Name ______________________________________________________ (please print)

ID# __________________________________ (If you dont know it, that is ok)

November, 2016
BCMB 415, Exam 3
There are 72 Questions, each worth 1 point. Some are complicated and have multiple parts so read carefully.
Your grade will be calculated as follows:
(Number Correct/72)*100

Match each word or phrase (right) with its appropriate description (left). Each term is used only once.

__S_ 1. Sensory signals that arise as a consequence of an animals own

movement through its environment.
A. Arrestin
__AA 2. Point to point representation of the sensory epithelium in brain
centers responsible for analyzing stimuli within the sensory
modality to which the sensory epithelium is most sensitive.

B.

Bipolar Cells

C.

Center-Surround

D. Compound Eye

__L__ 3. Simplest sense organ for detecting light.

__P__ 4. Synaptic interactions in the retina take place in these layers.
__T__ 5. Typical eye of vertebrates.

E.

Cone

F.

Displacement

G. Fovea

__BB_ 6. When activated, this retinal protein triggers directly a reduction in

cGMP levels via the activity of phosphodiesterase.
__A__ 7. This retinal protein binds to phosphorylated rhodopsin and
inactivates it.
__J__ 8. A set of columns within V1 that are responsive to lines of all
orientations form a particular region in space via both eyes.

H. Ganglion Cells
I.

Horizontal Cells

J.

Hypercolumn

K.

Nuclear

L.

Ocellus

M. Ocular Dominance Column

N. Orientation Column

__I__ 9. Cells that mediate lateral interactions in the retina.

O. Parallel Processing
__C__ 10. Receptive field organization of retinal bipolar cells.

P.

__R__ 11. Projection neurons of the primary visual cortex.

Plexiform

Q. Pretectal Area

__O__ 12. The concept that different classes of a particular cell type convey
different types of information about a stimulus simultaneously.
__Y__ 13. Brain center that mediates sensorimotor interactions.

R.

Pyramidal Cells

S.

Reafference

T.

Refracting Eye

U. Rhodopsin
__G__ 14. Region of the retina where cones are highly concentrated.

V. Serial Processing

__W__ 15. Cells mediating inhibitory interactions within the primary visual
cortex.

W. Smooth Stellate Cells

X.

Spiny Stellate Cells

__D__ 16. Arthropod eye particularly sensitive to movement.

Y.

Superior Colliculus

Z.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

__V__ 17. The concept that the response properties of a cell are shaped by
convergent input from cells at lower levels of the sensory pathway.
__X__ 18. Excitatory local interneurons of the primary visual cortex.
__E__ 19. Photoreceptors critical for color vision.
__H__ 20. Projection neurons of the retina.

AA. Topographic Organization

BB. Transducin

Answer the following with a T for true, or F for false.

__F__ 21. Receptor cells are specialized to respond to only one type of stimulus regardless of stimulus strength.

__F__ 22. A sense organ with few receptors, e.g. 2-3, cannot utilize an across-fiber coding scheme for stimulus
quality.
__F__ 23. Lateral inhibitory interactions make it difficult for a given sensory system to distinguish between two
closely related stimuli.
__T__ 24. Axons of ganglion cells associated with the right nasal hemiretina cross the optic tract at the optic
chiasm and join those of ganglion cells associated with left temporal hemiretina
__T__ 25. Sense organs function as filters, shaping an animals perception of the world.
__T___ 26. Rods in the mammalian retina typically contain a single photopigment and are, therefore, incapable of
rocessing color information.
__T__ 27. Before striking the photoreceptors, light must first traverse several layers of retinal tissues.

__F__ 28. M-type ganglion cells receive their predominant input from extra-foveal cones.

__F__ 29. AMPA receptors are the predominant glutamate receptor expressed by on-center bipolar cells.

__T__ 30. The basis for the hyperpolarizing photic response of rods and cones is due to an increase in
phosphodiesterase activity, a decrease in cGMP levels and closure of cyclic nucleotide-gated ion
channels in the photoreceptor membrane.
__F__ 31. One advantage of a labeled-line code is that only a few receptors are necessary for distinguishing
between and identifying a large number of stimuli.
.
__T__ 32. Sensory systems using an across-fiber coding scheme always show range fractionation.

__T___ 33. Hairs cells of the lateral line are similar to photoreceptors in the retina in that they constantly release
eurotransmitter, but the magnitude of transmitter release is dependent upon stimulus conditions.

__F__ 34. Utilization of a labeled-line code provides an adaptive advantage in that loss of a receptor does not
result in the total loss of the ability of the animal to detect the stimulus to which that receptor was
sensitive.

__F__ 35. The preferred angle of orientation of linear stimuli driving cells in the striate cortex varies systematically
as you proceed dorsal to ventral through the various layers of an orientation column.

__C___ 36. Shown at right is the audible range of several

common mammalian species, including humans. The
graphic best illustrates which of the following
concepts?
a.

Receptor cells function as transducers,

transforming stimulus energy into a change in
membrane potential.

b.

Range fractionation is a common property of sense

organs and their respective receptor cells.

c.

Sense organs and their receptor cells function to

shape an animals perception of the world.

_A___ 37. The response of three different types of touch receptor to

mechanical deformation of the skin is shown at left. Which
shows the fastest rate of adaptation?
a. Pacinian Corpuscle
b. Hair Follicle Receptor
c. Merkel Cell

__A__ 38. Shown at left is the response of a taste receptor to three different
concentrations (A-C) of ethanol. The lowest concentration of
alcohol was used in:
a.

b.

c.

__A__ 39. John strikes his elbow on a door frame and screams out in pain, *&$!#+^!. He then frantically rubs
his little finger which feels like it is on fire. Why does my *&$!#+^ finger hurt so badly, I hit the
*&$!#+^ door with my *&$!#+^ elbow! After suggesting that John might want to watch his language,
you proceed to explain the concept of a/an ..
a.

Labeled Line Code

b.

Across Fiber Code

c.

Place Code

_B___ 40. John blindly stumbles into a door frame smashing his nose into a pulpy mess (as you may have guessed,
John is not the most coordinated of individuals). Upon examination, Johns doctor points out that a small
section of his olfactory epithelium has been damaged. Once the doctor explains to John what olfactory
and epithelium are (John is not the brightest bulb in the box either) he then explains that while his sense
of smell will be dulled somewhat, he should still be able to detect all of those delectable odors near and
dear to Johns heart. The basis upon which the doctor makes this statement is that the olfactory systems
utilizes a/an __________ for the detection and analysis of odors.
a.

Labeled Line Code

b.

Across Fiber Code

c.

Rate Code

__B__ 41. Capture of a photon by which of the following leads to activation of rhodopsin?
a.

Transducin

b.

Retinal

c.

Arrestin

42. You plan on measuring the photic response of a rod cell before (Control) and during bath application of IBMX, a
phosphodiesterase inhibitor. Sketch your anticipated results below (light stimulation is indicated by the black
bar).

Figure 1. Control Response

Figure 2. Response during IBMX

Application

__C__ 43. A retinal slice preparation was bathed in SEA0400, a calcium-sodium exchange pump inhibitor. Which of
the following enzymes would be affected directly by this treatment (circle the correct answer)?
a.

Rhodopsin kinase

b.

Phosphodiesterase

c.

Guanylate cyclase

(Questions 44-54) With reference to the above diagram, bipolar cell 1 hyperpolarizes (as shown) in response to
stimulation of rod 1 with a small spot of light. Stimulation of rod 2, on the other hand, results in depolarization of
bipolar cell 1. Given this information answer the following?
What is the identity of the neurotransmitter, its postsynaptic effect, and its postsynaptic receptor at the synapse
between cells 1 and 1 (A, B and C in the box)?
44. (A) ____ GLUTAMATE________________________
45. (B) _____EXCITATORY________________________
46. (C) _____AMPA__________________________________
What is the identity of the neurotransmitter and its postsynaptic effect at the synapse between cells 3 and 1 above
(D and E in the box)?
47. (D) _____GABA__________________________________
48. (E) _____INHIBITORY_____________________________
49. What type of cell is cell 3? _____HORIZONTAL______________
50. Diagram the response of cell 3 when cell 2 is stimulated with a spot of light. Use the axes provided in the
diagram.
What is the identity of the neurotransmitter and its postsynaptic effect and its postsynaptic receptor at the synapse
between cells 2 and 3 above (F, G and H in the box)?
51. (F) ______GLUTAMATE______________________
52. (G) ______EXCITATORY______________________
53. (H) ______AMPA____________________________
54. What type of center-surround receptive field organization foes bipolar cell 1 exhibit? OFF CENTER ON
SURROUND

55. Place an X on the horizontal lines at left to indicate the region

of each eye that gives rise to ganglion cell axons forming the LEFT
optic tract.

56. Intracellular recordings were obtained from several

ganglion cells in the retina of the cat. Following recording,
the cells were filled with dye and their morphologies
visualized (at right). Two anatomically distinct cell types
were revealed (A and B). Based on differences in
morphology you determine that cell A represents what
specific class of retinal ganglion cell?
__P-TYPE_______________________________________

57. Which layers of the LGN are involved in the analysis of color information?
__3-6__________________________________________

(Questions 58 63) Complete the following table with respect to the types of cells in the striate cortex.

Cell Type

Pyramidal

Neurotransmitter

(60) GLUTAMATE

Postsynaptic
Action

(62)EXCITATORY

(58) SMOOTH
STELLATE CELL

GABA
(63) INHIBITORY

(59) SPINEY
STELLATE CELL
(61) GLUTAMATE

Excitatory

64. Shown below, is the response of a simple cell to the presentation of lines of different orientation. To the right
of the figure, sketch the receptive fields (including their proper spatial relationships with one another) of the 3 lateral
geniculate neurons that converge in the striate cortex giving rise to the orientation selectivity exhibited by this
neuron.

Visual Field

(Questions 65 67) Recordings were obtained from 3 different cells in the striate cortex. Results are shown above.
In A, both the orientation and position of a bar of light were changed and responses recorded (vertical lines are
action potentials). In B, responses to a change in the length of a bar of light were recorded. In C, the orientation of
the bar of light was changed and responses recorded. The bar at the bottom of each column represents the presence
of the stimulus. Hubel and Wiesel would have categorized the cells as follows:

65. (A) ______COMPLEX_______________________

66. (B) ______HYPERCOMPLEX__________________

67. (C) ______SIMPLE__________________________

68 72. Below is a schematic diagram depicting a neural circuit mediating the directional selectivity of a complex
cell (not shown, but receives convergent input from the intermediate cells).
Circle the arrowhead indicating the null direction.
In the bold circles (there are 4) adjacent to synapses on cell bodies, indicate whether the synaptic interactions
underlying directional selectivity are excitatory (use a + sign) or inhibitory (use a sign).