Neuropsychology 1

Question 1

Name the two parts of the Peripheral Nervous System.

Answer 1

Somatic Nervous System (voluntary, skeletal muscles) and Autonomic Nervous System (semi-/involuntary, smooth muscles, viscera, and glands).

Question 2

Name the two subdivisions of the Autonomic Nervous System.

Answer 2

Sympathetic (arousal, activation of flight/flight) and Parasympathetic (metabolic quiescence, deactivation of flight/flight).

Question 3

Name the targets of Sympathetic arousal.

Answer 3

Increased heart rate, pupil dilation, conversion of fat and glycogen to glucose (ready energy), increased blood flow to extremities, inhibition of digestion.

Question 4

Name the targets of Parasympathetic inhibition.

Answer 4

Decreased heart rate, activation of digestion, conversion of glucose to glycogen and fat (energy storage).

Question 5

Name two common measures of the Autonomic Nervous System.

Answer 5

Electrocardiogram (EKG), constriction of heart muscles; galvanic skin response (GS), changes in electrical conductance of skin.

Question 6

Name the three functional divisions of the brain.

Answer 6

Primitive core, regulating somatic activities; old brain/limbic system, mediating basic drives and emotions; new brain/cerebrum, higher cognitive, emotional, and motor functions.

Question 7

Name the three anatomical divisions of the brain.

Answer 7

Hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain. Overlap with functional divisions, but not one-to-one.

Question 8

Define paresis.

Answer 8

Slight or partial paralysis.

Question 9

Define paresthesia

Answer 9

Abnormal sensations such as numbness, tingling, burning.

Question 10

Define hyperesthesia.

Answer 10

Abnormal sensitivity to sensation.

Question 11

What is a collateral in the structure of a neuron?

Answer 11

An axonal branch. A neuron has only one axon, but it can have many collaterals on that axon.

Question 12

How does stimulation intensity affect a neuron’s action potential?

Answer 12

Higher intensity produces more action potentials and causes action potentials to occur in more neurons.

Question 13

What affects the speed of action potential conduction in a neuron?

Answer 13

Larger diameter axons are faster. Myelin sheathing increases speed by 10 to 100 times (saltatory conduction).

Question 14

Name two processes by which neurotransmitters are removed from a synapse.

Answer 14

Reuptake, in which excess neurotransmitters are taken up by terminal buttons and stored for future use. Enzymatic degradation employs enzymes in and around the synapse to break down the neurotransmitters into inactive metabolites that are then removed as waste.

Question 15

What is a neuromodulator?

Answer 15

A neurotransmitter that acts to increase or decrease a neuron’s sensitivity to other neurotransmitters.

Question 16

What is a neuromuscular neurotransmitter?

Answer 16

A neurotransmitter that functions at the junction of terminal buttons and muscle fibers.

Question 17

Name three catecholemine neurotransmitters.

Answer 17

Epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and dopamine.

Question 18

Name five neurotransmitters (not the catecholimines).

Answer 18

Acetylcholine, serotonin, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), glutamate, endorphins.

Question 19

Describe locations and roles of acetylcholine.

Answer 19

Excitatory in CNS and most neuromuscular locations, mediating memory, sexual behavior, REM sleep, and sleep-wake cycle. In heart and respiratory muscles, it is inhibitory.

Question 20

Describe the general effects of the catecholemines.

Answer 20

Personality, mood, drive, sleep, memory.

Question 21

What behaviors and states is serotonin associated with?

Answer 21

Associated with anxiety, mood, eating, sleep, arousal, temperature regulation, aggression, modulation of pain, migraines.

Question 22

Describe locations and roles of GABA.

Answer 22

Most abundant neurotransmitter in CNS. Inhibitory role.

Question 23

Describe locations and roles of glutamate.

Answer 23

Excitatory in CNS. Associated with learning, memory, long-term potentiation.

Question 24

Describe the locations and roles of endorphins.

Answer 24

A class of inhibitory neuromodulators. Bind to opiate receptor sites, reducing thalamic and cortical activity, producing pleasure. Associated with pain relief, sexual behavior, emotions, memory, learning.

Question 25

Name a drug, a toxin, and a disease that produce their effect through the cholinergic system.

Answer 25

Curare blocks acetylcholine receptors, producing paralysis. Nerve gases and some insecticides have enzymes that break down acetylcholine, producing paralysis of respiratory muscles and, hence, asphyxiation. Myasthenia gravis, a muscle-weakness disease, reduces acetylcholine receptors in muscles.

Question 26

Name two drugs that produce their effect through the dopaminergic system?

Answer 26

Cocaine blocks dopamine reuptake; nicotine stimulates release of dopamine in mesolimbic neurons.

Question 27

What are deficits in acetylcholine associated with?

Answer 27

Deficits are associated with voluntary movement impairment. Loss of acetylcholine receptors is associated with Alzheimer’s.

Question 28

What diagnoses are brain imbalances in the catecholemines (specifically norepinephrine and dopamine) associated with?

Answer 28

Norepinephrine and dopamine affect depression (deficit) and schizophrenia (excess).

Question 29

What movement disorders are imbalances in dopamine associated with?

Answer 29

Movement: Tourette’s (excess) and Parkinson’s (deficit).

Question 30

What diagnoses are brain imbalances in serotonin associated with?

Answer 30

Deficits are associated with depression, OCD, PTSD, aggression; excesses with Schizophrenia, Anorexia, Autism.

Question 31

What diagnoses are deficits in GABA associated with?

Answer 31

Deficits associated with anxiety, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s Chorea.

Question 32

What health outcomes are excesses of glutamate associated with?

Answer 32

Seizures, strokes, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s Chorea.

Question 33

Name the major anatomical structures of the hindbrain.

Answer 33

Medulla oblongata, pons (both part of the brain stem), and cerebellum.

Question 34

What are the primary functions of the medulla oblongata?

Answer 34

Vital functions: breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion.

Question 35

What are the primary functions of the pons?

Answer 35

Connects two halves of cerebellum. Role in arousal. Contains raphe nuclei.

Question 36

What is a function of the pons’ raphe nuclei?

Answer 36

Trigger and maintain slow-wave sleep. Serotonergic.

Question 37

What are the primary functions of the cerebellum?

Answer 37

Maintain balance, coordinate movement, control posture.

Question 38

Damage to the cerebellum can produce what conditions?

Answer 38

Ataxia (loss of coordinated voluntary movement): slurred speech, severe tremors, loss of balance, etc.

Question 39

What is the effect of anticholinergic drugs on memory?

Answer 39

They prevent formation of new memories.