Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

neuroscience 1 > basics - terms, structure and neuron classification > Flashcards

basics - terms, structure and neuron classification Flashcards

1
Q

what are the neuroanatomical terms for the front?

A

anterior or rostral

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

neuroanatomical terms for the back end?

A

posterior/caudal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

neuroanatomical term for the bottom vs top?

A

ventral or inferior vs dorsal or superior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

neuroanatomical term for a dissection down the middle, splitting left and right?

A

sagittal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what is a horizontal dissection?

A

splits top and bottom / superior and inferior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

neuroanatomical term for a dissection splitting the front and back?

A

coronal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

in terms of the spinal cord, what is a transverse and longitudinal dissection?

A

transverse = separates upper and lower half
longitudinal splits left and right

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

when using these neuroanatomical terms what must you be mindful of?

A

some of them, like dorsal/ventral and rostral/caudal change what they are referring to depending on the axis (standing up or lying down for example)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

briefly describe the forebrain and its general functions

A

cerebral hemispheres, thalamus (gateway to the cortex) and hypothalamus (homeostasis)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

briefly describe the midbrain and its general functions

A

colliculi, the tegmentum, and the cerebral peduncles
basic motor control and pain processor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

briefly describe the hindbrain and its general functions

A

pons, cerebellum (motor coordination and movement) medulla (cardiovascular and pulmonary control)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what does the brainstem consist of?

A

the midbrain, the pons and the medulla oblongata

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

describe the four sections of the spinal cord

A

from the top to the bottom:
1) cervical, has an enlargement due to lots of movement in arms so needs to coordinate lots of motor neurons

2) thoracic, autonomic section

3) lumbar, with an enlargement for the legs

4) sacral

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

distinguish between grey and white matter and where they appear

A

grey = cell bodies, neurons and glia
white = neuronal axons wrapped in myelin
brain is white on inside grey on outside, spinal cord is the other way around

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what two general kind of cells make up the nervous system and what do they do?

A

neurons = excitable cells that conduct impulses, integrating and relaying information
Glia = supporting cells, the glue, maintaining homeostasis, providing protection and assisting neural function

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

who distinguished glia and neurons and how?

A

Nissl Franz, used a positive dye that binds to RNA, in glia this stained the nucleolus, but in neurons it also stained Nissl bodies
this allowed him to observe the distribution of the two (cytoarchitecture)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

describe the contents of the soma

A

all the same stuff as other cells, but there’s more RNA(evident in the staining) and lots of mitochondria (understandable)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

define neurite, dendrite and axon

A

neurite = umbrella term for anything coming off a neuron
dendrite = supper branched, typically receive signals so have postsynaptic terminals
axon = thicker, typically send out signals so have presynaptic membranes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

how do you visualise dendrites?

A

using a Golgi stain (sliver chromate)

20
Q

what is the composition of neurites and the neuronal cytoskeleton?

A

made up of microtubules, actin and microfilaments
as well as neuronal filaments (long proteins wound together, super strong)

neurites can be lengthened and shortened over time by polymerisation or depolymerisation

21
Q

describe the different sections of axons

A

axon hillock = bit immediately connecting to the soma

axon initial segment = site of action potentials

axon collaterals = axon branches

axon terminal/terminal bouton (aka synaptic boutons, axon terminals are small swellings that are found at the terminal ends of axons. They are typically the sites where synapses with other neurons are found, and neurotransmitters are stored there

22
Q

axons don’t have a certain organelle - what is it and how do they make up for it?

A

they don’t have a RER so all proteins must be made in the cell body and transported (this is energy demanding) anywhere from 1mm to 1m

23
Q

what is immunohistochemistry and what is another method used?

A

primary antibody + secondary fluorescent antibody, only works on fixed tissue so sometimes live imaging is used

24
Q

what are the two kinds of presynaptic terminals?

A

terminal arbour - when one axon splits into many presynaptic terminals
Boutons en passant - a swelling in an axon that continues on after, but this swelling can act as a presynaptic terminal, has all the vesicles and stuff

25
Q

how are presynaptic terminals specialised?

A

no microtubules, lots of synaptic vesicles, lots of mitochondria then obviously the synaptic cleft itself

26
Q

axoplasmic transport - what are the two kinds and how do they work?

A

anterograde transport = forward transport toward presynaptic membrane, kinesin walks along a microtubule (the meme)
retrograde transport - opposite direction, using dynein not kinesin

27
Q

how can you locate the soma of a particular axon (or vice versa)?

A

use an anterograde or retrograde tracer like HRP

28
Q

explain the structure of dendrites

A

the combine as branches to form a tree, allowing for the convergence of signals, removing noise
they have dendritic spines (knobbly bits that increase surface area to create space for isolated reactions)

29
Q

what are the 4 ways you can classify neurons

A

number of neurites
dendritic geometry
gene expression
type of NT

30
Q

give an example of a (pseudo)unipolar neuron and what it does

A

dorsal root ganglion - super specific takes info from skin and inputs it into a spinal cord (one axon that diverges like a T junction)

31
Q

give an example of a bipolar neuron and how it works

A

retinal bipolar neurons - photoreceptors pass info onto the bipolar neurons - there are two distinct neurites coming from the cell body, a dendritic one to receive info and an axonal one to send info off

32
Q

give an example of a multipolar neuron

A

purkinje neuron - can receive around 150, 000 contacts, has only one axon from the cell body but this branches into many dendrites

33
Q

what is dendritic geometry used for and what are the two common types?

A

used to distinguish between multipolar neurons
stellate = star shape, common in the neocortex
pyramidal = common in hippocampus and neocortex, has a basal tree with lots of neurites near the base, and an apical tree with lots of neurites near the brain

34
Q

what do the following types of neuron connect:
1) sensory
2) motor
3) interneuron

A

1) periphery to the CNS
2) CNS to periphery
3) between neurons around the CNS (relay or projection neurons go far, local neurons send signals within the same area)

35
Q

what technique can be used to see where a nerve goes?

A

reporter gene

36
Q

what ability do glia maintain throughout their life?

A

they can proliferate

37
Q

describe the structure and function of astrocytes

A

they have a main cell body and some processes that stick out
they stick to their spatial domains
they have a unique marker - glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)
function is homeostatic

38
Q

what are the different subtypes of astrocyte?

A

fibrous, protoplasmic, radial glial, muller cells of the retina, ependymal cells like in the choroid plexus

39
Q

how are astrocytes involved in energy?

A

they store glycogen, then convert this to lactate to be taken by monocarboxylate transporters to neurons to be used as an energy source

40
Q

what is a tripartite synapse and what role does the astrocyte play?

A

synapse with the pre, the post and an astrocyte
astrocytes are involved in terminating NT activity by recycling NTs, they often have receptors too

41
Q

what do microglia do?

A

phagocytose cell debris, prune dendrites, send developmental signals and can assist in myelination

42
Q

what do oligodendrocytes do?

A

one cell can myelinate multiple axons

43
Q

what do Schwann cells do?

A

they myelinate one axon at a time - the Schwann cell wraps around an axon, squeezes, squishing out its own cytoplasm (compaction), leaving the cell membrane and some other proteins that make up myelin

44
Q

why does myelin remain in contact with the glial cell that made it?

A

for nutrients purposes

45
Q

to what part of the nervous system to astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia and Schwann cells belong?

A

Schwann cells belong to the PNS, the others belong to the CNS

neuroscience 1 (11 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions