Scientific Integrity & Pseudoscience
What specific scientific principle states that a claim must be testable in a way that could theoretically prove it wrong?
Falsifiability
Which research design specifically investigates cause-and-effect by manipulating a variable and using random assignment?
Experimental research
Which brain structure acts as the primary sensory relay station, routing all incoming sensory data except smell?
Thalamus
What is the name of the electrical impulse that travels down an axon when a neuron fires?
Action potential
What term describes an organism's observable characteristics, shaped by both genetics and environmental factors?
Phenotype
What term describes making up a convenient, on-the-spot excuse to save a failing theory instead of abandoning it?
Ad hoc hypothesis
What type of statistics is used to indicate whether data sufficiently supports a research hypothesis by determining if differences are due to chance?
Inferential statistics
What is the primary function of the limbic system structures (such as the amygdala and hippocampus)?
They serve as the brain's emotional, motivational, and memory command center.
What is the specific resting potential voltage of an inactive neuron?
-70 mV
Which endocrine structure is frequently referred to as the "master gland" because it regulates growth and controls other glands?
Pituitary gland
If a study's results make a noticeable, meaningful difference in the real world rather than just showing a mathematical shift, what kind of significance does it possess?
Practical significance
What is the critical difference between a population and a sample in psychological research?
The population is the larger group the researcher wants to draw conclusions about, while the sample is the actual subset who participate in the study.
Which specific midbrain structure houses dopamine-producing neurons involved in smooth motor control and movement initiation, and what disease results from its severe degradation?
Substantia nigra; its degradation causes Parkinson's disease.
What is the term for the specialized form of nerve conduction where an electrical impulse rapidly leaps across the gaps (nodes of Ranvier) down a myelinated axon?
Saltatory conduction
What modern, powerful gene-editing technology allows researchers to precisely modify specific DNA sequences?
CRISPR
An influencer sells a crystal necklace, claiming it "realigns your brain’s quantum spiritual frequency" to eliminate depression, but adds that if you still feel sad, it means your personal aura is actively fighting the crystals. Which two hallmarks of pseudoscience has this scenario violated or exhibited?
Lack of falsifiability (the frequency cannot be measured or disproved), and 2) Using an ad hoc hypothesis (blaming your personal aura when it fails).
A researcher wants to study whether a new digital tutoring app improves exam scores. Instead of random assignment, they compare the final exam scores of Professor Smith’s morning lecture (which uses the app) against Professor Jones’s afternoon lecture (which uses standard slides). What specific research design is being used, and what is the primary threat to internal validity here?
Quasi-experimental design. The primary threat is that participants are not randomly assigned, meaning pre-existing group differences (like morning vs. afternoon students or professor teaching styles) could confound the results.)
A patient survives a severe accident but undergoes a drastic personality shift: they lose all impulse control, exhibit poor strategic planning, and fail to weigh the long-term consequences of their actions. Damage to which specific region of the brain explains these symptoms?
The prefrontal cortex (the seat of executive functioning and decision-making)
During an action potential, a neuron’s internal voltage spikes rapidly up to a peak of +40 mV. Name the specific ion that rushes into the cell to cause this massive positive spike, and state the exact voltage threshold required to trigger this event in the first place.
Sodium (Na^+) rushes in; the threshold trigger point is -55 mV.
Two identical twins share the exact same genetic makeup (genotype), yet one develops severe clinical anxiety following a high-stress college environment while the other does not. What biological concept explains how environmental stressors can alter gene expression without changing the underlying DNA sequence?
Epigenetics (the interaction between environmental factors and gene expression affecting the phenotype).
A university lab tests a newly marketed "memory-boosting herbal patch" on 500 students and finds zero statistical effect, completely contradicting a viral TikTok video where a student swore it cured their exam panic. Which core principle of scientific thinking does the TikTok video fail to support, and why is relying on that individual testimonial a logical flaw?
It fails replicability. Relying on a single testimonial is an overreliance on anecdotes, which cannot replace rigorous, independently repeated scientific testing.
A researcher studying sleep deprivation and cognitive performance quietly smiles and nods encouragingly whenever participants give answers that align with their hypothesis, accidentally skewing how data is recorded. What is this phenomenon called, what specific research control must be implemented to fix it, and how does that fix work?
It is called experimenter bias. The fix is a double-blind study, in which neither the participants nor the person grading/recording data knows who is in the experimental or control group.
A neurologist evaluates a patient who can effortlessly comprehend spoken and written language when spoken to, but struggles immensely to produce fluent speech, speaking only in broken, halting fragments. Damage to what specific brain region has occurred, and which branch of the nervous system (afferent or efferent) is primarily failing to execute the motor commands to the vocal cords?
Broca’s area (responsible for speech production). The efferent (motor) nerves are failing to properly carry signals outward from the central nervous system to execute the speech output.
Following the peak of an action potential, potassium ($K^+$) channels open and let ions exit, causing the cell voltage to drop so low that it briefly dips to -90 mV before returning to baseline. What is this phase called, and what critical functional purpose does this temporary "overshoot" serve for neural communication?
This phase is hyperpolarization. Its purpose is to create a refractory period acting as a safety lock so that the electrical signal cannot travel backward down the axon.
A student undergoes chronic, unremitting stress throughout their entire academic year, leading to constant activation of their endocrine system. Explain the physiological consequence this long-term stress has on the body, specifically naming the major bodily defense system that becomes compromised and the clinical result.
Long-term chronic stress weakens and suppresses the immune system, leaving the body far more vulnerable to physical illness and infections.