Sample Exam 3
Sample Exam 3
Sample Exam 3
On your scantron answer sheet, enter your name (last name, space, first name), internet
ID (X.500 name) and student number. Please do it now!!!
Questions in blue are reused from the first two midterm exams.
Class 2 neuro 101
1. Which of the following cell types would not normally be found in the spinal cord?
A. oligodendrocyte
B. schwann cell
C. astrocyte
D. microglia
E. More than one of the above are correct.
2. Neurons can receive synaptic input on all parts of the cell except the …
A. axon.
B. dendrite.
C. soma.
D. None of the above is correct.
4. Which of the following best describes the location of cells in the neural plate that are likely to
become neural crest cells?
A. midline
B. lateral margin
C. a stripe between the lateral margin and the midline
D. the top furthest from the primitive streak
E. the bottom closest to the primitive streak
5. The lumen of the embryonic neural tube persists into the adult brain. True or false?
A. true
B. false
Class 5 induction
6. Neural induction requires activation of two receptors, the FGF receptor and the BMP
receptor. True or false?
A. true
B. false
Nsci 4100 – Final Exam page 2
7. If you transplanted a region from the animal cap of an early blastula stage frog embryo into
a region that would normally develop into skin of another embryo of the same age, what
would you expect to see over the next day?
A. The transplanted cells would develop into mesoderm, and the host cells around the
transplant would develop into nervous system.
B. The transplanted cells would develop into mesoderm, and the host cells around the
transplant would develop into skin.
C. The transplanted cells would develop into nervous system, and the host cells around
the transplant would develop into skin.
D. The transplanted cells would develop into skin, and the host cells around the
transplant would develop into skin.
E. The transplanted cells would develop into skin, and the host cells around the
transplant would develop into nervous system.
10. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the isthmic organizer?
A. Mutual repression between the transcription factors Otx2 and Gbx2 is important for
its formation.
B. It later contributes to the cerebellum.
C. Its transplantation into the caudal diencephalon results in the induction of ectopic
midbrain.
D. It secretes Sonic hedgehog.
E. More than one of the above are NOT true.
11. Which of the following is TRUE regarding early regionalization of the nervous system?
A. The identity of a neuron in the brain is independent of the position of the progenitor
cell that produces the neuron.
B. The rostral-most part of the neural plate later becomes the thalamus.
C. Inhibition of BMP signaling leads to the induction of the nervous system with the
identity of the future hindbrain.
D. The lateral margin of the neural plate later becomes the floor plate.
E. None of the above is true.
Nsci 4100 – Final Exam page 3
12. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the anterior neural ridge?
A. It is formed at the anterior end of the central nervous system.
B. It secrets FGF8.
C. It is responsible for the anterior-posterior patterning of the cerebral cortex.
D. Its formation requires a signal from nearby non-neural tissues.
E. All of the above are true.
15. What effect would a traditional knockout of the Emx2 gene in mouse likely have on the
development of the neocortex?
A. The cortex would be larger than normal.
B. The cortex would be smaller than normal.
C. The cortex would have an abnormally high percentage of glial cells.
D. The cortex would have an abnormally low percentage of inhibitory interneurons.
E. The cortex would be normal in size and in the relative proportion of the various cell
types.
16. Neurogenic cell divisions are required for the exponential expansion of the cell population in
the early developing neural tube. True or false?
A. true
B. false
18. Rod photoreceptors are generated just after birth in the rodent retina. Imagine that you could
isolate progenitor cells from the newborn retina and transplant them to an embryonic day 12
retina, an age at which ganglion cells are just starting to be born. What cell type(s) would
you expect the transplanted progenitor cells to generate?
A. mainly retinal ganglion cells
B. mainly retinal ganglion cells first and then probably other retinal cell types
C. mainly rod photoreceptor cells first and then possibly glia
D. The transplanted cells would most likely be inhibited from generating differentiating
cells in the new environment.
20. Which of the following is the approximate sequence of genesis of various cell types in the
ventral horn of the spinal cord from earliest to latest?
A. projection neuron-interneuron-glia
B. projection neuron-glia-interneuron
C. interneuron-glia-projection neuron
D. interneuron-projection neuron-glia
E. glia-projection neuron-interneuron
21. Notch …
A. is a secreted factor.
B. is a cell surface ligand for its receptor.
C. is cleaved when activated, and a fragment of Notch functions in the nucleus.
D. is a receptor tyrosine kinase.
E. More than one of the above are correct.
22. What effect would you expect if you experimentally misexpressed Neuregulin-1 (Nrg1) in
sclerotome cells on one side of an early chick embryo compared to the contralateral
(control) side?
A. Crest cells that give rise to the peripheral nervous system would migrate
dorsolaterally.
B. Fewer melanocytes would migrate to the skin.
C. Dorsal root ganglia would fail to form, or if they did form, they would have fewer
neurons and more glia.
D. Dorsal root ganglia would develop, but would have more neurons and fewer glia.
E. More than one of the above are correct.
26. Which of the following do NOT develop from neural crest cells?
A. neurons of cranial nerve sensory ganglia
B. some bones of the face and head
C. parts of the heart
D. neurons in the wall of the intestines
E. All of the above develop at least in part from neural crest cells.
28. Which of the following statements describes a characteristic of the cell process that
becomes the axon in a developing neuron in tissue culture?
A. The first process that extends from the cell will usually become the axon.
B. The axon usually forms on the side of the soma opposite to the side with the
centrosome.
C. The axon usually forms on the same side of the soma as the Golgi apparatus.
D. The only cell process with membrane vesicles will become the axon.
AC E. More than one of the above are correct.
29. Which of the following statements is correct regarding the role of GDNF in the growth of
spinal motor neuron axons into limb bud in developing vertebrate embryos?
A. GDNF attracts the growing axons towards the limb.
B. GDNF repels the growing axons into a tight pathway prior to their entering the limb.
C. GDNF is expressed in the ventral limb compartment and attracts the ventral axons.
D. GDNF is expressed in the dorsal limb compartment and repels the ventral axons.
30. Dynein usually transports cargo in an axon towards the cell body. True or false?
A. true
B. false
Nsci 4100 – Final Exam page 6
31. Which of the following statements is correct regarding the growth of spinal motor neuron
axons into the limb bud in developing vertebrate embryos?
A. EphBs are expressed by cells in the dorsal limb compartment, and they attract dorsal
axons.
B. EphBs are expressed by cells in the dorsal limb compartment, and they repel ventral
axons.
C. EphrinBs are expressed by cells in the dorsal limb compartment, and they attract
dorsal axons.
D. EphrinBs are expressed by cells in the dorsal limb compartment, and they repel
ventral axons.
E. EphAs and EphrinAs are expressed by cells in the dorsal limb compartment. EphAs
attract dorsal axons, and ephrinAs repel ventral axons.
32. Some migrating cells use laminin as an adhesive substrate. What type of membrane protein
is involved in this type of adhesion?
A. Cadherins
B. Ig-like CAMs
C. Integrins
D. EphA
E. More than one of the above are correct.
34. Which of the following does NOT usually occur after an attractive guidance cue binds its
receptor on the growth cone surface?
A. Arp2/3 activity increases.
B. Actin polymerization increases.
C. Myosin II contractility increases.
D. Microtubule polymerization increases.
E. Rac activity increases.
37. In most cases, it is not known why a population of axons chooses the particular group of
cells with which to form connections. What mechanism has been shown to be important in at
least one case?
A. A molecule secreted by the target cells attracts the appropriate population of growing
axons.
B. Homophilic interactions between cell adhesion molecules on the growing axons and
the target cells allow the growing axons to enter the appropriate cell group.
C. Repulsive molecules funnel growing axons into the appropriate cell group.
D. Growing axons enter nearby cell groups indiscriminately, and then incorrect
connections are secondarily eliminated by activity dependent mechanisms.
E. More than one of the above are correct.
Class 26 synaptogenesis
38. In development of neuromuscular junctions, what molecule is released from the growth
cones of the motor neurons that initiates clustering of neurotransmitter receptors in the
muscle membrane and other aspects of synapse development?
A. MuSK
B. Rapsyn
C. Low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4)
D. Agrin
E. Dystroglycan
39. Which of the following molecules is important for anchoring in place the elements of the
active zone of synapses in the CNS?
A. neurexins and neuroligins
B. PSD95
C. cadherins and protocadherins
D. Ig-like cell adhesion molecules (CAMs)
AB E. More than one of the above are correct.
40. A mutation in the gene for which of the following is likely to result in muscle weakness?
A. dystroglycan
B. rapsyn
C. s-laminin
D. MuSK
all E. More than one of the above are correct.
42. Programmed cell death during normal development is typically accomplished by what cell
death mechanism?
A. mitosis
B. halitosis
C. hepatosis
D. necrosis
E. apoptosis
43. Which of the following is a characteristic of a neuron undergoing programmed cell death in
the normal developing nervous system?
A. cell swells
B. chromatin condenses
C. lysosomal enzymes breakdown organelles
D. cell membrane ruptures
E. More than one of the above are correct.
44. A transgenic mouse with over-expression of which of the following genes by all neurons
would mostly prevent programmed cell death during development in the nervous system?
A. Bax
B. Bcl-XL
C. cytochrome C
D. caspase-activated DNase Inhibitor (ICAD)
E. More than one of the above are correct.
45. Activated Trks can block cell death by which of the following mechanisms?
A. activation of CREB
B. dephosphorylation of Bad
C. phosphorylation of Bcl-XL
D. degradation of ICAD
E. More than one of the above are correct.
46. Which of the following is NOT true regarding activated Trks? Activated Trks …
A. are internalized by the neuron.
B. dimerize.
C. are transported to the nucleus where they promote expression of certain genes.
D. are retrogradely transported from the synapse to the soma.
E. More than one of the above are not true.
48. Which neurotrophin receptor is used by the most neurons in the developing mammalian
brain?
A. TrkA
B. TrkB
C. TrkC
D. TrkD
E. GFRα1
50. The image below shows the electrical potential recorded from an electrode in a developing
muscle fiber. The nerve to that muscle was stimulated electrically. Each trace shows the
result of stimulating with a different voltage. A higher stimulating voltage resulted in a higher
excitatory postsynaptic potential in the muscle fiber. What does this tell you?
A. The higher the stimulating voltage, the stronger the action potential in the axon
connected that synapses with the muscle fiber.
B. The higher the stimulating voltage, the more neurotransmitter was released by the
axon at the synapse.
C. The higher the stimulating voltage, action potentials were initiated in more axons that
connected to the muscle fiber.
D. More than one of the above are correct.
E. None of the above are correct.
51. Kittens were raised through the critical period for ocular dominance column formation with
an induced strabismus (amblyopia). At the end of the critical period, it was found that the
ocular dominance columns receiving information from one eye were larger than normal and
the columns for the other eye were smaller. True or false?
A. True
B. False
Nsci 4100 – Final Exam page 10
52. Segregation of inputs from the two eyes in the lateral geniculate nucleus of developing
kittens requires …
A. synchronous activity between neighboring retinal ganglion cells, which depends on
input from neighboring cholinergic amacrine cells.
B. synchronous activity between neighboring retinal ganglion cells, which depends on
both the eyes being open and normal vision.
C. normal photoreceptor function.
D. communication between neighboring neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus, which
is mediated by glutamate.
E. More than one of the above are correct.
53. Which of the following conditions is true at the end of refinement in the retinotectal system
compared to the beginning of refinement?
A. There are more retinotectal synapses.
B. There are fewer retinotectal synapses.
C. There are more retinal ganglion cells projecting to the tectum.
D. There is an overall reduction in the precision of the topography of the projection.
54. Axonal projections to incorrect targets in the developing brain are eliminated during
refinement by what mechanism?
A. death of the neuron giving rise to the projection
B. retraction of the errant axon
C. degeneration of the errant axon
D. The errant axons persist, but do not function.
E. More than one of the above are correct.
Class 35 behavior
55. What initiates the very first movements in a vertebrate embryo?
A. spontaneous activity in dorsal root ganglion neurons (i.e. sensory neurons) that
synapse with motor neurons
B. evoked activity in dorsal root ganglion neurons (i.e. sensory neurons) that synapse
with motor neurons
C. spontaneous activity in developing myofibers
D. spontaneous activity in motor neurons
E. spontaneous activity in neurons in the brainstem that synapse with motor neurons
56. During development of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area in the
hypothalamus, testosterone in males functions to …
A. promote cell division.
B. promote cell growth.
C. promote cell death.
D. reduce cell division.
E. prevent cell death.
59. All vertebrate embryos exhibit swimming-like movement as embryos. What feature of the
nervous system is essential for this behavior?
A. commissural circuitry in the spinal cord
B. direct synapses from dorsal root ganglion neurons (i.e. sensory neurons) to motor
neurons in the spinal cord.
C. serial connections from motor neurons in one level of the spinal cord to motor
neurons in the next lower spinal segment.
D. connection from motor cortex to spinal motor neurons
AC E. More than one of the above are correct.
Class 36 disorders
60. A mutation in the gene for the L1 cell adhesion molecule has been linked to what
development problem?
A. hydrocephalus
B. spina bifida
C. down syndrome
D. Waardenburg syndrome
E. holoprosencephaly
61. What developmental abnormality would you expect to result from a loss-of-function mutation
in the smoothened gene in humans?
A. Duane syndrome
B. medulloblastoma
C. holoprosencephaly
D. autism spectrum disorders
E. None of the above are correct.
64. Generation of new oligodendrocytes by cell division has been linked to a certain type of
learning in mice. True or false?
A. true
B. false
66. What type of neurons are normally generated in the adult mammalian olfactory system?
A. interneurons in the olfactory bulb, which have short axons that synapse in the
olfactory bulb
B. projection neurons in the olfactory bulb, which have long axons that synapse in the
olfactory cortex
C. receptor neurons in the nasal cavity, which have long axons that synapse in the
olfactory bulb
D. receptor neurons in the olfactory bulb, which have long axons that sense olfactory
information in the nasal cavity
AC E. More than one of the above are correct.
67. Which of the following activities is most likely to reduce neurogenesis in your brain?
A. taking Prozac, an antidepressant
B. sleeping
C. exercising
D. taking this exam
E. having sex with someone to whom you are attracted
69. When a neuron’s axon is cut, a conspicuous change in the soma of the neuron is a loss of
what organelle?
A. mitochondria
B. Golgi apparatus
C. rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER)
D. nucleolus
E. nucleus
Nsci 4100 – Final Exam page 13
70. Imagine that you were hit by a car while walking across University Ave. The car bumper
crushed your common peroneal nerve at the level of the knee. The nerve normally
innervates muscles in the leg about 15cm below the injury. Approximately, how long after
the accident would you expect to regain the use of these leg muscles?
A. 10 days
B. 30 days
C. 60 days
D. 100 days
E. 300 days
74. Dr. Georgieff told us during his research talk that supplementing the diet with __________
after prenatal or neonatal iron (Fe) deficiency improved brain development and function?
(Fill in the blank.)
A. choline
B. niacin
C. magnesium
D. folate
E. glutamate
Class 40 discussion
75. Klf4 is a …
A. cell surface receptor.
B. neurotrophic factor.
C. transcription factor.
D. component of myelin.
E. glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix (ECM).
Nsci 4100 – Final Exam page 14
77. Which of the following neurodegenerative diseases involve death of medium spiny neurons
in the striatum?
A. Spinocerebellar ataxia
B. Huntington’s disease
C. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
D. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
E. More than one of the above are correct.
78. Transfecting fibroblasts harvested from the skin with the BAM factors (i.e. Brn2, Ascl1, and
Myt1L) has been used to generate what cell type?
A. induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs)
B. neural stem cells (NSCs)
C. neurons
D. oligodendrocytes
79. Parkinson’s disease is caused by death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantial nigra of
the midbrain. Clinical trials have been completed or are underway transplanting
dopaminergic neurons, which were harvested from the midbrain of fetuses or made from
stem cells, to the midbrain of people with advanced Parkinson’s disease. True or false?
A. true
B. false
Freebie
80. Your Professor wishes you a joyous holiday. True or false?
A. true
B. false
The End!
Please turn in your bubble answer sheet. You may keep your exam questions.