Chapter 10.  Overview of Synaptic Transmission

  1. Synapses may use either chemical or electrotonic transmission.

    2. a. True
    b. False
  2. Glial cells are interconnected through gap junctions.

    3. a. True
    b. False
  3. Which one of the following is a disease of gap junctions?

    4. a. Multiple sclerosis
    b. X-linked form of Charcot-Marie Tooth disease
    c. Guillian-Barre syndrome
    d. Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis
  4. Compared to electrical synapses, which one of the following is not true of chemical synapses?

    5. a. Greater amplification
    b. Greater speed
    c. Presence of a variety of postsynaptic receptor types
  5. Which is true of postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptors?

    6. a. They may act directly (ionotropic receptors)
    b. They may act indirectly (metabotropic receptors)
    c. Both

Chapter 11.  Signaling at the Nerve-Muscle Synapse: Directly Gated Transmission

  1. Synapses at the mammalian neuromuscular junction are electrical, mediated by gap junctions

    2. a. True
    b. False
  2. The presynaptic machinery for transmitter release at the neuromuscular junction includes which one of the following structures?

    3. a. Calcium channels
    b. Acetylcholinesterase
    c. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
    d. Junctional folds
  3. The end plate potential has a large safety factor because the depolarization is large, approximately

    4. a. 1 millivolts
    b. 10 millivolts
    c. 70 millivolts
    d. 70 picoamperes
  4. Which of these agents does not block neuromuscular transmission?

    5. a. curare
    b. d-tubocurarine
    c. alpha-bungarotoxin
    d. calcium
  5. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is an ionotropic receptor that is not permeable to:

    6. a. sodium
    b. potassium
    c. chloride
    d. calcium
  6. The reversal potential for the end-plate current is

    7. a. +55 millivolts
    b. 0 millivolts
    c. -40 millivolts
    d. -90 millivolts
  7. In patch-clamp recording, the reversal potential for currents through a single acetylcholine receptor-channel is

    8. a. +55 millivolts
    b. 0 millivolts
    c. -40 millivolts
    d. -90 millivolts
  8. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor has the subunit stoichiometry

    9. a. One alpha, one beta, one gamma
    b. Two alpha, one beta, one gamma, one delta
    c. Two alpha, two beta,one gamma
    d. One alpha, two beta, one gamma, one delta
  9. To open the channel, how many acetylcholine molecules must bind to the receptor?

    10. a. One
    b. Two
    c. Three
    d. Five
This is a take-home test due 10/16/01.
A score of 80% or better is required.