Neurobiology Final

Quizzes compilation.

The human brain consists of about 200 billion (10¹¹) glial cells and neurons combined. Roughly, how many glial cells are there?

100 billion (10¹¹) cells

This part of the cerebrum contains a bundle of nerve fibers connecting the 2 hemispheres of the cerebrum.

Corpus Collosum

What are common characteristics of normal aging across species? Name all that apply!

Occurs gradually

Changes come most from outside of the organism

Is independent of time

Contributes to deficits or impairments

A universal process

Occurs gradually

Contributes to deficits or impairments

A universal process

Biological definition of aging

Biological aging is a progressive process that converts a healthy, fit organism into a less healthy, less fit organism.

Biological aging is the product of environmental influences or diseases and is neither inevitable nor shared by all adult organisms. Please select the correct question.

What is secondary aging?

Which statement is FALSE about Werner’s syndrome?

It is caused by mutations in the Wrn gene.

WRN assists with DNA replication.

The Wrn gene is responsible for the WRN protein.

None of the above.

WRN plays a role in DNA maintenance and repair.

None of the above

How does caloric restriction (CR) affect aging processes?

Increases life span and slows the rate of aging

T/F Werner’s syndrome patients tend to die most often of cancer and atherosclerosis. 

True

A significant problem that somatic cells face with mitotic division.

DNA polymerases copying the ends of telomeres.

In a lateral view of the brain, you observe which of the following

Parietal lobe

Occipital lobe

Temporal lobe

Frontal lobe

Which mammalian sirtuin is the most homologous to the yeast Sir2 gene?

Sir1

Which of the following is not a common feature of Werner’s Syndrome subjects?

Loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue

Early hair loss

arched feet

type 2 diabetes

none of the above

Arched feet

What is a. prominent important feature of HGPS?

All of the above

DNA polymerase interactions are disrupted

The nuclear envelope is disorganized

Transcription factors are misregulated

All of the above

Which of the following is not a major funciton of the SIR2-4 family in yeast?

The SIR2-4 protein complex targets mitochondrial proteins for acetylation.

The SIR2-4 protein complex silences HM/HMR mating loci, telomeres and DNA repeats

The SIR2-4 protein complex negatively regulates initiation of DNA replication.

The SIR2-4 protein complex regulates transcriptional silencing.

The SIR2-4 protein complex and SIR2 alone promote longevity in yeast.

The SIR2-4 protein complex targets mitochondrial proteins for acetylation.

If you generated a knock-in transgenic model of a lamin A (LMNA) gene mutation. Which of the following phenotypes would you expect to observe in these transgenic mutant mice?

No changes in blood pressure between non-transgenic and transgenic mice.

Significant pathology was found in skeletal muscle and liver, but not in the aorta or carotid artery.

Progressive loss of vascular smooth muscle in arteries.

Significant pathology was found in the spleen and kidney, but not in skeletal muscle or liver.

Progressive loss of vascular smooth muscle in arteries.

Which of the following statements are true regarding the gross structure and organization of the human brain?

The frontal lobe involves functions of planning and personality, contains the primary motor cortex that is located in front of the central sulcus and controls muscles via lower motor neurons.

The occipital lobe receives and processes auditory information, and is involved in object naming, recognition, and identification functions.

The temporal lobe receives and processes visual information, and is involved in translating visual experience into language.

The parietal lobe involves functions related to primitive regions of the telencephalon including the amygdala and hippocampus which functions in transferring short-term memory to long-term memory.

The frontal lobe involves functions of planning and personality, contains the primary motor cortex that is located in front of the central sulcus and controls muscles via lower motor neurons.

What was Brodmann’s contribution to the neuroanatomy of the brain?

He identified cortical regions based on differences in cellular organization.

Which lobe of the brain is primarily known for visual reception and processing?

Occipital lobe

Choose the statement that accurately describes the neurological technique used.

PET can not measure be used to track regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF).

fMRI imaging directly measures the change in neuronal activity in the brain.

EEG recording is a technique used to record the electrical activity such as omega waves in the brain

fMRI uses the changes in oxygen rich and oxygen poor blood to determine regions of “metabolic activity”.

PET imaging uses a radioactive isotope that is a positron emitter is injected into a patient in trace amounts.

fMRI uses the changes in oxygen rich and oxygen poor blood to determine regions of “metabolic activity”.

PET imaging uses a radioactive isotope that is a positron emitter is injected into a patient in trace amounts.

this gray matter region relays most of the afferent information that enters the nervous system? 

Thalamus

this region responsible for sensory and motor relay and processing? 

Thalamus

Choose the correct statement.

The tamping iron made a clean hole through Pheneas Gage’s occipital lobe. 

Patient HM ceased having short-term memories after removal of part of his temporal lobes. 

MRI scans have poor spatial resolution but high temporal resolution.

PET scans have poor temporal resolution but high spatial resolution. 

Patient HM ceased having short-term memories after removal of part of his temporal lobes. 

T/F In addressing age-related impairments in brain function, a central issue has been whether extreme impairments in function represent only an ‘exaggerated’ form of impairments observed in most or all elderly individuals. We now are confident that more universal impairments observed during aging are NOT due to the same mechanisms as those which cause major age-related pathologies.

true

Select the statement that is true regarding lipids and metal ions in the aging brain.

HNE and ONE are byproducts of H₂O₂ reduction.    

There is significantly less lipid oxidation in the aged brain.

In the aged brain, insufficient amounts of transition metal ions such as Fe2+ and Cu+ induce neuronal damage.

Increasing amounts of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species in the aged brain utilize Fe2+ and Cu+ as sources.

Increasing amounts of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species in the aged brain utilize Fe2+ and Cu+ as sources.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Originates networks responsible for a range of complex, conscious, intentional mental activity.

Is solely responsible for memory, emotion and attachment.

Enables us to activate memories in the occipital cortex.

Has higher brain activity as we age.

Originates networks responsible for a range of complex, conscious, intentional mental activity.

As the brain ages, our episodic memory function

is better at retrieving accompanying information regarding source memory.

has increased ability to learn and retrieve lists of words and pictures.

is vulnerability to distracting information.

can recall more details about autobiographical memories.

is vulnerability to distracting information.

Studies of memory cognitive neural networks during aging show that the brain's semantic memory

improves in the ability to retrieve accompanying information. 

declines in the accumulation of factual and conceptual content about the world.

improves in the ability to use words to symbolize our knowledge.

declines in tasks associated with working memory.

improves in the ability to use words to symbolize our knowledge.

Select all of the brain regions that prioritize episodic memory over semantic memory.

basal ganglia

Inferolateral temporal lobe

Medial temporal lobes (includes parahippocampus and entorhinal cortex).

Hippocampus

Medial temporal lobes (includes parahippocampus and entorhinal cortex).

Hippocampus

Which of the following is NOT associated with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis?

LDLs

Thrombus

Foam cells

Myocardial infarction

Embolus

Myocardial infarction

The circle of Willis is a part of the cerebral circulation and is composed of all BUT the following:

Anterior communicating artery

Anterior cerebral artery

Posterior communicating artery

Middle cerebral artery

Middle cerebral artery

Old age is susceptible to what forms of hearing loss?
Both progressive hearing loss and congenital hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.

Only presbycusis.

Only noise-induced hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.

Which one of the following is not associated with conductive hearing loss?

Tympanic membrane perforation

Cerumen impaction

Ototoxicity

Otosclerosis

Ototoxicity

Select the best statement that describes the difference between young and aged hearing:

There is a progressive, time-dependent decline only in low frequencies.

There is a progressive, time-dependent decline only in middle frequencies.

There is a gain of hearing sensitivity in middle frequency ranges.

There is a progressive loss of hearing sensitivity at high frequencies.

There is a progressive loss of hearing sensitivity at high frequencies.

How common is age-related hearing loss in older adults?

One in 10 adults over the age of 75 have hearing loss.

One in two adults over the age of 65 have hearing loss.

One in three adults over the age of 65 have hearing loss.

One in 20 adults over the age of 65 have hearing loss.

One in three adults over the age of 65 have hearing loss.

In a clinical audiogram: a hearing level around 50 dB represents

Hearing loss in the high frequencies.

Moderate hearing loss.

Little to no hearing loss.

Hearing loss in the lower frequencies.

Moderate hearing loss.

Dystrophic  microglia are characterized by

Reversible cell-cycle arrest, low levels of cell-cycle inhibitory protein (p16<INK4A>), and suppressed beta-galactosidase activity.

Decreases in tumor necrosis  factor alpha (TNFa), IL-1B, IL-6.

Increased ramification and elongation, cellular senescence, and high levels of ferritin.

Irreversible cell-cycle arrest, high levels of cell-cycle inhibitory protein (p16^INK4A), and enhanced beta-galactosidase activity.

Irreversible cell-cycle arrest, high levels of cell-cycle inhibitory protein (p16^INK4A), and enhanced beta-galactosidase activity.

There is a strong relationship associating hearing loss with both cognitive decline and dementia. Hearing impairment is associated with an estimated 94% increase in risk of dementia over time compared to non-hearing impaired. However, the mechanism(s) leading to this association are poorly understood. Select the correct statement:

A greater body of evidence supports the notion that dementia leads to hearing loss.

An equal amount of evidence supports both hearing loss being causative and an outcome of dementia.

A greater body of evidence supports how age-related hearing loss contributes to cognitive decline.

Other than the initial Rotterdam study, there is no evidence currently that shows how the two are linked.

A greater body of evidence supports how age-related hearing loss contributes to cognitive decline.

What is presbycusis?

It is hearing loss that occurs gradually and only in low frequencies.

It is hearing loss that occurs quickly and only in high frequencies.

It is hearing loss that occurs after noise exposures.

It is age-related hearing loss that occurs in high and low frequencies.

It is age-related hearing loss that occurs in high and low frequencies.

The causes of reduced hearing in presbycusis are complex. There are several different mechanisms that give rise to presbycusis. Which of the following is NOT one of them? 

Loss of the sensory hair cells in the cochlea.

 Loss of neurons in the cochlea.

 Atrophy of the stria vascularis.

Increased endolymphatic potential. 

Increased endolymphatic potential. 

the striatum receives ___________ input from ___________ and gives ___________ input to to a globes pallidus nucleus (area) that in turn provides ___________ input to the ___________. Which list is correct?

Inhibitory, STN, Inhibitory, GPi, Inhibitory, Cerebral cortex
Excitatory, Substantia nigra, Inhibitory, GPi, Excitatory, Thalamus

Inhibitory, Thalamus, Excitatory, GPe, Excitatory, Striatum

Excitatory, Substantia nigra, Inhibitory, GPi, Excitatory, Thalamus

Basal ganglia function UMN

UMNs lying deep in the subcortical white matter of the frontal lobes that organize motor behavior.

Cerebellul UMN

UMNs concerned with motor coordination, posture, and balance.

Premotor cortex UMN

UMNs in the frontal lobe anterior association area thought to be involved in planning, selection or programming of voluntary movements.

Primary motor cortex UMN

UMNs with descending projections to motor neurons in the the spinal cord and cranial nerve nuclei

Which brain region is NOT one of the principle nuclei of the basal ganglia motor function?

Substantia Nigra

Subthalamic Nucleus.

Cortex

Striatum

Cortex

T/F The major cortical input to the basal ganglia is inhibitory.

False

Which statement about lower motor neurons (LMNs) and upper motor neuron (UMNs) is FALSE:

UMNs give rise to a descending projection that controls the activity of LMNs.

UMNs and LMNs directly contact muscle.

Pathologies associated with UMN damage include: stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.

Damage to LMNs cause muscle atrophy whereas damage to UMNs cause motor deficits such as loss of control.

UMNs and LMNs directly contact muscle.

Which of the following is NOT considered an UMN brain area?

Cerebellum.

Precentral gyrus.

Wernicke’s area.

Broca’s area.

Wernicke’s

Parkinson's Disease

A hypokinetic disorder with muscle rigidity and difficulty initiating movement.

Multiple sclerosis

A demyelinating disease in which the white tracks in the brain and spinal cord are damaged.

Huntington's Disease

A hyperkinetic discorder with exaggerated movement.

Stroke

Also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA) that results when poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death

A single LMN may synapse with one or move muscle fibers, forming a motor unit. Which of the following statements is true?

Gamma motor neurons are larger LMNs that innervate extrafusal muscle fibers and are responsible for controlling muscle tension.

Alpha motor neurons are smaller LMNs that innervate intrafusal muscle fibers and directly initiate muscle contraction.

Gamma motor neurons are smaller LMNs that innervate extrafusal muscle fibers and intrafusal muscle fibers and are responsible for directly initiating muscle contraction.

Alpha motor neurons are large LMNs that innervate the extrafusal muscle fibers of skeletal muscle and are directly for initiating muscle contraction.

Alpha motor neurons are large LMNs that innervate the extrafusal muscle fibers of skeletal muscle and are directly for initiating muscle contraction.

Which statement below is not evidence that neurodegeneration drives neuroinflammation?

Parkinson's disease association with loss of dopaminergic neurons

The aggregation of various neurodegeneration related proteins trigger inflammatory processes.

Sustained use of NSAIDs negatively correlates with development of dementia.

Autopsy studies

Autopsy studies

Microglia account for what percentage of glia in a normal adult brain?

50%

80%

90%

20%

20%

In Parkinson’s Disease:

There is a loss of tonic inhibition of the VA/VL thalamus during direct pathway facilitation.

There is a loss of striatal excitation on the GPi.

There is a loss of striatal excitation on the GPe.

There is a loss of D1 receptor facilitation and D2 receptor suppression of the striatum

There is a loss of D1 receptor facilitation and D2 receptor suppression of the striatum

T/F Microglia can be regulated by cytokines such as interleukins (IL-1, IL-6, and IL-10) and transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b1).

True

When microglia are non-active, they have shapes that are:

Globular.

Amoeboid.

Ramified.

Rod shaped.

Ramified.

Which (transition) metals play an important role in maintaining CNS function?

Iron and copper

Aging microglia change their cytokine signature first to

A pro-inflammatory state

T/F In pathological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, soluble alpha-synuclein monomers associate to form oligomers that will combine further to generate protofibrils (ribbons) that subsequently aggregate to form large and insoluble aggregates, the main component of Lewy body inclusions.

True

Senescent microglia display enhanced:

Hyperphosphorylated tau proteins

Neurofibrillary tangles

Beta galactosidase

GFAP

Beta galactosidase

Select the correct statement about microglia:

Microglia recognize amyloid-β, ATP, lipopolysaccharide, and interleukin 1β.

Microglia derive from the neural tube similar to neurons.

Microglia and macrophages differ in phagocytosis ability.

Microglia and astrocytes share a similar embryonic origin outside of the brain.

Microglia recognize amyloid-β, ATP, lipopolysaccharide, and interleukin 1β.

Which of the following symptoms are not typical of Parkinson’s Disease?

Paucity of spontaneous movement.

Hyperkinesia.

Hypokinesia

Akinesia.

 Rigidity.

Hyperkinesia.

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by multiple symptoms that are caused by:

Loss of glutamate-containing neurons.

Loss of dopamine-containing neurons.

Loss of acetylcholine-containing neurons.

Loss of alpha-synuclein-containing neurons.

Loss of dopamine containing neurons.

What is the amyloid hypothesis?

The amyloid hypothesis posits that abnormal accumulation of Aβ in the brain is the primary influence in AD pathogenesis.

The amyloid hypothesis posits that Presenilin mutations lead to overproduction of Aβ plaques in the brain.

The amyloid hypothesis posits that amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles accumulate in the aged brain.

The amyloid hypothesis posits tangle deposition and neurodegeneration, are considered downstream effects of an imbalance between Aβ and tau production and clearance.

The amyloid hypothesis posits that abnormal accumulation of Aβ in the brain is the primary influence in AD pathogenesis.

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is cleaved by which set of enzymes in the amyloid plaque forming pathway?

Alpha secretase and beta secretase.

Gamma secretase and presenilin.

Alpha secretaes and epsilon secretase.

Beta secretase and gamma secretase.

Beta secretase and gamma secretase.

Which of the following is NOT a reason that the amyloid hypothesis for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is being questioned?

Higher physical activity levels are associated with reduced levels of amyloid.

Patients with AD continue to undergo cognitive decline and atrophy although they do not accumulate more amyloid.

A high percentage of cognitively normal elderly have significant plaque deposition, despite being cognitively normal.

Amyloid accumulation does not parallel cognitive decline.

Higher physical activity levels are associated with reduced levels of amyloid.

What mutated or altered proteins are associated with the majority of age-related dementia?

AMPK, Amyloid Plaques, Tau protein

α-Synuclein, Amyloid Precursor Protein, Tau protein

α-Synuclein, Amyloid Precursor Protein, Neurofibrillary Tangles

α-Synuclein, α-Secretase, Tau protein

α-Synuclein, Amyloid Precursor Protein, Tau protein

Alpha-synuclein is a 140 amino acid protein which in humans, is encoded by the SNCA gene. It is expressed predominantly in the brain and particularly in presynaptic nerve terminals. Which statement is FALSE?

Phosphorylated α-synuclein is the most abundant form of alpha-synuclein present in Lewy bodies.

α-Synuclein is a small (14 KDa), acidic protein expressed in the brain, peripheral nervous system, platelets, megakaryocites, T cells, B cells, NK cells and circulating erythrocytes.

The correct assembly of alpha-synucleins and intracellular alpha-synuclein homeostasis is controlled by mitochondria.

In the brain, α-synuclein is  helps control release, re-uptake and pre-synaptic compartmentalization of dopamine.

The correct assembly of alpha-synucleins and intracellular alpha-synuclein homeostasis is controlled by mitochondria.

Which of the following is NOT a reason that the amyloid hypothesis for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is being questioned?

Patients with AD continue to undergo cognitive decline and atrophy although they do not accumulate more amyloid.

Higher physical activity levels are associated with reduced levels of amyloid.

Amyloid accumulation does not parallel cognitive decline.

A high percentage of cognitively normal elderly have significant plaque deposition, despite being cognitively normal.

Higher physical activity levels are associated with reduced levels of amyloid.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease characterized by irreversible progressive cognitive deficits. Why is it important to identify biomarkers for AD.

Because we do not know how amyloid-β plaques form.

As the pathological course causing AD starts in humans decades before clinical symptoms appear.

We do not know the relation between hyperphosphorylated tau proteins and presenilin.

We need to identify the early subunits of Gamma-secretase.

As the pathological course causing AD starts in humans decades before clinical symptoms appear.

A healthy, aged brain differs from a brain with dementia in several ways. Select the statement that is NOT correct.

In a normally aged brain, most neurons continue to function normally. In a brain with dementia, neurons stop functioning properly and lose connections. 


In normal aging, cognitive decline is subtle and mostly affects thinking abilities such as forgetting or difficulties navigating. In dementia, cognitive decline is more severe and mostly affects thinking speed and attention.

Dementia can cause people to have difficulty learning new things, completing familiar tasks, and controlling their emotions. Their personalities may also change. 

A brain that has aged normally may shrink slightly, but it doesn't lose a large number of neurons. In contrast, a brain with dementia can be significantly smaller than a healthy brain.

In normal aging, cognitive decline is subtle and mostly affects thinking abilities such as forgetting or difficulties navigating. In dementia, cognitive decline is more severe and mostly affects thinking speed and attention.

What are our current estimates of the percentage of elderly people have significant amyloid beta plaque deposits, despite being cognitively normal?

5 - 10%

40 - 60%

20 - 40%

10 - 20%

20 - 40%

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is caused by repetitive traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Recent studies of postmortem human subjects as well as animal models show neuropathological changes such as increased levels of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and increased learning and memory impairment. Advance stages of CTE are most similar to which age-related neuropathology?

Alzheimer’s disease.

Progressive supranuclear palsy.

Parkinson’s Disease.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

Alzheimer’s disease.

 It has been hypothesized that exercise can be used as a neuroprotective therapy to reduce the risk of AD onset and/or prevention of cognitive decline associated with AD. What finding or result from rodent studies would be inconsistent with this idea?

That short-term resistance training decreases hyperphosphorylated tau proteins.

That short-term resistance training decreases the activation microglia and astrocytes.

That short-term resistance training improves memory function.

That short-term resistance training decreases in the expression of synaptic proteins in the frontal cortex and hippocampus.

That short-term resistance training decreases amyloid beta plaques.

That short-term resistance training decreases in the expression of synaptic proteins in the frontal cortex and hippocampus.

People with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) may have which of the following:

Confusion

Depression

Hallucinations and hearing voices

Hyperkinetic movement disorder

Confusion

Depression

Hallucinations and hearing voices

Which statement best describes tau proteins?

Do not directly cause further cell stress, and can reassemble into a microtubule.

Cause neurodegeneration but not cognitive loss because unlike amyloid β, it is thought to be a later event reflecting cell demise.

Like amyloid, high concentrations of phosphorylated tau will begin to self-assemble into ordered fibrillary structures.

When released from damaged cells suppress tauopathy in neighboring cells.

Like amyloid, high concentrations of phosphorylated tau will begin to self-assemble into ordered fibrillary structures.