Deck 14: Neurotransmitters in the Central Nervous System

Question 1

What is the role of acetylcholine at the vertebrate neuromuscular junction?

A) It leads to hyperpolarization of post synaptic membrane potential.
B) It triggers a cascade of phosphorylations that lead to gene transcription factors being activated.
C) It directs excitation of the post synaptic membrane.
D) It leads to presynaptic autoinhibition.
E) It binds to muscarinic cholinergic receptors.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is an effect of GABA?

A) It inhibits muscle fibers in invertebrate systems.
B) It excites muscle fibers in vertebrate systems.
C) It is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.
D) It is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the spinal cord.
E) It reduces conductance of chloride.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is the major modern technique used to localize most neurotransmitters and their receptors?

A) Patch clamp recordings
B) Intracellular recordings
C) HRP injections
D) Amperometry
E) Immunohistochemical methods

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which is most likely used to describe a serotonergic neuron?

A) Confined to special nuclei in the brainstem
B) Only binds to ionotropic receptors
C) Only involved in locomotor function
D) Usually works in a fast manner
E) Generally leads to hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane

Question 5

Which synapse is a model for GABAergic action?

A) Schaffer collaterals of the hippocampus
B) Crustacean NMJ
C) Frog NMJ
D) Substantia nigra compacta projections to striatum
E) Interneurons onto dorsal horn sensory cells in the spinal cord

Question 6

Which is not an example of an indirect transmitter?

A) Norepinephrine
B) ATP
C) γ-aminobutyric acid
D) 5-HT
E) Histamine

Question 7

How were cholinergic neurons first localized?

A) Histochemical stain for cholinesterase
B) Patch clamp recordings
C) Intracellular recordings
D) Amperometry
E) In situ hybridization for enzymes

Question 8

What type of receptors do enkephalins activate?

A) Cholinergic
B) Adrenergic
C) Glutaminergic
D) Opioid
E) GABAergic

Question 9

Morphine-like activity is mimicked by which neurotransmitter?

A) Acetylcholine
B) Glutamate
C) GABA
D) Enkephalin
E) Serotonin

Question 10

Which is a known antagonist to morphine?

A) MK-801
B) Naloxone
C) Strychnine
D) Arsenic
E) TTX

Question 11

Narcolepsy is due to an absence of

A) acetylcholine
B) glutamate
C) orexins
D) GABA
E) glycine

Question 12

Which neurotransmitter is a peptide?

A) Orexins
B) Acetylcholine
C) Glutamate
D) GABA
E) Glycine

Question 13

Which receptor leads to fast currents when glutamate is released presynaptically?

A) NMDA receptors
B) Kainate receptors
C) Opioid receptors
D) Cholinergic receptors
E) AMPA receptors

Question 14

Drugs such as benzodiazepine compounds and barbiturates bind at

A) glycine receptors.
B) ionotropic Glutamate receptors.
C) nicotinic Acetylcholine receptors.
D) GABA_A receptor.
E) metabotropic glutamate receptors.

Question 15

Which of the following is used to limit neurotransmitter release from the presynaptic area?

A) Glycine receptors
B) GABA_B receptor
C) Ionotropic Glutamate receptors
D) Nicotinic Acetylcholine receptors
E) Metabotropic glutamate receptors

Question 16

Which area is an important source of acetylcholine for the cerebral cortex and hippocampus?

A) Neurons of the raphe nucleus
B) Neurons of the nucleus basalis of the basal forebrain
C) Neurons of the red nucleus
D) Neurons of the pontine nuclei
E) Neurons of the nucleus ambiguous

Question 17

Which of the following are blocked by alpha-bungarotoxin and have a high permeability to calcium ions?

A) Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channels
B) GABA_B receptor channel
C) muscarinic cholinergic receptors
D) adrenergic receptors
E) NK receptors

Question 18

One of the earliest and most profound changes found in patients with Alzheimer's disease is

A) death of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons.
B) death of striatal GABAergic neurons.
C) death of raphe serotonergic neurons.
D) loss of the subthalamic neurons.
E) degeneration of the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons.

Question 19

What is the primary effect of norepinephrine on its target neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex?

A) Inhibits slow calcium activated potassium current
B) Excites the slow sodium conductance in AMPA receptors
C) Excites the fast sodium conductance in NMDA receptors
D) Modulates the sodium current in muscarinic ACh receptors
E) Inhibits tonic sodium activity of thalamic neurons.

Question 20

Noradrenergic neurons are concentrated in which location?

A) Raphe nucleus
B) Basal forebrain
C) Substantia nigra
D) Locus coeruleus
E) Dorsal hypothalamus

Question 21

Serotonergic neurons are concentrated in which location?

A) Locus coeruleus
B) Basal forebrain
C) Raphe nucleus
D) Substantia nigra
E) Dorsal hypothalamus

Question 22

Certain drugs can reduce inflammation related to rashes and insect bites. The usual side effect of taking these drugs is to become sleepy. Which best describes this group of biogenic amines?

A) Prozac (fluoxetine)
B) cocaine
C) antihistamine
D) barbiturate
E) alcohol

Question 23

mGluR6 receptors are most often found in which location?

A) Retinal bipolar cells
B) Retina ganglion cells
C) Mueller cells
D) Dorsal horn cells in the spinal cord
E) Presynaptic glutaminergic fibers.

Question 24

Enhancement of which receptor currents is responsible for some of the effects of ethanol?

A) GABA_B
B) mGluR6
C) mAChR
D) NK
E) GABA_A

Question 25

If you wanted to examine if a GABA_B receptor was involved at a specific synapse, which would you use?

A) MK-801, which would inhibit selectively GABA_B receptors
B) Baclofen, which would activate selectively GABA_B receptors
C) Barbiturates, which prolong the postsynaptic current at GABA_B receptors
D) Nicotine, which would enhance the postsynaptic current at GABA_B receptors
E) TTX, which would decrease the presynaptic current at GABA_B receptors

Question 26

Atropine blocks which receptor complexes?

A) Nicotinic cholinergic
B) mGluR6
C) NMDA
D) AMPA
E) Muscarinic cholinergic

Question 27

The primary effect of norepinephrine on target neurons in the hippocampus is to

A) enhance the voltage gated calcium channels.
B) enhance NMDA receptors allowing increased calcium current.
C) inhibit the slow calcium activated potassium current.
D) block opioid receptors leading to pain.
E) co-activate serotonergic receptors.

Question 28

Giving L-dopa is one of the earliest treatments for

A) Parkinson's disease.
B) Alzheimer's disease.
C) multiple sclerosis.
D) myasthenia gravis.
E) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Question 29

Recently, a mutation for a gene for a synthetic enzyme of a neurotransmitter has shown to be related to Tourette's syndrome. This is more evidence that this neurotransmitter is involved in which of the following functions?

A) Cognitive abilities
B) Locomotion
C) Memory
D) Learning
E) neurosecretion

Question 30

Which of the following is not true about neurotransmitters?

A) Acetylcholine is removed from the synaptic cleft by the use of acetylcholinesterase.
B) Glutamate is removed from the synaptic cleft by uptake to glial cells.
C) Norepinephrine is synthesized locally at the presynaptic area.
D) Enkephalin is synthesized locally at the presynaptic area.
E) Peptide neurotransmitters are packaged into dense core vesicles at the presynaptic area.

Question 31

Substance P works at which receptor?

A) NMDA
B) AMPA
C) Nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh)
D) Antihistamine
E) NK

Question 32

Substance P's role in the nervous system is to relay information regarding which stimuli?

A) Acute pain
B) Prolonged pain
C) Color in vision
D) Texture in vision
E) Motor action

Question 33

Where are orexins found in the CNS?

A) Globus pallidus external
B) Hypothalamus
C) Pontine nuclei
D) Substantia nigra
E) Red nucleus

Question 34

One of the key functions of orexins is to

A) trigger voluntary walking.
B) inhibit reflexive action.
C) promote awakening.
D) curtail appetite.
E) reduce short term pain.

Question 35

Orexin containing neurons are located in which area of the CNS?

A) Medial geniculate nucleus
B) Ventral posterior lateral nucleus
C) Substantia nigra
D) Posterior lateral hypothalamus
E) Dorsal horn

Question 36

Which CNS location is most likely involved in awakening via trigger from orexinergic neurons in the lateral hypothalamus?

A) Arcuate nucleus
B) Cerebral cortex
C) Locus coeruleus
D) Olfactory bulb
E) Hippocampus

Question 37

Orexinergic neurons trigger increased food intake from release of

A) hypothalamic neuropeptide Y.
B) substance P.
C) morphine.
D) secretin.
E) CCK.

Question 38

What would the result be if you increase the concentration of glucose and record intracellularly from orexinergic neurons?

A) There will be no change in the membrane potential.
B) There would be an increase in the release of acetylcholine.
C) Orexinergic neurons will begin to fire spontaneously.
D) The membrane potential of the neurons will become more negative.
E) Orexinergic neurons only going to the dorsal raphe will begin to fire spontaneously.

Question 39

What is the location of the neurons containing vasopressin?

A) Supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus
B) Red nucleus
C) Locus coeruleus
D) Raphe nucleus
E) Periaqueductal gray matter

Question 40

Lactation is triggered by the release of

A) vasopressin.
B) orexin.
C) substance P.
D) histamine.
E) oxytocin.

Question 41

Which area of the CNS is involved in social behavior that is regulated by vasopressin and oxytocin?

A) Red nucleus
B) Prefrontal cortex
C) Locus coeruleus
D) Raphe nucleus
E) Periaqueductal gray matter

Question 42

Which of the following leads to increased bonding between female voles?

A) Substance P
B) Orexin
C) Oxytocin
D) Ghrelin
E) GABA

Question 43

Facilitation of pair bonding involves suppression of the normal fear response which is generated in the

A) red nucleus.
B) locus coeruleus.
C) raphe nucleus.
D) amygdala.
E) periaqueductal gray matter.

Question 44

Vasopressin is involved in which gland of the endocrine system?

A) Posterior pituitary glans
B) Thyroid gland
C) Adrenal cortex
D) Adrenal medulla
E) Pineal gland

Question 45

What is the function of vasopressin in renal homeostasis?

A) Increases sleepiness
B) Promotes water reabsorption
C) Increases wakefulness
D) Increases appetite
E) Increases glucose levels in blood

Question 46

Compare the inactivation of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction to glutamate at a synapse in the CNS.

Question 47

Describe some of the indirect neurotransmitters that are used to modulate transmission through synaptic pathways in the CNS and how they work.

Question 48

Explain how you would determine experimentally the functional aspect of a specific neuron in vivo.

Question 49

Describe one way to visualize a neurotransmitter of interest or its receptor in the cell body and a second way to identify them in the presynaptic area.

Question 50

In your research activities you are observing at neuron 1 synapse onto neuron 2. You are able to record presynaptically from neuron 1 and you find a consistent duration of the action potential. However, if you apply enkephalin, you find a much shorter duration action potential. What is the likely mechanism underlying your observation?

Question 51

How were orexins discovered to be neurotransmitters?

Question 52

What advantage do AMPA receptors have over other types of receptors in terms of synaptic plasticity? How does this come about?

Question 53

Describe an example of how a metabotropic glutamate receptor can affect internal biochemistry of the postsynaptic neuron.

Question 54

Compare and contrast the NMDA receptor with the AMPA receptor.

Question 55

Explain what is meant by "volume transmission" of acetylcholine.

Question 56

Describe the actions of the dopaminergic projection from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens. Explain the effect of cocaine on this area.

Question 57

Describe ATP's involvement with neuroglial signaling.

Question 58

Describe the action of GABA_B receptors that are located postsynaptically.

Question 59

Contrast how peptide neurotransmitters differ from small molecule neurotransmitters.

Question 60

Describe the role and location of Substance P in nociceptive (pain) transmission. Briefly explain a method used to study this neurotransmitter's receptor system and the findings from these experiments.

Question 61

Describe how the role of orexins was established in the CNS.

Question 62

What is the role of orexinergic neurons in sensing the nutritional state of an animal x?

Question 63

You are interested in determining the involvement of neurotransmitter X on a specific behavior of an organism. Describe your hypothesis and the general methodology you would follow to show such a relationship.

Question 64

You have found a new species of birds and you observe a monogamous bonding between male and female. How would you go about determining which neurotransmitters might be involved?