brain basics Flashcards
1
Q
neurogenesis
A
development and birth of new neurons
2
Q
gray matter
A
- unmyelinated neurons
- neurons that don’t have glia or myelin
- reveal the cell bodies of the neuron
3
Q
white matter
A
- myelinated axons
- primarily glia/myelinated
4
Q
nissl-stained (cresyl violet)
A
staining that reveals gray matter
5
Q
fiber stain
A
staining that reveals white matter
- staining insulating glia cells
6
Q
golgi stain
A
- staining that shows the entire neuron
- helps to tell us the shape of the neuron and what kind of cell it is
7
Q
neuron - cell type
A
- referred to as the “communicating cells”
- release chemical messages
- advantageous bcos:
- signals are targeted/directed
- signals can travel long distances (conduction)
- axons have special type of conducting called ‘action potential’
8
Q
glia - cell type
A
- referred to as “support cells”
- act like a glue
- help to form myelin
9
Q
flow of signal in the neuron
A
dendrites (input) –> soma –> axon –> axon terminal (output)
10
Q
projection neurons
A
long axons that project signals at long distances to other areas
11
Q
interneurons
A
- short axons
- project locally
- MODIFY the signals
12
Q
microglia
A
- brain is cut off from the rest of the body as it is protected by a blood-brain barrier (BBB)
- microglia plays a role in the brains immune system
- takes care of your brain at an immune level
- if they detect something is wrong in the brain, they go into a “primed state”
- they blow up in size & become bigger
- they hunt down the source of damage and engulp/defeat the intruder/damage.
13
Q
Shwann cell
A
- type of glial cell that wraps itself around the entire axon
- covering it in myelin sheath
- only myelinate a single axon
- in the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
14
Q
Oligodendrocyte cell
A
- they myelinate several axons
- in the Central Nervous System (CNS)
- they have branches that come out and wrap themselves around the axon instead of wrapping itself around it
15
Q
astrocytes
A
- specialized glial cells (star shaped)
- glial scars are formed by astrocytes
- In the CNS
- found everywhere doing multiple roles
- they are wrapped around our capillaries (blood vessels) which means they are part of BBB.
- provide synaptic support
- axon control
