1 - Introductory Lecture Flashcards
What does the nervous system do?
Detects change
Executes different reactions
What kind of changes does the nervous system detect?
Food, Danger, Mates
What happens in the depolarisation “rising” phase?
Voltage gated sodium ion channels open and the membrane potential becomes less negative.
What happens in the repolarisation phase?
Voltage gated potassium ions channels open and the membrane potential becomes more negative again.
What is Glutamate?
The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.
What do SNARE proteins do?
They bring the synaptic vesicles close to the pre-synaptic membrane for fusion.
What does Glutamate bind to?
NMDA and AMPA receptors
What are NMDA receptors involved in?
Memory formation, Long term potentiation and long term depression.
What does Glutamate do?
Creates excitatory post synaptic potentials (EPSPs).
What happens when long term depression is stimulated in an excitatory neuron?
It creates a reduction in the amplitude of an EPSP.
What happens when long term potentiation is stimulated in an excitatory neuron?
It creates an increase in amplitude.
