Bufo marinus) were allowed to clasp females for either zero, one, two, or three hours, concentrations of androgens increased with the number of hours spent in amplexus. The rise in androgens during amplexus suggests that

A) the females had selected the males based on their hormonal status.
B) the increase in hormones induced the mating behavior.
C) the males were attempting to mate with the wrong species of female.
D) the mating behavior induced the hormonal response.

Question 29

When researchers administered corticosterone to amplexing male roughskin newts (Taricha granulosa) or exposed them to stressful conditions known to prompt corticosterone secretion

A) the amplectic-clasping behavior was rapidly suppressed.
B) the intensity of the amplectic clasping was greatly increased.
C) the males were able to ignore the stressful stimulus and continue with their mating behavior.
D) the reactions varied tremendously on an individual basis.

Question 30

The effect of corticosterone on neurons and on amplectic-clasping behavior in the roughskin newt occurred within minutes of its administration, indicating that the corticosterone

A) is acting via a receptor in the membrane of neurons.
B) is binding to an intracellular receptor and altering gene expression and protein synthesis.
C) will occasionally produce behaviors that are quite maladaptive.
D) All of the above.

Question 31

Crews and colleagues (1984, 1987) examined patterns of reproduction with regard to (1) gamete production, (2) secretion of sex steroids, and (3) timing of mating behavior in a wide variety of vertebrates and found that three general patterns of reproduction emerged. In the Norway rat, for example, it has been found that gonadal growth and an increase in circulating levels of sex steroids activate mating behavior. This pattern would be an example of a(n)

A) associated reproductive pattern.
B) dissociated reproductive pattern.
C) interventional reproductive pattern.
D) opportunistic reproductive pattern.

Question 32

Crews and colleagues (1984, 1987) examined patterns of reproduction with regard to (1) gamete production, (2) secretion of sex steroids, and (3) timing of mating behavior in a wide variety of vertebrates and found that three general patterns of reproduction emerged. In the red-sided garter snake, for example, the window of mating opportunity is from 1 to 4 weeks, and courtship behavior of adult male snakes is activated by an increase in ambient temperature following winter dormancy, rather than by a surge in testicular hormones. Sperm produced 5 to 10 weeks later are stored for use during the next spring. This pattern would be an example of a(n)

A) associated reproductive pattern.
B) dissociated reproductive pattern.
C) interventional reproductive pattern.
D) opportunistic reproductive pattern.

Question 33

Crews and colleagues (1984, 1987) examined patterns of reproduction with regard to (1) gamete production, (2) secretion of sex steroids, and (3) timing of mating behavior in a wide variety of vertebrates and found that three general patterns of reproduction emerged. The zebra finch, for example, which lives in the deserts of Australia where rainfall occurs rarely and unpredictably, court, copulate, and build nests within hours of a significant rainfall. This pattern would be an example of a(n)

A) associated reproductive pattern.
B) dissociated reproductive pattern.
C) interventional reproductive pattern.
D) opportunistic reproductive pattern.

Question 34

Dzieweczynski et al. (2005, 2006) found that aggressive behavior and levels of the hormone 11 KT (an androgen that mediates aggression) in male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) were influenced by male territory status and the presence of an audience. Levels of aggressive behavior and 11 KT tended to be highest when

A) both test males had nests; female audience present.
B) neither test male had a nest; female audience present.
C) both test males had nests; male audience present.
D) neither test male had a nest; male audience present.

Question 35

The Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) is a species in which nonbreeding birds (most often offspring of the breeding pair from a previous year) remain on the territory of the breeding pair and help raise their own siblings. Is there evidence that helpers remain and help because they are physiologically incapable of breeding themselves?

A) No; helpers, in fact, have higher levels of circulating testosterone and estradiol than the breeders.
B) No; the testes and ovaries of helpers are functional, at least for hormone production.
C) Yes; the testes and ovaries of helpers are, for all practical, nonfunctional.
D) Yes; while the testes and ovaries are physiologically intact, the hormone production is greatly reduced.

Question 36

The hormone that is believed to underlie parental behaviors in Florida scrub jays, such as feeding young at the nest, is

A) corticosterone.
B) estradiol.
C) prolactin.
D) testosterone.

Question 37

Scent marking, or strategically placing a chemical mark in the environment, is accomplished by means of special scent glands. These glands are

A) endocrine glands, which means that they have ducts that release their products to the body surface.
B) endocrine glands, which means that they secrete their products into the spaces between cells.
C) exocrine glands, which means that they have ducts that release their products to the body surface.
D) exocrine glands, which means that they secrete their products into the spaces between cells.

Question 38

Among domestic dogs (Canis lupus), adult males

A) urinate less frequently than females.
B) urine mark more frequently than females.
C) typically use a different urinary posture than females, unless they have been neutered.
D) all of the above.

Question 39

As Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) make the developmental transition from parr to smolt, a number of hormones, such as prolactin, growth hormone, cortisol, and thyroid hormones, interact with a variety of environmental cues to produce changes in

A) body coloration and markings.
B) osmoregulation to support life in freshwater vs. life in saltwater.
C) territoriality and feeding styles.
D) all of the above.