Research Methods in Pharmacology

Question 1

scientific method

Answer 1

observation - generate question - form hypotheses - generate predictions - perfomr experiments - observations - refine hypotheses - generate predictions

Question 2

in vivo

Answer 2

analyses performed in a living organism

Question 3

in vitro

Answer 3

in glass, analyses performed in test tube

Question 4

ex vivo

Answer 4

analyses performed in live tissue removed from an organism

Question 5

in situ

Answer 5

analyses performed in context to living tissue but typically after dissection

Question 6

Stereotaxic surgery

Answer 6

Apparatus for specific positioning of instruments/syringe into the brain

Question 7

Microdialysis

Answer 7

Technique for collecting fluid from a live and awake animal – analysis of neurotransmitter levels, signalling molecules, drugs, etc in vivo

Question 8

Chromatography

Answer 8

Chromatographic techniques separate molecules based on their size, charge, relative polarity, or specific interactions

Question 9

Analytes proteins

Answer 9

column chromatography (size exclusion, cation/anion exchange, affinity)

Question 10

Analytes Proteins/peptides

Answer 10

high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) often coupled to mass spectroscopy (HPLC-MS)

Question 11

Analytes Neurotransmitters

Answer 11

– HPLC, gas chromatography (GC)

Question 12

Analytes Drugs

Answer 12

HPLC, GC, thin layer chromatography (TLC)

Question 13

Electrophysiological recording

Answer 13

A variety of techniques for measuring electrical activity in organisms, tissues, or cells

Question 14

Electrophysiological recording beneficial in

Answer 14

in vivo, ex vivo, or in vitro

Question 15

In vivo electrical recordings

Answer 15

Implantable electrodes connected to an external recorder
Can measure activity in specific regions during normal behaviour
Typically measure field activity (relatively large number of neurons)

Question 16

Intracellular recording

Answer 16

Measures activity across the membrane of a single cell

Question 17

Immunohistochemistry

Answer 17

the detection of proteins in tissue

Question 18

Immunocytochemistry

Answer 18

the detection of proteins in cells (typically cells cultured in vitro)

Question 19

Confocal microscopy

Answer 19

Specialized technique used in fluorescence microscopy to filter out-of-plane light

Question 20

2-Photon microscopy

Answer 20

Uses infrared lasers (700-900 nm) to image living tissue

Question 21

Magnetic resonance imaging

Answer 21

uses the phenomenon of nuclear magnetic resonance to generate structural images of living tissue

Question 22

Positron Emission Tomography

Answer 22

Uses positron-emitting radiotracers to analyze brain receptors or metabolism
Radioligands for specific receptors can

Question 23

Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography

Answer 23

Uses gamma-emitting radiotracers to analyze brain blood flow

Question 24

fMRI is used to

Answer 24

measure functional connectivity by correlating changes in activity during tasks between regions (fcMRI)

Question 25

Structural connectivity is established using

Answer 25

DTI

Question 26

Optogenetics

Answer 26

Expression of opsins can be used to non-invasively stimulate or inhibit neuronal function in vivo

Question 27

Construct validity

Answer 27

Similarity between the methods by which the models is induced and the etiology of disease

Question 28

Predictive validity

Answer 28

Utility of the model to predict drug effects

Question 29

Face validity

Answer 29

Ability of the model to recreate key features of a disease

Question 30

Morris water maze tests

Answer 30

spatial memory