1. The basic unit of the entire nervous system is the:

a) Dendrite
b) Neuron
c) Brain
d) Spinal Cord
e) Glial Cell

2. Below are various descriptions of some of the most important components in the human nervous system – but only one is correct. Please highlight it:

a) The central nervous system includes the nerves through which the central nervous system interacts with the rest of the body.
b) The peripheral nervous system includes the brain and the spinal cord.
c) Afferent or sensory nerves carry information to the central nervous system from sensory neurones and regulate glandular secretion.
d) Efferent or motor nerves extend out from the central nervous system to the organs.

3. Which of these is a feature of neurons?

a) All neurons have the same function.
b) The neuronal cell’s metabolic activities take place in the nucleus.
c) Axons are the input system of a neuron.
d) All neurons have more than one axon.

4. The three main components of a neuron include:

a) Cell body, dendrites, axon
b) Cell body, nerves, axon
c) White matter, cell body, nerves
d) Internal body, external body, nerve branches
e) Dendrites, axons, white matter

5. Which nervous system controls the activity of the structures inside your body, such as your heart or your endocrine glands?

a) Autonomic nervous system, which includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic system
b) Somatic system, which includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic system
c) Autonomic system, which includes the central and somatic system
d) Somatic system, which includes the central and autonomic system
e) Somatic nervous system, which includes the autonomic and peripheral system

6. Which of the following is NOT true of the human brain?

a) The cerebellum plays a key role in making movement smooth and efficient, and lies at the back of the brain.
b) The motor and sensory systems do not interact.
c) The spinal cord, made up of both axons and ganglia, provides us with essential reflexes.
d) The brain comprises two halves – or hemispheres.

7. Early research on the patterns of behaviour observed in people during epileptic seizures advanced the idea that:

a) Seizures were caused by chemical discharges in the brain
b) The cortex can be surgically removed to reduce seizures
c) No patterns of seizure activity can be detected
d) Brain regions have highly specialized functions
e) (b) and (d)

8. Which, if any, of the following are true?

Each region of the neocortex may contain more specialized modules.
Damage to a given volume of neocortical tissue tends to be more profoundly disabling than damage to the same volume of the subcortex.
Functional neuro-imaging methods allow us to observe which brain regions are active.

a) 1 & 2
b) 2 & 3
c) 1 & 3
d) None

9. Identify the INCORRECT assertion from those given below, with regard to damage to the brain’s hemispheres:

a) Severe hemi-neglect often results from damage to the left parietal lobe.
b) Patients with hemi-neglect may ignore the entire left half of the world.
c) The right hemisphere might be able to support bilateral spatial attentional processes.
d) When the left hemisphere is damaged, the right may be able to take over processes that would normally depend on the left hemisphere.

10. If we surveyed a sample of neuroscientists, which part of the brain would they report as most preferable to lose?

a) A cubic centimeter of glial cells because the damage would be less disabling
b) A cubic centimeter of subcortex because the damage would be less disabling
c) A cubic centimeter of spinal cord because the damage would be less disabling
d) A cubic centimeter of cortex because the damage would be less disabling
e) A cubic centimeter of the medulla because it would be less disabling

11. Communication among the neurons requires two main activities: Electrical signals which are generated by ____________, and chemical signals which are generated by ____________.

a) Resting potentials, neurotransmitters
b) Neurotransmitters, axon potentials
c) Neurotransmitters, depolarization
d) Axon potentials; neurotransmitters
e) Depolarization; hyperpolarization

12. Regarding the electrical activity of neurons, which of the following is INCORRECT?

a) Neurons are integrators: they can have a vast number of different inputs, but they produce just a single output signal, which they transmit to their targets.
b) There is a small voltage difference between the inside and the outside of the neuron in its resting state, known as the action potential.
c) The inputs to neurons are tiny amounts of chemical neurotransmitters.
d) In the steady state neuron, there is an active pumping of ions across the neuronal membrane.

13. Neurotransmission, and thus brain function, can be disrupted by:

a) Antagonists
b) Agonists
c) (a) and (b)
d) Synapses
e) Glial cells

14. Which one of the following do we know to be true about inhibitory neurotransmitters?

a) Inhibitory neurotransmitters increase the excitability of a cell.
b) The classic inhibitory neurotransmitter is glutamate.
c) Increasing chloride ion flow into the interior of the cell decreases the cell’s negativity.
d) Increasing the cell’s negativity is called hyperpolarization.

15. Long-term potentiation and long-term depression are processes demonstrating that:

a) Experience can modify a neuron�s responses
b) Experience can modify a person�s potential
c) Experience can modify a person�s mental health
d) Experience cannot modify a neuron�s responses
e) (a), (b) and (c)

16. Which of the following statements regarding the NMDA receptor is INCORRECT?

a) The NMDA receptor is a particular subtype of glutamate receptor.
b) Sodium entry into the cell is one of the triggers for the development of LTP.
c) NMDA-dependent LTP can only develop in a cell that has been depolarized and then receives a further input.
d) Experiments have shown the blockade of the NMDA receptor by the drug AP5 prevents the development of LTP.

17. Which of the following statements is NOT true in terms of repairing damaged brains?

a) Adult neurons can sometimes form new connections.
b) If one input to a target area is lost, the remaining inputs sometimes send out new branches from their axons to colonize the vacant space.
c) Although transplanted neurons taken from a brain at the right stage of development will grow in an adult host brain, they will not restore normal function.
d) Transplants of dopamine cell bodies alleviate some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in human patients.

18. Research on neural grafting techniques to transplant dopamine cell bodies indicate that:

a) We cannot repair damaged brains
b) We can repair some damaged brains
c) We can prevent brain damage
d) We can prevent Parkinson�s disease
e) None of the above

19. Which of the following assertions about modularity in the brain is accurate?

a) Different aspects of a visual stimulus appear to be analysed by different modules in the brain.
b) It is impossible to use an evolutionary explanation for modularity in the brain.
c) Both (a) and (b).
d) Neither (a) nor (b).

20. The brain can solve immensely difficult computational problems and thus allow us to function in our environments by relying on which type of processing?

a) Parallel and visual processing of incoming information
b) Independent and neuronal processing of incoming information
c) Parallel and visual processing of outgoing information
d) Independent and neuronal processing of outgoing information
e) Parallel and modular processing of incoming information