Physiology 67

Final Exam Essay Questions

Below are ten questions culled from our discussions in PHYS 67 this semester. Four of these questions will appear as your final exam this semester. The final will be a closed book timed essay exam.

· In a simple reflex arc, like stepping on a tack and moving your foot in response, explain in as much detail as possible all the mechanistic steps in transduction from stimulus to muscle movement.

· By what mechanisms can a Hebbian synapse form/ What is Long term potentiation? Explain how it works and how it can relate to memory encoding

· We have been stressing in class the concept of how the CNS is sensitive to acute changes in stimuli but ignores things that are constant. Explain how this principle relates to mechanisms involved in pain processing. Be sure to include a discussion of both acute and chronic pain signaling.

· Explain what the term “Neural Plasticity” means and how it works to make the nervous system more responsive to environmental or physiological changes

· When would the body want to use a G protein to send a signal? Describe the specific steps involved in G protein signaling and give a specific example of one neurological system that uses one?

· What brain areas are involved in processing language, how does damage to these areas affect speech, reading and forming words?

· Compare and contrast the neural encoding of two senses and the anatomical structures involved. Be sure to include sensory transduction and cortical processing.

· Name the three main Central Nervous System areas associated with the reward pathway and explain the neurotransmitters involved and how their levels change during satisfying experiences such as eating a meal at a restaurant or having a cigarette afterwards.

· During this exam you may be “Stressed out”. If during this exam something really stressful were to occur (say having a wild lion enter the classroom and attack you) what changes would you expect to occur in your body by what mechanisms would these changes be enacted?

· Explain what an EEG is measuring and how it related to the normal sleep pattern activity and nocturnal rhythms involved in REM and deep sleep.