Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Bio/Neuro 303
Chapter 2 - Study Questions
2. Spanish neuroanatomist Ramon y Cajal is best known for his work
a. demonstrating the importance of glial cells to neuronal function.
b. debunking the theory of the Golgi stain.
*c. supporting the cellular theory of neuronal organization.
d. supporting the reticular theory of neuronal organization.
3. Golgi and Cajal shared the 1906 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine.
This was ironic because
*a. Golgi developed the staining method used by Cajal to refute the
Reticular theory, which Golgi supported.
b. Cajal developed the staining method used by Golgi to refute the
Reticular theory, which Cajal supported.
c. the men had never met, even though they worked on the same topic, using
the same animals.
d. the two men were friends even though at the time there was bitter
rivalry between Italy and Spain, their home countries.
4. The reticular theory was strongly supported by
a. Cajal.
*b. Golgi.
c. Ochs.
d. Schleiden & Schwann.
5. The neuron theory was strongly supported by
*a. Cajal.
b. Golgi.
c. Ochs.
d. Schleiden & Schwann.
6. The neuron theory states that
*a. the nervous system is made of individual cells.
b. glial cells are not neurons.
c. glial cells are not part of the nervous system.
d. the nervous system is a syncytium in which there is cytoplasmic
continuity from one element to the next.
7. The reticular theory states that
a. the nervous system is made of individual cells.
b. glial cells are reticulated with neurons.
c. glial cells are reticulated within the nervous system.
*d. the nervous system is a syncytium in which there is cytoplasmic
continuity from one element to the next.
8. The main obstacle to early acceptance of the Neuron Theory was the
*a. inability of light microscopal techniques to resolve the membrane at
synapses.
b. capricious nature of the Golgi stain.
c. presence of clearly distinct nerve cells in embryos.
d. unknown nature of the action potential.
9. The Golgi technique stains
a. only the axons of neurons exposed to it.
b. only the cell bodies of neurons exposed to it.
c. the entirety of all neurons exposed to it.
*d. the entirety of a small fraction of neurons exposed to it.
10. The Golgi staining method
a. was the first nickel-based method in history.
b. stains only the neuronal somata in the ganglia and nuclei.
*c. stains only a fraction of the all the neurons exposed to it.
d. is not a good technique because it also stains astrocytes.
11. Which of the following is NOT one of the main classifications of neuron
types?
a. Bipolar.
*b. Adendritic.
c. Anaxonal.
d. Multipolar.
12. Vertebrate motor neurons are
a. monopolar.
b. bipolar.
*c. multipolar.
d. anaxonal.
13. An anaxonal neuron
a. only receives information, acting as a "sink" to prevent the
overloading of neighboring neurons.
b. is really a type of glial cell.
c. has neurites that no current staining method can reveal.
*d. does not have a morphologically identifiable axon.
14. An anaxonal cell is
a. a type of glial cell present in the central nervous system.
b. a type of glial cell present in the peripheral nervous system.
c. one of the cell types found in the cerebellum.
*d. a neuron lacking an axon.
15. The part of the neuron that conducts action potentials away from the cell
body is called the
a. neurite.
b. soma.
*c. axon.
d. dendrite.
16. The part of a neuron containing the cell nucleus is called the
a. neurite.
*b. soma.
c. axon.
d. dendrite.
17. The soma of a neuron is
a. a dendrite.
b. a neurite.
*c. the cell body.
d. the axon.
18. Nerve cells communicate at places called
a. nodes of Ranvier.
b. dendrites.
*c. synapses.
d. synpatrics.
19. A gated ion channel is a protein that is
a. attached by a gate to the inner surface of the cell membrane.
b. attached by a gate to the outer surface of the cell membrane.
*c. hollow, that spans the membrane, and whose permeability to ions can
change.
d. hollow, that spans the membrane, and whose permeability to ions can
NOT change.
20. Neurofilaments are ______ in diameter.
a. hollow, and about 24 nm
*b. solid, and about 10 nm
c. hollow, and about 10 nm
d. solid, and about 5 nm
21. Neurofilaments help to
a. generate action potentials.
*b. provide internal structural support for a neuron.
c. move organelles from one one place to another in the neuron.
d. prevent synaptic vesicles from releasing transmitter substance until an
action potential comes along.
22. Microfilaments
a. Are composed of dynein.
b. Are composed of tubulin.
*c. Function in cell motility.
d. Stabilize and strengthen long neurites.
23. Microtubules are
a. solid, and about 1 nm in diameter.
*b. hollow, and about 25 nm in diameter.
c. hollow, and about 1 micron in diameter.
d. solid, and about 25 microns in diameter.
24. Fast axoplasmic transport is an energy-dependent process, as shown by
a. its dependence on a proper distribution of ions about the membrane.
b. the transport of synaptic transmitter substances synthesized away from
the nerve terminal.
*c. the cessation of transport shortly after oxidative metabolism is
inhibited.
d. the movement of materials both toward and away from the cell body.
25. Mr. Sadsack Victim is accidentally exposed to a neurotoxin that immediately
destroys the ability of his nerve cells to synthesize tubulin. At the
cellular level, the effect of this toxin within the first few minutes after
it begins to do its work is to interfere with
a. re-uptake of neurotransmitter substances.
*b. transport of materials quickly along axons.
c. generation of action potentials.
d. movement of K+ ions across the cell membrane.
26. ______ transport is the active movement of intracellular materials from
the periphery of a neuron toward the soma.
*a. Retrograde
b. Anterograde
c. Orthograde
d. Reverigrade
27. One effective method for the determination of the rate of fast axoplasmic
transport is to study the
a. rate of axonal growth.
b. rate of regeneration in injured neurons.
c. delay between cutting an axon and the initiation of regeneration.
*d. rate of movement of radioactive tracers.
28. Which of the following is NOT thought to be a function of axoplasmic
transport?
a. To transport transmitter substances or precursors along the axon.
*b. To transport ions along the axon during the action potential.
c. To transport materials used to trophically influence muscle.
d. To transport materials for growth or maintenance of the axon.
29. Fast axoplasmic transport requires an intact system of the subcellular
components called
a. microfilaments.
b. neurofilaments.
*c. neurotubules.
d. none of the above.
30. The internal tubules in axons that are used in axoplasmic transport are
called
a. neurofilaments.
b. filopodia.
*c. neurotubules.
d. kinesin filaments.
31. The protein that seems to bind small, smooth vesicles and microtubules to
allow anterograde axoplasmic transport to take place is called
a. synapsin I.
*b. kinesin.
c. tubulin.
d. dynein.
32. The protein that seems to bind vesicles and microtubules to allow
retrograde axoplasmic transport to take place is called
a. synapsin I.
b. kinesin.
c. tubulin.
*d. dynein.
33. Axoplasmic transport and the conduction of action potentials (APs) have in
common the movement of substances. However, they DIFFER in that
a. axoplasmic transport does not require metabolic energy whereas
generation of APs does.
b. axoplasmic transport involves movement of materials across the cell
membrane whereas generation of APs involves movement along the length
of the cell.
c. action potentials can go in reverse (i.e., can travel in either
direction) whereas axoplasmic transport cannot.
*d. action potentials involve movements of ions only, whereas axoplasmic
transport can move even fairly large materials.
34. Glia is
a. a type of neuron lacking neurites.
b. the name for certain ganglia of the central nervous system.
c. what is obtained after centrifugation of axon endings.
*d. none of the above.
35. Astrocytes
*a. have a supportive function in the nervous system.
b. form myelin around peripheral neurons.
c. form myelin around central neurons.
d. all of the above.
36. The non-myelinated breaks in the sheath of a myelinated axon are called
a. Nodes of Rolando.
b. Nodes of Ranrivers.
*c. Nodes of Ranvier.
d. Nodes of Rovier.
37. Nodes of Ranvier are
a. places where two neurons can communicate.
*b. the gaps in the myelin sheath of a neurite.
c. points of contact between a neuron and a glial cell.
d. swellings on an axon where transmission can take place.
38. Nodes of Ranvier are gaps in the myelin sheath of an axon that
a. provide unmyelinated regions for the axon to make synaptic contacts.
b. increase the amplitude of the action potential.
c. increase the duration of the action potential.
*d. permit saltatory conduction of the action potential along the axon.
39. Which of the following cell types is a supporting glial cell that does not
form myelin?
a. Interneuron.
b. Oligodendrocyte.
*c. Astrocyte.
d. Schwann cell.
40. Which of the following cell types are glial cells?
a. Oligodendrocytes.
b. Astrocytes.
c. Schwann cells.
*d. All of the above.
41. Oligodendroglial cells wrap around
a. a single axon in only one place (so that no nodes separate two parts of
the same cell).
*b. more than one axon, but around each in only one place.
c. more than one axon, and in several places on each, encompassing several
nodes.
d. a single axon in several places.
42. Cells that wrap around neurons in the vertebrate central nervous system are
called
*a. oligodendroglial cells.
b. Schwann cells.
c. nonspiking cells.
d. supporting cells.
43. Which of the following cell types forms myelin around peripheral neurons?
a. Interneuron.
b. Oligodendrocyte.
c. Astrocyte.
*d. Schwann cell.