Deck 42: Neuroscience Ii: Evolution and Function of the Brain and Nervous Systems

Question 1

A nerve net is the type of nervous system that would be found in which of the following organisms?

A) jellyfish
B) cockroach
C) fiddler crab
D) earthworm
E) frog

Answer 1

jellyfish

Question 2

Outside the CNS, groups of neuronal cell bodies that are clustered together to perform basic functions are termed

A) nerve nets.
B) ganglia.
C) nerves.
D) spinal cords.
E) soma.

Answer 2

ganglia.

Question 3

Inside the CNS, groups of neuronal cell bodies that are clustered together to perform basic functions are termed

A) nerve nets.
B) ganglia.
C) nuclei.
D) spinal cords.
E) soma.

Answer 3

nuclei.

Question 4

cephalization refers to the trend for animals with more complex body types to

A) concentrate nervous tissue in the anterior (head) end of the animal.
B) become bilaterally symmetrical.
C) develop a brain with clear divisions between "gray" and "white" matter.
D) develop a segmental organization to the nervous system.
E) concentrate sensory organs in the anterior end of the animal.

Question 5

Which of the following are NOT found in the "gray matter" of the human brain?

A) neuronal soma
B) dendrites
C) unmyelinated axons
D) myelinated axons
E) neuronal soma and dendrites

Question 6

The meninges surrounding the CNS include the

A) dura mater.
B) pia mater.
C) arachnoid mater.
D) All of these choices are correct.

Question 7

The fluid filling the space around the CNS is termed

A) cerebrospinal fluid.
B) interstitial fluid.
C) lymph.
D) blood.
E) arachnoid fluid.

Question 8

The sympathetic nervous system is part of the

A) CNS.
B) autonomic nervous system.
C) somatic nervous system.
D) learning and memory system.
E) limbic system in the brain mediating emotion.

Question 9

The motor division of the PNS in a vertebrate can be divided into

A) the brain and spinal chord.
B) the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
C) the central nervous and sensory systems.
D) the somatic and autonomic systems.
E) muscles and glands.

Question 10

The autonomic nervous system regulates

A) blood pressure.
B) heart contractions.
C) digestive system function.
D) skeletal muscle contractions.
E) All of these answers are correct except "skeletal muscle contractions."

Question 11

The challenges in movement experienced by people with Parkinson disease are due to loss of dopamine-secreting neurons in which of the following areas?

A) medulla oblongata
B) cerebellum
C) thalamus
D) basal nuclei
E) somatosensory cortex

Question 12

Collectively, the amygdala, olfactory bulbs, hippocampus, and parts of the thalamus and hypothalamus are said to form

A) the limbic system.
B) the reticular formation.
C) the basal nuclei.
D) the sympathetic division.
E) the frontal lobe.

Question 13

Which of the following regions is especially important for functions related to emotion such as understanding emotional situations or being able to recognize displays of emotion by other individuals?

A) amygdala
B) hippocampus
C) thalamus
D) pons
E) reticular formation

Question 14

The site of integration for sensory and motor information in humans is the

A) cerebellum.
B) thalamus.
C) basal nuclei.
D) hippocampus.
E) cerebral cortex.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the lobes of the cerebral cortex?

A) frontal
B) parietal
C) occipital
D) temporal
E) basal

Question 16

Humans have a particularly good ability to recognize other individual humans. This ability appears to be mediated by the ____ lobe of the cerebral cortex.

A) frontal
B) parietal
C) occipital
D) temporal
E) thalamic

Question 17

Which of the following is a major neural connection between the right and left hemispheres of the human brain?

A) corpus callosum
B) basal nuclei
C) thalamus
D) reticular formation
E) motor cortex

Question 18

What is significant about the findings from "split brain" patients studied by Roger Sperry and his collaborators?

A) These studies revealed that the right and left hemispheres both function primarily to enable people to understand and produce language.
B) These studies revealed that the right and left hemispheres both function primarily to enable people to describe qualities of objects such as shape and texture.
C) These studies revealed that the left hemisphere functions primarily in understanding and producing language while the right hemisphere functions instead in describing qualities like shape and texture.
D) These studies revealed that the right hemisphere functions primarily in understanding and producing language while the left hemisphere functions instead in describing qualities like shape and texture.

Question 19

The genes microcephalin and ASPM have been implicated in what aspect of human evolution?

A) the evolution of our large frontal cortex
B) the evolution of language
C) the evolution of bipedal locomotion (walking upright)
D) the evolution of an opposable thumb
E) the evolution of mother-infant bonding

Question 20

What, if anything, distinguishes learning from memory?

A) Learning is the process of acquiring new information while memory is the retention of that information over time.
B) Memory is the process of acquiring new information while learning is the retention of that information over time.
C) Both learning and memory are the process of acquiring new information.
D) Both learning and memory are the retention of information over time.
E) Memory does not require prior learning.

Question 21

The process whereby repeated, short stimuli provided to a hippocampal neuron have the effect of strengthening the synapse it makes with other neurons is specifically referred to as

A) long-term potentiation.
B) short-term potentiation.
C) neurotransmission.
D) synaptic reuptake.
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 22

The study of learning has been considerably advanced through studies of the California sea slug Aplysia. Which of the following is NOT a reason Aplysia is well suited to these studies?

A) It has a simple nervous system with only about 20,000 cells.
B) Some of its neurons are very large, enabling the insertion of electrodes for recording.
C) Some of its neurons are very large, enabling the injection of dyes that allowed tracing the paths and connections of these neurons.
D) The large size of some neurons allowed isolation of proteins and mRNAs from these neurons.
E) All of the choices for this question are correct.

Question 23

What behavior did Eric Kandel and his colleagues focus on in their studies of learning in Aplysia?

A) the gill-withdrawal reflex
B) feeding
C) sexual behavior
D) locomotion
E) aggression

Question 24

Which of the following is true about short-term and long-term memory processes?

A) Short-term memory processes act through second messenger systems while long-term memory processes require protein synthesis.
B) Long-term memory processes act through second messenger systems while short-term memory processes require protein synthesis.
C) BOTH short-term and long-term memory processes require protein synthesis.
D) NEITHER short-term nor long-term memory processes require protein synthesis.
E) Invertebrate animals like Aplysia and Drosophila do not show long-term memory processes.

Question 25

Which of the following imaging techniques detects differences in blood flow to particular regions through detection of differences in the relative proportions of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin?

A) X-ray
B) CT scan
C) MRI scan
D) fMRI scan
E) sonogram

Question 26

The development of Alzheimer's disease is associated with deposits of which of the following proteins?

A) b-amyloid
B) protein kinase A
C) myosin
D) hemoglobin
E) cAMP-response-element-binding protein (CREB)

Question 27

You would not expect a protein synthesis inhibitor to block learning processes in the relevant neurons of Aplysia or yourself.

Question 28

Even single stimuli can activate protein kinase A in presynaptic neurons involved in the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia.

Question 29

New neurons do not appear in the brain of adult vertebrate animals.

Question 30

Meningitis is solely a bacterially caused disease.