Question 1

GABAB receptors are unusual because

Accepted Answer

A)  they require glycine as a co-agonist. 
B)  they are metabotropic but are composed of subunits. 
C)  they simultaneously enhance Na+ channel opening and inhibit cAMP. 
D)  they act as autoreceptors. B

Question 2

Why is it difficult to assign specific functional roles to glutamate, relative to other neurotransmitters?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because it is found throughout the brain 
B)  Because it has very limited activity except in particular neural pathways 
C)  Because its inhibitory action on the cortex makes it difficult to interpret 
D)  Because it is not found in cortical neurons A

Question 3

What evidence does not support the role of NMDA receptors in learning and memory?

Accepted Answer

A)  NMDA receptor antagonists disrupt the acquisition of spatial learning tasks. 
B)  There are many NMDA receptors found in the hippocampus. 
C)  CX717 enhances cognitive function. 
D)  Doogie mice that overexpress the NR2B subunit show enhanced LTP. C

Question 4

Chronic treatment with ampakine (CX929) to "middle-age" rats

Accepted Answer

A)  increased their body weight by 25% relative to same aged controls. 
B)  enhanced dendritic growth of their hippocampal CA1 neurons relative to same-aged controls. 
C)  reduced the number of dendritic spines of hippocampal CA1 neurons relative to same-aged controls. 
D)  had no effect on dendrites relative to controls.

Question 5

The best current treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) works on which neurotransmitter system (and thus suggests its' involvement)?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

The fly agaric mushroom produces all of the following effects except

Accepted Answer

A)  macroscopia. 
B)  hypothermia. 
C)  anorexia. 
D)  hallucinations.

Question 7

Which statement about ischemia is false?

Accepted Answer

A)  It involves a massive decrease in glutamate release. 
B)  It can result from a stroke or a heart attack. 
C)  It involves disruption of blood flow and oxygen to tissue. 
D)  It may be treated with glycine antagonists.

Question 8

Which statement about GABA is false?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is found in many local interneurons. 
B)  It is found in projection neurons carrying inhibitory information. 
C)  It is found in Purkinje cells of the cerebellar cortex. 
D)  It is found only in subcortical locations.

Question 9

Which statement about ampakines is false?

Accepted Answer

A)  They may reduce the rate of AMPA receptor desensitization. 
B)  They enhance the action of glutamate at AMPA receptors. 
C)  They replace glutamate at its binding site on the AMPA receptor. 
D)  They improve performance in the DMS task.

Question 10

The excitotoxicity hypothesis states that

Accepted Answer

A)  repeated stimulation of neurons is the basis for learning and memory. 
B)  tetanic stimulation of the presynaptic neuron can produce LTP in the recipient cell. 
C)  overexposure to excitatory amino acid transmitters can result in depolarization and cell death. 
D)  glutamate and aspartate play a critical role in the action of drugs like PCP.

Question 11

The presence of vesicular glutamate transporters and vesicular monoamine transporters in the same neurons suggests that

Accepted Answer

A)  cells that contain a lot of glutamate must store it in multiple types of vesicles. 
B)  glutamate can be co-released as a neurotransmitter along with dopamine or serotonin. 
C)  vesicular transporters are not selective. 
D)  gene expression has gone wrong in these neurons.

Question 12

Briefly describe how data from a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) supports the role of the glutamate system.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly describe how data from a mouse...

Question 13

The classic GABAA agonist _______ and the noncompetitive GABAA antagonist _______ both come from plants.

Accepted Answer

A)  muscimol; picrotoxin 
B)  muscimol; pentylenetetrazol 
C)  baclofen; picrotoxin 
D)  bicuculline; baclofen

Question 14

Excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs)

Accepted Answer

A)  may be defective in the disorder ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. 
B)  are found on vesicle membranes in astrocytes and neurons. 
C)  are found almost exclusively on neurons in the CNS. 
D)  come in two different varieties, EAAT1 and EAAT2.

Exam 7: Glutamate and GABA

GABA_B receptors are unusual because