Quiz 1 (Silke)

1. What is the name given to the regenerating electrical wave that propagates from its initiation site at the cell body down the axon? action potential

2. In general, neurons receive electrical information at which of their cellular processes? dendrites

3. In general, what are the neuronal processes that transmit electrical information to other neurons? axons

4. What state exists in a neuron when the concentration gradient is equal and opposite to the electrical gradient across the membrane? equilibrium

5. What equation is used to determine equilibrium potential for an ion? Nernst

6. What ion primarily establishes resting membrane potential in vertebrates? potassium

7. What ion moves rapidly into the neuron during an action potential? sodim

8. What method did Kenneth Cole develop (and Hodgkin and Huxley use) to experimentally control membrane potential of a neuron in order to sudy ionic permeabilites of membranes? voltage clamp

9. Following an action potential, what is the name of the period during which it is difficult for an axon to produce another action potential? refractory period

10. What substance wraps around the axon to act as an electrical insulator? myelin

Quiz 2 (Silke)

1. Ions moving across the membrane down their concentration gradient move through what protein structure? ion channel

2. Name an example of this type of structure. sodium channel

3. Ions moving across the membrane against their concentration gradient move through what protein structure? active transporter

4. Name an example of this type of structure. sodium/potassium pump

5. Channels that respond to potential changes are called what? voltage gated

6. Name an example of this type of structure. voltage gated sodium channel

7. Channels that respond to chemical signals are called what? ligand gated

8. Name an example of this type of structure. various neurotransmitter receptors

9. What technique did Neher and Sakmann create that allowed for the study of a single ion chanel? patch clamp

10. Name a sodium channel toxin. tetrodotoxin.

Quiz 3 (Silke)

1. Electrical synapses are linked together by these specialized structures. gap junctions

2. The space between the pre- and post-synaptic neurons in a chemical synapse is called what? synaptic cleft

3. Neurotransmitters are present in the nerve terminal in what membrane bound structures? vesicles

4. What ion is important in neurotransmission at the synapse? calcium

5. This ion causes vesicles to do what with the presynaptic membrane? fuse

6. When a neurotransmitter is released from the membrane it is done by what process? exocytosis

7. A change in membrane potential at specialized synapses made by a neuron onto a muscle fiber is called what? end plate potential

8. This change is enough to cause the muscle to do what? contract

9. What neurotransmitter is always released at the neuromuscular junction? acetylcholine

10. What advantage do electrical synapses have over chemical synapses? faster speed, synchronicity of signal, variable size of pore

Quiz 4 (Silke)

1. Which ectodermal structure gives rise to the PNS? neural crest

2. Which ectodermal structure gives rise to the CNS? neural tube

3. In the brain, what area gives rise to neuronal precursor cells? ventricular zone

4. On which type of cell do CNS neurons migrate to their final destination? radial glia

5. What is the name of the specialized structure at the tip of the axon that guides its extension? growth cone

6. Name a general type of non-diffusable signal used in axon guidance. cell adhesion molecule

7. Name the general type of molecule that is released by a post-synaptic target and transported retrogradely to the pre-synaptic cell to support/maintain the synapse. neurotrophic factor

8. What is the name give to the sensitive period during which experience is essential for normal development of connections? critical period

9. What is an example of a behavior (experience) which has one of these sensitive periods? binocular vision, birdsong

Quiz 5 (Silke)

1.  What general type of receptor responds to touch, pressure, or vibrations?  mechanoreceptors 

2.  What general type of receptor responds to pain? nociceptors 

3.  What general type of receptor responds to the position of limbs? proprioceptors 

4. What thalamic nucleus receives all somatosensory input? ventral posterior nucleus 

5/6.  What are the two types of retinal photoreceptors?rods and cones 

7.  Shining a light onto a photoreceptor does what to its membrane potential? hyperpolarizes it 

8. What is the photopigment in vertebrate photoreceptors?rhodopsin 

9.  What is the pigment in pigment epithelium that absorbs all back scattered light? melanin 

10.  What thalamic nucleus receives all visual input?  lateral geniculate nucleus 

Quiz 5 (Madhuri)

1) List the three groups of sensory receptors.

A- mechanoreceptors, nociceltors, thermocepors 

2) Name the four major types of encapsulated mechanosensory receptors.

A- meissnerís corpuscle, pacinian corpuscles, ruffiniís corpuscles, merkelís disks, ruffiniís corpuscles 

3) Which pathway carries majority of the information from the mechanoreceptors that mediate tactile discrimination and propioception?

A- dorsal column- medial lemniscus pathway 

4) Which part of thalamus is the main target for the ascending somatosensory pathways originating in the spinal cord and brainstem?

A- ventral posterior complex 

5) Which part of the optic cup reduces backscattering of light that enters the eye?

A- pigment epithelium 

6) The configuration changes in retinal lead to activation an intracellular messenger that in turn leads to activation of phosphodiasterase. Name the intracellular messanger?

A- transducin 

7) What is the central rod-free region of the fovea called?

A- foveola 

8) Define the receptive field of a ganglion cell.

A- the small circular patch of the retina, to the stimulation of which the ganglion cell responses, is called as its receptive field. 

9) The axons in the optic nerve run to which part of the diencephalons?

A- optic chiasma 

10) Which property of the striate cortex neurons distinguishes them from the earlier stages in the primary visual pathway?

A- binocularity 

11) M type ganglion cells terminate selectively in which layer of the lateral geniculate nucleus?

A- magnocellular layers

 12) Cerebral achromatopsia results from damage to which part of the brain?

A- extrastriate cortex