NEUROSCIENCE 2025 EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS
Stereotaxic Surgery in Animals - Answer-provides ways to experimentally study brain
damage on a targeted and isolated area, implant something to measure an area and
can leave it there, done with ablation studies, temporary lesions and direct measure
of brain activity.
Ablation studies - Answer-most common, either remove a brain stucture or sever
brain connections (destroying brain tissue) then study the effects that it has on
animal behavior,
issues with ablation studies - Answer-nonreversible and might destroy surrounding
tissue of the targeted area by accident
Temporary lesion studies - Answer-done by cooling down a region of interest to
slow/stop neural activity (only works with surface level neurons), or by
pharmacologically disrupting neurons from firing
directly measuring brain activity in animals - Answer-- Electrophysiology (implanting
a tool and measuring activity by electrodes and waves)
- Fluorescent activity indicators (implanting a tool and measuring energy or light)
Measuring brain chemistry - Answer-with microdialysis (a procedure for analyzing
chemicals present in the interstitial fluid through a small piece of tubing made of a
semipermeable membrane that is implanted in the brain)
Microdialysis - Answer-a procedure for analyzing chemicals present in the interstitial
fluid through a small piece of tubing made of a semipermeable membrane that is
implanted in the brain
The brain at a cellular level - Answer-- Neurons, glial cells and organelles cannot be
seen without magnification
• Can look at actual brain tissue using microscopy, prepared with various staining
techniques
Microscopy - Answer-used since the 17th century, Hooke and Leeuwenhoek (17th
century)
• Santiago Ramon y Cajal conducted
seminal work on the structure of the
central nervous system in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, took it from other sciences and applied it to psych and
neuroscience
look at activity of neurons
,Cajal and Golgi - Answer-Golgi said that neurons are continuous but Cajal said that
they were independent but just come very close to each other. Cajal used a Golgi
stain to label individual neurons
- Only 5-10% of total number of cells are
labeled
- Labels all parts of the neuron
• Using a microscope, Cajal documented
definite termination of individual
neurons
Cajal and the Neuron Doctrine - Answer-"... this sharp interruption of the staining
reaction is a fact favorable to the neuron theory because it indicates that at the level
of the membrane there exists an obstacle which is almost always resistant to the
reducing agents" (Cajal)
- the brain is composed of separate neurons and other cells that are independent
structurally, metabolically, and functionally
- information is transmitted from cell to cell across tiny gaps (now called synapses)
patch clamp technique - Answer-A method that allows researchers to study the ion
channels (sometimes single ion channels) of a tiny patch of membrane by tightly
sealing a micropipette to the patch and measuring the flow of ions through the
channels. uses the same tool as a voltage clamp
voltage clamp technique - Answer-a technique that uses electronic feedback to
simultaneously control the membrane potential of a cell and measure the
transmembrane currents that result from the opening and closing of ion channels.
seen with action potentials (?)
*New* neural dust technique - Answer-Neural Dust
• DARPA - $65 million neural engineering program
• Brain implant that can communicate with outside world
• Measure from 1 million neurons at a time (small population of neurons)
• Electrode to detect neural firing + ability to stimulate firing
• Controlled via radio frequency or ultrasound
Choosing a method to study the brain - Answer-depends on the level of question you
ask
- studying regions that are NECESSARY for function? (TMS)
- studying brain regions that are INVOLVED in the process? (fMRI)
- just STRUCTURE/FUNCTION of individual neurons (EEG)
depends on what question you ask
- timing of neural processing (EEG)
- spatial network of processing (FMRI)
- there is a trade-off between spatial and temporal resolution (see resolution table)
depends on the subjects (things that can't give consent to research) and participants
(things the can give consent to research) babies?
- invasive vs. noninvasive techniques
no method is perfect and neural study techniques are not better than behavioral
techniques
, -By understanding what methodologies are available, researchers can make the best
choice for answering their research questions
Neuroanatomy and its definition - Answer-navigating the and parsing the nervous
system at a gross level, functions of specific brain regions, and looking at neuronal
structure. The definition of neuroanatomy is the structure and organization of the
nervous system, it has many levels of analysis ranging from the CNS to brain
regions to specific neural parts and their actions.
Gross neural anatomy - Answer-Anatomical features of the nervous system that are
apparent to the naked eye
sensory nerves - Answer-take in information from the outside world and connect the
PNS to the CNS
motor nerves - Answer-Nerves that carry information from the CNS to the muscles of
the body and outside world in the PNS.
Navigating the brain - Answer-had a 3D structure with 3 planes
- Horizontal "horizon" plane cuts horizontally and you can see both hemispheres in
each slice.
- Saggital plane "Sagg crest" along the Corpus Callosum cuts ear to ear and you can
only see one hemisphere in each slice
- Coronal plane slices back to front and you can see both hemispheres in each slice
this is a system for describing relative spatial location of brain untis (see pic)
Directions of navigating the brain - Answer-Posterior (back), anterior (front), Dorsal
(fin) Superior (top), Ventral inferior (bottom), medial (middle), lateral (side)
Superior to Inferior slice - Answer-horizontal plane
Anterior to Posterior slice - Answer-coronal plane
Lateral to Medial slice - Answer-Sagital Plane
What to navigate, why? - Answer-The brain is compartmentalized and the regions of
the brain are specialized for different functions, which makes the brain more efficient
at processing information from multiple sources at once (instead of sinlg eline
processing, we process information in multiple departments at once and them
compute it at once faster), which is an important evolutionary adaptation
Parsing the Brain - Answer-a fvckload of structures do many different things and
many new ones are being discovered everyday, there are 2 ways to parse the brain
which are by cortical architecture (structure) and by function, most studies parse by
both to an extent
Which lobe of the cerebral cortex is most important for auditory processing? -
Answer-Temporal
Which lobe is most important for visual processing? - Answer-Occipital
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS
Stereotaxic Surgery in Animals - Answer-provides ways to experimentally study brain
damage on a targeted and isolated area, implant something to measure an area and
can leave it there, done with ablation studies, temporary lesions and direct measure
of brain activity.
Ablation studies - Answer-most common, either remove a brain stucture or sever
brain connections (destroying brain tissue) then study the effects that it has on
animal behavior,
issues with ablation studies - Answer-nonreversible and might destroy surrounding
tissue of the targeted area by accident
Temporary lesion studies - Answer-done by cooling down a region of interest to
slow/stop neural activity (only works with surface level neurons), or by
pharmacologically disrupting neurons from firing
directly measuring brain activity in animals - Answer-- Electrophysiology (implanting
a tool and measuring activity by electrodes and waves)
- Fluorescent activity indicators (implanting a tool and measuring energy or light)
Measuring brain chemistry - Answer-with microdialysis (a procedure for analyzing
chemicals present in the interstitial fluid through a small piece of tubing made of a
semipermeable membrane that is implanted in the brain)
Microdialysis - Answer-a procedure for analyzing chemicals present in the interstitial
fluid through a small piece of tubing made of a semipermeable membrane that is
implanted in the brain
The brain at a cellular level - Answer-- Neurons, glial cells and organelles cannot be
seen without magnification
• Can look at actual brain tissue using microscopy, prepared with various staining
techniques
Microscopy - Answer-used since the 17th century, Hooke and Leeuwenhoek (17th
century)
• Santiago Ramon y Cajal conducted
seminal work on the structure of the
central nervous system in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, took it from other sciences and applied it to psych and
neuroscience
look at activity of neurons
,Cajal and Golgi - Answer-Golgi said that neurons are continuous but Cajal said that
they were independent but just come very close to each other. Cajal used a Golgi
stain to label individual neurons
- Only 5-10% of total number of cells are
labeled
- Labels all parts of the neuron
• Using a microscope, Cajal documented
definite termination of individual
neurons
Cajal and the Neuron Doctrine - Answer-"... this sharp interruption of the staining
reaction is a fact favorable to the neuron theory because it indicates that at the level
of the membrane there exists an obstacle which is almost always resistant to the
reducing agents" (Cajal)
- the brain is composed of separate neurons and other cells that are independent
structurally, metabolically, and functionally
- information is transmitted from cell to cell across tiny gaps (now called synapses)
patch clamp technique - Answer-A method that allows researchers to study the ion
channels (sometimes single ion channels) of a tiny patch of membrane by tightly
sealing a micropipette to the patch and measuring the flow of ions through the
channels. uses the same tool as a voltage clamp
voltage clamp technique - Answer-a technique that uses electronic feedback to
simultaneously control the membrane potential of a cell and measure the
transmembrane currents that result from the opening and closing of ion channels.
seen with action potentials (?)
*New* neural dust technique - Answer-Neural Dust
• DARPA - $65 million neural engineering program
• Brain implant that can communicate with outside world
• Measure from 1 million neurons at a time (small population of neurons)
• Electrode to detect neural firing + ability to stimulate firing
• Controlled via radio frequency or ultrasound
Choosing a method to study the brain - Answer-depends on the level of question you
ask
- studying regions that are NECESSARY for function? (TMS)
- studying brain regions that are INVOLVED in the process? (fMRI)
- just STRUCTURE/FUNCTION of individual neurons (EEG)
depends on what question you ask
- timing of neural processing (EEG)
- spatial network of processing (FMRI)
- there is a trade-off between spatial and temporal resolution (see resolution table)
depends on the subjects (things that can't give consent to research) and participants
(things the can give consent to research) babies?
- invasive vs. noninvasive techniques
no method is perfect and neural study techniques are not better than behavioral
techniques
, -By understanding what methodologies are available, researchers can make the best
choice for answering their research questions
Neuroanatomy and its definition - Answer-navigating the and parsing the nervous
system at a gross level, functions of specific brain regions, and looking at neuronal
structure. The definition of neuroanatomy is the structure and organization of the
nervous system, it has many levels of analysis ranging from the CNS to brain
regions to specific neural parts and their actions.
Gross neural anatomy - Answer-Anatomical features of the nervous system that are
apparent to the naked eye
sensory nerves - Answer-take in information from the outside world and connect the
PNS to the CNS
motor nerves - Answer-Nerves that carry information from the CNS to the muscles of
the body and outside world in the PNS.
Navigating the brain - Answer-had a 3D structure with 3 planes
- Horizontal "horizon" plane cuts horizontally and you can see both hemispheres in
each slice.
- Saggital plane "Sagg crest" along the Corpus Callosum cuts ear to ear and you can
only see one hemisphere in each slice
- Coronal plane slices back to front and you can see both hemispheres in each slice
this is a system for describing relative spatial location of brain untis (see pic)
Directions of navigating the brain - Answer-Posterior (back), anterior (front), Dorsal
(fin) Superior (top), Ventral inferior (bottom), medial (middle), lateral (side)
Superior to Inferior slice - Answer-horizontal plane
Anterior to Posterior slice - Answer-coronal plane
Lateral to Medial slice - Answer-Sagital Plane
What to navigate, why? - Answer-The brain is compartmentalized and the regions of
the brain are specialized for different functions, which makes the brain more efficient
at processing information from multiple sources at once (instead of sinlg eline
processing, we process information in multiple departments at once and them
compute it at once faster), which is an important evolutionary adaptation
Parsing the Brain - Answer-a fvckload of structures do many different things and
many new ones are being discovered everyday, there are 2 ways to parse the brain
which are by cortical architecture (structure) and by function, most studies parse by
both to an extent
Which lobe of the cerebral cortex is most important for auditory processing? -
Answer-Temporal
Which lobe is most important for visual processing? - Answer-Occipital
