Neuroscience

Question 1

What is neuroplasticity?

Answer 1

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, allowing recovery and adaptation after injury or in response to learning

Question 2

What is an action potential?

Answer 2

An action potential is a brief electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron, triggered by changes in the electrical charge of the neuron​

Question 3

What is the function of an axon?

Answer 3

The axon is a long, slender projection of a neuron that transmits electrical impulses from the cell body to other neurons or muscles​

Question 4

What is the synaptic cleft?

Answer 4

The synaptic cleft is the small gap between the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons where neurotransmitters are released to transmit signals​

Question 5

What is a neurotransmitter?

Answer 5

A neurotransmitter is a chemical substance released at the end of a nerve fiber by the arrival of an action potential, allowing the signal to pass to the next neuron​

Question 6

What is the myelin sheath?

Answer 6

The myelin sheath is a fatty layer that surrounds the axon of a neuron, increasing the speed at which electrical impulses travel along the nerve​

Question 7

What is an excitatory synapse?

Answer 7

An excitatory synapse increases the likelihood that the postsynaptic neuron will generate an action potential by depolarizing its membrane​

Question 8

What is an inhibitory synapse?

Answer 8

An inhibitory synapse decreases the likelihood that the postsynaptic neuron will generate an action potential by hyperpolarizing its membrane

Question 9

What is the role of the presynaptic neuron?

Answer 9

The presynaptic neuron is the neuron that sends signals by releasing neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft​

Question 10

What is the role of the postsynaptic neuron?

Answer 10

The postsynaptic neuron is the neuron that receives signals via neurotransmitter binding at the synapse, resulting in changes to its membrane potential​

Question 11

What is the resting potential of a neuron?

Answer 11

The resting potential is the electrical potential across a neuron’s membrane when it is not transmitting a signal, typically around -70mV​

Question 12

What is the role of the sodium-potassium pump?

Answer 12

The sodium-potassium pump maintains the resting potential by moving sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell against their concentration gradients​

Question 13

What is the refractory period in neuron signaling?

Answer 13

The refractory period is the time after an action potential during which a neuron is unable to fire another action potential until it returns to its resting state​(

Question 14

What is synaptic plasticity?

Answer 14

Synaptic plasticity refers to the ability of synapses to strengthen or weaken over time, in response to increases or decreases in their activity​

Question 15

What is a receptive field in neuroscience?

Answer 15

A receptive field is the specific area in which a stimulus will affect the firing of a neuron, such as visual stimuli affecting retinal cells​

Question 16

What is the difference between afferent and efferent neurons?

Answer 16

Afferent neurons carry sensory information toward the central nervous system, while efferent neurons carry motor commands away from the central nervous system

Question 17

What is topographic mapping in the brain?

Answer 17

Topographic mapping refers to the spatial arrangement of neurons in the brain that reflects the layout of sensory inputs, such as the mapping of the visual field in the occipital cortex

Question 18

What is the role of the central nervous system (CNS)?

Answer 18

The CNS, consisting of the brain and spinal cord, integrates and processes information and coordinates activity throughout the body​

Question 19

What is the peripheral nervous system (PNS)?

Answer 19

The PNS consists of nerves outside the CNS, including sensory and motor neurons that transmit information to and from the CNS​

Question 20

What is functional localization in the brain?

Answer 20

Functional localization refers to the idea that specific brain regions are responsible for particular functions, such as the motor cortex controlling movement​

Question 21

What is the role of Broca’s area?

Answer 21

Broca’s area, located in the left frontal lobe, is responsible for language production and speech articulation

Question 22

What is Wernicke’s area?

Answer 22

Wernicke’s area, located in the left temporal lobe, is responsible for language comprehension​

Question 23

What is the role of the occipital lobe?

Answer 23

The occipital lobe, located at the back of the brain, processes visual information

Question 24

What is the motor cortex responsible for?

Answer 24

The motor cortex, located in the frontal lobe, is responsible for voluntary motor movements​

Question 25

What is the somatosensory cortex?

Answer 25

The somatosensory cortex, located in the parietal lobe, processes sensory information from the body, such as touch, pain, and temperature​

Question 26

What is the difference between gray matter and white matter?

Answer 26

Gray matter consists of neuron cell bodies and is involved in processing information, while white matter consists of myelinated axons and is involved in communication between different brain areas

Question 27

What is synaptic transmission?

Answer 27

Synaptic transmission is the process by which one neuron communicates with another by releasing neurotransmitters across the synapse​

Question 28

What is neural summation?

Answer 28

Neural summation is the process by which multiple synaptic inputs combine their effects to either excite or inhibit the postsynaptic neuron​

Question 29

What is lateralization in the brain?

Answer 29

Lateralization refers to the specialization of certain functions in one hemisphere of the brain, such as language typically being localized in the left hemisphere

Question 30

What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?

Answer 30

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is when connections between neurons become stronger after they fire together multiple times, helping with learning and memory. It can last for days or longer​