Lesson 3.1.1

3.1.1 Neurons, neurotransmitters and recreational drugs Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 3

20 questions

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Lesson 3.1.1, Neurons, neurotransmitters and recreational drugs: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 3: Biological psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is the role of a neuron?

    • To produce hormones that circulate in the blood and change behaviour over several hours
    • To carry electrical and chemical signals through the nervous system to other neurons or muscles
    • To store long-term memories as stable chemical structures inside the cell body for life
    • To provide physical support and insulation to the brain without transmitting any signals at all

  2. Which part of a neuron receives incoming signals from other neurons?

    • The dendrites
    • The myelin sheath
    • The axon terminal buttons
    • The nucleus of the cell body only

  3. What is the function of the myelin sheath?

    • It insulates the axon and speeds up the transmission of the electrical impulse along it
    • It stores the genetic information of the neuron in a form that can be copied during cell division
    • It receives chemical signals from other neurons through receptors on its outer surface
    • It releases neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft to pass signals to the next neuron

  4. Which chemical messengers are released at the synapse to pass a signal to the next neuron?

    • Antibodies released by the immune system to fight infection in the nervous tissue
    • Enzymes that break down the cell membrane of the neuron during a signal
    • Neurotransmitters
    • Hormones carried in the bloodstream to distant organs of the body

  5. What is the synaptic cleft?

    • The fatty insulating layer that surrounds the axon and speeds up the electrical impulse along it
    • The small gap between the terminal button of one neuron and the receptor site of the next
    • The part of the brain where memories are stored in the form of stable chemical patterns over time
    • The long fibre that carries impulses away from the cell body of a neuron towards its target

  6. Which sequence correctly describes synaptic transmission?

    • Neurotransmitters are released into the cleft, the electrical impulse reaches the terminal, they bind to the receptors
    • Electrical impulse reaches the myelin sheath, the sheath releases neurotransmitters, they are reabsorbed by the cell body
    • Neurotransmitters bind to receptors, then the electrical impulse is produced in the cleft, then it reaches the terminal
    • Electrical impulse reaches the terminal button, neurotransmitters are released into the cleft, they bind to receptors on the next neuron

  7. What is the function of the axon?

    • To carry the electrical impulse away from the cell body towards the terminal buttons
    • To store neurotransmitters in vesicles until the cell body requests their release in a chemical reaction
    • To insulate the neuron from the surrounding chemicals in the body, without carrying any impulses at all
    • To receive incoming signals from other neurons, which are then passed to the cell body for processing

  8. Which neurotransmitter is involved in reward and motivation pathways in the brain?

    • Adrenaline, which is mainly involved in the body's response to stress as a hormone in the blood
    • Dopamine
    • Cortisol, which is mainly involved in the body's long-term response to stress as a steroid hormone
    • Acetylcholine, which is mainly involved in the control of the muscles at the neuromuscular junction

  9. Which neurotransmitter is mainly involved in mood regulation and sleep?

    • Adrenaline, which is mainly a hormone that acts on the heart and blood vessels during stress
    • Glutamate, which is the main excitatory neurotransmitter but is not linked to sleep or mood
    • Insulin, which is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels after meals in the body
    • Serotonin

  10. What does the 'all-or-none' law describe for a neuron?

    • A neuron either fires a full action potential or does not fire at all, once a threshold is reached
    • A neuron fires a gradually weaker impulse as it travels down the axon, reaching zero at the terminal
    • A neuron fires a stronger impulse for every stimulus, with no threshold below which it stays silent
    • A neuron fires only when it receives a chemical signal from a hormone circulating in the blood nearby

  11. Which neurotransmitter is inhibitory in most of the brain, reducing the activity of neurons?

    • Dopamine, which is excitatory in most reward pathways and increases the firing of target neurons
    • Glutamate, which is the main excitatory neurotransmitter and increases the firing of neurons in the brain
    • Acetylcholine, which is excitatory at the neuromuscular junction and increases the contraction of muscles
    • GABA

  12. How is a neurotransmitter removed from the synaptic cleft after it has acted?

    • It is released into the bloodstream, where it circulates until it is used by a distant organ of the body
    • It stays in the cleft indefinitely, since neurotransmitters cannot be removed once they have been released at all
    • It is reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron through reuptake, or broken down by enzymes in the cleft
    • It is absorbed directly into the myelin sheath, where it is stored for later use by the neuron

  13. Which description best matches an excitatory neurotransmitter?

    • It makes the myelin sheath thicker, so the impulse travels more slowly along the axon in the neuron
    • It makes the post-synaptic neuron more likely to fire an action potential
    • It makes the post-synaptic neuron less likely to fire, so it reduces the activity of the target neuron
    • It makes the terminal button smaller, so fewer neurotransmitters are released at the synapse in total

  14. Why is the synapse important for behaviour?

    • It prevents all signals from passing between neurons, so each neuron works in complete isolation at all times
    • It makes the neuron larger, so that more electrical impulses can be stored in the cell body for later use
    • It allows signals to pass between neurons, so information can be integrated in neural networks
    • It produces the hormones that control the heart rate, so the body can respond to stress rapidly

  15. A researcher finds that a drug blocks the reuptake of serotonin. What would be the likely effect?

    • Serotonin would be released into the bloodstream, where it would have no effect on neurons in the brain
    • Serotonin would be moved into the myelin sheath, where it would be stored and not used for signalling again
    • Serotonin would remain in the synaptic cleft for longer, prolonging its effect on the post-synaptic receptors
    • Serotonin would be destroyed immediately, so no serotonin would be available to bind to any receptors at all

  16. Which evaluation point is most relevant to research on neurotransmitters?

    • Research on neurotransmitters can only be done after death, so it cannot inform understanding of living people
    • Research on neurotransmitters always uses controlled experiments on humans, so all conclusions are fully causal
    • Research on neurotransmitters has never been tested, so it has no scientific basis at all in the literature
    • Much research is correlational or uses animal models, so causal conclusions about humans are limited

  17. What is the approximate speed at which a neuron's signal travels along a myelinated axon compared with an unmyelinated one?

    • Myelination has no effect on speed, since the impulse travels at the same rate along all axons in the body
    • Myelination makes it faster only for chemical signals, which do not travel along the axon in the first place
    • Myelination makes it slower, because the myelin acts as a barrier that stops the impulse from moving at all
    • Myelination makes it much faster, because the impulse jumps between gaps in the myelin

  18. Which idea about neurotransmitters is consistent with the specification?

    • The structure and role of the neuron and the function of neurotransmitters are central to human behaviour
    • Neurotransmitters have no role in human behaviour, so the topic is irrelevant to the study of psychology at A level
    • Neurotransmitters are only found in the muscles, so they cannot affect behaviour driven by the brain at all
    • Neurotransmitters are only found in the blood, so they cannot affect the brain or the nervous system at all

  19. What is the main role of the terminal buttons of a neuron?

    • To insulate the axon with myelin, which speeds the electrical impulse along the fibre to the next neuron
    • To release neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft when an electrical impulse arrives
    • To receive incoming neurotransmitters from the cleft through their large dendritic branches at the cell body
    • To store the genetic code of the neuron, which is copied when the neuron divides to form new cells

  20. Which neurotransmitter is linked to arousal, attention and the fight-or-flight response?

    • Glutamate, which is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain but is not linked to arousal
    • Acetylcholine, which is mainly involved in the control of muscle contraction at the neuromuscular junction
    • GABA, which is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and reduces neuron firing
    • Noradrenaline

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