Neuroscience final exam review
Things to remember (multiple choice)
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The “neuron doctrine” was introduced by Santiago Ramon y Cajal
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Neurons comprise two types of processes: axons and dendrites. What is the major difference between the two? o Dendrites receive incoming signals from other neurons while axons carry the output of the neurons.
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What is an ion pump? o An enzyme that uses ATP to move ions across the cell membrane
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What is the function of a neurotransmitter receptor in the membrane of a dendrite? o To detect neurotransmitters
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What happens if you inject a large amount of potassium into the extracellular space outside a neuron? o Its resting membrane potential will depolarize (become less negative)
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The “rising phase” of the action potential is caused primarily by influx of sodium into the nerve cell through voltage-gated channels
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Flow of what ion causes depolarization during the rising phase of the action potential? o Sodium
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How long does the sequence of events that constitutes an action potential last? o About 2 milliseconds
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Action potentials are followed by an absolute refractory period caused by sodium channel inactivation.
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What is synaptic integration? o A process by which multiple synaptic potentials combine within one postsynaptic neuron
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G-protein-coupled receptors exert long-lasting effects on the cell, for example by triggering the synthesis of second messengers, and may affect the conductance of specific channels and thus influence the cell’s responsiveness.
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What is unusual about endocannabinoids? o They are retrograde messengers by which postsynaptic neurons act on presynaptic terminals
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Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) are both used to detect changes in blood flow/brain metabolism
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Accommodation is a change in lens shape to bring objects into focus
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Which cells actually capture the light energy within the eye? o Photoreceptors
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Photoreceptors connect to bipolar cells and horizontal cells.
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The only cell that has an axon that leaves the retina is the ganglion cell.
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Under nighttime lighting (scotopic) conditions, these photoreceptors contribute the most to vision

o Rods
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The thinnest part of the retina, where visual acuity is at its highest, is called the fovea.
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Which of the following would make an ON center ganglion cell fire the most action potentials? o Light shone only in the center of the receptive field.
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Ocular dominance columns are found in layer IVC of striate cortex
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The lateral geniculate nucleus is part of the thalamus
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Pattern-motion selective cells are found in V5/MT
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Neurons that are responding selectively to faces are found in the inferotemporal cortex
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Neurons can encode information by changes in firing rate and synchronizing firing
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What is the best description of prosopagnosia? o Inability to recognize faces
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The normal range of frequencies that can be perceived by a human is 20Hz to 20,000Hz
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The tympanic membrane moves the osscicles, which amplify sound pressure onto the oval window.
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What do the bones in the middle ear do? o Amplify the force exerted on the oval window from movements of the tympanic membrane
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The systematic mapping of the surface of the body in the cortex is called somatotopy
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Endorphins are morphine-like substances that the brain produces to alleviate pain. They subsequently bind to opioid receptors.
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“phantom limb” sensations experienced by amputees may be due to the reorganization of somatosensory cortex.
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Two muscles that develop force in parallel in the same direction are called synergists.
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Muscles responsible for movement of the trunk are called axial muscles.
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A motor unit is an alpha motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers its axon innervates.
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Input directly from the optic nerve is not a possible source of inputs to alpha motor neurons.
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Parkinson’s disease involves the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, which leads to hypokinesia.
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A useful definition of homeostasis is the maintenance of the body’s internal environment within a narrow physiological range.
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Characteristics of diffuse modulatory systems: o There are a few thousand core neurons whose axons branch extensively o There may be 100,000 or more postsynaptic neurons widely distributed in the brain o The synapses may be designed to release neurotransmitter into the extracellular fluid.
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If you visited the ventral tegmental area, you would find dopaminergic neurons that project diffusely to the frontal lobe.
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A patient seems to find normally rewarding activities boring, even irrelevant. The dopaminergic diffuse modulatory system is probably involved.
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The James-Lange theory of emotion holds that we experience emotion in response to
 physiological changes in our body
The Putamen is not part of the limbic lobe

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Patient S.M., a woman with bilateral destruction of her amygdalas, can recognize people from their photographs but has little ability to recognize fearful facial expressions
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Electrical stimulation of the amygdala in humans causes anxiety and fear.
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An attack against a member of a different species for the purpose of obtaining food is called predatory aggression.
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Predatory aggression involves the lateral hypothalamus, the medial forebrain bundle, and the ventral tegmental area.
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When a monkey in a well-established social group receives a bilateral amygdalectomy, it falls to the bottom of the social structure.
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Although a frontal lobotomy may be the indicated treatment for extreme cases, it has the disadvantage of causing other effects on emotional experience and expression
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Parts of the EEG are rhythmic, such as delta rhythms, which are less than 4 Hz and indicate deep sleep
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An EEG can detect whether you are awake or asleep
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In a two-neuron oscillator, one neuron is inhibitory and one neuron is excitatory.
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A candidate sleep-promoting factor that seems to be antagonized by caffeine is adenosine.
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In mammals, the biological clock is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
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The ideas that much of mental life is unconscious and that childhood experiences shape personality in adult life were put forward by Sigmund Freud.
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Recurrent intrusive thoughts that cause anxiety and recurrent repetitive behaviors to relieve anxiety characterize obsessive-compulsive disorder
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Benzodiazepines bind to a site on GABA receptors to reduce anxiety.
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Feelings of euphoria and immortality are not typical symptoms of major depression.