Neural Transmission and Synapse Quiz

What is the ability of nerve fibers to perceive stimuli due to a polarized membrane called?

• • a) Conductivity

• • b) Excitability/Irritability

• • c) Refractory period

• • d) Synaptic delay

What is the minimum intensity a stimulus must have to be effective?

• • a) Subliminal stimulus

• • b) Threshold stimulus

• • c) Supraliminal stimulus

• • d) Summation effect

What happens during the refractory period of a nerve fiber?

• • a) It transmits the impulse faster

• • b) It responds to a second stimulus

• • c) It fails to respond to a second stimulus

• • d) It produces neurotransmitters

What is the function of the synaptic cleft?

• • a) To store neurotransmitters

• • b) To release neurotransmitters

• • c) To separate pre- and post-synaptic neurons

• • d) To increase the speed of impulse transmission

What is the term for the process by which an impulse is conducted from the pre-synaptic neuron to the post-synaptic neuron or cell?

• • a) Synaptic fatigue

• • b) Synaptic delay

• • c) Synaptic transmission

• • d) Synaptic cleft

What type of synapse has a gap of about 3.8 nm between neurons?

• • a) Chemical synapse

• • b) Electrical synapse

• • c) Neuromuscular junction

• • d) Summation synapse

Where are electrical synapses typically found in the body?

• • a) In muscles

• • b) In glands

• • c) In areas requiring fast responses, like defense reflexes

• • d) In sensory neurons

What is a neuromuscular junction?

• • a) A chemical synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle cell

• • b) A gap junction in the heart

• • c) A synapse between two neurons in the brain

• • d) A mechanical link between bones

What triggers the release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles in the pre-synaptic neuron?

• • a) Opening of Na+ channels

• • b) Increased Ca++ concentration inside the cell

• • c) Increased K+ concentration inside the cell

• • d) Decrease in extracellular fluid

What happens to neurotransmitters after they bind to receptors on the post-synaptic cell?

• • a) They are permanently bound

• • b) They are destroyed by enzymes like cholinesterase

• • c) They are stored in the synaptic cleft

• • d) They immediately trigger another impulse