Deck 14: Sensory Processes

Question 1

Choose the best statement regarding moth audition.

A) Moths hear frequencies similar to what bats hear.
B) Moths are very sensitive to the frequencies of bat cries.
C) Moths hear only frequencies of bat cries.
D) Moths hear a broad range of frequencies including bat cries.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The conversion of stimulus energy into an electrical signal is known as

A) transference.
B) transduction.
C) an action potential.
D) a graded potential.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which receptor uses a metabotropic mechanism of signal transduction?

A) Photoreceptors
B) Vestibular receptors
C) Mechanoreceptors
D) Thermoreceptors
E) Auditory receptors

Answer 3

A

Question 4

"The sensory modality or quality of sensation associated with a stimulus depends solely on which receptor cells are stimulated, rather than on how they are stimulated." This generalization is known as the

A) brain partitioning principle.
B) principle of pathway analysis.
C) principle of labeled lines.
D) principle of sensory organization.

Question 5

Which sense is based on indirect, G protein-coupled receptor activation?

A) Vertebrate touch
B) Insect hearing
C) Insect vision
D) Vertebrate hearing

Question 6

Refer to the figure shown.
Which panel(s) would be categorized as a phasic receptor?

A) I
B) IV
C) I and II
D) III and IV

Question 7

Refer to the figure shown.
Which panel best represents the action of a Pacinian corpuscle?

A) I
B) II
C) III
D) IV

Question 8

When contrasting insect and mammalian sensory transduction mechanisms, which sensory modality has a fundamentally different transduction mechanism between the two animal groups?

A) touch
B) hearing
C) smell
D) tasting salt

Question 9

Choose the correct statement regarding Piezo channels.

A) Piezo2 mutations in humans cause complete lack of touch reception.
B) Experimental removal of the Piezo2 gene in humans reduce touch sensitivity.
C) Experimental removal of the Piezo2 gene in humans abolishes touch sensitivity.
D) Piezo2 mutations in humans reduce touch sensitivity.

Question 10

In insects, the most common form of auditory organ is the

A) tympanal organ.
B) statocyst.
C) cochlea.
D) bristle sensillum.

Question 11

Which statement about bat navigation is true?

A) Bats emit high-frequency sound pulses and detect the echoes reflected by the objects around them.
B) Bats emit ultra-low-frequency sound pulses and detect the echoes reflected by the objects around them.
C) In addition to detecting echoes from sound emissions, bats have keen night vision.
D) Bats navigate by detecting sounds from animals and those reflected by the objects around them.

Question 12

A bat is just a few centimeters away from a moth that it is locating and attempting to eat. What is the most likely response from the moth?

A) The nearby bat emits an ultrasonic sound, which stimulate the A1 cells in the moth's tympanic organ. This causes the moth to dive to the ground.
B) The nearby bat emits an ultrasonic sound, which stimulate the A2 cells in the moth's tympanic organ. This causes the moth to dive to the ground.
C) The nearby bat emits an ultrasonic sound, which stimulate the A2 cells in the moth's tympanic organ. This causes the moth to fly away from the source of the sound.
D) The nearby bat emits an ultrasonic sound, which stimulate the A1 cells in the moth's tympanic organ. This causes the moth to fly away from the source of the sound.

Question 13

Which statement regarding the vertebrate hair cell is false?

A) The vertebrate hair cell is an epithelial cell.
B) Displacement toward the kinocilium produces a depolarization.
C) Displacement away from the kinocilium produces a hyperpolarization.
D) When displaced enough toward the kinocilium, the hair cell will produce a train of action potentials.

Question 14

Which statement best describes the vertebrate vestibular system?

A) Three semicircular canals detect movement via fluid that stimulates hair cells in the crista ampullaris.
B) A circular canal detects movement via fluid that stimulates the oval window.
C) Four canals, including the cochlea, detect indirect movement of hair cells.
D) The incus, malleus, and stapes detect movement by amplifying sound to the oval window.

Question 15

Which of the following defines the main transduction process of sound?

A) The hair cell bending
B) The vibration of the ear drum
C) The vibration of the stapes on the oval window
D) Action potentials sent to the brain along the auditory nerve

Question 16

Which statement regarding the basilar membrane is false?

A) It separates the cochlea into an upper chamber and a lower chamber.
B) It is widest at its basal end and narrowest at its apical end.
C) It is stiffer at its basal end and more compliant near its apical end.
D) It responds maximally to high frequency sounds toward its basal end.

Question 17

In the ear, low-frequency sounds tend to displace

A) the whole length of the basilar membrane equally.
B) mainly the basal portion (oval window end) of the basilar membrane.
C) mainly the apex portion of the basilar membrane.
D) only the portion of the basilar membrane between the basal portion and the apex.

Question 18

The major source of auditory input to the brain comes from _______ hair cell signals.

A) lateral line
B) semicircular canal
C) inner
D) outer

Question 19

Which statement regarding fish taste is true?

A) Fish taste buds are structurally very different compared to mammalian taste buds.
B) Fish do not have taste buds.
C) Fish have taste buds on their mouth and skin.
D) Fish do not have a sense of taste, only smell.

Question 20

Which sense perception depends on a metabotropic mechanism for initial signal transduction?

A) Auditory reception
B) Touch
C) Bitter taste
D) Acceleration

Question 21

Refer to the figure shown.
How many different (taste) qualities depend on the mechanism shown in the figure?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 22

Refer to the figure shown.
Which taste qualities are represented by the mechanism shown in the figure?

A) Sweet, sour, umami, and bitter
B) Sweet, umami, and bitter
C) Salty, umami, and bitter
D) Umami and bitter

Question 23

The family of GPCRs that sense bitter compounds is much larger and more disparate in amino acid sequence than those that sense sweet or umami. Why might this be adaptive?

A) Bitter receptors do not have to be as sensitive as those for sweet or umami.
B) The ability to distinguish between many bitter compounds allows the animal to eat the one most agreeable to its digestive system.
C) Bitter compounds are usually toxic, and so the ability to sense a wide variety of them is protective.
D) Bitter compounds usually contain dense calories, which help a species survive and thrive.

Question 24

Which of the following confers odorant specificity in the Drosophila?

A) olfactory receptor expressing multiple olfactory receptor proteins
B) olfactory receptor expressing single olfactory receptor protein
C) Orco coreceptor expressing multiple olfactory receptor proteins
D) Orco coreceptor expressing single olfactory receptor protein

Question 25

Refer to the figure shown.
What electrical outcome on the membrane is the end result of the mechanism shown in the figure?

A) An action potential
B) A metabotropic response
C) Depolarization
D) Hyperpolarization

Question 26

Which statement regarding vertebrate olfactory receptor cells is true?

A) Their axons reside in the mucous layer.
B) They have fine, myelinated axons.
C) They undergo continuous turnover (die and are replaced).
D) Their axons are among the largest axons in the nervous system.

Question 27

Which statement about the mammalian vomeronasal organ is true?

A) It mostly detects pheromones and other chemical signals.
B) It integrates the olfactory information before sending it to the brain.
C) It interacts with the olfactory system to amplify the signal.
D) It detects chemicals from greater distances than olfaction does.

Question 28

Refer to the figure shown.
The sensory process shown in the figure is

A) the bitter taste response.
B) the vomeronasal mechanism.
C) vertebrate olfaction.
D) insect vision.

Question 29

Refer to the figure shown.
Which key best represents the ion movement shown in the figure?

A) I = Na⁺ and Ca²⁺; II = Cl^-
B) I = K⁺; II = Cl^‒
C) I = Na⁺ and Cl^‒; II = Ca²⁺
D) I = Ca²⁺; II = K⁺

Question 30

Refer to the figure shown.
What is the resulting electrical event on the membrane as shown in the figure?

A) Hyperpolarization
B) Depolarization at I, hyperpolarization at II
C) Hyperpolarization at I, depolarization at II
D) Depolarization

Question 31

In the mechanism of vertebrate olfaction, a G protein activates the enzyme

A) cGMP phosphodiesterase.
B) phospholipase C.
C) adenylyl cyclase.
D) transducin.

Question 32

Which statement best describes the ion movement on the cilium of the olfactory receptor cell in vertebrate olfaction?

A) Na⁺ enters the cell and K⁺ leaves the cell.
B) Cl^‒ moves out of the cell.
C) Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ enter the cell.
D) Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ move into the cell and Cl^‒ moves out of the cell.

Question 33

Which of the following is the most common evolved feature of eyes?

A) A lens
B) A retina
C) Similar genes regulating eye development
D) A rhodopsin-based photoreceptor cell

Question 34

For terrestrial vertebrates, the greatest amount of refraction occurs

A) at the interface between the air and the cornea.
B) in the aqueous humor.
C) in the lens.
D) in the vitreous humor.

Question 35

The molecule that absorbs light is called a

A) photoreceptor.
B) photochemical.
C) rhabdomere.
D) photopigment.

Question 36

Which statement regarding the transduction mechanism in vision is true of both vertebrates and invertebrates?

A) G proteins activate cGMP phosphodiesterase.
B) Light triggers the conversion of cis retinal to trans retinal.
C) Cation channels are opened and Na⁺ enters the photoreceptor membrane.
D) Second messengers IP₃ and DAG are synthesized.

Question 37

Phototransduction in Drosophila takes place on the membrane of the

A) microvilli of the retinular cell's rhabdomere.
B) ommatidium of the compound eye's retinular cell.
C) outer segment of the rod.
D) ommatidium's rhabdomere.

Question 38

Refer to the figure shown.
The animals that make use of the sensory mechanism shown in this figure are all

A) arthropods.
B) arthropods with compound eyes.
C) insects.
D) vertebrates.

Question 39

Refer to the figure shown.
Which letter in the figure corresponds to activated opsin?

A) I
B) II
C) III
D) IV

Question 40

Refer to the figure shown.
What the mechanism is occurring at IV in the figure?

A) Second messengers have led to the opening of a K⁺ channel.
B) Second messengers have led to the opening of a Ca²⁺ channel.
C) Second messengers have led to the opening of a cation channel, causing depolarization.
D) G proteins open a sodium channel.

Question 41

Refer to the figure shown.
The sensory mechanism depicted in the figure is that of

A) vertebrate vision.
B) invertebrate vision.
C) vertebrate sweet taste reception.
D) vertebrate olfaction.

Question 42

Refer to the figure shown.
Which number in the figure corresponds to the location where an aldehyde is isomerized?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 43

Refer to the figure shown.
Which statement regarding the regeneration of rhodopsin in vertebrates is false?

A) All-trans retinol is re-isomerized back to all-cis retinol.
B) Regeneration of rhodopsin is enzymatic.
C) All-trans retinal becomes unbound from the opsin protein.
D) An added photon is necessary to change all-trans retinal back to all-cis retinal.

Question 44

What would occur at location number 4 in the figure in the absence of light?

A) cGMP would detach itself from the sodium channels, causing them to close.
B) cGMP attached to the sodium channels would cause them to open.
C) Darkness would inactivate rhodopsin by isomerizing retinal from cis to trans.
D) Darkness would inactivate rhodopsin by isomerizing retinal from trans to cis.

Question 45

What happens in the vertebrate rod in the absence of light?

A) Rhodopsin is activated.
B) cGMP is converted back to 5ʹ-GMP.
C) cGMP dissociates from Na⁺ channels.
D) cGMP opens Na⁺ channels.

Question 46

Which statement best describes the vertebrate mechanism that operates on the outer segment cell membrane of the rod in the presence of light?

A) cGMP detaches from the sodium channels, causing them to close.
B) cGMP that is attached to the sodium channels causes them to open.
C) Light activates rhodopsin by isomerizing retinal from cis to trans.
D) Light activates rhodopsin by isomerizing retinal from trans to cis.

Question 47

In the dark, a cone membrane of a fish will be

A) relatively depolarized.
B) relatively hyperpolarized.
C) at zero mV.
D) photochemically fluctuating.

Question 48

Refer to the figure shown.
The light in the figure is entering

A) from the bottom.
B) from the top.
C) from the right.
D) by diffusion from all directions.

Question 49

Refer to the figure shown.
Which letter in the figure best represents only a depolarizing graded potential in the presence of light.

A) I
B) II
C) III
D) IV

Question 50

Refer to the figure shown.
According to the letters in the figure, light inducing (activating) an on-center response would proceed through which of the following sequences?

A) I → II → III → V → IV
B) I → II → IV
C) I → III → V
D) I → II → V

Question 51

_______ cells are the output of the retina.

A) Amacrine
B) Horizontal
C) Bipolar
D) Ganglion

Question 52

Refer to the figure shown.
The figure shows the activity of _______ cells.

A) bipolar
B) horizontal
C) cone
D) ganglion

Question 53

Refer to the figure shown.
If the top panel (activity trace) of the figure is the result of light shining in the center of the receptive field, which of the following is true?

A) The entire receptive field has been inhibited.
B) Central illumination has increased activity.
C) This is likely an off-center cell response.
D) This is likely an on-center cell response.

Question 54

Refer to the figure shown.
The bottom panel of the figure depicts _______ illumination of an _______ cell.

A) central; on-center
B) diffuse; on-center
C) peripheral; on-center
D) central; off-center

Question 55

The area of the retina within which the membrane potential of a particular neuron can be influenced by light is called the

A) on-center area.
B) straight-through area.
C) outer plexiform layer.
D) receptive field.

Question 56

Choose the best explanation for mammals not being able to process the color reddish green.

A) Mammals are actually able to process the color reddish green.
B) Red-green opponent cells lack center-surround antagonism.
C) Red-green opponent ganglion cells have concentric antagonistic receptive fields but are also color-opponent.
D) Green cone cells are inhibited by red light.

Question 57

Bees have ultraviolet light sensitivity because

A) of a photoreceptors with maximum sensitivity to 340 nm wavelengths.
B) of a photoreceptors with maximum sensitivity to 440 nm wavelengths.
C) of a photoreceptors with maximum sensitivity to 560 nm wavelengths.
D) of the aggregate response of the photoreceptors with maximum sensitivities at 340 nm, 440 nm, and 560 nm wavelengths.

Question 58

Explain the principle of labeled lines.

Question 59

What are the four different ways a sensory receptor cell can be classified?

Question 60

How does the transduction mechanism work in a stretch (mechano-) receptor?

Question 61

Describe the process of adaptation as it relates to mechanoreceptors in mammalian skin.

Question 62

How could the statocyst of a lobster be manipulated experimentally to cause the lobster to behave as if Earth's gravity were the opposite of its true gravity?

Question 63

Explain how the hair cells transduce sound intensity and frequency.

Question 64

A blowfly can taste with its feet. Explain.

Question 65

How would you test whether an olfactory receptor cell responds to an odor?

Question 66

Compare and contrast vertebrate and invertebrate transduction in photoreception.

Question 67

Explain how hyperpolarization of a vertebrate cone will eventually be transduced into a train of action potentials sent to the brain via the optic nerve.