Neuroscience Basics Quiz

The raphe nuclei are a group of brainstem nuclei that produce and release serotonin.

Different parts of the somatosensory cortex receive input from different parts of the body. The amount of cortex dedicated to each body part is proportional to the sensitivity of that region.

The corpus callosum is a thick band of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to communicate.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It acts as a shock absorber protecting the brain, reduces the brain's weight, and provides nutrients.

The locus coeruleus is a small nucleus in the brainstem that produces and releases norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter important for arousal, focus, and attention.

The basal ganglia is a group of structures deep within the brain that are involved in motor control, planning, and learning. Damage to the basal ganglia is associated with Parkinson's disease, causing movement disorders.

A Nissi stain, a specific type of stain used in histology, primarily stains the cell bodies (soma) of neurons, not their axons or dendrites.

Lateralization effects are difficult to observe in healthy people because the two hemispheres of the brain are constantly communicating and sharing information. This makes it difficult to isolate the function of each hemisphere.

Photoreceptors in the dark are continuously releasing neurotransmitter and are in a depolarized state.

When hair cells move towards the tallest cilium, tension on the tip links increases, leading to the influx of calcium and potassium ions into the cell, triggering the release of glutamate onto auditory nerve dendrites.

The axons of ganglion cells carry auditory information from the inner ear to the brain.

The Organ of Corti, responsible for sensory transduction in the ear, is composed of hair cells, the basilar membrane, and the tectorial membrane.

Illuminating cells infected with channelrhodopsin (ChR2) with blue light excites them by opening sodium channels.

Ganglion cells in the retina generate action potentials, transmitting visual information to the brain.

Illuminating cells infected with halorhodopsin (NpHR) with yellow light inhibits them.

Sensory transduction in the ear takes place within the Organ of Corti, where sound waves are converted into electrical signals.

The change in membrane potential when the inside of the cell becomes more negative relative to the outside. This occurs when potassium ions (K+) move out of the cell or chloride ions (Cl-) move into the cell.

The opening of sodium channels at the start of an action potential allows sodium ions to rush into the neuron, rapidly depolarizing the membrane.

The substantia nigra is a brain region located in the midbrain, and its neurons produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in movement, motivation, and reward.

The influx of chloride ions (Cl-) through chloride channels leads to hyperpolarization of the membrane. Chloride is negatively charged and moves into the cell, making it more negative.

The size of a postsynaptic potential (PSP) is directly proportional to the amount of neurotransmitter released, meaning more neurotransmitter leads to a larger PSP. PSPs also degrade with time, meaning their effect diminishes over time.

An agonist is a drug that enhances or mimics the effects of a neurotransmitter. A drug that blocks reuptake (e.g., SSRIs) or prevents the storage of neurotransmitters in vesicles (e.g., reserpine) would be considered an agonist.

The sodium-potassium pump actively transports sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell. This requires energy and helps maintain the concentration gradient across the membrane.

The threshold of excitation is the level of depolarization needed to trigger an action potential. This threshold is determined by the voltage sensitivity of sodium ion channels, which open when the membrane reaches a certain potential.

Neural integration refers to the processing of information from multiple synapses at the axon hillock, the region where the axon emerges from the cell body. The axon hillock integrates the incoming signals to determine whether to fire an action potential.

The dorsolateral pons, medial septum, and basal forebrain are all regions that contain cholinergic cell bodies, neurons that produce acetylcholine. These regions are involved in various functions, including learning, memory, and attention.

A change in the size of the EPSP (excitatory postsynaptic potential) indicates that the synapse is becoming stronger, which is a hallmark of LTP.

Patient H.M. suffered from severe amnesia after surgery, but he could still remember events that happened before his surgery, indicating that older memories are often spared.

Learning that a stimulus predicts an aversive event by watching someone else experience it, like watching someone else get scared by a loud noise and becoming scared of that noise yourself.

Fearful faces, even when presented for a very brief time, activate the amygdala, indicating that the amygdala is sensitive to threat signals.

The hippocampus is a key brain area for learning and memory, and is a primary focus for LTP research.

The cochlea, a part of the inner ear, uses the location of hair cells along its length to code for different frequencies, like a piano keyboard.

Learning that a stimulus predicts danger simply by being told about it, like when you are warned about a bee sting and avoid bees.

The tetanus protocol involves high-frequency stimulation of a single pathway, which leads to LTP, demonstrating that strengthening synapses is key to learning.

Chronic stress leads to a reduction in the size of the hippocampus, specifically affecting the length of dendrites.

The anterior pituitary gland releases ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) in response to stress.

High licking-grooming behaviors from mothers are correlated with lower stress reactivity in their offspring.

Good maternal care increases GABAergic tone in the amygdala, promoting calmness and reducing stress.

Prolonged exposure to glucocorticoids due to chronic stress can impair spatial memory function.

Pups raised by high licking-grooming mothers, even if their biological mothers had low licking-grooming behavior, will develop similar brain characteristics as other pups raised by high licking-grooming mothers.

Chronic stress leads to an increase in dendritic length within the amygdala, potentially contributing to heightened anxiety and fear responses.

The harmful effects of chronic glucocorticoid release include muscle and brain damage, as well as weakened immune responses.