Question

bio130 exam 3 - chapters 10 and 11 nervous sysl
28
multiple choice
the spinothalamic tract conducts impulses ______
down the spinal cord from the thalamus
from spinal cord to skeletal muscles
from the thalamus to the cerebral cortex
up the spinal cord to the thalamus

Explanation:

1. Recall the function of the spinothalamic tract: It's an ascending (sensory) neural pathway.
2. Ascending tracts carry information from the spinal cord upward to the brain (thalamus, then cerebral cortex).
3. Eliminate other options:

• "down the spinal cord from the thalamus" is incorrect (it's ascending, not descending).
• "from spinal cord to skeletal muscles" describes motor (descending or somatic motor) pathways, not spinothalamic.
• "from the thalamus to the cerebral cortex" is the next step (thalamocortical pathway), not spinothalamic.
• Thus, the tract conducts impulses up the spinal cord to the thalamus.

Answer:

The option "up the spinal cord to the thalamus" (assuming this is one of the radio button options, likely the third or fourth visually, but based on knowledge: the spinothalamic tract is an ascending (sensory) pathway that carries pain, temperature, etc., from the spinal cord up to the thalamus. So the correct choice is the one with "up the spinal cord to the thalamus" text.