Biology

Nervous System Physiology

1,959 Questions

Enhance your knowledge of human neurobiology through questions on nervous system physiology. The topics cover brain anatomy, sensory modalities, and the neural mechanisms controlling speech and language. This resource is ideal for students preparing for medical and general science exams.

Brain anatomy and regionsNeural mechanismsLanguage processingSensory functions

Nervous System Physiology Questions

Multiple choice

In an individual, the procedural memory controls how he/she does things. In a cricket match, Amit got hurt and lost his procedural memory. This may have happened as a result of damage to the

  1. midbrain

  2. cerebral cortex

  3. dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

  4. somatosensory cortex

  5. motor cortex
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

It is the extensive outer layer of gray matter of the cerebral hemispheres, largely responsible for problem solving, emotional response, language, all types of memory, speech and processing of complex sensory data such as vision and sound. Thus, Amit must have hurt his cerebral cortex .

Multiple choice

Mr. Khanna was walking through a bad part of town, down a dark lane and carrying a large amount of cash. Behind him, he heard a door open and close suddenly and he immediately dived into the nearest trash container. The part of the forebrain mainly responsible for his reaction is the

  1. thalamus

  2. amygdala

  3. cerebrum

  4. medulla oblongata

  5. hippocampus
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Amygdala is a limbic structure involved in many brain functions like emotion, learning and memory. It is part of a system that processes reflexive emotions like fear and anxiety. Thus, in the situation described above, amygdala is responsible for Mr. Khanna's reaction.

Multiple choice

Mrs. Shukla underwent a split-brain operation. Which of the following parts of the brain must be severed in her split-brain operation?

  1. Parietal lobe

  2. Operculum

  3. Premotor cortex

  4. Corpus callosum

  5. Cerebral cortex
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Split-brain surgery is a medical procedure that involves the severing of the corpus callosum, conjoining the two hemispheres of the brain, to cure epilepsy. It does not involve the removal of any brain tissue.

Multiple choice

In an individual, the section of the brain acting as a switching station between short term memory and long term memory is the

  1. neocortex

  2. cerebrum

  3. cerebellum

  4. cerebral cortex

  5. hippocampus
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The hippocampus lies inside the medial temporal lobe of the brain. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important role in long term memory and spatial navigation. It acts as a switching station between short term memory and long term memory.

Multiple choice

The foremost pathway of the hypothalamus in the central autonomic network is

  1. spinohypothalamic tract

  2. mammillotegmental tract

  3. stria terminalis

  4. dorsal longitudinal fasciculus

  5. medial forebrain bundle
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The principal pathway of the hypothalamus in the central autonomic network is the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus. It is a bundle of thin, poorly myelinated nerve fibers reciprocally connecting the periventricular zone of the hypothalamus with ventral parts of the central gray substance of the midbrain.

Multiple choice

Match the following brain part and its function.

 
1. Cerebellum a. Controls sleep and wake cycle
2. Medulla b. Balance of body
3. Hypothalamus c. Seat of learning and memory
4. Cerebrum d. Control involuntary actions

  1. 1 - b, 2 - d, 3 - a, 4 - c

  2. 1 - d, 2 - b, 3 - a, 4 - c

  3. 1 - c, 2 - d, 3 - a, 4 - b

  4. 1 - d, 2 - b, 3 - c, 4 - a

  5. 1 - a, 2 - d, 3 - b, 4 - c
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Yes, all are correctly matched. Cerebellum controls the balance of body. Medulla controls various involuntary functions. Hypothalamus controls sleep and wake cycle (circadian rhythm) of the body, cerebrum is the seat of learning and memory.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the correct answer for the following question on the basis of the given passage:

Which of the following statements would be most likely to come after the last sentences of the passage?

RC Passage 6:
Few areas of neuron behavioral research seemed more promising is the early sixties than that investigating the relationship between protein synthesis and learning. The conceptual framework for the research was derived directly from molecular biology, which had shown that genetic information is stored in nucleic acids and expressed in proteins why not acquired information as well.
The first step towards establishing a connection between protein synthesis and learning seemed to be to block memory (cause adhesion) by interrupting the production of proteins. We were fortunate in finding a non lethal dosage of puromycin that could, it first appealed, thoroughly inhibit brain protein synthesis as well as reliability produce amnesia. Before the actual connection between protein synthesis and learning could be established however we began to have douche about whether inhibition of protein synthesis was in fact the method by which puromycin produced amnesia. First, ocher drugs, glutavimides themselves potent protein synthesis inhibitors either failed to cause amnesia in some situations where it could easily be induced by puromycin or produced an amnesia with a different time course from that of puromycin. Second, puromycin was found to inhabit protein  synthesis by breaking certain amino acid chain, and the resulting fragments were suspected of being the actual cause of amnesia is some eases. Third, puromycin was reported to cause abnormalities in the train, including seizures. Thus, not only were decreased protein synthesis and amnesia dissociated, but alternative mechanism for the amnestic action of puromycin were readily suggested.

So, puromycin turned out to be a disappointment. It came to be regarded as a poor agent for amnesia studies, although, of course, it was poor only in the context of our original paradigm of protein synthesis inhibition. In our frustration, our initial response was simply to change dregs rather than our conceptual orientation. After many such disappointments, however, it now appears unlikely, that we will make a firm connection between protein synthesis and learning merely by pursuing the approaches of the past our experience with drugs has shown that all the amnestic agents, often interfere with memory in ways that seem unrelated to their inhibition of protein synthesis. More importantly, the notion that the interruption or intensification of protein production in the train can be related in cause and affect fashion to learning now seems simplistic and unproductive. Remove the battery from a car and the car will not go Drive the car a long distance at high speed and the battery will become more highly charged. Neither of these facts proves that the battery power the car, only knowledge of the overall automotive system will reveal its mechanism of locomotion and the role of the battery with in the system.

  1. It is important in the future, therefore for behavioral bio- chemist to focus on the several components of the total learning system.

  2. The ambivalent status of current research, however should not deter neuron behaviorists from exploring the deeper connection between protein production and learning.

  3. The failures of the past, however must not impede further research into the amnestic of protein-synthesis inhibitors.

  4. It is important in the future, therefore, for behavioral biochemist to emphasize more strongly place of their specific findings within the overall protein synthesis model of learning.

  5. It is a legacy of this research, therefore, that molecular biology's genetic models have led to disagreement among neuron behaviorists.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 The last line reads '  Neither of these facts proves that the battery power the car, only knowledge of the overall automotive system will reveal it mechanism of locomotion and the role of the battery with in the system.'  Therefore, the next line should talk about the importance of the learning process.

Multiple choice

Which among the following cells of the central nervous system removes cellular waste and provides protection against microorganisms?

  1. Astrocytes

  2. Ependymal cells

  3. Microglia

  4. Oligodendrocytes

  5. Schwann cells
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The microglia act much like white blood cells by attacking and destroying pathogens that invade the brain. These are extremely small cells of the central nervous system that remove cellular waste and provide protection against microorganisms.