Nervous System
A student touches a hot stove and immediately pulls their hand away before realizing what happened. Which part of the nervous system made this quick reflex possible?
What is the central nervous system
A student accidentally touches a hot iron. Sensory receptors in the skin send a message to the spinal cord, which quickly sends a signal to the muscles in the arm to pull away. Which three types of neurons are involved in this reflex pathway?
A doctor checks a patient’s basic life functions like breathing and heartbeat after an accident. Which part of the brain is primarily responsible for these vital automatic functions?
What is the medulla
A sleep researcher places electrodes on a participant’s scalp to measure brain waves during REM sleep. Which brain technique is being used?
What is an EEG
A student feels very sleepy at night around the same time every day because their body follows an internal clock that regulates sleep and wake cycles. What is this internal biological clock called?
What is circadian rhythm
When you decide to raise your hand to answer a question in class, which part of your nervous system carries out that voluntary muscle movement?
What is the somatic nervous system
A patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) experiences muscle weakness and slowed reflexes because their nerve signals aren’t traveling efficiently. Which part of the neuron is being damaged, and how does this affect neural communication?
What is the myelin sheath
A student practicing yoga focuses on posture and balance. The instructor explains that their coordination comes from the part of the brain that integrates sensory input and helps fine-tune movements.
What is the cerebellum
After a car accident, a patient gets a scan that uses X-rays to create an image showing a skull fracture and internal bleeding. Which type of brain imaging technique was likely used?
What is a CAT scan
While dozing off, someone feels as if they are falling and suddenly jerks awake. What is this phenomenon called, and during which transition does it occur?
What is hypnagogic sensations and during NREM Stage 1
As you’re watching a scary movie, your heart starts racing and your palms get sweaty. Which branch of the autonomic nervous system is responsible for this reaction?
What is the sympathetic nervous system
After taking a new drug, a patient experiences heightened alertness and euphoria. The drug increases dopamine’s effects at receptor sites by mimicking its shape and binding to them. What type of substance is this drug, and which neurotransmitter is it imitating?
What is an agonist and dopamine
A neuroscientist studies a patient who has normal intelligence but has trouble planning, making decisions, and controlling impulses after a head injury. What is the part of the brain damaged?
What is the pre-frontal cortex
A neuroscientist injects a radioactive form of glucose into a subject’s bloodstream to track which brain areas are active while solving math problems. Which brain imaging technique is being used?
What is a PET scan
A person has chronic difficulty staying asleep and often feels tired the next day. Despite trying behavioral techniques, their doctor considers potential issues with the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). What sleep disorder might they have?
What is insomnia
A neuroscientist stimulates a subject’s spinal cord directly and observes involuntary leg movement. When the brain is disconnected, the reflex still occurs. What does this reveal about the relationship between the central and peripheral nervous systems in reflex actions?
What is the reflexes are coordinated by the spinal cord (part of the CNS) and transmitted through peripheral nerves
A neuron has just fired, and for a brief period afterward, no amount of stimulation can make it fire again. What is this period called, and why does it occur?
What is refractory period
A patient can identify objects held in the right hand by touch but cannot name them verbally, while the left hand cannot identify the objects either. Which structure has been surgically severed, and what phenomenon explains these symptoms?
What is the corpus callosum
A doctor uses a powerful magnet and radio waves to produce detailed images of soft brain tissue to look for signs of a tumor — but not brain activity. Which brain scan is being used?
What is an MRI
After several nights of sleep deprivation, a person sleeps normally but spends an unusually large amount of time in REM sleep and experiences vivid dreams. What is this phenomenon called
A researcher observes that after damage to a patient’s vagus nerve, the heart rate remains consistently elevated, even when resting. Which branch of the autonomic nervous system is likely impaired, and why does this lead to a faster heart rate?
What is the parasympathetic nervous system
A neuron is surrounded by supportive cells that clean up ions, supply nutrients, and help create myelin. What are these helper cells called, and what is one of their main roles?
What is glial cells and they support the neuron
A patient can speak fluently and with normal grammar, but their sentences make no sense, and they have trouble understanding spoken language. Brain imaging shows damage in the left temporal lobe. Which specific brain area is likely damaged, and what is the name of this language deficit?
What is Wernicke's area
A neuroscientist wants to measure the brain’s magnetic fields produced by neural activity while a participant responds to visual stimuli, in order to track the timing and location of brain activity very precisely.
Which brain imaging technique is being used?
What is a MEG scan
During a meditation experiment, a participant enters a very light stage of sleep, just after dozing off. EEG readings show slower brain waves than alpha waves but faster than delta waves, associated with early sleep and deep relaxation. What type of brain waves are these, and during which sleep stage do they primarily occur?
What is theta waves and NREM Stage 2