Chapter 18 - Modulation of Movement by the Basal Ganglia

Listed below are the events that occur during basal ganglia functioning.

Disinhibition of ventral anterior and ventral lateral thalamic nuclei

Inhibition of globus pallidus

Excitation of corpus striatum

Which of the following is the correct sequence of these events?

a. 1; 2; 3

b. 3; 2; 1

c. 1; 3; 2

d. 3; 1; 2

e. 2; 3; 1

b. 3; 2; 1

In addition to their traditional motor program selection and implementation functions, the basal ganglia are also thought to be involved in

a. drug-seeking behaviors.

b. mood changes.

c. initiation and termination of thought patterns related to planning and attention.

d. disorders such as Tourette's syndrome and schizophrenia.

e. All of the above

e. All of the above

Parkinson's disease is associated with loss of dopaminergic neurons in the

a. substantia nigra.

b. caudate.

c. putamen.

d. globus pallidus.

e. primary motor cortex.

a. substantia nigra.

Which of the following statements is false?

a. The basal ganglia include the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus.

b. The corpus striatum includes the caudate and putamen.

c. The pallidum includes the globus pallidus and the substantia nigra pars reticulata.

d. The corpus striatum is the structure that receives the bulk of the inputs to the basal ganglia.

e. The major outputs of the basal ganglia are from the putamen.

e. The major outputs of the basal ganglia are from the putamen.

The primary input to the striatum is from

a. the globus pallidus.

b. cerebral cortex.

c. cerebellar cortex.

d. the thalamus.

e. the reticular formation.

b. cerebral cortex.

The substantia nigra pars reticulata projects to the

a. inferior colliculus.

b. superior colliculus.

c. ventral anterior and ventral lateral thalamus.

d. corpus striatum.

e. substantia nigra pars compacta.

b. superior colliculus.

In monkeys, a decreased latency of goal-directed saccadic eye movements is associated with

a. a higher spontaneous firing rate of neurons in the globus pallidus.

b. faster conduction of action potentials through the corpus striatum.

c. ablation of the substantia nigra pars reticulata.

d. ablation of the substantia nigra pars compacta.

e. rewarding influences of the pars compacta on striatal circuitry.

e. rewarding influences of the pars compacta on striatal circuitry.

In deep brain stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease,

a. a miniature battery and slender microelectrode array are implanted into the basal ganglia.

b. stimulation is directed to the substantia nigra because excitation of this region directly elicits complex motor programs.

c. the electrodes are implanted "blind," using only stereological landmarks.

d. stimulation parameters such as pulse width, frequency, and pattern are determined by trial and error.

e. All of the above statements

d. stimulation parameters such as pulse width, frequency, and pattern are determined by trial and error.

Which of the following statements on Huntington's disease is false?

a. It involves atrophy of the striatum (caudate and putamen).

b. It is attributed to a genetic defect in the huntingtin gene.

c. It results in involuntary, choreiform motor acts.

d. It is attributable to excessive nucleotide repeats in the responsible gene.

e. Recent genetic findings have led to successful gene therapy treatment and a cure.

e. Recent genetic findings have led to successful gene therapy treatment and a cure.

The axons transmitting cortical signals to the basal ganglia

a. arise from cortical patches that that project exclusively to the basal ganglia.

b. arise almost entirely from axons of the corticothalamic tract.

c. arise almost entirely from axons of the corticospinal tract.

d. are extremely fine fibers that arise mainly from corticocortical projections.

e. carry information whose nature is poorly understood.

e. carry information whose nature is poorly understood.

The rostrocaudal bands in the corpus striatum

a. receive topographic inputs from the rostrocaudal areas of the cerebral cortex.

b. receive an inverted topographic input from the rostrocaudal areas of the cerebral cortex.

c. receive convergent inputs as a band, e.g., integrating "hand" information from different cortical regions concerned with the hand.

d. are an artifact of the cytochrome oxidase staining technique.

e. are patchy structures innervated by non-overlapping regions of cortex.

c. receive convergent inputs as a band, e.g., integrating "hand" information from different cortical regions concerned with the hand

MPTP is a compound that

a. is given to rats to cure paralysis.

b. destroys the substantia nigra of monkeys (or humans).

c. destroys the cerebellum of monkeys (or humans).

d. is used to treat Parkinson's disease.

e. fluorescently labels dopaminergic neurons to enhance their visualization.

b. destroys the substantia nigra of monkeys (or humans).

One of the outputs of the basal ganglia, the substantia nigra pars reticulata, is most similar in its function to the

a. corpus striatum.

b. caudate.

c. putamen

d. globus pallidus.

e. substantia nigra pars compacta.

d. globus pallidus.

Focal application of a GABA receptor agonist within the substantia nigra pars reticulata would most likely

a. result in symptoms of Parkinson's disease such as those induced by MPTP.

b. lead to degeneration of the globus pallidus.

c. produce a temporary thought disorder.

d. result in abnormal limb movements.

e. result in involuntary saccadic eye movements.

e. result in involuntary saccadic eye movements.

Which of the following statements about the dopaminergic system associated with the basal ganglia is false?

a. The primary set of dopamine cells is located in the substantia nigra pars compacta.

b. The dopamine cells receive major input from medium spiny neurons.

c. The dopamine cells project to both segments of the globus pallidus.

d. Dopamine exerts excitatory and inhibitory effects on the corpus striatum.

e. Dopamine D1 and D2 receptors are both G-protein-coupled receptors.

c. The dopamine cells project to both segments of the globus pallidus.

The basal ganglia are thought to elicit movement via

a. direct excitation of the primary motor cortex.

b. direct excitation of the premotor cortex.

c. disinhibition of thalamic neurons (VA/VL).

d. direct excitation of thalamic neurons (VA/VL).

e. excitatory projections from the subthalamic nucleus to higher-order association areas of cortex.

c. disinhibition of thalamic neurons (VA/VL).

Which statement on the inputs to the basal ganglia is false?

a. Motor and premotor cortex both project to the corpus striatum.

b. Association cortices in the parietal and frontal lobes comprise the largest of the inputs.

c. The temporal, cingulate and insular cortices all have substantial projections to the basal ganglia.

d. The somatic sensory and extrastriate visual cortices make substantial projections to the putamen.

e. The primary visual and primary auditory cortices constitute the dominant projection to the caudate.

e. The primary visual and primary auditory cortices constitute the dominant projection to the caudate

Which of the following statements about the subthalamic nucleus is correct?

a. It receives input from the globus pallidus external segment.

b. It receives input from the globus pallidus internal segment.

c. It receives input from the substantia nigra pars compacta.

d. Its main output is to the substantia nigra pars compacta.

e. It is the main source of dopaminergic input to the putamen.

a. It receives input from the globus pallidus external segment.

The basal ganglia's ability to evoke one specific movement pattern out of an almost endless variety of possible movement patterns is best ascribed to which neural coding strategy?

a. Feedforward coding

b. Feedback coding

c. Center-surround style decision making

d. Coarse premotor coding

e. Rebound excitation

c. Center-surround style decision making

Which of the following statements about the medium spiny neurons is false?

a. They are GABAergic.

b. They receive input from dopaminergic neurons.

c. They are the major output of the striatum.

d. They outnumber their target neurons in the globus pallidus by about a factor of 1,000.

e. Each one densely innervates 100 to 200 pallidal neurons.

e. Each one densely innervates 100 to 200 pallidal neurons.