Review Questions (these still don’t cover everything on the exam!)
1. Which glial cells help create the blood-brain barrier? The blood-CSF barrier?
2. Name an area of the brain where we find capillaries that are relatively more
permeable than most of the capillaries in the brain –
3. Generally identify the lobes of the cerebrum
4. Where are the prefrontal cortex, primary motor, primary somatosensory, and
primary visual cortices?
5. Which of the above is an example of an association area?
6. Name several areas of the brain that participate in motor output
7. What specific area of the hypothalamus did we talk about, and what does it do?
8. What centers in the pons deal with respiration? Do they directly control the
diaphragm? Explain.
9. Name the functions required for you to know from each of the following:
medulla, pons, mesencephalon (in their notes).
10. State several functions of the hypothalamus
11. Explain the production and circulation of CSF
12. Which ascending pathway carries information about proprioception, and only
contains 1st and 2nd order neurons?
13. 3rd order neurons of ascending tracts have their cell bodies where? 2nd order?1st
order?
14. What is a baroreceptor? What TYPE of receptor is it? Where might I find one?
Name some other types of sensory receptors and examples of where they might be
found; what kind of receptor monitors blood and CSF for example, for pH?
15. Cell bodies of lower neurons of a descending pathway are found in…?
16. True or false: the corticospinal/pyramidal descending pathway “talks” to the
cerebellum about fine motor output, but receives no communication or influence
from other parts of the brain or from the extrapyramidal pathways .
17. Very generally, what are some roles of the different areas of the brain involved
with motor output, and the descending pathways?
18. Describe the way a nerve is put together; how is it similar to a skeletal muscle?
19. List all the places where CSF. How does it get to the blood?
20. Generally, what is a reflex? Monosynaptic? Poly? What is reciprocal inhibition?
In a somatic reflex, where do synapses with motor neurons occur?
21. What’s the diff between a long and short visceral reflex? Where do synapses with
motor neurons occur in long? What IS that motor neuron? Where does the
synapse occur in a short reflex? What’s an example of a system where short
reflexes are common?
22. What are several effects of the sympathetic division of the ANS?
Parasympathetic? After a meal, when you are resting in front of the tube, which
division dominates? When you feel guilty later and work out at the gym?
23. There is one question about the neurons, receptors and neurotransmitters of the
ANS on my short answer practice questions online. I think that’s the best way to
cover it. Remind them that they do not need to know which effectors use alpha,
and which use beta, (and what the different effects are) adrenergic receptors
except for the specific examples I mentioned in the notes. They also don’t need to
know any specifics about the subcategories (a 1 and 2, b 1, 2, 3), just that they
exist. But they do need to know nicotinic and muscarinic.
24. If Ach binds to a receptor on a ganglionic cell body, is that cell likely to
experience an EPSP or IPSP? So, is the sodium channel opened in response to
binding immediately, or does permeability increase because more leak channels
are built, for example?
25. What about when Ach binds to a receptor on smooth muscle lining the digestive
tract… does a channel open immediately or does permeability change?; Given
that this is the digestive tract, and Ach is being released here, is this receptor
likely to cause excitation or inhibition when Ach binds? What about when Ach
binds a muscarinic receptor on cardiac muscle?
26. When NE binds an adrenergic receptor (doesn’t matter if alpha or beta), does a
channel open directly or does it lead to a change in permeability? When NE binds
a receptor on cardiac muscle, is the muscle likely to become excited or inhibited?
What about when it binds a receptor lining respiratory tubes?