Download Part 1: True/False

Name _______________________
biol 125 practice midterm 2
Part 1: True/False
Enter T for true, F for False.
1. __ T Neurons in the CNS makes many synapses with other neurons, some of the synapses are inhibitory, and some are
excitory.
2. __ T The EPSPs in the central nervous system are much smaller than end plate potentials.
3. __ T An IPSP can depolarize or hyperpolarize a cell.
4. __ F All neurotransmitters are synthesized in the soma and carried to the axon terminal through axoplasmic transport.
5. __ F The two main families of neurotransmitter receptors are ligand-gated and neural-gated.
6. __ F Postsynaptic responses mediated by G-protein coupled receptors are faster than those mediated through ligand-gated
channels.
7. __ F NMDA receptors allow passage of large amounts of chloride and calcium when activated.
8. __ F Whether a neurotransmitter is excitatory or inhibitory depends on the amount of released neurotransmitter.
9. __ F The neurons that make and use dopamine as their neurotransmitter are in the hippocampus.
10. __ T Glycine is commonly used in the spinal cord where it hyperpolarizes the post-synaptic cell.
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biol 125 practice midterm 2
Part 2: Multiple choice
In each case, select only one answer that best answers the question or completes the sentence.
1. When you injure yourself, you immediately feel a sharp pain from the site of injury followed by a throbbing painful sensation.
Which of the following statements about this is false:
A. the immediate pain sensation is carried by Aδ fibers
B. the immediate pain sensation travels via the lateral spinothalamic pathway
C. the throbbing pain sensation travels via the spinoreticulothalamic pathway
D. the throbbing pain sensation is mediated by the ventroposterior lateral nucleus <–––
E. the immediate pain sensation is localized on the body by the postcentral gyrus
2. The presence of which of the following compounds or proteins in a cell makes it highly likely that the cell is a GABAergic
neuron?
A. Pyridoxal phosphate
B. Glutamic acid decarboxylase <–––
C. GABA transaminase
D. γ-hydroxybutyrate
E. Glutamine
3. Miniature end-plate potentials, or MEPPs, are produced
A. at miniature end-plates
B. by the smallest axons
C. in response to weak stimuli
D. by the smallest neurotransmitters
E. by spontaneous release of neurotransmitter <–––
4. This Neurotransmitter is commonly found in motor neurons, opens Na+/K+ cation channels, and always depolarizes the post
synaptic cell:
A. ACh <–––
B. Glutamate
C. GABA
D. Glycine
E. Serotonin
5. The acetylcholine receptor at the neuromuscular junction would best be described as a(n)
A. channel-linked receptor <–––
B. enzyme-linked receptor
C. G-protein-coupled receptor
D. nuclear receptor
E. gap junction
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biol 125 practice midterm 2
6. Which of the following statements about protein kinase–based signaling is false?
A. Serine and threonine kinases are typically activated by second messengers
B. Tyrosine kinases are typically activated by extracellular signals
C. Each protein kinase has one specific target protein that it phosphorylates <–––
D. The effects of protein kinases can be balanced by protein phosphatases
E. Thousands of protein kinases are expressed in the brain
7. Amphetamine has its effects on the brain-reward circuitry due to their action on which neurotransmitter system?
A. GABA
B. Enkaphlin
C. Catecholamine <–––
D. Histamine
E. Glycine
8. A cell that uses norepinephrine as a neurotransmitter
A. also contains dopamine <–––
B. also contains epinephrine
C. also contains serotonin
D. also contains "vagus stuff"
E. also contains histamine
9. Which of the following is most closely related to the release of neurotransmitter from the presynaptic terminal?
A. Concentration of calcium in the presynaptic terminal <–––
B. Membrane potential in the presynaptic terminal
C. Concentration of sodium in the presynaptic terminal
D. Reversal potential in the presynaptic terminal
E. Resting potential of the presynaptic terminal
10. Parkinson’s disease
A. is caused by the death of dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra. <–––
B. has symptoms which include spontaneous movements
C. is caused by the death of dopaminergic cells in the basal ganglia
D. is caused by the death of serotonergic cells in the raphe nuclei
E. is caused by the death of glutaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia
11. The action of Prozac is to
A. potentiate synapses utilizing catecholamines
B. block synapses utilizing catecholamines
C. block the reuptake of serotonin <–––
D. block serotonin receptors
E. bind to the catecholamine receptors and open the ion channels
12. What would happen after a decrease in the level of AChE?
A. more acetylcholine would be synthesized
B. ACh molecules would remain in the synaptic cleft for a longer period of time <–––
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biol 125 practice midterm 2
C. no ACh would be released from the presynaptic terminal
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
13. Which of the following is a metabotropic receptor?
A. nACh receptor
B. AMPA receptor
C. NMDA receptor
D. muscarinic receptor <–––
E. Kinate receptor
14. Which is the strongest piece of evidence that Otto Loewi provided proving that chemical synaptic transmission exists:
A. Showing that stimulating the Vagus nerve slows down the heart
B. Proving that electricity could make muscles contract
C. Waking up in the middle of the night and writing unintelligible notes to himself
D. Showing that 'stuff' dripping from the vagus nerve slows down the heart <–––
E. Showing that heartbeat is controlled by vagus nerve
15. Neuropeptide Y is a peptide neurotransmitter. What can you say about this peptide that is used as a neurotransmitter?
A. It is synthesized by enzymes in the axon terminal
B. It is packaged in secretory granules <–––
C. A proton pump is used to transport this molecule into vesicles in the presynaptic terminal
D. It binds to ligand-gated ion channels in the postsynaptic membrane
E. More than one of the above are true
16. Choose the best answer concerning the retina.
A. When light strikes a rod photoreceptor, rhodopsin binds to sodium channels in the outer segment membrane.
B. Cone photoreceptors fire action potentials under conditions of bright light.
C. Bipolar cell axons comprise the optic nerve.
D. The transmitter released at photoreceptor synapses is glutamate. <–––
E. Both A and B are true
17. Which of the following statements is false with respect to mechanosensory receptors.
A. The quality of a stimulus (what it represents and where it is) is determined by both the receptors being activated and the
neuron’s targets in the brain.
B. The strength of the stimulus is determined by the amplitude of the depolarization. <–––
C. They have large myelinated axons.
D. They are more numerous and have smaller receptive fields in the fingers compared with the
E. All of the above are true.
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biol 125 practice midterm 2
Part 3: Fill in the blank
with A, B, or A+B based on whether the following statements are referring: A= Ionotropic receptors, B= Metabotropic receptors.
1. ____ A+B Have transmembrane spanning domains.
2. ____ B Activated by cathecholamines
3. ____ A+B Glutamate receptors
4. ____ A+B Activation can increase cytosolic Ca2+ levels.
5. ____ B Most similar to opsins
6. ____ A+B Can bind to neurotransmitters packaged in small, clear core vesicle
Part 4: Short answers
Use the space provided.
1. Explain why heart attack victims usually feel pain in their arms as well as their chest.
Referred Pain. Pain neurons that monitor the heart synapse onto the same dorsal spinal cord neurons that receive
information from the skin along their arms. Therefore the signal from the spinal cord eventually ends up in the arm
representation of the somatosensory cortex.
2. In the muscle cells at neuromuscular junction, what ions are responsible for generating the endplate potential? Provide two
pieces of experimental evidence to support your answer.
+
+
+
When you measure Erev you find it is between the equilibrium potentials of Na and K –– you can alter either the Na or K
+
concentration outside the cell and alter the current flow at a given membrane potential.
3. You set up the following experiment. You place electrodes to stimulate a presynaptic neuron and to record post-postsynaptic
potentials from a post-synaptic neuron while clamping the post-synaptic neuron's resting Vm. The following diagram shows
the post-synaptic membrane potentials from 5 stimulation trials with Vm clamped at the indicated resting potential each time.
The threshold for an AP in the postsynaptic neuron is -55 mV. EK+ is -90 mV and ECl- is -70 mV. Is this an inhibitory or
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biol 125 practice midterm 2
excitatory synapse? How can you tell?
Inhibitory because Erev = -70 mV and this is below the threshold potential
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