Brain Bee Sample Questions

Test your knowledge with these sample questions from the Brain Bee:
1. Approximately how many neurons does the brain contain? (100 billion)
2. Name the device that measures brain waves. (Electroencephalograph)
3. What is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation? (Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome)
4. Stargazer mice are experimental models for which type of epilepsy? (Petit mal
epilepsy)
5. The biological clock is located in what part of the brain? (Hypothalamus)
6. Name a brain disorder named after a famous baseball player. (Lou Gehrig's disease)
7. Prozac relieves symptoms of depression by affecting what neurotransmitter?
(Serotonin)
8. Name the surgical procedure that destroys part of the basal ganglia and helps
Parkinson's patients? (Pallidotomy)
9. Drugs used to treat schrizoprenia dampen the response of dopamine
10. Glutamate is the primary excitatory transmitter in the central nervous system.
11. Glutamate is the primary excitatory transmitter in the central nervous system.
Conversely, a major inhibitory transmitter is its derivative γ-aminobutyric acid
(GABA), while another inhibitory neurotransmitter is the amino acid called
glycine, which is mainly found in the spinal cord.
12. Cells in the nervous system that are not neurons but that support, nourish, and
protect neurons. Contribute to nervous system development- glial cell
13. The gaps between neurons, across which chemical messages are sent- synapses
14. Cytosol- intracellular
15. Neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal when their vesicles "fuse"
with the membrane of the axon terminal, spilling the neurotransmitter into the
synaptic cleft.
16. Neurotransmitters are stored in synaptic vesicles, clustered close to the cell
membrane at the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron. Neurotransmitters are
released into and diffuse across the synaptic cleft, where they bind to specific
receptors on the membrane of the postsynaptic neuron.
17. Neurotransmitters synthesized by the neuron are stored in the presynaptic
element, inside the synaptic vesicles.
18. Sleep is regulated by two parallel mechanisms, homeostatic regulation and
circadian regulation, controlled by the hypothalamus and the suprachiasmatic
nucleus (SCN), respectively.
19. The brain is made of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the
limbic system). The midbrain consists of the tectum and tegmentum. The
hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons and medulla.
20. he brainstem (or brain stem) is the posterior part of the brain, continuous with the
spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem includes the midbrain, the pons
and medulla oblongata of the hindbrain.
21. The forebrain is mainly involved in the controlling of voluntary actions. The
cerebrum of forebrain controls all the voluntary actions. In addition the
cerebellum is concerned with the voluntary muscle movements.
22. The midbrain serves important functions in motor movement, particularly
movements of the eye, and in auditory and visual processing.
23. Cortical- relating to the outer layer of the cerebrum
24. Atrophy- waste away
25. Both of these structures—the basal ganglia and the cerebellum—are now known
to have other functions in addition to modulating motor control.
26. Inner parts of a neuron; built up of rods of tubular and filamentous proteins-
cytoskeleton
27. A "trophic factor" can be generally defined as any molecule that supports the
survival of cells. Nerve growth factors are polypeptides that regulate the
proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation of cells in the nervous
system.
28. Growth factors are proteins that bind to specific receptors on the cell surface, with
the primary effect during nervous system development of stimulating cell
proliferation, neuronal differentiation, or neurite outgrowth.
29. Electrical currents moving into cells (positive currents)- excitation
30. Electrical Currents moving out of cells (negative current)- inhibition
31. Pores in the axonal membrane that open and close to let through electrically
charged atoms (ions)- ion-channel
32. A reduction in the difference of electrical potential that exists across the
membrane of a nerve- depolarization
33. Reduction is a chemical reaction that involves the gaining of electrons by one of
the atoms involved in the reaction between two chemicals.
34. Action potential in a neuron, showing depolarization, in which the cell's internal
charge becomes less negative (more positive), and repolarization, where the
internal charge returns to a more negative value.
35. The main difference between depolarization and repolarization is that the
depolarization is the loss of resting membrane potential due to the alteration of
the polarization of cell membrane whereas repolarization is the restoration of the
resting membrane potential after each depolarization event.
36. A brief period after a synaptic transmission in which no action potentials travel
along the nerve- refractory period
37. In physiology, a refractory period is a period of time during which an organ or
cell is incapable of repeating a particular action, or (more precisely) the amount of
time it takes for an excitable membrane to be ready for a second stimulus once it
returns to its resting state following an excitation.
38. An action potential occurs when the membrane depolarises to a certain threshold,
if this threshold is not reached the action potential will not be triggered. This is
 referred to as the all-or-nothing principle in biology: it means that the power of a
stimulus is not proportional to the power of the action potential.
39. Chemical Messengers which transmit across the gap between axons and
dendrites- neurotransmitter
40. 20 nanometre (20 billionths of a metre) gap between the ends of neurons- synaptic
cleft
41. Ionotropic receptors- The type of receptors which open an ion-channel when
acted on by neurotransmitters
42. PSPs are called excitatory (or EPSPs) if they increase the likelihood of a
postsynaptic action potential occurring, and inhibitory (or IPSPs) if they decrease
this likelihood. ... In both cases, neurotransmitters binding to receptors open or
close ion channels in the postsynaptic cell.
43. Receptors in the membrane of neurons which don't open ion-channels, are not
always localised in the region of the synapses and do not lead to the initiation of
action potentials; they only adjust or modulate the chemical processors in
neurons- metabotropic receptors
44. The action of metabotropic receptors- neuromodulation
45. Thus, there is first an influx of sodium ions (leading to massive depolarization)
followed by a rapid efflux of potassium ions from the neuron (leading to
repolarisation).
46. Myelin is the fatty membranes of cells called Oligodendroglia (in the CNS) and
Schwann Cells (in the PNS) that wraps around the axon and acts as an insulator,
preventing the dissipation of the depolarisation wave.
47. This is demonstrated by the devastating effects of Multiple Sclerosis, a
demyelinating disease that affects bundles of axons in the brain, spinal cord and
optic nerve, leading to lack of co-ordination and muscle control as well as
difficulties with speech and vision.
48. Drug with high risk of dependancy; the active ingredient in tobacco; acts on brain
receptors that usually recognise acetylcholine; activates natural alerting
mechanisms- nicotine
49. Drug with high risk of dependancy; man-made dericative of the plant product
morphine; hijacks a system which releases endorphins (Which are very important
in pain control)- heroin
50. Drug with high risk of dependancy; plant derived chemical; works much the same
way as amphetamines but is much more dangerous- amphetamine
51. A neuromodulatory transmitter; released in response to carious forms of novelty
and stress to help organise complex response- noradrenaline
52. A neuromuscular junction (or myoneural junction) is a chemical synapse formed
by the contact between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber.
53. As the axon of a motor neuron approaches a muscle that it innervates, it divides
into multiple branches, each of which makes a synapse called a neuromuscular
junction with an individual muscle fibre. ... When an action potential reaches a
neuromuscular junction, it causes acetylcholine to be released into this synapse
54. Bridging molecules triggered by the binding of a neurotransmitter to a
metabotropic receptor- G-protein
55. The action of metabotropic receptors- neuromodulation
56. Places where the activation of receptors leads to the inflow of negatively charged
ions- inhibitory synapses
57. An inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) is a kind of synaptic potential that
makes a postsynaptic neuron less likely to generate an action potential.