NEUROSCIENCE FINAL - QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
1. Describe how a photoreceptor cell communicates with the cells around it. -
Answer-The rods and cones detect light, and release neurotransmitters, which then
travel to the next photoreceptor, allowing them to communicate with each other
1. Trace the visual processing pathway, starting with photoreceptor cells and ending
with the dorsal and ventral streams. - Answer-Sun, Cornea, Aqueous Humor, Pupil,
Lens, Retina (rods and cones), Horizontal and Bipolar Cells (adjust brightness and
color contrast), amacrine and ganglion cells (detect motion and shape contrast),
optic nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract
1. What are the three main parts of the ear? - Answer-The outer ear, the middle ear,
and the inner ear
1. What is the purpose of cerumen (earwax)? - Answer-It protects the inside of your
ear from harmful things such as dust and dirt
1. Describe how the ear translates sound into an electrochemical signal. - Answer-
Vibration hits the hair cell, causing it to bend. Potassium flows in when the hair
bends, allowing you to reach threshold potential. Next, the action potential starts,
and neurotransmitters travel down the auditory nerve to the brain.
1. In what types of deafness would a cochlear implant be appropriate? - Answer-A
cochlear implant directly stimulates your auditory nerve, so it skips all the other
structures of the ear. If you have damage to your cochlea, middle, or outer ear,
cochlear implant would be appropriate.
1. What type of energy stimulates a hair cell in the cochlea? - Answer-Hair cells are
found in the cochlea, and sound waves cause vibrations/pressure that stimulate
them.
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of point-to-point synaptic transmission? -
Answer-Strength: It allows for the fast and constant flow on new info and is highly
constrained in space and time
Weakness: Not everything in the body wants a constant fast flow of information, such
as your autonomic nervous system and is not good for activating your whole brain
(like falling asleep)
Why are injuries to the hypothalamus almost always serious or fatal? - Answer-The
hypothalamus regulates homeostasis (temperature, blood volume and pressure,
blood glucose, blood oxygen)
What broad term describes what the hypothalamus regulates? - Answer-
Homeostasis
, How do the pituitary and hypothalamus interact? - Answer-The hypothalamus
detects threats to homeostasis, and acts on those threats though the pituitary, which
sits at the base of the brain
1. What is the function of the cerebellum? - Answer-The cerebellum receives
information from the sensory systems, the spinal cord, and other parts of the brain
and then regulates motor movements. The cerebellum coordinates voluntary
movements such as posture, balance, coordination, and speech, resulting in smooth
and balanced muscular activity.
1. What is the function of the brain stem? What are the three parts of the brain stem?
- Answer-The brain stem controls the flow of messages between the brain and the
rest of the body, and it also controls basic body functions such as breathing,
swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, and whether one is awake or
sleepy. The brain stem consists of the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
1. Where would you find the spinal cord? - Answer-In the hollow vertebral canal
(vertebral foramen), below brain stem
1. How does damage to the spinal cord result in paralysis? - Answer-The spinal cord
sends message from the brain to the body, if damaged the brain cannot
communicate with the body
1. What are the components of a reflex arc? - Answer-Sensory neuron, effector,
afferent neuron, efferent neuron, and the integration center in the spinal cord.
1. What are the functions of the following glial cells: microglia, ependymal cells,
astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes? - Answer-Microglia: mediate immune responses
in the central nervous system
Ependymal cells: production and regulation of CSF
Astrocytes: axon guidance and synaptic support, control of the blood brain barrier
and blood flow
Oligodendrocytes: provide support and insulation to axons in the central nervous
system
1. How do voltage-gated ion channels work? - Answer-They are activated by
changes in the electrical membrane potential near the channel
1. How are neurotransmitters released? - Answer-They are released from the axon
terminal when their vesicles join with the membrane of the axon terminal
What do neurotransmitters do at the postsynaptic neuron? - Answer-Bind to
receptors on the postsynaptic cell and make it more or less likely to fire an action
potential
1. What are the three types of cones, and what do they detect? - Answer-L Cones:
Specialize in long wavelengths of light
M Cones: Specialize in medium wavelengths of light
S Cones: Specialize in short wavelengths of light
AND ANSWERS
1. Describe how a photoreceptor cell communicates with the cells around it. -
Answer-The rods and cones detect light, and release neurotransmitters, which then
travel to the next photoreceptor, allowing them to communicate with each other
1. Trace the visual processing pathway, starting with photoreceptor cells and ending
with the dorsal and ventral streams. - Answer-Sun, Cornea, Aqueous Humor, Pupil,
Lens, Retina (rods and cones), Horizontal and Bipolar Cells (adjust brightness and
color contrast), amacrine and ganglion cells (detect motion and shape contrast),
optic nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract
1. What are the three main parts of the ear? - Answer-The outer ear, the middle ear,
and the inner ear
1. What is the purpose of cerumen (earwax)? - Answer-It protects the inside of your
ear from harmful things such as dust and dirt
1. Describe how the ear translates sound into an electrochemical signal. - Answer-
Vibration hits the hair cell, causing it to bend. Potassium flows in when the hair
bends, allowing you to reach threshold potential. Next, the action potential starts,
and neurotransmitters travel down the auditory nerve to the brain.
1. In what types of deafness would a cochlear implant be appropriate? - Answer-A
cochlear implant directly stimulates your auditory nerve, so it skips all the other
structures of the ear. If you have damage to your cochlea, middle, or outer ear,
cochlear implant would be appropriate.
1. What type of energy stimulates a hair cell in the cochlea? - Answer-Hair cells are
found in the cochlea, and sound waves cause vibrations/pressure that stimulate
them.
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of point-to-point synaptic transmission? -
Answer-Strength: It allows for the fast and constant flow on new info and is highly
constrained in space and time
Weakness: Not everything in the body wants a constant fast flow of information, such
as your autonomic nervous system and is not good for activating your whole brain
(like falling asleep)
Why are injuries to the hypothalamus almost always serious or fatal? - Answer-The
hypothalamus regulates homeostasis (temperature, blood volume and pressure,
blood glucose, blood oxygen)
What broad term describes what the hypothalamus regulates? - Answer-
Homeostasis
, How do the pituitary and hypothalamus interact? - Answer-The hypothalamus
detects threats to homeostasis, and acts on those threats though the pituitary, which
sits at the base of the brain
1. What is the function of the cerebellum? - Answer-The cerebellum receives
information from the sensory systems, the spinal cord, and other parts of the brain
and then regulates motor movements. The cerebellum coordinates voluntary
movements such as posture, balance, coordination, and speech, resulting in smooth
and balanced muscular activity.
1. What is the function of the brain stem? What are the three parts of the brain stem?
- Answer-The brain stem controls the flow of messages between the brain and the
rest of the body, and it also controls basic body functions such as breathing,
swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, and whether one is awake or
sleepy. The brain stem consists of the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
1. Where would you find the spinal cord? - Answer-In the hollow vertebral canal
(vertebral foramen), below brain stem
1. How does damage to the spinal cord result in paralysis? - Answer-The spinal cord
sends message from the brain to the body, if damaged the brain cannot
communicate with the body
1. What are the components of a reflex arc? - Answer-Sensory neuron, effector,
afferent neuron, efferent neuron, and the integration center in the spinal cord.
1. What are the functions of the following glial cells: microglia, ependymal cells,
astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes? - Answer-Microglia: mediate immune responses
in the central nervous system
Ependymal cells: production and regulation of CSF
Astrocytes: axon guidance and synaptic support, control of the blood brain barrier
and blood flow
Oligodendrocytes: provide support and insulation to axons in the central nervous
system
1. How do voltage-gated ion channels work? - Answer-They are activated by
changes in the electrical membrane potential near the channel
1. How are neurotransmitters released? - Answer-They are released from the axon
terminal when their vesicles join with the membrane of the axon terminal
What do neurotransmitters do at the postsynaptic neuron? - Answer-Bind to
receptors on the postsynaptic cell and make it more or less likely to fire an action
potential
1. What are the three types of cones, and what do they detect? - Answer-L Cones:
Specialize in long wavelengths of light
M Cones: Specialize in medium wavelengths of light
S Cones: Specialize in short wavelengths of light
