Review Questions for Chapter 3 – Biology and Behaviour
A. Building Blocks of Nervous System: Neurons
1. What is a neuron?
2. Describe the function of glial cells. What is the myelin sheath?
3. Describe the four functional structures of a neuron (dendrite, soma, axon, and axon
terminals), and describe what they do. What is the synapse?
4. How does a nerve signal travel along a neuron, in terms of the four structures listed
above?
5. What is the resting potential, and how does it relate to the presence of ions inside and
outside of the neuron? How is it like a battery? Why is it important?
6. What is an action potential? What does it tell us?
7. What is the all-or-none principle as it relates to the action potential? Give an analogy.
How does this relate to how neurons can signal stimulus intensity?
8. What is the refractory period, and how does this relate to the neural impulse?
9. Describe what happens at the synaptic cleft as an action potential travels along the pre-
synaptic neuron.
10. What are neurotransmitters, and how do they interact with receptors on the postsynaptic
neuron? How are they removed from the synaptic cleft?
11. What are graded potentials? How are they different from action potentials?
12. Distinguish between excitatory and inhibitory potentials.
13. Name at least three different neurotransmitters found in the nervous system, and briefly
describe their function. What is the difference between an agonist and an antagonist?
B. The Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
1. What are the functions of the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system?
What are each of their jobs and how do they work together?
2. Differentiate between the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. What do each of them
do?
3. Differentiate between efferent and afferent nerves.
4. Which autonomic nervous system would activate a response in times of sudden stress
(e.g., fear)? Which autonomic nervous system would activate responses under times of
relaxation?
C.6 The Brain
1. Generally, what is the function of the structures in the hindbrain? Specifically, what is the
function of the medulla and cerebellum?
2. In general, describe the function of the midbrain structures.
3. Describe and briefly summarize the function of each of these forebrain structures: the
cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus and limbic system (amygdala and
hippocampus).
4. Name the four lobes of the cerebral cortex, and briefly describe the function of each.
5. If a stroke left you such that you could not move your left arm but could feel stimuli on
your left arm, what area of the cortex has been damaged?
