Chapter 1 & 2

Question 1

What is an axon?

Answer 1

portion of nerve cells specialised for relaying electrical signals over long distances

Question 2

What are the three types of glial cells?

Answer 2

Astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglial cells.

Question 3

What is the name of the technique that stains the nucleolus and other structures?

Answer 3

Nissl method

Question 4

What are afferent neurons?

Answer 4

nerve cells that carry info. fr. periphery toward the brain or spinal cord

Question 5

What are efferent neurons?

Answer 5

nerve cells that carry info. away fr. the brain or spinal cord

Question 6

What is a resting membrane potential?

Answer 6

A negative potential

Question 7

What are Pacinian corpuscles?

Answer 7

receptor neurons that sense mechanical disturbances of the skin

Question 8

What are active transporters?

Answer 8

proteins that actively move ions into or out of cells against the concentratn gradt

Question 9

What are ion channels?

Answer 9

Allow ions to diffuse down concentratn gradient- selectively permeable to certain ions

Question 10

Studies of the ionic basis of the action potential in squid giant axon found that

Answer 10

Decreasing sodium outside cell decreases size of action potential

Question 11

What is the difference between equilibrium potential and membrane potential?

Answer 11

• Equilibrium potential: affected by concentration and electrical gradients of one ion.
• Membrane potential: affected by gradients of all ions.

Question 12

The refractory period ends when

Answer 12

The sodium channels are no longer activated.

Question 13

Active transporters

Answer 13

• Actively move selected ions against concentration gradient

- Create ion concentration gradients

Question 14

Ion channels

Answer 14

• Allow ions to diffuse down concentration gradient

- Are selectively permeable to certain ions

Question 15

Which statement regarding metabotropic and ionotropic receptors is true?

Answer 15

Ionotropic receptors: immediate effects

Metabotropic receptors: long-term effects

Question 16

The end plate channels show

Answer 16

a regenerative opening pattern that propagates an action potential along length of muscle fibre.

Question 17

An important factor determining whether a receptor-operated ion channel is inhibitory or excitatory is

Answer 17

an important factor determining whether a receptor-operated ion channel is inhibitory or excitatory is

Question 18

What are the events in chemical synaptic transmission?

Answer 18

1. Depolarization of the presynaptic terminal
2. Opening of voltage-gated ion channels
3. Activation of presynaptic, calcium-sensitive proteins
4. Vesicle fusion with plasma membrane
5. Diffusion of transmitter across the synaptic cleft

Question 19

Recycling of synaptic vesicles is tracked using HRP as a vesicle marker. What will be the observed sequence of HRP movement?

Answer 19

Coated vesicle, endosome, vesicle reserve pool

Question 20

What is a possible outcome for a neurotransmitter after release into the synaptic cleft?

Answer 20

Activation of G-protein-coupled receptor on postsynaptic cell

Question 21

What is not a catecholamine?

Answer 21

Histamine

Question 22

Cocaine acts by

Answer 22

blocking dopamine reuptake

Question 23

Which is not a class of opioid peptides?

Answer 23

Endocannabinoids

Question 24

What change can could be responsible for increasing the amplitude of an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)?

Answer 24

An increase in the amount of glutamate released into the synapse

Question 25

Main reason that rods are more sensitive to light than cones is that

Answer 25

rod transduction mechanism provides greater signal amplification

Question 26

By which mechanism are rod signals transmitted in conditions of low light?

Answer 26

Rod bipolar cells synapse on amacrine cells, which in turn synapse on cone bipolar cells

Question 27

You measure changes in membrane potential in an ON-center bipolar cell that is exposed to light in the center of its receptive field. What response would you expect to see?

Answer 27

Depolarization due to decreased release of glutamate by the photoreceptor cell

Question 28

The fovea

Answer 28

lies at the center of the macula lutea

Question 29

What sequence represents the most direct pathway for the transmission of visual information from the eye to the brain?

Answer 29

Photoreceptor → bipolar cell → ganglion cell → brain

Question 30

Two main functions of the retinal pigment epithelium are

Answer 30

- phagocytosis of shed outer segments | - regeneration of the photoreceptor photopigments

Question 31

Which visual area is most specialized for processing color information?

Answer 31

V4

Question 32

Contralateral visual field deficit is often due to

Answer 32

optic tract or cortical damage

Question 33

What feature is not a characteristic of certain primary visual cortex neurons?

Answer 33

Recognition of faces

Question 34

Semicircular canals are largely insensitive to linear acceleration because

Answer 34

the forces produced by linear acceleration are the same on both sides of the cupula

Question 35

The vestibulo-ocular reflex is a mechanism for

Answer 35

stabilizing gaze during head movement

Question 36

Patients with severe bilateral vestibular damage do not exhibit

Answer 36

difficulty in visually tracking slow-moving objects

Question 37

Both the cochlea and the labyrinth use

Answer 37

hair cells in mechanotransduction

Question 38

How transduction is biphasic?

Answer 38

Movements toward and away from the kinocilium can produce increased or decreased firing of vestibular afferents

Question 39

Utricle is most sensitive to

Answer 39

horizontal acceleration of the head

Question 40

Semicircular canals is designed to detect

Answer 40

angular acceleration

Question 41

List functional specialisations of the bran

Answer 41

Fusiform face area (FFA): specialised for facial recognition located in the fusiform gyrus. Visual word form area (VWFA):

Question 42

The vestibulo-ocular reflex is a mechanism for

Answer 42

stabilizing gaze during head movement

Question 43

Patients with severe bilateral vestibular damage do not exhibit

Answer 43

difficulty in visually tracking slow-moving objects

Question 44

Both the cochlea and the labyrinth use

Answer 44

hair cells in mechanotransduction

Question 45

How transduction is biphasic?

Answer 45

Movements toward and away from the kinocilium can produce increased or decreased firing of vestibular afferents

Question 46

Utricle is most sensitive to

Answer 46

horizontal acceleration of the head

Question 47

Semicircular canals is designed to detect

Answer 47

angular acceleration

Question 48

List functional specialisations of the bran

Answer 48

Fusiform face area (FFA): specialised for facial recognition located in the fusiform gyrus. Visual word form area (VWFA):