Download Neurobiology of Consciousness Homework 1 Problem 1 Consider a

Neurobiology of Consciousness
Homework 1
Problem 1
Consider a motor neuron that receives excitatory input from afferent fibers of sensory neuron and inhibitory
input coming from the motor cortex. Describe the electrical phenomena one can record from the cell body of the
motor neuron. Discuss the role of motor neuron as an integrator of afferent and efferent information.
Problem 2
Please take a look at the electron
micrograph of a this synapse
between two neurons.
-Mark the presynaptic neuron
and the postsynaptic neuron on
the micrograph
Problem 3
What events do normally trigger an action potential in a neuron?
Problem 4
List the reasons for a neuron to use myelin wrapped around its axon?
Problem 5
How do neurons usually encode the intensity of a stimulus?
Problem 6
How many synapses does a normal neuron have: one, two, hundreds, thousands, millions?
Neurobiology of Consciousness
Homework 1
Problem 7
Describe several mechanisms for regulation of connection strength between two neurons in the human brain.
Problem 8
How neurons (and skeletal muscles) are different from other cells in the body?
Problem 9
_____ have a branched structure and receive stimulation from other neurons.
A)
Axons
B)
Dendrites
C)
Glial cells
D)
Soma
Problem 10
The part of a neuron that transmits information over long distances is the:
A)
Soma
B)
Axon
C)
Dendrite
D)
Synapse
Problem 11
Sensory neurons:
A)
Control muscles and produce movement
B)
Send messages away from the brain toward the periphery
C)
Gather information from the environment and convey it into the central nervous system
D)
Have cell bodies covered with myelin
E)
All of the above
Problem 12
When a neuron is at rest, the inside of the neuron:
A)
Is negatively charged with respect to the outside
B)
Is positively charged with respect to the outside
C)
Is not charged
D)
Converts potential energy into chemical energy
Problem 13
Action Potential is amplified everywhere EXCEPT:
A.
axon hillock
B.
nodes of Ranvier
C.
internodal space (the space between nodes of Ranvier)
Neurobiology of Consciousness
Homework 1
Problem 14
Form a hypothesis of human evolution and origin of language – do not do research: What makes modern
humans so much different from other animals?
Problem 15
Form a hypothesis of human evolution and origin of language – do not do research: What caused the dramatic
and abrupt change of human behavior 100,000 years ago, often called the “Great leap forward?”
Problem 16
Form a hypothesis of human evolution and origin of language – do not do research: What was the origin of
language? and what is language in the first place? Is it just an ability to produce many words (aka articulate
speech)? or is it something else?
Questions based on the Ian Tattersall article:
What are the two groups of humans that are often compared in the article?
What is Ian’s argument against the mutation theory (page 59)
What is Ian’s definition of “Symbolic processes” (page 60, bottom left)? For this and the next question
concerning definitions, I guess we can paraphrase Theodosius Dobzhansky’s - “Nothing in Biology Makes
Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” into Nothing in Psychology is unambiguous except when described in
the terms of Neurobiology. Can you translate the definition of “Symbolic processes” into clearer, less confusing
terms?
When Ian is discussing Language, what exactly he is talking about?
Neurobiology of Consciousness
Homework 1
Ian writes about Neanderthals “Could they talk” and then he equated talking and explanations that require
generation of novel images on the part of a listener (page 60 bottom). Is it always the case? Can you come up
with an example of talking that does not require generation of novel images on the part of a listener?
Can there be talking without syntax? Can you write a dialog void of syntax?