Deck 4: The Nervous System

Question 1

Neural centers controlling vomiting and respiration are found in which of the following?

A) Brain stem
B) Frontal lobe
C) Cerebellum
D) Pituitary gland

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Professor Jordan is an expert in the human nervous system. As his students you were asked to identify the correct term and description, which of the following would you choose?

A) The sympathetic nervous system: effect on the heart rate causes it to decrease.
B) The parasympathetic nervous system: causes the pupil of the eye to dilate.
C) Norepinephrine: a neurotransmitter that may be important to appetite regulation.
D) Acetylcholine: a neurotransmitter that may be important to appetite regulation.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of these is NOT one of the four important regions found in every neuron?

A) Cell body
B) Dendrites
C) Axon
D) Glia

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is responsible for mood, memory, sleep, and cognition?

A) Dopamine
B) Serotonin
C) Norepinephrine
D) GABA

Question 5

The neurotransmitter at the end organ of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system is which of the following?

A) Serotonin
B) Dopamine
C) Norepinephrine
D) GABA

Question 6

Drug molecules must be somewhat lipophilic (soluble in oil) in order to do what?

A) Readily cross the blood-brain barrier.
B) Influence the sympathetic branch.
C) Inhibit firing rates of neurons.
D) Block serotonin synthesis.

Question 7

Cocaine selectively blocks Na+ (sodium) channels, which is the mechanism that leads to which of the following?

A) CNS stimulation.
B) Increased heart rate.
C) Local anesthetic effects.
D) Cocaine dependence.

Question 8

In addition to neurons, what is the other brain cell that is even larger in number?

A) Mitochondria
B) Glia
C) Serotonin
D) Pseudopodia

Question 9

Which of the following is responsible for arousal, attentiveness, wakefulness, and food intake?

A) Dopamine
B) Serotonin
C) Norepinephrine
D) GABA

Question 10

For a drug to be psychoactive its molecules must be capable of doing what?

A) Block serotonin synthesis.
B) Influence the sympathetic branch.
C) Inhibit firing rates of neurons.
D) Passing through the blood-brain barrier.

Question 11

Which term describes the electrical signal transmitted along the axon when a neuron fires?

A) Lipophilic.
B) Polarization.
C) Hyperpolarization.
D) Action potential.

Question 12

What is the process of maintaining our internal environment (temperature, water balance, etc.) within certain limits?

A) The blood-brain barrier
B) Sympathetic
C) Homeostasis
D) Inhibition

Question 13

Which of the following is responsible for reward, pleasure, and perseveration?

A) Dopamine
B) Serotonin
C) Norepinephrine
D) GABA

Question 14

Gated ion channels for sodium and potassium open and close in rapid succession, causing the neuron to depolarize and then repolarize, during each

A) Action potential.
B) Homeostasis.
C) Metabolism.
D) Transporter.

Question 15

What seems to be the major advantage of the benzodiazepines over the barbiturates?

A) Glia
B) Axon
C) Autonomic nervous system
D) Limbic system

Question 16

All of the following describe what is known regarding the idea that glia "outnumber neurons by as much as 50 to one", EXCEPT which one?

A) It was reported by Eric Kandel.
B) This fact appears in the widely used textbook The Principles of Neural Science.
C) This fact has been recently challenged.
D) This fact has been reported in the popular press.

Question 17

The club drug GHB is a close chemical relative of which neurotransmitter?

A) Dopamine.
B) Serotonin.
C) Norepinephrine.
D) GABA.

Question 18

What is located at the base of the brain, is an important link between the brain and the pituitary gland, and is involved in feeding, drinking, temperature regulation, and sexual behaviour?

A) Cerebral cortex
B) Cerebellum
C) Limbic system
D) Hypothalamus

Question 19

Which chemical pathway appears to be important in some types of psychotic behaviour, and in the reinforcing properties of various drugs?

A) Acetylcholine pathway from the nucleus basalis
B) Serotonin pathway from the raphe nuclei
C) Mesolimbic dopamine pathway
D) Glutamate pathway

Question 20

Parkinson's disease produces tremors and muscular rigidity because of damage to which of the following?

A) Acetylcholine neurons in the parasympathetic branch.
B) Dopamine neurons in the basal ganglia.
C) Norepinephrine neurons in the locus ceruleus.
D) The blood-brain barrier.

Question 21

What is the brain imaging technique described in the book that can study where specific chemicals are binding in living humans called?

A) Positron emission tomography (PET)
B) Mass spectroscopy
C) Electron microscopy
D) Electrochemical detection

Question 22

Unlike neurons, glial cells in the brain are purely for support and are incapable of communicating with each other.

Question 23

What have weight control, aggression, impulsivity, and psychological depression all been associated with?

A) Serotonin pathways
B) Endorphins
C) GABA receptors
D) The parasympathetic branch

Question 24

What term describes the specialized structures that recognize neurotransmitter molecules and, when activated, causes a change in the electrical activity of the neuron?

A) Pons
B) Receptors
C) Medulla
D) Autonomic

Question 25

Homeostasis can be loosely translated as "moving and fluid."

Question 26

Information is carried down the axon by ion channels that are responsible for the electrical signal known as an action potential.

Question 27

Which of the following neurotransmitters is found in most regions of the brain and is considered inhibitory?

A) Serotonin
B) Dopamine
C) GABA
D) Norepinephrine

Question 28

The action potential is an electrical signal that is transmitted along the axon when a neuron fires.

Question 29

Which term describes a substance that prevents the effects of a neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic cell?

A) Agonist
B) Antagonist
C) Transporter
D) Precursors

Question 30

Scientists at the University of British Columbia reported that an alcohol extract from the plant "Rhodiola rosea" could assist with which of the following?

A) Paralysis
B) Memory impaired disorders
C) Opioid withdrawal symptoms
D) Parkinson disease

Question 31

The complex branching parts of a neuron that receive information from other neurons are called dendrites.

Question 32

What is the space between two neurons called where the neurotransmitter molecules are released?

A) Transporter
B) Synapse
C) Partition
D) Vesicle

Question 33

Which biochemical theory of behaviour seems to have some overall merit?

A) The monoamine theory of mood.
B) The four humours.
C) Relationship of serotonin levels to personality type.
D) Presence of greater dopamine turnover in alcohol dependency.

Question 34

Which term describes chemicals that are acted on by enzymes to form neurotransmitters?

A) Agonist
B) Antagonist
C) Transporter
D) Precursors

Question 35

For drug molecules to readily cross the blood-brain barrier, they must be somewhat lipophilic (soluble in oil).

Question 36

Which term describes a substance that facilitates or mimics the effects of a neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic cell?

A) Agonist
B) Antagonist
C) Transporter
D) Precursors

Question 37

What are the natural chemicals in the brain that produce effects similar to those of opium-derived drugs called?

A) Amphetamines
B) Depressants
C) Endorphins
D) Ecstasy

Question 38

What is the process called in which enzymes within neurons convert precursors into neurotransmitter molecules?

A) Homeostasis
B) Uptake
C) Depolarization
D) Synthesis

Question 39

Whether the effect of a neurotransmitter is excitatory or inhibitory depends on which of the following?

A) Blood sugar level
B) Type of receptor
C) Rate of synthesis
D) Enzyme actions

Question 40

Drugs can affect neurotransmitter systems in two main ways: either by altering the availability of the neurotransmitter in the synapse, or by doing which of the following?

A) Acting on the blood-brain barrier.
B) Altering hormone levels.
C) Acting directly on the receptors.
D) Increasing blood pressure.

Question 41

Describe the somatic system.

Question 42

In the MRI, radioactively labelled chemical is injected into the bloodstream, and a computerized scanning device then maps out the relative amounts of the chemical in various brain regions.

Question 43

What are the roles of agonist and antagonist drugs?

Question 44

One of the main ways drugs can affect neurotransmitter systems is by cutting off blood flow to a specific brain structure.

Question 45

Many neurotransmitters can be either excitatory or inhibitory, depending on the type of receptor.

Question 46

How did the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates describe behaviour patterns?

Question 47

If Martin was teaching the difference between the sympathetic reaction and parasympathetic reaction of the pupil he would state that dilation is a parasympathetic reaction.

Question 48

How many types of glia cells exist, and what is their overall function?

Question 49

Neural centers controlling vomiting and respiration are found in the mesolimbic dopamine system.

Question 50

The tiny space between two neurons is called a synapse.

Question 51

Describe the action potential.

Question 52

Describe endorphins.

Question 53

What is the function of the blood-brain barrier?

Question 54

The class of chemicals characterized by a single amine group; monoamine neurotransmitters include dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are called monoamine.

Question 55

Describe the peripheral nervous system.

Question 56

Parkinson's disease is caused by damage to serotonin neurons in the raphe nuclei.

Question 57

MRI and PET are two types of neurotransmitter chemicals.

Question 58

Describe the role of serotonin.

Question 59

What is homeostasis?

Question 60

The monoamine theory of mood relates to the treatment of schizophrenia.

Question 61

Describe the structure of a neuron.

Question 62

PET and MRI are two examples of what technology?

Question 63

What are the limitations of brain imaging (fMRI and PET) technology?

Question 64

Drugs can interact with neurotransmitters in two ways. What are they?

Question 65

What does the limbic system consist of and what role does it play in the nervous system?

Question 66

Describe the action potential.

Question 67

What are the steps involved in the life cycle of a neurotransmitter?

Question 68

Describe what is known regarding drug treatments for the vast majority of psychopathologies

Question 69

Describe the differing effects of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system.

Question 70

What are the two important lines of evidence that suggest that homeostatic processes mobilize to counteract some alcohol-related effects?