Here are some practice questions for the midterm. Some of these questions and/or modifications of these
questions will actually appear on your midterm exam.
Of course, there will be additional questions (not given to you in advance) on the exam.
1) As a researcher at a drug discovery company, you are asked to develop
a new drug for hypothyroidism. Using your knowledge of the thyroid
system, propose at least three potential targets of the drug. Describe
what effect you would design the drug to have at each target, and how
this would alleviate hypothyroidism. Include at least one agonist effect
and one antagonist effect.
2) Bobby the baboon is a submissive male in his colony. What effects on
his brain and body might Bobby experience as a result of this chronic
stress? How is this stress response different from the stress response
he might have when directly attacked by another male? Be sure to include
neurochemical and cognitive effects in your answer.
3) If a person goes blind due to retinal damage, what effect do you
think this would have on her daily physiological rhythms? If a person
goes blind due to damage to the occipital cortex, would you expect the
same effect? Why/ why not? Include a diagram of the major pathways from
the retina to the main oscillator in the brain.
4)In Alzheimer's disease, cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain
degenerate. How might sleep in these patients be affected? What
experimental evidence supports your answer?
5)Acute stress is a very common part of our daily life. In the right
situation, stress can be very beneficial and increase our chances of
survival. However, more and more people are being affected by the
detrimental effects of chronic stress.
a) What is allostatic load?
b) There is at least one negative feedback pathway which starts in the brain and
results in the release of glucocorticoids from a particular structure in the
body. This pathway plays and integral part in the initiation of a hormonal
stress reponse. Below, please draw a diagram of this pathway. (To receive
full credit, be sure to give the FULL NAME of each structure and each
hormone involved in the pathway. Also, be sure to include how this pathway
incorporates "negative-feedback").
c) The stress hormones released in "part b" can facilitate or inhibit three different categories of memory by their action on different areas of the brain. Please list 3 brain areas, the effect that stress hormones have on these areas (either excitatory or inhibitory) and the corresponding category of memory that is affected.
6. Discuss two components of REM sleep. For each component, give a possible
neuroanatomical or neurochemical source. How do these components and their stated
sources (the sources that you just stated) differ in Slow Wave Sleep?
7. Larry is a lawyer and his life is falling apart. Each time Larry goes into
the library to read law briefs, his clerk finds him asleep on the floor.
Often
when Larry goes to court, he falls to the ground (fast asleep) at the
height of
his closing argument. Worse yet, Larry's wife complains of his
sleeping at all
the wrong times....
You can help Larry. Name his
disorder (both components of his disorder), an
underlying neural substrate
of his disorder, and a potential treatment for his
disorder.
8. Why is REM sleep called paradoxical sleep? Give
scientific evidence (at least
two pieces) to support your answer.
9. Discuss the role of norepinephrine in two different aspects of behavior. How might these be similar or different. Use at least three pieces of experimental or scientific evidence to illustrate your point.
10. Provide two pieces of experimental evidence indicating that Dopamine
(DA)
plays a role in reward processing.
11. Is the SCN the only circadian pacemaker in the brain? Support your answer with scientific evidence.
12. How might a decrease in serotonin release from raphe neurons alter circadian function. (be specific)?
13. While participating in an ERP experiment, you fall asleep from boredom. The experimenter did not notice that you were asleep, as you dropped directly into REM and you entire sleep episode was comprised of REM. From a anatomical/neurochemical perspective, how might this occur?