Deck 8: General Principles of Sensory Processing, Touch, and Pain

Question 1

Some species of fish are sensitive to

A) the moon's gravity.
B) radio-frequency signals.
C) electrical fields.
D) GPS signals.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Receptors that are sensitive to ultraviolet light are found in

A) rats.
B) bees.
C) snakes.
D) humans.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The term "adequate stimulus" refers to

A) the type of stimulus for which a given sensory system is particularly adapted.
B) the lowest level of a stimulus that elicits a response.
C) a highly reliable stimulus.
D) None of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which animal has eyes specialized for nocturnal foraging?

A) Tarsier
B) Bald eagle
C) Sparrow
D) Chameleon

Question 5

The doctrine of specific nerve energies is especially associated with

A) Thomas Woolsey.
B) Johannes Müller.
C) Hermann von Helmholtz.
D) Ronald Melzack.

Question 6

Most sensory fibers do not fire more than

A) 10 impulses per second.
B) 1200 impulses per minute.
C) 1200 impulses per second.
D) once per second.

Question 7

The brain can differentiate between each sensory modality because

A) the action potentials, sent along the same nerve tracts, get sorted by the thalamus.
B) the action potentials for each one is sent along separate nerve tracts.
C) each sense uses different neurotransmitters.
D) each sensory input, passing through the same lines, triggers action potentials in a different pattern.

Question 8

Refer to the figure.
Which letter indicates the location of a receptor that would tell this person that the coffee in the mug is too hot.

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Question 9

Refer to the figure.
Which letter indicates the location of a receptor that would provide the signal to this person that she is holding a mug in her hand?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Question 10

The generator potential produced by a Pacinian corpuscle in response to mechanical stimulation is

A) all-or-none.
B) hyperpolarizing.
C) proportional to the stimulus intensity.
D) All of the above

Question 11

Sensory transduction is the process by which

A) electrical responses are converted into movement.
B) energy is converted into a change in membrane potential.
C) adaptive responses are produced.
D) one type of sensory stimulus is converted into a different type of sensory stimulus.

Question 12

Which statement(s) about the Pacinian corpuscle is(are) true?

A) It is found in skin.
B) It is found in muscle.
C) Vibration causes it to excite afferent nerves by opening sodium channels.
D) All of the above

Question 13

The translation of stimulus energy into nerve cell impulses is called

A) filtration.
B) coding.
C) masking.
D) analgesia.

Question 14

Adaptation to sustained stimulation is characteristic of _______ receptors, but not _______ receptors.

A) tonic; phasic
B) phasic; tonic
C) tonic; excitatory
D) phasic; excitatory

Question 15

The evolutionary advantage of sensory adaptation is that it

A) prevents fatigue of sensory receptors.
B) allows people to attend to the constant excitation of the hairs on the skin by clothing.
C) prevents the nervous system from being overwhelmed by stimuli that offer very little news about the world.
D) allows the human brain to reassign sensory cortex if a limb is lost.

Question 16

According to the range fractionation hypothesis,

A) multiple sensory cells respond to exactly the same range of stimulus energies.
B) specific nerve cells can act as specialists in particular segments of an intensity scale.
C) multiple nerve cells in a particular sensory system have approximately the same thresholds.
D) a large group of nerve cells can only respond to a small range of stimulus intensities.

Question 17

The stimulation of a particular patch of a cat's pelt causes the contraction of the underlying muscle. If stimulation of that area causes the muscle to contract constantly until the stimulus is removed, this response is mediated by _______ receptors.

A) photic
B) phasic
C) tonic
D) clonic

Question 18

The progressive loss of sensitivity of a sensory receptor as a consequence of sustained stimulation is known as

A) specific nerve energy.
B) tonic reception.
C) labeled lines.
D) adaptation.

Question 19

What percent of the general population is estimated to have some form of synesthesia?

A) Less than 1%
B) 2%‒4%
C) 10%‒20%
D) 30%‒40%

Question 20

For most senses, the sensory pathway

A) goes directly to its designated area of cortex.
B) ends at the spinal cord.
C) passes through the temporal cortex.
D) passes through the thalamus.

Question 21

Which region has been implicated in attention?

A) Occipital cortex
B) Cingulate cortex
C) Frontal cortex
D) Primary motor cortex

Question 22

Cortical neurons that respond to information from more than one sensory modality are known as

A) association cortex neurons.
B) Betz cells.
C) hypercomplex cells.
D) polymodal cells.

Question 23

Which region appears to be involved in the process of attention?

A) Posterior parietal lobe
B) Primary visual cortex
C) Cerebellar cortex
D) Temporal lobe

Question 24

A monkey is trained to expect a see a circle whenever a computer screen is blue. Which part of the cortex would most likely become active when the monkey is shown a blue screen without a shape?

A) Orbitofrontal
B) Inferotemporal
C) Posterior parietal
D) Posterior cingulate

Question 25

Which portion of the body is represented most medially in the somatosensory cortex?

A) Hand
B) Lip
C) Thumb
D) Leg

Question 26

The representation of the human body in the somatosensory cortex especially emphasizes the

A) trunk of the body.
B) legs and arms.
C) midline structures of the body.
D) hands and lips.

Question 27

Which of the following body parts are not highly represented on the sensory homunculus?

A) Genitals
B) Lips
C) Fingers
D) Thighs

Question 28

Which skin receptors are especially sensitive to stretching of the skin?

A) Ruffini's endings
B) Pacinian corpuscles
C) Merkel's discs
D) Meissner's corpuscles

Question 29

The threshold of mechanical stimuli that will stimulate a fast-adapting Meissner's corpuscle is

A) very light touch.
B) very fine touch.
C) highly variable.
D) intermediate.

Question 30

The receptive fields of _______ are large and have vague borders.

A) free nerve endings
B) Pacinian corpuscles
C) Merkel's discs
D) Meissner's corpuscles

Question 31

Which receptors are fast-adapting?

A) Meissner's and Pacinian corpuscles
B) Meissner's corpuscles and Merkel's discs
C) Merkel's discs and Ruffini's endings
D) Ruffini's endings and Pacinian corpuscles

Question 32

The receptive fields associated with Merkel's discs

A) have an inhibitory surround.
B) are large with vague borders.
C) are fast-adapting.
D) have an excitatory surround.

Question 33

Refer to the figure.
What is the receptor labeled A on this figure, and what type of senses are detected by this receptor?

A) Ruffini's endings; stretch
B) Ruffini's endings; vibration
C) Pacinian corpuscle; vibration
D) Pacinian corpuscle; stretch

Question 34

You have managed to isolate and knock out the gene that controls the myelination of nerve fibers. This will cause the loss of most sensory functions except which of the following?

A) Touch
B) Temperature
C) Itch
D) b & c

Question 35

_______ nerve fibers conduct sensory information from which type of receptor types?

A) Aβ; Merkel's disc
B) Aα; Pacinian corpuscles.
C) Aβ; Free nerve endings
D) Aµ; Merkel's disc

Question 36

Skin stretching is detected by this type of receptor which has what type of receptive fields?

A) Pacinian corpuscle; Large, vague borders
B) Ruffini's ending; Large, vague borders
C) Merkel's discs; Small, sharp borders
D) Meissner's corpuscle; Small, sharp borders

Question 37

Refer to the figure.
This figure shows _______, which are involved with _______ touch.

A) Meissner's corpuscles; light
B) Ruffini's ending; fine
C) Merkel's discs; fine
D) Pacinian corpuscles; vague

Question 38

Receptors in the skin that have small, sharp borders are _______ and _______.

A) Merkel's discs; Meissner's corpuscles
B) Ruffini's endings; Meissner's corpuscles
C) Pacinian corpuscles; Merkel's discs
D) Ruffini's endings; Pacinian corpuscles.

Question 39

Touch receptors such as Meissner's corpuscles deliver information to the central nervous system rapidly via _______ fibers.

A) A
B) C
C) A
D) A

Question 40

The smallest diameter fibers linking receptors to the central nervous system are _______ fibers, which convey temperature, pain, and itching sensations.

A) A
B) A
C) A
D) C

Question 41

The dorsal column system crosses to the contralateral side of the nervous system at the level of the

A) spinal cord.
B) thalamus.
C) cerebral cortex.
D) medulla.

Question 42

Pain perception is adaptive because it triggers

A) emotional withdrawal.
B) an inflammatory response.
C) behavior that removes the animal from the stimulus.
D) inactivity.

Question 43

A dermatome

A) overlaps with other dermatomes.
B) is innervated by multiple spinal nerves.
C) is innervated by peripheral nerves and does not overlap with other dermatomes.
D) is an area on the skin that sends input to the same dorsal root of the spinal cord as other dermatomes.

Question 44

Which statement about sensory cortical maps is true?

A) Cortical maps can change with an animal's experience and training only at early ages.
B) Plasticity of cortical maps is found in only a few mammals.
C) Plasticity of cortical maps may arise from changes in the strength of existing synapses or the formation or loss of synapses.
D) If a body part is surgically removed, its designated area of the cortical map will remain.

Question 45

Observations of pain-related behavior in both humans and nonhuman animals have led Dennis and Melzack to conclude that pain

A) is inversely correlated with survival.
B) leads only to discomfort and should be aggressively prevented.
C) provokes adaptive behavior that minimizes injury and promotes healing.
D) elicits aggression from conspecifics.

Question 46

Human pain may be quantified using the _______, which assesses three aspects of pain experience.

A) McGill Pain Questionnaire
B) Samson Agonists Questionnaire
C) Stress Reaction Inventory
D) Ohio Universal Comfort History

Question 47

Refer to the figure.
What is the name of the cell indicated by the label A? What chemical is secreted by this cell at the site of a skin injury?

A) Mast cell; histamine
B) Mast cell; glutamate
C) Ganglion; histamine
D) Ganglion; glutamate

Question 48

Information about pain and temperature transmitted by the _______ system crosses the nervous system at the level of the spinal cord.

A) glutamate
B) anterothalamic
C) medulla
D) anterolateral system

Question 49

Mice lacking the gene for TRPV1 respond to _______ but not to _______.

A) light touch; mechanosensory pain
B) mildly painful stimuli; extremely painful stimuli
C) mechanosensory pain; heat
D) auditory stimuli; visual stimuli

Question 50

Which substance is not important in mediating pain perception?

A) Histamine
B) Substance P
C) Serotonin
D) Natriuretic polypeptide B

Question 51

The P in "substance P" stands for

A) pain.
B) peptide.
C) peripheral.
D) polysynaptic.

Question 52

Knockout mice that lack either the gene for the precursor for substance P or the gene for the substance P receptor exhibit

A) total insensitivity to pain stimuli.
B) insensitivity to mildly painful stimuli but normal responses to intensely painful stimuli.
C) insensitivity to intensely painful stimuli but normal responses to mildly painful stimuli.
D) exaggerated responses to mildly painful stimuli.

Question 53

Pain-induced release of substance P in the dorsal horns of the spinal cord causes

A) remodeling of presynaptic axons, perhaps blocking subsequent pain signals.
B) remodeling of dendrites, perhaps altering later pain perception.
C) increased production of acetylcholine receptors, which improves pain suppression by the brain.
D) reduction of endogenous opiate secretion, which allows important pain stimuli to reach the brain.

Question 54

Afferent fibers from the periphery carry nociceptive information to the dorsal horn neurons, whose axons immediately

A) ascend to the brainstem where pain information crosses the midline before synapsing in the thalamus.
B) cross the midline and then ascend.
C) directly stimulate the cingulate cortex.
D) cross the midline and terminate in the midbrain, which them mediates vocalizations, perception, and other pain-related behaviors.

Question 55

The two systems that provide us with the itch sensation use

A) CMR1 receptors.
B) TRPV1 receptors.
C) Na_v1.7 channels.
D) TRPM3 receptors

Question 56

The receptors through which capsaicin exerts its effects are

A) responsive to sudden increases in temperature.
B) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
C) opiate receptors.
D) TRPM3 receptors.

Question 57

You eat a new kind of food and find that your mouth is burning. This painful sensation is most likely mediated by

A) vanilloid receptor 1.
B) habanero receptors.
C) substance P receptors.
D) serotonin receptors.

Question 58

Phantom limb pain is an example of _______ pain.

A) neuropathic
B) psychosomatic
C) intractable
D) naturopathic

Question 59

The emotional pain associated with social rejection activates the

A) posterior parietal cortex.
B) anterior cingulate cortex.
C) postcentral gyrus.
D) anterior parietal cortex.

Question 60

The functional difference between grasshopper mice and laboratory mice is

A) that the scorpion toxin opens Na_v1.7 channels only in laboratory mice.
B) the presence of a mutated Na_v1.7 channel in grasshopper mice.
C) the presence of Na_v1.8 channels in grasshopper mice.
D) the presence of a mutated Na_v1.8 channel in grasshopper mice.

Question 61

Grasshopper mice _______ and laboratory mice _______ in response to the scorpion toxin.

A) probably feels the initial sting; feel a long slow burn
B) probably are immune to all pain; feel only the initial sting
C) have Na_v1.8 channels that open; have Na_v1.8 that are blocked
D) experience sustained firing of nociceptors; also experience sustained firing of nociceptors

Question 62

Evidence indicates that

A) social hurt activates different regions of the brain.
B) only extreme emotional sadness activates pain centers in the brain.
C) social hurt and physical pain activate the same regions of the brain.
D) social rejection affects different brain centers than physical pain and is alleviated by placebos.

Question 63

Analgesics that act on the _______ opioid receptor are more effective in men than in women.

A) 
B) 
C) 
D) 

Question 64

An analgesic drug that is found to work better in redheaded women than blond women probably works on the _______ opiate receptor.

A) 
B) 
C) 
D) 

Question 65

Small doses of opiates can be delivered directly to the spinal cord via a(n) _______ injection just outside of the spinal cord's dura mater or via a(n) _______ injection between the dura mater and spinal cord.

A) intradural; intrathecal
B) epidural; intradural
C) intrathecal; epidural
D) epidural; intrathecal

Question 66

Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce pain by

A) blocking opioid receptors.
B) blocking substance P.
C) blocking the synthesis of prostaglandin and leukotriene.
D) activating opiate receptors.

Question 67

Stimulation of the _______ area can induce ______.

A) periaqueductal grey; analgesia
B) periaqueductal grey; pain
C) thalamus; analgesia
D) thalamus; pain

Question 68

Which region is involved in pain control circuits of the brainstem?

A) Dorsal horn of the spinal cord
B) Cingulate cortex
C) Thalamus
D) Periaqueductal gray

Question 69

Which statement best describes the effect of naloxone treatment on patients who have received the placebo in pain control experiments?

A) It enhances the analgesic action of the placebo.
B) It inhibits the inflammation associated with pain.
C) It reduces the analgesic effect of the placebo.
D) It has no effect on the patient or on the effect of the placebo.

Question 70

Descending fibers from the brainstem directly _______ dorsal horn cells that transmit _______ information.

A) inhibit; motor
B) inhibit; pain
C) stimulate; pain
D) stimulate; motor

Question 71

The term "_______" refers to the type of stimulus for which a given sensory organ is particularly adapted.

Question 72

The change in the membrane potential of a receptor when it is stimulated is called the _______ potential.

Question 73

The doctrine of _______ states that each sense has its own receptors and independent neural channels.

Question 74

_______ involves the use of numerous receptors, each of which is sensitive to only one part of the continuum of stimulus intensities.

Question 75

Individual cortical neurons that respond to inputs from more than one type of sense are called _______ neurons.

Question 76

The _______ of a sensory neuron is the stimulus region that causes the cell to alter its firing rate.

Question 77

The onion-like receptor that is found in skin and muscle is the _______.

Question 78

The area of the skin that is innervated by a single spinal nerve is called a(n) _______.

Question 79

Pain may provide important evolutionary _______ advantages in protecting the organism from physical harm.

Question 80

Capsaicin's effects are mediated by receptors called _______.