Neuroscience: Nervous System
Questions & Short Answer
1. Draw a simple diagram of a neuron and label its components. In what ways are neurons specialized
for communication? How do these specialized features distinguish neurons from other types of cells?
Answer: Neurons have axons and dendrites, structures for maintaining and transmitting electrical
potential, and synapses, all of which allow neurons to establish connections and share information.
Textbook Reference: Cellular Components of the Nervous System
2. Glia are at least as numerous as neurons in the brain, yet neurons are the predominant focus of
neuroscience textbooks. Why?
Answer: Neurons generate and conduct electrical and chemical signals, while glia primarily play a
supporting role.
Textbook Reference: Cellular Components of the Nervous System
3. What was the substance of the disagreement between Golgi and Cajal that, nevertheless, earned
them both the 1906 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology?
Answer: Golgi was a proponent of the “reticular theory,” which stated that all nerve cells are connected,
whereas Cajal argued that nerve cells are discrete entities, which is now known as the neuron doctrine.
Textbook Reference: Cellular Components of the Nervous System
4. What are the main types of glial cells, and what is the main function of each?
, Answer: (a) Astrocytes maintain an optimal environment for neural signalling;
(b) microglia respond to injury within the nervous system;
(c) oligodendrocytes and
(d) Schwann cell produce myelin in the CNS and the PNS, respectively.
Textbook Reference: Glial Cells
5. Which technique(s) would one use to: (a) find the boundaries between layers of the cortex; (b)
determine where the axons from nucleus X project; (c) visualize neurons that make protein Y; and (d)
examine the dendrites of neurons in region Z?
Answer:
(a) Nissl stain
(b) Administration of radioactive or fluorescent tracers
(c) Immunohistochemistry; in situ hybridization
(d) Immunohistochemistry using antibodies against dendrite proteins
Textbook Reference: Cellular Diversity in the Nervous System
6. Draw a diagram of a myotatic spinal reflex. Show the afferent and efferent neurons and the
interneuron (local circuit neuron).
Answer:
Textbook Reference: Neural Circuits
Questions & Short Answer
1. Draw a simple diagram of a neuron and label its components. In what ways are neurons specialized
for communication? How do these specialized features distinguish neurons from other types of cells?
Answer: Neurons have axons and dendrites, structures for maintaining and transmitting electrical
potential, and synapses, all of which allow neurons to establish connections and share information.
Textbook Reference: Cellular Components of the Nervous System
2. Glia are at least as numerous as neurons in the brain, yet neurons are the predominant focus of
neuroscience textbooks. Why?
Answer: Neurons generate and conduct electrical and chemical signals, while glia primarily play a
supporting role.
Textbook Reference: Cellular Components of the Nervous System
3. What was the substance of the disagreement between Golgi and Cajal that, nevertheless, earned
them both the 1906 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology?
Answer: Golgi was a proponent of the “reticular theory,” which stated that all nerve cells are connected,
whereas Cajal argued that nerve cells are discrete entities, which is now known as the neuron doctrine.
Textbook Reference: Cellular Components of the Nervous System
4. What are the main types of glial cells, and what is the main function of each?
, Answer: (a) Astrocytes maintain an optimal environment for neural signalling;
(b) microglia respond to injury within the nervous system;
(c) oligodendrocytes and
(d) Schwann cell produce myelin in the CNS and the PNS, respectively.
Textbook Reference: Glial Cells
5. Which technique(s) would one use to: (a) find the boundaries between layers of the cortex; (b)
determine where the axons from nucleus X project; (c) visualize neurons that make protein Y; and (d)
examine the dendrites of neurons in region Z?
Answer:
(a) Nissl stain
(b) Administration of radioactive or fluorescent tracers
(c) Immunohistochemistry; in situ hybridization
(d) Immunohistochemistry using antibodies against dendrite proteins
Textbook Reference: Cellular Diversity in the Nervous System
6. Draw a diagram of a myotatic spinal reflex. Show the afferent and efferent neurons and the
interneuron (local circuit neuron).
Answer:
Textbook Reference: Neural Circuits
