1) The myelination of central and peripheral axons occurs rapidly through the first few years of life. How can this developmental process explain the improved motor abilities of infants and toddlers?
2) A drug that blocks ATP production is introduced into an isolated axon preparation. The axon is then repeatedly stimulated, and recordings are made of the response. What effect would you expect to observe?
3) What would happen if the ventral root of a spinal nerve were completely transected?
4) Sometimes when it is difficult to initiate a knee-jerk reflex by tapping the patellar tendon, a patient will be asked to voluntarily make a fist. Then the reflex arc will be easily evoked. What does this illustrate about the relation between voluntary and involuntary movement?
6) An intersegmental reflex arc is characterized by what criteria?
7) Shelly gives her son an ice cream cone. The boy grasps the cone with his right hand, opens his mouth and begins licking the ice cream. Which nerves does he use to perform these actions?
8) Discuss how a peripheral nerve that is myelinated can begin functioning again after full transection?
9) While playing football, Ramon is tackled hard, and he tries to get up, he finds that he has difficulty flexing and adducting his left thigh and extending his left leg. Which nerve innervating the lower limb may be damaged, how would the damage affect sensory perception in Ramon's left leg, and which muscles if any would be involved?
10) What are the types of tracts that will move voluntary impulses up the spinal cord?