Question 1

Experiments with monkeys tracking hand movements with electrical stimulation to different sites in the motor cortex revealed what information about the motor cortex map?

Accepted Answer

The motor cortex map is not static but can vary depending on the prior position of the limb in space. This means that the effect of stimulating a particular area of the motor cortex can change based on the limb's location before stimulation, indicating a dynamic relationship between cortical activity and motor output.

Question 2

What does the neuronal population code imply about the motor cortex?

Accepted Answer

The neuronal population code suggests that movements are represented in the brain not by the activity of individual neurons, but by the patterns of activity across groups of neurons. This means that understanding motor control and planning involves looking at how populations of neurons in the motor cortex work together to encode movements.

Question 3

The motor cortex and spinal cord both contribute to the control of voluntary movements. Give an example from the text that provides evidence for the idea that control of walking is highly coordinated by the spinal cord.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The motor cortex and spinal cord both...

Question 4

A small subset of neurons in the ventral premotor region of the motor cortex are activated for a particular movement even when the action is only observed. These are called______________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A small subset of neurons in the...

Question 5

Which of the following support the idea that the motor cortex expresses a high level of neural plasticity?

Accepted Answer

All of the choices support the idea that the motor cortex exhibits a high level of neural plasticity. Learning new movements can activate new neurons (A), rewiring occurs with learned movements (B), constraint-induced movement therapy's efficacy (C) indicates the motor cortex's ability to adapt, and the changing cortical maps (D) directly demonstrate neural plasticity.

Question 6

Which of the following tests could distinguish between a patient experiencing locked-in syndrome from a patient in a permanently vegetative state?

Accepted Answer

Locked-in syndrome patients retain cognitive function and can often respond with eye movements or blinking, and brain imaging can show activity in response to prompts. Patients in a vegetative state would not show these responses.

Question 7

Does the discovery of mirror neurons support or contradict the current hypotheses on how the motor cortex is mapped to coordinate specific movements?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Does the discovery of mirror neurons support...

Question 8

The largest cell bodies in the cerebellum are the ______________cells although the most numerous are the ______________.

Accepted Answer

Purkinje cells have the largest cell bodies in the cerebellum, while cerebellar granule cells are the most numerous.

Question 9

The only neurotransmitter used for signaling by the Purkinje neurons is ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The only neurotransmitter used for signaling by...

Question 10

After amputation of a limb, what might you might expect that in the area of the motor cortex that originally sent information to that missing limb

Accepted Answer

After amputation, the brain undergoes reorganization, and the motor cortex area that originally controlled the missing limb can become devoted to controlling other intact limbs.

Question 11

Which of the following would result in the largest degree of Purkinje cell inactivation?

Accepted Answer

The death of thousands of surrounding inferior olive cells would result in the largest degree of Purkinje cell inactivation because inferior olive cells provide excitatory input to Purkinje cells via climbing fibers. Without this input, Purkinje cells would become less active.

Question 12

Match each division of the cerebellum with it's appropriate function:
-_____coordinates movements of the neck and trunk

Accepted Answer

The spinocerebellum is primarily responsible for coordinating movements of the neck and trunk, as well as other parts of the body, to ensure smooth and balanced motion.

Question 13

Match each division of the cerebellum with it's appropriate function:
-_____modifies reflexes involving the vestibular input

Accepted Answer

The vestibulocerebellum is involved in balance and eye movements, modifying reflexes that involve vestibular input to help maintain equilibrium and coordinate head and eye movements.

Question 14

Match each division of the cerebellum with it's appropriate function:
-_____sends and receives synaptic input from the frontal lobe

Accepted Answer

The cerebrocerebellum is involved in planning movements and motor learning, and it sends and receives synaptic input from the frontal lobe, which is involved in motor control and cognitive functions.

Question 15

Purkinje cell activation results in ____________of their target cells in the interior of the cerebellum.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Purkinje cell activation results in ____________of their...

Question 16

Learning to turn the wheel of a car sliding on ice in the opposite direction that the car is sliding in a slow, controlled fashion is an example of what sort of learned behavior.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Learning to turn the wheel of a...

Question 17

Feedback and feedforward control are general features of the nervous system. In particular, the coordination of movement requires both feedback and feedforward neural control of motor systems. Define feedback and feedforward control in your own words and give an example of each type of control in a specific type of movement.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Feedback and feedforward control are general features...

Question 18

All of the following are indications of cerebellar damage and clinical features of cerebellar ataxia, except

Accepted Answer

Loss of target recognition is not a clinical feature of cerebellar ataxia. Overshooting targets (dysmetria) and trembling when reaching for a target (intention tremor) are indications of cerebellar damage.

Question 19

In Figure 10.26 In the text cerebellar modulation of the VOR is demonstrated by having monkeys respond with head movements to visual stimulus in the presence or absence of magnifying lenses. Using lidocaine, they found that the VOR gain in the presence of magnifying glasses depended on action potentials in the vestibullocerebellum. What additional experiment would be best to provide even more detailed evidence of how the cerebellum modifies the VOR?

Accepted Answer

Infusing the vestibullocerebellum with a GABA receptor inhibitor would directly affect the cerebellar neurons' inhibitory signaling, providing detailed evidence of how the cerebellum modifies the VOR by altering the balance of excitation and inhibition within the cerebellar circuits involved in VOR adaptation.

Question 20

Self-generated sensory inputs are filtered out by the cerebellum, which enhances sensitivity to unexpected signals. What adaptive behavior is this most advantageous for?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Self-generated sensory inputs are filtered out by...

Quiz 10: Controlling Posture and Locomotion