Task 1

What is TRUE regarding olfactory cells?

A. Are epithelial cells which synapse with olfactory nerves.
B. Generate impulses when stimulated which are relayed in the thalamus.
C. Show little adaptation.
D. Are more important than taste in appreciating the flavour of food XX

What is NOT expected when is increased the salt concentration applied to a ‘salt’ taste bud?
A. The amplitude of its generator potentials is augmented
B. The amplitude of the action potentials generated is amplified XX
C. Impulse traffic to the thalamus increases
D. Impulse traffic up the ascending reticular formation increase
Which of the following substances will elicit the sensation of sour taste?
A. Aldehydes
B. Alkaloids
C. Amino acids
D. Hydrogen ions XXX
E. Ketones
Which of the following taste sensations is the most sensitive (i.e., has the lowest stimulation threshold?
A. Acid
B. Bitter XXX
C. Salty
D. Sour
E. Sweet
Which of the following statements regarding the transmission of taste information from the tongue to the
cerebral cortex is correct?
A. Majority of thalamic neurons in taste pathway synapse in the occipital lobe
B. Nerve fibers carrying taste information from the tongue have no synapse in the brainstem
C. Nerve fibers carrying taste information from the tongue synapse in the solitary nucleus
D. Thalamic nucleus involved in the taste pathway is the dorsal medial nucleus XXX
E. Thalamic nucleus involved in the taste pathway is the ventral posterolateral nucleus
After olfactory receptor cells bind odor molecules, a sequence of intracellular events occurs that
culminates in the entrance of specific ions that depolarize the olfactory receptor cell. Which of the
following ions are involved?
A. Calcium ions
B. Chloride ions
C. Hydrogen ions
D. Potassium ions
E. Sodium ions XXX
Task 2 & 3
During a boxing match, a 23-year-old fighter sustains a direct blow to the right ear. He presents with
dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, and fullness in the ears. His vertigo increases
with activity and is relieved by rest. He has some hearing loss. The symptoms worsen with coughing,
sneezing, or blowing his nose, as well as with exertion. He is diagnosed with perilymphatic fistula,
Which allows leakage of perilymph. In which of the following structures is perilymph normally found?
A. Scala media
B. Scala tympani XX
C. Semicircular canals
D. Saccule
E. Utricle
The epithelial cells within the organ of Corti are supported by which of the following structures?
A. Spiral limbus
B. Tectorial membrane
C. Vestibular membrane
D. Basilar membrane XXX
E. Spiral ligament
Which structure in the cochlea is analogous in composition and function to the cupola of each
semicircular canal?
A. Tectorial membrane XXX
B. Pillar cells
C. Inner tunnel
D. Saccule
E. Spiral ganglion
The basilar membrane of the cochlea vibrates
A. With an amplitude which is proportional to the frequency of the applied sound.
B. With an amplitude which is disproportional to the loudness of the applied sound.
C. Along more of its length when the applied sound has a high rather than a low frequency.
D. Mainly at the base of the cochlea for the sound frequencies commonly used in speech. XXX

Task 4
A 47-year-old woman is referred to an ophthalmologist after reporting increased difficulty with tasks at
night or in dark places for the past 3 or 4 years. She has trouble walking in dimly lit rooms and the movie
theater. She has given up driving at night and describes a prolonged adaptation period going from light to
dark. She also describes her daylight vision as “tunneled,” as she frequently walks into furniture. A family
history indicates that her father had a similar condition. In this disease, a single point mutation in the
rhodopsin gene leads to disruption of signal transduction. Visual transduction in the affected cells
involves which of the following?
A. Inactivation of phosphodiesterase
B. Increase in cGMP levels XXX
C. Conversion of all-trans-retinal to 11-cis-retinal
D. Closing of Na+ channels
Which cells transmit visual signals from the retina to the brain?
A. Bipolar cells
B. Amacrine cells
C. Ganglion cells XXX
D. Horizontal cells
E. Müller cellDepolarization of the cell membranes
Which structure is the most anterior extension of the eye’s vascular layer?
A. Ciliary body
B. Cornea
C. Lens
D. Iris XXX
E. Zonule
Which cells transmit visual signals from the retina to the brain?
A. Bipolar cells
B. Amacrine cells
C. Ganglion cells XXX
D. Horizontal cells
E. Müller cells
Which of the following is the thickest component of the cornea?
A. Corneal epithelium
B. Stroma XXX
C. Descemet membrane
D. Bowman membrane
E. Corneal endothelium

Analysis of visual detail occurs in which secondary visual area?

A. Brodmann’s area 18
B. Inferior ventral and medial regions of the occipital and temporal cortex
C. Frontal lobe
D. Occipitoparietal cortex
E.Posterior midtemporal area XX
Task 8

Which of the following best describes an expanded tip tactile receptor found in the dermis of
hairy skin that is specialized to detect continuously applied touch sensation?
A. Free nerve endings
B. Merkel’s disc XX
C. Pacinian corpuscle
D. Ruffini’s endings

Which of the following best describes the concept of specificity in sensory nerve fibers that
transmit only one modality of sensation?
A. Frequency coding principle
B. Concept of specific nerve energy
C. Singularity principle
D. Labeled line principle XXX
Which of the following substances enhances the sensitivity of pain receptors but does not
directly excite them?
A. Bradykinin
B. Serotonin
C. Potassium ions
D. Prostaglandins XXX

Which of the following statements concerning the transmission of pain signals into the central nervous
system is correct?
A. The “fast” pain fibers that conduct at about 6 to 30 m/sec are classified as type C fibers
B. Type A-delta pain fibers are responsible for the localization of a pain stimulus XXX
C. Upon entering the spinal cord dorsal horn, the fast and slow pain fibers synapse with the
samepopulations of neurons
D. The paleospinothalamic tract is specialized to rapidly conduct pain signals to the thalamus
Which of the following is the system that transmits somatosensory information with the highest degree of
temporal and spatial fidelity?
A. Anterolateral system
B. Dorsal column–medial lemniscal system XXX
C. Corticospinal system
D. Spinocerebellar system
Which of the following statements concerning the mechanoreceptive receptor potential is/are true?
A. Increase in stimulus energy results in an increase in receptor potential
B. When receptor potential rises above a certain threshold action potentials will appear in the neuron
attached the receptor
C. Number of action potentials generated in the neuron attached to the receptor is proportional to
receptor potential
D. All of the above are correct XXXX