Practice Exam Flashcards
T/F: In their resting state, all body cells exhibit a resting membrane potential ranging from -50 to about +50 mV.
a. False
What is a membrane potential?
a. A voltage of electrical charge across the plasma membrane
b. Cooperation between cells
c. The ability of the cells to perform their specialized functions
d. The possibility of cell activity
a
T/F: Nitric oxide may act as a biological messenger.
t
Put these in the proper order: integration; motor output; sensory input.
sensory input, integration, motor output
Which of the following is not one of the basic functions of the nervous system?
a. Sensory input
b. Integration
c. Motor output
d. Neural genesis
d. Neural genesis
Bipolar neurons are commonly _______.
a. Found in the retina of the eye
b. Motor neurons
c. Called neuroglial cells
d. Found in ganglia
a. Found in the retina of the eye
Collections of nerve cell bodies outside the central nervous system are called ________.
a. Tracts
b. Nerves
c. Nuclei
d. Ganglia
d. Ganglia
Ions are unequally distributed across the plasma membrane of all cells. This ion distribution
creates an electrical potential difference across the membrane. What is the name given to this
potential difference?
a. Resting membrane potential
Sodium and potassium ions can diffuse across the plasma membranes of all cells because of the
presence of what type of channel?
a. Leaky channels
The inside surface of the plasma membrane is much more ________ charged than the outside
surface.
a. Negatively
Why is the membrane much more permeable to K+ than to Na+?
a. There are many more K+ leaky channels along the membrane than Na+ leaky channels
Where do most action potentials originate?
a. Nodes of ranvier
b. Axon terminal
c. Initial segment
d. Cell body
C. Initial segment
What opens first in response to a threshold stimulus?
a. Voltage-gated Na+ channels
b. Ligand-gated Na+ channels
c. Voltage-gated K+ channels
d. Ligand-gated Ca2+ channels
a. Voltage-gated Na+ channels
Which of the following is not one of the chemical classes into which neurotransmitters fall?
a. Gases and lipids
b. Chlorides
c. Peptides
d. Amino acids
b. Chlorides
. Saltatory conduction is made possible by _____.
a. Diphasic impulses
b. The myelin sheath
c. Large nerve fibres
d. Erratic transmission of nerve impulses
b. The myelin sheath
When a sensory neuron is excited by some form of energy, the resulting graded potential is
called a(n) ________.
a. Excitatory potential
b. Action potential
c. Generator potential
d. Postsynaptic potential
c. Generator potential
T/F: A postsynaptic potential is a graded potential that is the result of a neurotransmitter released into the synapse between two neurons
a. True
An inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) is associated with ______.
a. A change in sodium ion permeability
b. Opening of voltage-regulated channels
c. Lowering the threshold for an action potential to occur
d. Hyperpolarization
d. Hyperpolarization
Which neurotransmitter(s) is/are the body’s natural pain killer?
a. Acetylcholine
b. Endorphins
c. Substance P
d. Norepinephrine
b. Endorphins
Which of the following is not used to classify sensory receptors?
a. Location
b. The type of stimulus they detect
c. The number of dendritic endings present
d. Structural complexity
c. The number of dendritic endings present
Which of the following is not an example of an exteroreceptor?
a. Temperature
b. Touch
c. Pain
d. Pressure
e. Baroreceptor
e. Baroreceptor
Potentially damaging stimuli that result in pain are selectively detected by _______.
a. Photoreceptors
b. Nociceptors
c. Interoceptors
d. Proprioceptors
b. Nociceptors
. Transduction refers to conversion of _______.
a. Stimulus information to nerve impulses
b. Receptor energy to stimulus energy
c. Afferent impulses to efferent impulses
d. Presynaptic nerve impulses to postsynaptic nerve impulses
a. Stimulus information to nerve impulses
Pain, temperature, and coarse touch are involved in the _______ ascending pathways of the
somatosensory system
a. Spinothalamic
The ______ nerve is not a branch of the trigeminal nerve.
a. Mandibular
b. Maxillary
c. Cervical
d. Opthalamic
c. Cervical
Somatic reflexes activate:
a. Glands
b. Cardiac muscle
c. Skeletal muscle
d. Smooth muscle
c. Skeletal muscle
The knee-jerk reflex is an example of a:
a. Flexor reflex
b. Stretch reflex
c. Golgi tendon reflex
d. Superficial reflex
b. Stretch reflex
T/F: Dermatomes are skin segments that relate to sensory innervation regions of the spinal
nerves.
a. True
Which reflex is important for maintaining muscle tone?
a. Crosses-extensor reflex
b. Flexor reflex
c. Stretch reflex
d. Golgi tendon reflex
c. Stretch reflex
Which of the following types of neurons carries impulses away from the CNS?
a. Motor
b. Association
c. Sensory
d. Afferent
a. Motor
Which of the following is not a functional classification of neurons?
a. Extraneurons
b. Efferent
c. Sensory
d. Interneurons
a. Extraneurons
. Which part of the neuron is responsible for generating a nerve impulse?
a. Axon
b. Dendrite
c. Soma
d. Nissl substance
a. Axon
The period after an initial stimulus when a neuron is not sensitive to another stimulus if the
_____.
a. Resting period
b. Depolarization
c. Absolute refractory period
d. Repolarization
c. Absolute refractory period
Which ion channel opens in response to a change in membrane potential and participates in the
generation and conduction of action potentials?
a. Mechanically gated channel
b. Voltage-gated channel
c. Ligand-gated channel
d. Leakage channel
b. Voltage-gated channel
. ____ potentials are short-lived, local changes in membrane potential that can be either
depolarized or hyperpolarized.
a. Graded
Which of the following is an excitatory neurotransmitter secreted by motor neurons innervating
skeletal muscle?
a. Norepinephrine
b. Cholinesterase
c. Gamma aminobutyric acid
d. Acetylcholine
d. Acetylcholine
Which of the following areas of the brain is responsible for spatial discrimination?
a. Primary somatosensory cortex
b. Gustatory cortex
c. Vestibular cortex
d. Broca’s area
a. Primary somatosensory cortex
Which part of the brain is the gateway to the cerebral cortex?
a. Pons
b. Mesencephalon
c. Thalamus
d. Hypothalamus
c. Thalamus
The primary auditory cortex is located in the ________.
a. Parietal lobe
b. Temporal lobe
c. Prefrontal lobe
d. Frontal lobe
b. Temporal lobe
The central sulcus separates which lobes?
a. Temporal from parietal
b. Parietal from occipital
c. Frontal from temporal
d. Frontal from parietal
d. Frontal from parietal
T/F: The primary visual cortex contains a map of visual space
t
T/F: Sorting of sensory information and relaying it to the appropriate cerebral sensory area
occurs in the hypothalamus.
f
The anteriolateral pathways ________.
a. Receive inputs from a single type of sensory receptor
b. Are involved in the emotional aspects of perception
c. Are evolutionarily newer than the specific pathways
d. Are also called the lemniscal system
b. Are involved in the emotional aspects of perception
Sensory neurons enter the spinal cord via the _______ horn.
a. Dorsal
T/F: Most of the ascending and descending pathways to and from the brain cross over from one
side of the body to the other.
T
The major function of the conjunctiva is to:
a. Produce mucus to prevent the eyes from drying out
b. Produce sweat to cool the eyelids
c. Produce tears to lubricate the eyes
d. Lubricate the eyelids so they do not stick together
a. Produce mucus to prevent the eyes from drying out
. Which of the following is a characteristic of the lens?
a. The lens of the human eye has a concave shape
b. The lens is vascularized
c. The lens focuses light on the retina
d. In a healthy eye, the lens will be opaque
c. The lens focuses light on the retina
The receptors for smell are activated when:
a. Olfactory cilia move mucus over the receptors
b. The olfactory tracts transduce signals to the hypothalamus
c. Mitral cells relay signals to the olfactory bulbs
d. Dissolved odorants bind to the receptors in the cilium membranes
d. Dissolved odorants bind to the receptors in the cilium membranes
Which structure in the eye provides nutrition to all eye layers?
a. Vitreous humour
b. Cornea
c. Choroid
d. Ciliary body
c. Choroid
Even though we have two eyes, why do we normally see only one image?
a. Information from each eye goes to both hemispheres for processing
b. One eye processes close images; the other eye processes images at a distance
c. Only the dominant eye (which corresponds to the dominant hand) is used in vision
d. Only one eye views an image at a time
a. Information from each eye goes to both hemispheres for processing
Seventy percent of all sensory receptors are located in the _______.
a. Eye
b. Skin
c. Nose
d. Ears
a. Eye
The first “way station” in the visual pathway from the eye, after there has been partial crossover
of the fibres in the optic chiasma, is the _______.
a. Temporal lobe
b. Lateral geniculate body of the thalamus
c. Superior colliculi
d. Visual cortex
b. Lateral geniculate body of the thalamus
Nerve fibres from the medial aspect of each eye ______.
a. Pass posteriorly without crossing over at the chiasma
b. Cross over to the opposite side at the chiasma
c. Divide at the chiasma, with some crossing and some not crossing
d. Go to the superior colliculus only
b. Cross over to the opposite side at the chiasma
Visual inputs to the ______ serve to synchronize biorhythms with natural light and dark.
a. Superior colliculi
b. Suprachiasmatic nucleus
c. Lateral geniculate body
d. Pretectal nuclei
b. Suprachiasmatic nucleus
The ____ are in the visual pathway and mediate the pupillary light reflexe
a. Prectectal nuclei
T/F: The bending of light rays is called reflection.
f
Which of the following is not a requirement for something to be tasted?
a. The tastant must dissolved in saliva
b. The tastant must contact the basal cells of the taste buds
c. The tastant must diffuse into a taste pore
d. The tastant must contact gustatory hairs
b. The tastant must contact the basal cells of the taste buds
The boundary between the external and middle ear is the:
a. Mastoid antrum
b. External acoustic meatus
c. Vestibule
d. Tympanic membrane
d. Tympanic membrane
Which of the following is the basic taste quality responsible for a “beef taste?”
a. Bitter
b. Umami
c. Sweet
d. Sour
b. Umami
Which of the following types of neurons are replace throughout adult life?
a. Auditory outer and inner hair cells
b. Retinal ganglion cells
c. Olfactory receptor cells
d. Retinal bipolar cells
c. Olfactory receptor cells
Olfactory cells and taste buds are normally stimulated by _______.
a. The movement of otoliths
b. Substances in solution
c. Stretching of the receptor cells
d. Movement of a cupula
b. Substances in solution
. T/F: Each olfactory cortical neuron receives input from one receptor at a time.
f
. There are _____ auditory ossicles in the ear.
a. Two
b. Three
c. Five
d. Four
b. Three
The receptor organ for hearing is the ______.
a. Crista ampullaris
b. Spiral organ of Corti
c. Modiolus
d. Oval window
b. Spiral organ of Corti
Which of the following is true of receptors for dynamic equilibrium?
a. The receptors for dynamic equilibrium are called maculae
b. The receptors for dynamic equilibrium respond to rotation forces
c. The receptors for dynamic equilibrium are not stimulated by head movement
d. The receptors for dynamic equilibrium are located in the vestibule of the ear
b. The receptors for dynamic equilibrium respond to rotation forces
Which ear ossicle connects to the inner ear?
a. Malleus
b. Anvil
c. Incus
d. Stapes
d. Stapes
The receptor for static equilibrium is the ______.
a. Cochlear duct
b. Semicircular canals
c. Utricle
d. Macula
d. Macula
The oval window is connected directly to which passageway?
a. Scala vestibuli
b. Pharyngotympanic tube
c. External acoustic meatus
d. Scala tympani
a. Scala vestibuli
As sound levels increase in the spiral organ (of Corti), ________.
a. Inner hair cells stiffen the basilar membrane
b. Outer hair cells bend the cilia away from the kinocilium
c. Inner hair cells bend the cilia away from the kinocilium
d. Outer hair cells stiffen the basilar membrane
d. Outer hair cells stiffen the basilar membrane