English
Date20December2012
ExaminationNEVR2030
Therearetwotypesofquestions.
SHORTANSWERQUESTIONSandTRUEorFALSEquestions.
Eachshortanswerquestionrequiresonlyashortanswerandbehindeachquestionis
indicatedhowmanypointsyouwillgetincaseofacorrectanswer.Simplequestions
willyield1pointandahighernumberofpointsindicatethatamorecomplex
and/orelaborateanswerisrequired.
Trueorfalsequestionsalwaysscore1point.Youarerequiredtoclearlyindicatethe
rightanswerbywritingeitherTrueorFalseonyouranswerdocument.Donotaddto
theanswerinanyway,becausethatmayinfluencethemarkyouwillget.
Theexamcomprisesatotalof46questions(72points)on5pages(includingthe
coverpage).
Youhave4hourstocompletetheexam.
Useofdictionariesandothertoolsofassistance.YouareallowedONEdictionary
thattranslatesstandardlanguagefromyourmothertonguetoEnglish,i.e.French‐
English,German‐Englishetc.NOSPECIALIZEDDICTIONARIESWILLBEALLOWED,
suchasEnglish‐Englishdictionariesthatprovidedefinitions,ormedical
dictionariesofanydescription.NativeEnglishorNorwegianspeakersarenot
allowedanydictionary.
1 SHORTANSWERQUESTIONS
1. Nameoneadvantageandonedisadvantageoflesionstudiesasamethodfor
mappingbrainfunctions.(2)
2. Spiralganglioncellsarebipolarcellsthatinnervateperipheralsensorycells(hair
cellsintheinnerear)andsendanaxonintothe8thcranialnerve.Inwhich
gangliadowefindcomparableneuronsthatmediatethetransferoftouch
information?(1)
3. Besidestransmittingvibrationsfromtheeardrumtotheinnerearwhatisthe
functionofthemiddleearbonesmalleus,incusandstapes?(2)
4. Whatisthelargestcommissureinthebraincalled?(1)
5. Nametwobrainregionsthataretargetedbytheolfactorytract,i.e.thepathway
madeupbyaxonsofthesecondorderneurons?(2)
6. Describethestructureoftheolfactorysensoryneuron.(2)
7. Whereinthespinalsystemdowefindtheneuronsthatoriginatepartofthe
parasympatheticcomponentoftheautonomicnervoussystem?(1)
8. Giveashortdefinitionofamotorunit.(1)
9. Givethenameofatleastonecranialnervethatcontrolsthemovementof
theeye.(1)
10. Describethemainmechanismsthatareresponsiblefortheresting
membranepotential(ca.–65mV)inneurons.(2)
11. Whydoesanactionpotentialnormallytravelonlyinonedirectionthatis
awayfromthesoma?(1)
12. Theperceptualthresholdsfordetectingbitterandsweetsubstancesare
substantiallydifferent.Whichoneofthesebasictasteshasthehighest
threshold?(1)
13. Differenttastesessentiallyusetwodifferentprimarymechanismstoinitiate
aresponseinthetastecell.Describethesetwomechanisms.(2)
14. Namethethreecranialnervesthatareinvolvedinthetransmissionoftaste
informationtotheCNS.(3)
2 15. Withintheascendingpathwaysofthespinalcordthatcarrysomatosensory
informationtothebrain,twodifferentcomponentsaredifferentiated.Describe
themaindifferencesbetweenthesetwowithrespecttotypeofinformation
carriedbythemandtheirroutesbywhichtheyreachthesomatosensorycortex.
(4)
16. Namethestructureinthedevelopingbrainfromwhichtheinterneuronsinthe
cortexoriginate.(1)
17. Duringtheformationoftheneuraltube,anumberofembryoniccells
differentiateintotheso‐calledneuralcrest.Nametwoderivativesofneuralcrest
cells.(2)
18. Theprosencephalonofthevertebratebraindifferentiatesintotwobrainparts
(secondarybrainvesicles).Whatarethesetwosecondarybrainvesiclescalled?
(2)
19. Describeonemainroleofthehypothalamusandthemainoutputpathway
throughwhichthisismediated.(2)
20. Whatarethethreemostimportantsensorysystemsforbalancecontrol?(3)
21. Whichpartofthecentralnervoussystemischaracteristicallyaffectedin
Parkinson’sdisease?(1)
22. Whichrolehasthecerebellumincontrollingmovements?(2)
23. Describebrieflythefunctionaldifferencebetweentheanteromedial(ventral)and
lateralcorticospinaltracts.(2)
24. Givethenameandorigininthebrainofthreemodulatorysystems.(3)
25. Giveonepieceofevidenceforhemisphericlateralizationoflanguage.(2)
26. Giveashortdefinitionofaphasia.(1)
27. Whatisthenameofthethalamicnucleusthatdefinestheprefrontalcortex?(1)
28. DescribetwocommonsymptomsinpatientssufferingfromAlzheimer’sdisease.
(2)
29. WhatistheneuralprocessunderlyingattentionaccordingtoLamme?(3)
30. Listthreebasicpositionsinthefreewilldebate.(3)
3 TRUE/FALSEQUESTIONS
1. InachemicalsynapseusingtheneurotransmitterGABA,thepostsynaptic
membranepotentialisalteredbytheopeningofreceptorswhichletpassCa2+.
TrueorFalse
2. Thesympatheticcellbodiesthatprovidethemajorsympatheticinnervationof
theheartarelocatedinthebrainstem.TrueorFalse
3. Thecortexofthebrainisdefinedastheouterportionthatiscoveredby
meningeallayers.TrueorFalse
4. Thetwovertebralarteriesarethemainbloodsupplyoftheforebrain.Trueor
False
5. Theprimaryvisualcortexisinvolvedincolorperception.TrueorFalse
6. Theapexofthebasilarmembrane(thepartfurthestawayfromthecochlea)is
specificallytunedtolowfrequencies.TrueorFalse
7. Tastebudsinhumansarepresentoutsideofthetongue.TrueorFalse
8. Spinalcordsegmentsatthelumbarlevelcontainneuronsthatoriginatepartof
theparasympatheticnervoussystem.TrueorFalse
9. DuringthegenerationofaneuronalactionpotentialvoltagegatedK+‐channels
openfirst,beforevoltageNa+‐channels.TrueorFalse
10. Evaluationoflocalization(definethedirectiontoasoundsource)isdonebythe
MedialSuperiorOlive(MSO).TrueorFalse
11. Haircellsareorganizedintworows,i.e.innerandouterhaircells.TrueorFalse
12. Thehigherolfactorycentersofthehumanbrainincludetheorbitofrontalcortex.
TrueorFalse
13. Olfactorysensoryneuronsprojectdirectlytotheentorhinalcortex.Trueor
False
14. Inthe6layeredcortex,neuronsinlayer2aretheoldestneurons(outside‐in
migration).TrueorFalse
15. Motorneuronsintheventralhornofthespinalcorddevelopfromthefloorplate.
TrueorFalse
16. MostofthecasesofAlzheimer’sdiseasearecausedbyamutationinaspecific
gene.TrueorFalse
4