Deck 9: Sensory Systems

Question 1

The brain's ability to know the location of a somatic or visual stimulus can be enhanced when the receptive fields of sensory neurons in these systems

A) are separate
B) are large
C) All of the choices are correct.
D) overlap

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Every day you are bombarded with countless noises and sounds, often simultaneously. What is interesting is that you often only hear what is important to you and other sounds can get "drowned out". Which part of the sensory integration process is this most similar to?

A) filtering which information passes on
B) relaying incoming sensory information
C) allowing the information to continue as is
D) this is not similar to sensory integration

Answer 2

D

Question 3

When your eyes are exposed to more light, the pupils constrict limiting the amount of light entering the eye, and as a result the photoreceptors in the retina reduce the amplitude of the resulting graded potentials. What is the most likely reason for this response?

A) to reduce exposure of photoreceptors to unnecessary sensory information
B) to maximize visual clarity by selectively choosing which receptors are activated
C) to minimize sensory overload in the visual processing region of the brain
D) to allow the retina to focus on very specific areas that are illuminated

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which type of sensory receptors have connective tissue capsules surrounding the peripheral endings?

A) chemoreceptor
B) mechanoreceptor
C) nociceptor
D) photoreceptor
E) thermoreceptor

Question 5

Baroreceptors in the heart monitor the arterial pressure as blood passes to the rest of the body. Which type of receptor are baroreceptors?

A) chemoreceptor
B) mechanoreceptor
C) nociceptor
D) fluid receptor
E) thermoreceptor

Question 6

Michael is playing football and collides with another player head to head. At first he feels a dull pain in the back of his head and then he starts to see black spots. Which receptors are activated/affected, respectively?

A) chemoreceptor, mechanoreceptor
B) mechanoreceptor, photoreceptor
C) nociceptor, photoreceptor
D) photoreceptor, thermoreceptor

Question 7

Which of the following would be an adequate stimulus for a chemoreceptor?

A) icepack on skin
B) sound levels
C) sodium levels
D) sharp pain

Question 8

The process by which sensory receptors convert a stimulus into a graded potential is known as _____.

Question 9

Which of the following senses does NOT communicate via transduction?

A) hearing
B) smell
C) taste
D) vision
E) All of the choices use transduction.

Question 10

When you detect that the temperature is rising, the sensory receptor is stimulated in the _____ nervous system, and the filtering of this information occurs in the _____ nervous system.

A) central; central
B) central; peripheral
C) peripheral; central
D) peripheral; peripheral

Question 11

In order for sensory input to be consciously perceived, the sensory receptor must be located in the brain.

Question 12

Sharin drank a 30 ounce soda, and now has a very full bladder. Which type of sensory receptor senses the stretch of her full bladder, and what part of sensation processes the information so that she can realize that she needs to go to the bathroom?

A) chemoreceptor, transduction
B) mechanoreceptor, integration
C) mechanoreceptor, transduction
D) mechanoreceptor, generation of action potential

Question 13

Alex develops an inner ear infection that temporarily affects his sense of balance. Which sensory receptor is most likely affected by his infection?

A) chemoreceptor
B) mechanoreceptor
C) nociceptor
D) photoreceptor
E) thermoreceptor

Question 14

All receptor potentials are depolarizing.

Question 15

Sensory receptors can be comprised of the dendrites of sensory neurons, or can be cells that synapse onto sensory neurons.

Question 16

If you hold your breath, carbon dioxide will begin to build up in your blood and creates a desire to breathe. Which type of sensory receptor senses the change in blood carbon dioxide levels?

A) chemoreceptor
B) mechanoreceptor
C) nociceptor
D) photoreceptor
E) thermoreceptor

Question 17

A receptor potential is a type of

A) action potential
B) graded potential
C) postsynaptic potential
D) stimulus

Question 18

Which type of signal is occurring in the dendrites of the encapsulated nerve endings?

A) action potentials
B) neurotransmitter exocytosis
C) postsynaptic potentials
D) receptor potentials

Question 19

What needs to be detected in order for a sensory receptor to be activated?

A) a stimulus
B) a graded potential
C) multiple occurrences of the same event
D) an action potential

Question 20

Sensory receptors activate sensory neurons through the release of neurotransmitter.

Question 21

How is stimulus duration encoded by graded potentials in the nervous system?

A) increased amplitude of graded potentials
B) increased duration of graded potentials
C) increased frequency of graded potentials
D) increased speed of graded potentials

Question 22

Why will you have a greater reaction to having cold water poured all over your back compared to just a few drops of cold water on your arm?

A) Cold water on the back will stimulate a heightened response because it is further away from normal core body temperature.
B) The first example stimulates a larger number of sensory neurons.
C) More sensory neurons exist in your arms and hands than in your back because the former exchange more with the environment.
D) Cold water poured down your back will likely initiate a fight or flight response and cause all of your senses to be heightened, therefore all reactions will be greater in that time.

Question 23

When you are walking on a smooth surface with bare feet and step on a small rock, you notice the rock more than you notice the feeling of a smooth surface. How does stepping on the rock affect the conduction of sensory information to the central nervous system?

A) The raised surface of the rock produces a stronger stimulus that leads to a greater number of action potentials in those sensory neurons.
B) The raised surface of the rock produces a stronger stimulus that leads to a greater amplitude of action potentials in those sensory neurons.
C) The raised surface of the rock produces a stimulus that leads to action potentials in those sensory neurons, while the sensory neurons stimulated by a smooth surface do not respond.
D) All of the sensory neurons in the foot respond equally, but filtering in the central nervous system causes you to notice the rock.

Question 24

If the size of the receptive fields of somatic neurons in the arm increased, would the acuity of sensation in the arm be affected?

A) decreased acuity
B) increased acuity
C) no change in acuity

Question 25

The Venus fly trap is a carnivorous plant that eats insects that land on it and become trapped inside of its jaw-like leaves. The struggling of the insects moves hairs on the plant surface that trigger the trap to close tight. This mechanism is analogous to which type of touch receptor in humans?

A) hair root plexuses
B) Meissner corpuscle
C) Merkel disc
D) Ruffini corpuscle

Question 26

Neurons in sensory pathways that project to the thalamus would be which order of neuron?

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Question 27

When you feel the urge to scratch your leg, which nervous fibers are most likely being stimulated?

A) myelinated C fibers
B) unmyelinated A fibers
C) myelinated A fibers
D) unmyelinated C fibers

Question 28

With a broken bone, pain can be caused if the damaged area is touched or moved. How would bumping an area of skin nearby a broken bone affect the stimulation of the nociceptors in this area?

A) stimulation will be adapted to and pain will no longer be felt
B) stimulation will increase the strength of the action potentials fired
C) stimulation will decrease the intensity of pain felt
D) stimulation will increase the intensity of pain felt

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT an example of sensory acuity?

A) detecting two separate points on your finger as two separate points
B) seeing a faint light in the dark
C) opening your fridge and smelling different types of food
D) hearing a change in pitch of engine sounds as a plane starts to descend

Question 30

What is stimulus modality?

A) acuity of perception
B) degree of two-point discrimination
C) intensity of stimulation
D) type of sensory sensation

Question 31

What type of ion channel is responsible for triggering a response in a second order neuron during the normal flow of sensory information from periphery to CNS?

A) leak channels
B) ligand-gated ion channels
C) mechanically-gated ion channels
D) voltage-gated ion channels

Question 32

How would changing the size of the receptive fields of somatic neurons in the arm increased affect the acuity of sensation?

A) larger receptive fields increase acuity
B) smaller receptive fields increase acuity
C) smaller receptive fields decrease acuity
D) changing receptive field size has no affect on acuity, only the sensitivity of the neuron determines acuity

Question 33

Sensory neurons are examples of which order of neuron?

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Question 34

When a bug lands on your skin you are likely to notice it, but if you don't shoo it off right away you are likely to quickly stop feeling it. What characteristic of sensory perception may best account for this phenomena?

A) rapid adaptation
B) slow adaptation
C) lateral inhibition
D) frequency coding

Question 35

Muscle spindles in your muscles have sensory neurons that detect the amount of stretch experienced by the individual muscle fibers. As you are sitting still reading this question, your brain "knows" the position of your elbow joint by monitoring the action potentials coming from one type of these sensory neurons, what type of sensory neurons are these?

A) tonic receptors
B) phasic receptors
C) acuity receptors
D) modality receptors

Question 36

Two people enter a room, one of them hears a high pitched whine while the other hears nothing. Which of the following is a likely explanation for this difference?

A) the person who hears the sound has been trained to hear more sounds
B) the person who hears the sound has more overlap in their receptive fields for sounds
C) the person who hears the sound has a broader range of receptive fields for sounds
D) the person who hears the sound has larger ears than the other

Question 37

How are changes in stimulus intensity reflected in release of neurotransmitter in synapses along that pathway?

A) changed amount of neurotransmitter released
B) changed duration of neurotransmitter release
C) changed size of neurotransmitter release
D) changed number of types of neurotransmitter released

Question 38

For someone that is consciously experiencing pain, which neurons are directly responsible for the perception of the painful stimulus?

A) first order
B) second order
C) third order
D) fourth order

Question 39

Imagine a finger pressing on the skin activates the receptive fields of two somatic sensory neurons (A and B). The finger exerts the same pressure in both receptive fields, but more of the finger overlaps the receptive field of neuron A. Would there be a difference in the activation of these two neurons?

A) No, both neurons would be activated to the same extent.
B) Yes, neuron A would be activated more than neuron B.
C) Yes, neuron B would be activated more than neuron A.
D) Yes, neuron A would be activated less than neuron B.

Question 40

The axons of sensory neurons project to the cerebral cortex.

Question 41

Doing push-ups often puts large amounts of pressure on your hand that you may not be used to feeling. In addition to holding your own body weight, your hands must sustain the force generated to push your body up from the ground, which compressed and stretches the skin. Which receptors are detecting this increased amount of pressure?

A) Ruffini corpuscles only
B) Merkel discs and Ruffini corpuscles
C) Merkel discs only
D) Meissner corpuscles

Question 42

Second order neurons in pain pathways would have receptors for which neurotransmitters?

A) bradykinin and histamine
B) bradykinin and glutamate
C) glutamate and substance P
D) histamine and substance P

Question 43

The dendrites of olfactory receptor cells are located in the

A) glomeruli
B) olfactory bulb
C) olfactory epithelium
D) olfactory gland

Question 44

Michael is an Iraq War veteran and lost one of his legs during his service to his country. Which of these is a possible explanation for him still being able to feel like his amputated foot itches?

A) it is a figment of his imagination likely caused by PTSD
B) severed C fiber endings still exist in his amputated stump that may have originally existed in his foot
C) severed A fiber endings still exist in his amputated stump that may have originally existed in his foot
D) intact C fiber endings still exist in his amputated stump that may have originally existed in his foot

Question 45

Damage to third order somatosensory neurons would directly prevent transfer of information between which two brain regions, respectively?

A) primary somatosensory cortex to thalamus
B) peripheral somatosensory receptors to medulla
C) primary somatosensory cortex to somatosensory association area
D) thalamus to primary somatosensory cortex

Question 46

A 65 year-old man visits the emergency room due to complaints about tight chest pain and numbness in his left arm. What is a likely cause for this pain, and at which point does this information converge onto the pain pathway for the chest?

A) first order neurons, lung damage
B) third order neurons, heart attack
C) second order neurons, lung damage
D) second order neurons, heart attack

Question 47

You are in line at the grocery store and the cashier tells you that you need to pay $2.34 cents, so you reach into your pocket and count two dimes, two nickels and four pennies before pulling them all out and handing them to the cashier. Which area in your brain allowed you to count the coins correctly without seeing them?

A) primary motor cortex
B) primary somatosensory cortex
C) somatosensory association area
D) secondary somatosensory cortex

Question 48

Thermoreceptors have encapsulated nerve endings.

Question 49

A woman visits the ER because she has been experiencing ongoing neck and shoulder pain and no amount of sleep or therapeutic massages can relieve it. What is the most likely cause of her pain, and what is the type of pain that she is experiencing, respectively?

A) liver damage, referred pain
B) bladder damage, dull pain
C) heart attack, referred pain
D) kidney damage, fast pain

Question 50

Suzanne sees her doctor and complains that she is able to feel the shapes of objects but is having difficulties recognizing objects just based on feel. For example, when she reaches into her backpack, she cannot tell the difference between an apple and a banana. The doctor orders a brain scan. Which area of Suzanne's brain is most likely to show a problem?

A) medulla
B) primary somatosensory cortex
C) somatosensory association area
D) thalamus

Question 51

What type of ion channel is involved in transduction of stimuli in a pacinian corpuscle?

A) leak
B) ligand-gated
C) mechanically-gated
D) voltage-gated

Question 52

Which of the following area(s) of the body lack nociceptors?

A) spinal cord
B) bone
C) liver
D) muscle

Question 53

Alain has an accident that damages somatosensory receptors in his right leg. As a result, he would have reduced activity in somatosensory neurons in the

A) left dorsal column, left primary somatosensory cortex
B) left dorsal column, right primary somatosensory cortex
C) right dorsal column, left primary somatosensory cortex
D) right dorsal column, right primary somatosensory cortex

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT an example of an endogenous analgesic?

A) bradykinin
B) dynorphin
C) enkephalin
D) endorphin

Question 55

Melissa develops a cyst in her spinal cord that damages her dorsal column pathway. This would alter Melissa's ability to perceive all of the following sensations, EXCEPT

A) proprioception
B) temperature
C) touch
D) vibration

Question 56

A patient complains of loss of sensation in her right hand. An examination shows that she is unable to sense touch, vibration, finger position, heat or pain. A brain scan shows that the patient has a tumor in the _____ cerebral cortex.

Question 57

Phantom limb syndrome is a condition in which patients who have lost a body part, for example a limb, experience sensation in the missing limb. This condition appears to be due to reorganization and rewiring in the brain so that sensations are localized to the missing body part. Which part of the brain is most likely being reorganized?

A) medulla
B) primary somatosensory cortex
C) somatosensory association area
D) primary motor cortex

Question 58

Transient receptor potential channels can transduce temperature, pain and gustatory stimuli.

Question 59

Which receptors underlie sensations of vibration?

A) Merkel discs
B) Meissner and pacinian corpuscles
C) Meissner and Ruffini corpuscles
D) hair root plexuses and Ruffini corpuscles

Question 60

Fast pain is transmitted by sensory neurons with what type of fibers?

A) A-alpha
B) A-delta
C) B
D) C

Question 61

Which type of cell can divide to produce new olfactory receptor cells?

A) basal
B) mitral
C) receptor
D) supporting

Question 62

Activation of which type of taste receptors involves metabotropic receptors?

A) bitter, salty, and sweet
B) bitter, sweet, and umami
C) sour and sweet
D) salty and sour

Question 63

The famous American dish "Surf and Turf" includes a steak (the turf) and side of lobster or crab (the surf). Eating these two portions alone will MOST likely activate which taste?

A) umami
B) sour
C) sweet
D) bitter

Question 64

Molecules that bind to olfactory receptor proteins are known as _____ molecules.

Question 65

Olfactory information is the only sensory information that can project directly to the cerebral cortex without being relayed through the thalamus.

Question 66

Sweet taste is triggered by which of the following?

A) sucrose
B) glutamate
C) sodium
D) acid

Question 67

Phosphodiesterases (PDE's) are naturally produced enzymes that degrade cAMP inside of the cytosol of cells. Some pharmaceuticals are PDE inhibitors. How would these drugs affect your sense of smell?

A) they would decrease cAMP levels and thereby strengthen your sense of smell
B) they would decrease cAMP levels and thereby weaken your sense of smell
C) they would increase cAMP levels and thereby weaken your sense of smell
D) they would increase cAMP levels and thereby strengthen you sense of smell

Question 68

Which type of cell of the olfactory epithelium helps prevent against airborne pathogens?

A) basal
B) mitral
C) receptor
D) supporting

Question 69

Gustatory receptor cells are

A) non-neural cells that synapse onto neurons
B) neurons that project to the CNS
C) non-neural cells that synapse onto other non-neural cells
D) neurons that synapse on to other neurons in the taste buds

Question 70

When an odorant molecule binds to a receptor protein, what type of signaling pathway is activated?

A) Ca⁺⁺
B) cAMP
C) cGMP
D) IP₃

Question 71

Transduction of taste occurs when tastants bind to first-order taste neurons.

Question 72

Kelly has a rare disease that inhibits the normal maturation of mitral cells. This disease will affect her sense of smell because it prevents communication

A) between olfactory receptor cells and the spinal cord
B) between the olfactory bulbs and the cortex of the brain
C) between interneurons and the cortex of the brain
D) within the hindbrain and the rest of the olfactory pathway

Question 73

The photopigment that absorbs light in rod photoreceptors is known as _____.

Question 74

You walk into your house and smell a weak, foul odor. You walk from room to room and the odor becomes stronger, until eventually it becomes extremely powerful and you find a sandwich you had dropped behind the couch that had rotted. Which of the following are occurring in your olfactory receptor cells as you search out the source of the odor?

A) larger hyperpolarizing receptor potential
B) larger depolarizing receptor potential
C) decreased levels of cAMP
D) increased amplitude of action potentials

Question 75

When you walk into a theater room there is a small, dark hallway that you must pass through before you enter into the auditorium and see the large screen with the movie projected onto it. Determine which photoreceptors are primarily activated in each case, respectively.

A) rods, rods
B) cones, rods
C) rods, rods and cones
D) bipolar cells, rods

Question 76

What is the order of cell layers in the retina, starting from the pigmented layer?

A) bipolar, ganglion, photoreceptor
B) ganglion, bipolar, photoreceptor
C) photoreceptor, ganglion, bipolar
D) photoreceptor, bipolar, ganglion

Question 77

When you eat a spoon of sugar, what type of signaling pathway is activated?

A) retinoic acid
B) substance P
C) cGMP
D) phospholipase C

Question 78

IP₃ leads to a receptor potential in some gustatory neurons due to opening of what type of channel?

A) ligand-gated
B) mechanically-gated
C) metabotropic
D) voltage-gated

Question 79

Olfactory transduction involves binding of an odorant molecule to a receptor protein that in turn activates the G_olf protein.

Question 80

Second-order taste neurons originate in the _____ and travel to the _____.