NURS 5357 NEUROBIOLOGY EXAM 1
TESTED QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS COMPLETE REVIEW
COMPILATION
●● What does gastrulation ultimately result in?
Answer: the formation of three distinct germ layers in an embryo
●● ectoderm
Answer: the outer germ layer
●● mesoderm
Answer: the middle germ layer
●● endoderm
Answer: the inner germ layer
●● How does the notochord form?
Answer: by invagination of the mesoderm in the region of the primitive
streak
●● What is the notochord?
,Answer: a distinct cylinder of mesodermal cells that condenses at the
midline as the mesoderm invaginates
●● Where is the notochord generated?
Answer: at the primitive pit
●● What does the primitive pit elongate to form?
Answer: the primitive streak
●● What does the notochord of the embryo define?
Answer: the axis of symmetry for the entire body
●● What are the cells which lie immediately above the notochord
collectively termed?
Answer: neuroectoderm
●● What does neuroectoderm give rise to?
Answer: the entirety of the nervous system
●● Which structure disappears once embryonic development is
complete? Why?
Answer: - the notochord
,- since it simply determines the position of the nervous system, it is only
really required for early neural differentiation
●● What are neuroectodermal precursor cells? How do they form?
Answer: - they are differentiated from overlying ectoderm cells
- they are formed when the notochord sends signals to the overlying
ectoderm cells
●● What do the cells within the neural tube ultimately give rise to?
Answer: the brain, spinal cord, and most of the peripheral nervous
system
●● What does the process of gastrulation give rise to?
Answer: three distinct germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and
ectoderm)
●● When does gastrulation typically occur in a human embryo?
Answer: during the second week of development
●● When does neural tube development typically occur in a human
embryo?
Answer: it forms between the 3rd and 4th week, but it ultimately
hollows between the 4th and 8th week
, ●● When does neural proliferation typically occur?
Answer: between the second and fifth month of development
●● Which neural processes typically occur before/at birth?
Answer: neural induction, proliferation, and migration
●● Which neural processes typically occur after birth? For how long
does each occur?
Answer: - synapse formation (typically between the ages of 6 months to
3 years until adulthood)
- synapse pruning (from childhood to adulthood)
- synapse myelination (from childhood until about 30 years)
●● What occurs during the first week of development?
Answer: the zygote cleaves to form an 8 cell model, and ultimately a
blastula (hollow ball of cells) is formed
●● What does the ectoderm ultimately give rise to?
Answer: - epithelium
- nervous tissue
●● What does the mesoderm ultimately give rise to?
Answer: - most muscle
TESTED QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS COMPLETE REVIEW
COMPILATION
●● What does gastrulation ultimately result in?
Answer: the formation of three distinct germ layers in an embryo
●● ectoderm
Answer: the outer germ layer
●● mesoderm
Answer: the middle germ layer
●● endoderm
Answer: the inner germ layer
●● How does the notochord form?
Answer: by invagination of the mesoderm in the region of the primitive
streak
●● What is the notochord?
,Answer: a distinct cylinder of mesodermal cells that condenses at the
midline as the mesoderm invaginates
●● Where is the notochord generated?
Answer: at the primitive pit
●● What does the primitive pit elongate to form?
Answer: the primitive streak
●● What does the notochord of the embryo define?
Answer: the axis of symmetry for the entire body
●● What are the cells which lie immediately above the notochord
collectively termed?
Answer: neuroectoderm
●● What does neuroectoderm give rise to?
Answer: the entirety of the nervous system
●● Which structure disappears once embryonic development is
complete? Why?
Answer: - the notochord
,- since it simply determines the position of the nervous system, it is only
really required for early neural differentiation
●● What are neuroectodermal precursor cells? How do they form?
Answer: - they are differentiated from overlying ectoderm cells
- they are formed when the notochord sends signals to the overlying
ectoderm cells
●● What do the cells within the neural tube ultimately give rise to?
Answer: the brain, spinal cord, and most of the peripheral nervous
system
●● What does the process of gastrulation give rise to?
Answer: three distinct germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and
ectoderm)
●● When does gastrulation typically occur in a human embryo?
Answer: during the second week of development
●● When does neural tube development typically occur in a human
embryo?
Answer: it forms between the 3rd and 4th week, but it ultimately
hollows between the 4th and 8th week
, ●● When does neural proliferation typically occur?
Answer: between the second and fifth month of development
●● Which neural processes typically occur before/at birth?
Answer: neural induction, proliferation, and migration
●● Which neural processes typically occur after birth? For how long
does each occur?
Answer: - synapse formation (typically between the ages of 6 months to
3 years until adulthood)
- synapse pruning (from childhood to adulthood)
- synapse myelination (from childhood until about 30 years)
●● What occurs during the first week of development?
Answer: the zygote cleaves to form an 8 cell model, and ultimately a
blastula (hollow ball of cells) is formed
●● What does the ectoderm ultimately give rise to?
Answer: - epithelium
- nervous tissue
●● What does the mesoderm ultimately give rise to?
Answer: - most muscle
