NSCI 175 Exam 1 Questions with
verified solutions
Explain the reductionist approach - correct answer ✔✔ Breaking the topic of neuroscience
down into smaller pieces (Cognitive, Behavior, Systems, Cellular, Molecular).
Pros: can be more detailed; get a better explanation of the topics
Cons: can be hard to see the big picture
Compare different levels of analysis in neuroscience research (molecular, cellular, systems,
behavioral, and cognitive neuroscience) - correct answer ✔✔ Molecular- looking at the
molecules that bind to receptors and how that can change the receptors
Cellular- how molecules work together to give neurons their special properties. How do neurons
communication? What are their different functions? Different types of neurons? etc
Systems- how different neural circuits analyze information, form perceptions, make decisions,
and execute movement
Behavioral- how do neural systems work to provide integrated behavior?
Cognitive- neural mechanisms required for higher level mental activity, such as self-awareness,
imagination, and memory.
Describe the four essential steps in the scientific process with examples - correct answer ✔✔ 1.
Observation- making a hypothesis and observing results
2. Replication- replicating your previous findings
3. Interpretation- what we think it means
4. Verification- getting other people to verify that this experiment works.
A single experiment doesn't prove anything; it provides support for a hypothesis or theory
, Explain the importance of animal research in the field of neuroscience - correct answer ✔✔
Most of the research in this field is on animals.
Humane treatment: Animal Welfare Act and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
Explain what Golgi and Cajal disagreed about - correct answer ✔✔ The neuron doctrine vs. the
reticular theory
Whether neuronal communication is continuous or not.
Interconnected set of tubes (Golgi) or separate cells that communicate extracellularly (Cajal)
Explain the Neuron Doctrine - correct answer ✔✔ The brain is composed of independent cells.
Information is transmitted from cell to cell across synapses. Every neuron is a separate cell, not
continuous with one another.
Explain how histological procedures contributed to the advancement of neuroscience - correct
answer ✔✔ Microscopes and staining were used to visualize the cells. Cajal used the Golgi stain.
Cajal did the drawings and drew in the gaps.
Diagram a neuron and label its components - correct answer ✔✔ From left to right: dendrites,
soma, axon hillock, axon and myelin sheath, axon terminals
Describe the function of each component of the neuron - correct answer ✔✔ Dendrites- usually
many per neuron, diameter tapering progressively toward ending, no hillock-like region, no
myelin sheath, often much shorter than axons
Axons- usually one per neuron with many terminal branches, uniform start until start of
terminal branching, has a hillock, usually covered in myelin, ranging from practically nonexistent
to several meters long.
Soma- where most of the metabolic activity happens
Axon terminals- where neurotransmitters are released
Microfiliments- skeleton draped with membrane. Not static, can change and move
verified solutions
Explain the reductionist approach - correct answer ✔✔ Breaking the topic of neuroscience
down into smaller pieces (Cognitive, Behavior, Systems, Cellular, Molecular).
Pros: can be more detailed; get a better explanation of the topics
Cons: can be hard to see the big picture
Compare different levels of analysis in neuroscience research (molecular, cellular, systems,
behavioral, and cognitive neuroscience) - correct answer ✔✔ Molecular- looking at the
molecules that bind to receptors and how that can change the receptors
Cellular- how molecules work together to give neurons their special properties. How do neurons
communication? What are their different functions? Different types of neurons? etc
Systems- how different neural circuits analyze information, form perceptions, make decisions,
and execute movement
Behavioral- how do neural systems work to provide integrated behavior?
Cognitive- neural mechanisms required for higher level mental activity, such as self-awareness,
imagination, and memory.
Describe the four essential steps in the scientific process with examples - correct answer ✔✔ 1.
Observation- making a hypothesis and observing results
2. Replication- replicating your previous findings
3. Interpretation- what we think it means
4. Verification- getting other people to verify that this experiment works.
A single experiment doesn't prove anything; it provides support for a hypothesis or theory
, Explain the importance of animal research in the field of neuroscience - correct answer ✔✔
Most of the research in this field is on animals.
Humane treatment: Animal Welfare Act and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
Explain what Golgi and Cajal disagreed about - correct answer ✔✔ The neuron doctrine vs. the
reticular theory
Whether neuronal communication is continuous or not.
Interconnected set of tubes (Golgi) or separate cells that communicate extracellularly (Cajal)
Explain the Neuron Doctrine - correct answer ✔✔ The brain is composed of independent cells.
Information is transmitted from cell to cell across synapses. Every neuron is a separate cell, not
continuous with one another.
Explain how histological procedures contributed to the advancement of neuroscience - correct
answer ✔✔ Microscopes and staining were used to visualize the cells. Cajal used the Golgi stain.
Cajal did the drawings and drew in the gaps.
Diagram a neuron and label its components - correct answer ✔✔ From left to right: dendrites,
soma, axon hillock, axon and myelin sheath, axon terminals
Describe the function of each component of the neuron - correct answer ✔✔ Dendrites- usually
many per neuron, diameter tapering progressively toward ending, no hillock-like region, no
myelin sheath, often much shorter than axons
Axons- usually one per neuron with many terminal branches, uniform start until start of
terminal branching, has a hillock, usually covered in myelin, ranging from practically nonexistent
to several meters long.
Soma- where most of the metabolic activity happens
Axon terminals- where neurotransmitters are released
Microfiliments- skeleton draped with membrane. Not static, can change and move
