Exam 3 - Practice Test

Question 1

The hormone oxytocin released from the posterior pituitary stimulates____________.

a) water retention
b) social bonding
c) metabolism
d) none of the above

Answer 1

b) social bonding

Question 2

2. The phenomenon of “sham rage” is produced by cutting the__________from the remainder of the brain stem.

a) neocortex and diencephalon
b) neocortex
c) neocortex, diencephalon and midbrain
d) none of the above

Answer 2

☒ b) neocortex

Question 3

3. The dual center hypothesis of feeding suggests that the ventromedial hypothalamus is a neural ____________center:
   a) feeding
   b) satiety
   c) metabolism
   d) none of the above

Answer 3

b) satiety

Question 4

4. As presented in class, one of the most reliable biological markers of schizophrenia is___________________.
   a) reduced volume in the hippocampus.
   b) reduced volume in the frontal lobes.
   c) increased ventricular volume.
   d) all of the above

Answer 4

☒ c) increased ventricular volume.

Question 5

5. Genetic studies indicate concordance rates among twins where one twin is diagnosed with schizophrenia of approximately:

a) 80%
b) 50%
c) 100%
d) 20%

Answer 5

(in this case, it was realized after the exam that either (b) or (d) could be acceptable, as it wasn’t specified whether or not the twins were homozygotic)

50% and 20%

Question 6

6. Results on tests of mirror-reversed drawing skills from the patient HM suggested that_____________memory is not dependent upon medial temporal structures.

a) declarative
b) non-declarative
c) procedural
d) classical conditioning

Answer 6

c) procedural

Question 7

7. Successful Morris water-maze performance involves location coding by______________.

a) hippocampal cells
b) central nucleus of the amygdala cells
c) frontal cortex cells
d) none of the above

Answer 7

a) hippocampal cells

Question 8

8. ZIP is a molecule that can block:

a) the induction of LTP
b) the maintenance of LTP
c) the opening of NMDA receptors
d) depolarization of neurons

Answer 8

b) the maintenance of LTP

Question 9

9. The motor pathway from the brain to the spinal cord most responsible for maintenance of balance is the:a) rubrospinal tract
   b) corticospinal tract
   c) vestibulospinal tract
   d) tectospinal tract

Answer 9

c) vestibulospinal tract

Question 10

10. An area of parietal cortex important in perceiving space with regards to the location of body parts and objects from somatosensory information is:a) Area 5
    b) Area 7
    c) PMA
    d) SMA

Answer 10

a) Area 5

Question 11

11. Productive or Broca’s aphasia consist of three major clinical symptoms: _____________, ________________, and______________.

Answer 11

11. Productive or Broca’s aphasia consist of three major clinical symptoms: __dysfluency____________, ______anomia___________, and__agrammatism_____________.

Question 12

12. Careful regulation of feeding around a biologically determined set-point for weight is called the ___________________ hypothesis of feeding.

Answer 12

12. Careful regulation of feeding around a biologically determined set-point for weight is called the ___lipostatic____________________ hypothesis of feeding.

Question 13

13. ____________________is caused by a tumor in the adrenal glands which leads to chronically elevated levels of____________in the blood and decreased volume in the_________________________(brain structure).

Answer 13

13. ____Cushing’s syndrome___________________is caused by a tumor in the adrenal glands which leads to chronically elevated levels of__cortisol_____________in the blood and decreased volume in the__hippocampus_____________________________(brain structure).

Question 14

14. The fMRI study that evaluated differing neural responses in car and bird experts to visual car and bird stimuli suggested that detailed memories for cars and birds may be stored in the_______(brain region or system).

Answer 14

14. The fMRI study that evaluated differing neural responses in car and bird experts to visual car and bird stimuli suggested that detailed memories for cars and birds may be stored in the__visual/extra-striate visual_______(brain region or system).

Question 15

15. Sympathetic and parasympathetic outputs from the spinal cord use the neurotransmitter_________________at pre-ganglionic synapses.

Answer 15

15. Sympathetic and parasympathetic outputs from the spinal cord use the neurotransmitter__acetylcholine_________________at pre-ganglionic synapses.

Question 16

16. The central nucleus of the amygdala controls the ________, and
    ____________________features of the conditioned fear response.

Answer 16

16. The central nucleus of the amygdala controls the __autonomic ________, and
    _____behavioral________________________________features of the conditioned fear response.

Question 17

17. As described in class, reinforcement of behavior occurs with electrical stimulation of neural fibers originating in the ___________of the midbrain and projecting to the___and the____________________. This reinforcement effect can be disrupted by administering drugs that block_________________at synapses.

Answer 17

17. As described in class, reinforcement of behavior occurs with electrical stimulation of neural fibers originating in the __ventral tegmental area____________of the midbrain and projecting to the__nucleus accumbens/limbic system_and the__frontal lobe___________________. This reinforcement effect can be disrupted by administering drugs that block___dopamine________________at synapses.

Question 18

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18. An increase in the levels of _______________ subunits in NMDA receptors results in relatively lower levels of Ca2+ influxes per NMDA receptor, which would favor the induction of long term___________.

Answer 18

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18. An increase in the levels of ________NR2A_____________ subunits in NMDA receptors results in relatively lower levels of Ca2+ influxes per NMDA receptor, which would favor the induction of long term______depression___________.

Question 19

19. The motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can largely be traced to the death of neurons in the substantia nigra that normally supply _____________ to the ____, which in turn inhibits the _________

Answer 19

19. The motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can largely be traced to the death of neurons in the substantia nigra that normally supply ______dopamine_________ to the ___caudate/putamen/striatum ___, which in turn inhibits the _________ GPi or globus pallidus_.

Question 20

20. The ______ tract is the tract from the brain to the spinal cord most responsible for the conscious control of hand and finger movements. The __ is an area that contributes axons to this tract and is also an area where researchers found that neurons encode the direction of movement (using vector averaging) with regards to hand and arm movement.

Answer 20

20. The ______ tract is the tract from the brain to the spinal cord most responsible for the conscious control of hand and finger movements. The primary motor cortex or M1 or area 4 is an area that contributes axons to this tract and is also an area where researchers found that neurons encode the direction of movement (using vector averaging) with regards to hand and arm movement.

Question 21

21. Describe or diagram the hypothalamic circuit crucial for increasing feeding behaviors in mammals when blood levels of leptin are low. Names of neural areas involved in hormone release, autonomic system control and feeding-related behavior are required as part of a correct answer (10 points).

Answer 21

Behavior: Low leptin levels are detected in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. Neurons containing the peptides AgRP and Neuropeptide Y project from the arcuate nucleus to the lateral hypothalamus where they stimulate eating behavior.

Humoral Response: Neural projections from the arcuate nucleus to the paraventricular nucleus in the hypothalamus act to inhibit the release of hypophysiotropic releasing factors for ACTH and TSH, reducing their release from the anterior pituitary and their presence in the bloodstream and thus decreasing metabolism in the body.

Autonomic Response: Outputs from the hypothalamus decreases activity in the sympathetic nervous system and increase the relative activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, decreasing body temperature and the rate of metabolism.

Question 22

22. Describe or diagram the Wernicke-Geschwind neural model of language processing, and then describe how findings from more recent neuroimaging studies in healthy people have supported or contradicted this model (10 points).

Answer 22

Wernicke-Geschwind model: Repeating a word according the W-G model: Spoken word stimuli stimulates the auditory cortex in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) in humans. This pattern of stimulation is then transferred posteriorly to Wernicke’s area (also in STG) and then the angular gyrus where auditory information is thought to be fused to word meaning. This meaningful sound is transferred anteriorly via the arcuate fasciculus (largely in the parietal lobe) where it terminates in Broca’s area in the left inferior frontal cortex. Broca’s area is thought to store the sequence of lip and tongue movements necessary for successful word production. This information is transferred posteriorly to the adjacent primary motor cortex for direction of mouth and tongue movements.

Neuroimaging studies in healthy people: Studies of auditory word processing using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in healthy people as described in class have revealed that: 1) the primary auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area activated when listening to a word (as predicted by W-G model), 2) reading a word did not activate Wernicke’s area as predicted, 3) repeating a word did not strongly activate Broca’s area as predicted, 4) activation to both visual and auditorily presented words was bilateral not left-sided only, and 4) strong activation in Broca’s area was only evident when participants generated verbs.

Question 23

23. A high frequency stimulus (HFS) is applied to the perforant path, inducing LTP in synapses in the hippocampus. Describe or diagram the cellular mechanisms involved in inducing that LTP. A correct answer will include the appropriate postsynaptic receptors and neurotransmitter, Ca2+, and an appropriate kinase (10 points).

Answer 23

The HFS produces a large amount of glutamate at many synapses simultaneously, thus producing both action potential activity in the postsynaptic neurons as well as glutamate binding to the NMDA receptors of postsynaptic neurons. These conditions open NMDA receptors, as the glutamate activates the NMDA receptor (opening a channel gate), and the depolarization can eject Mg2+ ions that are clogging the NMDA receptor pores. This produces full conductance of the NDMA receptors, allowing Ca2+ ions to enter. Ca2+ ions activate CaMKII, which phosphorylates AMPA receptors, increasing the conductance of those receptors which increases the EPSP amplitude produced at that synapse. CamKII activity also increases the number of AMPA receptors in the postsynaptic neuron, which also increases the EPSP amplitude produced at that synapse. This increase in EPSP amplitude is the expression of LTP induction.