CBN EXAM 2 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What methodology might you use if you wanted cell-type specificity as well as quantitative analysis? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅TRAP (translating ribosome affinity purification)
What are the 4 symptoms of major depressive disorder that were highlighted in class? Or just any 4
from the slides it's not that deep. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Anhedonia (loss of interest/pleasure)
- Weight loss/gain
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- Restlessness or lethargy
What are two ways to test for anhedonia in mice? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Sucrose preference
test
- Effort-related decision making
How could you test for despair or helplessness in mice? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Forced swim test
Why are weight loss/gain, sleep disturbances, and locomotor activity rarely used in depression studies in
mice? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅It's hard to reliably establish them as symptoms of depression
specifically (as opposed to a confounding cause)
What behavior exhibited during the forced swim test is said to be indicative of despair? - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅Immobility
In the forced swim test, how do antidepressants impact time spent immobile? - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅Trick question! They all seem to work differently.
E.g.
- Desipramine "worked" in 75% of strains
- Fluoxetine "worked" in 25% of strains
, If mice in an experimental design show no preference for sucrose water over regular water, what might
this tell you? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅The mice are exhibiting signs of anhedonia indicated by their
loss of interest in an otherwise universally pleasurable stimulus.
How does an effort-related decision making task indicate whether a mouse may be exhibiting signs of
anhedonia? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Whether it chooses the high reward + high work option
Describe the 5-HT deficiency hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Too little serotonin causes
depression
Describe the neurogenesis hypothesis of depression. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Depression is caused
by impaired neurogenesis
Describe the neuroendocrine hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Depression is caused by
excessive activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
Describe the neuroinflammatory hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Excessive brain inflammation
causes depression.
Various "wiring" hypotheses for depression exist. They suggest that depression is caused by
hyperactivity in various brain regions. Name two brain regions that are associated with a "wiring"
hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- The lateral habenula
- Subgenual anterior cingulate cortex
What sucks about the 5-HT deficiency hypothesis? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅There is no direct
evidence that 5-HT deficiency exists in individuals with depression. Also it can't be tested in humans.
What is the 5-HT synthesis gene? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Tryptophan hydroxylase (Tph)
What are some brain regions that 5-HT neurons project to? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅the
hypothalamus, lateral habenula, ventral tegmental area (VTA), locus coeruleus, hippocampus, amygdala,
cortex
What methodology might you use if you wanted cell-type specificity as well as quantitative analysis? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅TRAP (translating ribosome affinity purification)
What are the 4 symptoms of major depressive disorder that were highlighted in class? Or just any 4
from the slides it's not that deep. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Anhedonia (loss of interest/pleasure)
- Weight loss/gain
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- Restlessness or lethargy
What are two ways to test for anhedonia in mice? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Sucrose preference
test
- Effort-related decision making
How could you test for despair or helplessness in mice? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Forced swim test
Why are weight loss/gain, sleep disturbances, and locomotor activity rarely used in depression studies in
mice? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅It's hard to reliably establish them as symptoms of depression
specifically (as opposed to a confounding cause)
What behavior exhibited during the forced swim test is said to be indicative of despair? - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅Immobility
In the forced swim test, how do antidepressants impact time spent immobile? - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅Trick question! They all seem to work differently.
E.g.
- Desipramine "worked" in 75% of strains
- Fluoxetine "worked" in 25% of strains
, If mice in an experimental design show no preference for sucrose water over regular water, what might
this tell you? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅The mice are exhibiting signs of anhedonia indicated by their
loss of interest in an otherwise universally pleasurable stimulus.
How does an effort-related decision making task indicate whether a mouse may be exhibiting signs of
anhedonia? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Whether it chooses the high reward + high work option
Describe the 5-HT deficiency hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Too little serotonin causes
depression
Describe the neurogenesis hypothesis of depression. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Depression is caused
by impaired neurogenesis
Describe the neuroendocrine hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Depression is caused by
excessive activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
Describe the neuroinflammatory hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Excessive brain inflammation
causes depression.
Various "wiring" hypotheses for depression exist. They suggest that depression is caused by
hyperactivity in various brain regions. Name two brain regions that are associated with a "wiring"
hypothesis. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- The lateral habenula
- Subgenual anterior cingulate cortex
What sucks about the 5-HT deficiency hypothesis? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅There is no direct
evidence that 5-HT deficiency exists in individuals with depression. Also it can't be tested in humans.
What is the 5-HT synthesis gene? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Tryptophan hydroxylase (Tph)
What are some brain regions that 5-HT neurons project to? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅the
hypothalamus, lateral habenula, ventral tegmental area (VTA), locus coeruleus, hippocampus, amygdala,
cortex
