Queen’s University PSYC 271 Psychology Final Exam
Queen’s University PSYC 271 Psychology Final Exam
Mostly Tested Exam Coverage Areas:
1. Neuroanatomy and neural transmission
2. Neural development and plasticity
3. Sensory systems and perception
4. Motor systems and movement control
5. Hormones, sex, and reproductive behavior
6. Homeostasis, feeding, and drinking
7. Sleep, circadian rhythms, and dreaming
8. Learning, memory, and synaptic plasticity
9. Emotion, stress, and aggression
10. Language, lateralization, and cognitive disorders
11. A first-year student is reviewing how signals travel between neurons and asks which
sequence correctly describes chemical synaptic transmission at a typical central
, synapse. Which option best represents the order of events?
A. Action potential arrives, calcium enters, vesicles fuse, transmitter released,
receptors bind
B. Vesicles fuse, action potential arrives, calcium enters, transmitter released,
receptors bind
C. Receptors bind, vesicles fuse, calcium enters, action potential arrives, transmitter
released
D. Calcium enters, receptors bind, action potential arrives, vesicles fuse, transmitter
released
Answer: A
Rationale: Depolarization opens voltage-gated calcium channels, triggering vesicle
fusion and transmitter release onto postsynaptic receptors.
12. During a laboratory demonstration, a neuron is bathed in a solution that blocks
voltage-gated sodium channels, and the instructor asks what will most likely happen
to the action potential. Which statement is most accurate?
A. The resting membrane potential will immediately become positive
B. The rising phase of the action potential will be prevented
C. The neuron will fire longer action potentials at higher frequency
, D. Synaptic vesicles will fuse without calcium entry
Answer: B
Rationale: Voltage-gated sodium channels mediate the rapid depolarizing rising
phase, so blocking them prevents action potential initiation.
13. A student is comparing graded potentials and action potentials and asks which
feature is characteristic of action potentials but not graded potentials. Which choice
is correct?
A. They decrement with distance along the membrane
B. They can summate temporally and spatially
C. They are all-or-none once threshold is reached
D. They occur only in dendrites and cell bodies
Answer: C
Rationale: Action potentials are all-or-none regenerative events, whereas graded
potentials vary in amplitude and decrement with distance.
14. A researcher applies a drug that prevents reuptake of a neurotransmitter into the
presynaptic terminal, and the student asks what effect this will most likely have on
synaptic signaling. Which answer is best?
A. Prolonged transmitter action in the synaptic cleft
, B. Immediate depletion of all synaptic vesicles
C. Blockade of postsynaptic receptor binding
D. Reversal of the resting membrane potential
Answer: A
Rationale: Reuptake inhibition increases and prolongs neurotransmitter availability in
the cleft, enhancing postsynaptic effects.
15. In a case study, a patient shows difficulty coordinating voluntary movements but has
normal strength, and the student asks which brain region is most likely affected.
Which option is most appropriate?
A. Primary somatosensory cortex
B. Cerebellum
C. Hypothalamus
D. Primary visual cortex
Answer: B
Rationale: The cerebellum is critical for coordination, timing, and smooth execution
of voluntary movements.
16. A student is reviewing the blood-brain barrier and asks which property most allows a
substance to cross it readily by simple diffusion. Which choice is correct?
Queen’s University PSYC 271 Psychology Final Exam
Mostly Tested Exam Coverage Areas:
1. Neuroanatomy and neural transmission
2. Neural development and plasticity
3. Sensory systems and perception
4. Motor systems and movement control
5. Hormones, sex, and reproductive behavior
6. Homeostasis, feeding, and drinking
7. Sleep, circadian rhythms, and dreaming
8. Learning, memory, and synaptic plasticity
9. Emotion, stress, and aggression
10. Language, lateralization, and cognitive disorders
11. A first-year student is reviewing how signals travel between neurons and asks which
sequence correctly describes chemical synaptic transmission at a typical central
, synapse. Which option best represents the order of events?
A. Action potential arrives, calcium enters, vesicles fuse, transmitter released,
receptors bind
B. Vesicles fuse, action potential arrives, calcium enters, transmitter released,
receptors bind
C. Receptors bind, vesicles fuse, calcium enters, action potential arrives, transmitter
released
D. Calcium enters, receptors bind, action potential arrives, vesicles fuse, transmitter
released
Answer: A
Rationale: Depolarization opens voltage-gated calcium channels, triggering vesicle
fusion and transmitter release onto postsynaptic receptors.
12. During a laboratory demonstration, a neuron is bathed in a solution that blocks
voltage-gated sodium channels, and the instructor asks what will most likely happen
to the action potential. Which statement is most accurate?
A. The resting membrane potential will immediately become positive
B. The rising phase of the action potential will be prevented
C. The neuron will fire longer action potentials at higher frequency
, D. Synaptic vesicles will fuse without calcium entry
Answer: B
Rationale: Voltage-gated sodium channels mediate the rapid depolarizing rising
phase, so blocking them prevents action potential initiation.
13. A student is comparing graded potentials and action potentials and asks which
feature is characteristic of action potentials but not graded potentials. Which choice
is correct?
A. They decrement with distance along the membrane
B. They can summate temporally and spatially
C. They are all-or-none once threshold is reached
D. They occur only in dendrites and cell bodies
Answer: C
Rationale: Action potentials are all-or-none regenerative events, whereas graded
potentials vary in amplitude and decrement with distance.
14. A researcher applies a drug that prevents reuptake of a neurotransmitter into the
presynaptic terminal, and the student asks what effect this will most likely have on
synaptic signaling. Which answer is best?
A. Prolonged transmitter action in the synaptic cleft
, B. Immediate depletion of all synaptic vesicles
C. Blockade of postsynaptic receptor binding
D. Reversal of the resting membrane potential
Answer: A
Rationale: Reuptake inhibition increases and prolongs neurotransmitter availability in
the cleft, enhancing postsynaptic effects.
15. In a case study, a patient shows difficulty coordinating voluntary movements but has
normal strength, and the student asks which brain region is most likely affected.
Which option is most appropriate?
A. Primary somatosensory cortex
B. Cerebellum
C. Hypothalamus
D. Primary visual cortex
Answer: B
Rationale: The cerebellum is critical for coordination, timing, and smooth execution
of voluntary movements.
16. A student is reviewing the blood-brain barrier and asks which property most allows a
substance to cross it readily by simple diffusion. Which choice is correct?
