Deck 3: Methods of Research in Psychopharmacology

Question 1

Which statement about methods of research in neurobehavioral pharmacology is false?

A) Use of scientific method and critical reading of literature are necessary skills.
B) Methods focus only on the molecular level, not the whole organism.
C) Researchers must be able to quantify changes in behavior, mood, and thinking.
D) Many studies require images of neurotransmitters and receptors in the living brain.

Answer 1

Methods focus only on the molecular level, not the whole organism.

Question 2

Which statement about the importance of behavioral measures in psychopharmacology is false?

A) Behavioral measures use observational measures, which are the most reliable and valid approaches.
B) Behavioral measures are used for developing animal models of psychiatric disorders.
C) Behavioral measures are used for screening newly-developed drug molecules in preclinical trials.
D) Behavioral measures aid in understanding the neurochemical basis of behavior.

Answer 2

Behavioral measures use observational measures, which are the most reliable and valid approaches.

Question 3

Which of the following is not an advantage of animal studies in psychopharmacology?

A) They allow for precise control of living conditions not possible with humans.
B) Assessing emotional and psychological changes in response to experimental manipulations is relatively straightforward in nonhuman subjects.
C) The past histories of animal subjects are known to the investigator.
D) Invasive procedures that would be unethical on humans can be used.

Answer 3

Assessing emotional and psychological changes in response to experimental manipulations is relatively straightforward in nonhuman subjects.

Question 4

What are the limitations to studying fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in human subjects?

A) There are not enough cases to study.
B) The studies are correlational only; one cannot assert that alcohol causes any particular effect.
C) There is very little evidence for FAS in children born to women in the United States.
D) It is impossible to obtain permission to conduct this type of research.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a guideline of the Health Extension Act of 1985?

A) Researchers should be trained in basic veterinary care.
B) Alternative methods, such as computer simulation, should be considered.
C) Procedures must avoid or minimize distress or pain.
D) Research must benefit society or advance knowledge.

Question 6

Good behavioral tests for drug effects should meet a variety of criteria. Which of the following is not one of these criteria?

A) They should be specific for the drug class being screened.
B) They should have face validity.
C) They should be reliable.
D) They should be sensitive, and show the same rank order of potency as seen in therapeutic action.

Question 7

Which of the following is not a test for learning and memory?

A) Morris water maze
B) T-maze
C) Light-dark crossing task
D) Delayed-response test

Question 8

Which pair of behavioral test and what it is designed to measure is incorrectly matched?

A) Delayed-response test: fear
B) Conditioned place preference: reward
C) Elevated plus-maze: anxiety
D) Conditioned emotional response: fear

Question 9

Animals will not self-administer

A) cocaine.
B) nicotine.
C) antidepressants.
D) morphine.

Question 10

Which statement about translational research is false?

A) It involves the transfer of discoveries from basic science research into clinical applications.
B) One of its goals is to develop therapeutic drugs more quickly and inexpensively.
C) It is facilitated by the development of parallel tasks and methods for animals and humans.
D) It was developed recently-in the last decade.

Question 11

_______ coordinate(s) is/are needed with stereotaxic surgery to specify a particular brain area.

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four

Question 12

If a researcher wants to disrupt a specific dopamine pathway, which method would be most effective?

A) Electrolytic lesion
B) Kainic acid
C) Ibotenic acid
D) 6-hydroxydopamine

Question 13

Macroelectrodes are used for all of the following except

A) activating cells and generating action potentials.
B) recording activity from thousands of neurons.
C) controling tremors in Parkinson's disease.
D) quantifying receptor number and activation.

Question 14

Which statement regarding receptor autoradiography is false?

A) It provides information about receptor number and location.
B) It tells the researcher about the affinity of receptors for a particular drug in a certain region of the brain.
C) It is useful for studying the effects of brain lesions on receptor binding.
D) It cannot be used when the receptor binding has occurred in vivo.

Question 15

DNA microarrays are not used to

A) quantify neurochemicals in the brain.
B) aid in identification of the genes that switch on and off together in response to drugs and diseases.
C) help scientists understand the many presynaptic proteins that are underexpressed in schizophrenia.
D) make it possible to screen the entire genome using just a few chips.

Question 16

Which technique does not permit visualization of the living human brain?

A) Functional MRI
B) In situ hybridization (ISH)
C) Computerized tomography
D) SPECT

Question 17

Which statement about PET scans is false?

A) They use radioisotopes that decay rapidly, emitting positrons in the process.
B) They are used to detect where labeled drugs and transmitters might bind.
C) They provide detailed structural information if the proper reagents are used.
D) They can be used to determine which brain areas are active during cognitive tasks.

Question 18

Which of the following is not a reason that functional MRI is preferred over PET imaging?

A) The detail is far superior in functional MRI.
B) The fMRI procedure provides both anatomical and functional information.
C) The individual does not need to be injected with a radioactive substance in functional MRI.
D) Because fMRI is a newer procedure, it has replaced the need for other techniques like PET and EEG.

Question 19

Which of the following is not a reason that we should be cautious about interpreting the findings from studies using transgenic mice?

A) Complex behaviors and disorders are not controlled by single genes.
B) Manipulating genes in mice does not give us useful information about systems in humans.
C) A change in only one gene, the targeted mutation, may be masked by other compensating systems.
D) Gene changes occur in all tissues at all stages of development.

Question 20

Which statement about knockout mice is false?

A) They are also called transgenic mice.
B) They are a product of genetic engineering.
C) They are bred from animals whose DNA has been altered to reflect the particular mutation.
D) The knockout gene is often a gene for a receptor or enzyme involved in neurotransmitter synthesis or metabolism.

Question 21

Identify the three aspects of the Health Extension Act that exist to provide some protections for animals in research.