Cells of the nervous system Flashcards
What are the 2 main cells of the nervous system?
- Neurones
- Glia
What are glia?
Supporting cells found around neurones
What does the Nissl stain do?
- Distinguishes between neurones and glia by highlighting the endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes in the cell bodies of neurones
- Allows visualisation of variation in size density, distribution of neurones
Which part of cells does the Nissl stain highlight?
Nucleic acids (rRNA in nucleolus etc.)
What is the soma?
Cell body of neurones
Which organelle is particularly abundant in cell bodies of neurones?
Mitochondria
What does the Golgi stain do?
- Highlights a random small percentage of neurones in the sample
- Shows dendrites
What is the Golgi stain made of?
Silver chromate
What are the 4 major compartments of the neuron?
- Cell body
- Dendrites
- Axons
- Presynaptic terminal
What is the perikaryon?
Another name for the cell body/soma of neurones
What are neurites?
- A process coming off a neuron
- Dendrite or axon
What are the 3 main elements of the cytoskeleton of neurones?
- Microtubules
- Microfilaments
- Neurofilaments
What are microtubules?
- Run longitudinally down neurites
- Made of hollow tubes of tubulin
What are microfilaments?
- Polymers of actin
- Randomly orientated and associated with the membrane
What are microfilaments made of?
Actin
What are microtubules made of?
Tubulin
What are neurofilaments made of?
Long protein molecules which have been wound together
What are the 4 areas of the axon?
- Axon hillock
- Axon initial segment
- Axon collaterals
- Axon terminal/terminal bouton
What are axon collaterals?
Side branches of axons
What is absent in the axon that is in the cell bodies?
- Rough ER
- Free ribosomes
What is immunohistochemistry?
- Method to identify the locations of specific proteins
- Specific primary antibodies which bind to the protein of interest
- Fluorescent secondary antibodies which bind to the primary antibody
What are the specialisations of the presynaptic terminals?
- No microtubules
- Many mitochondria
- Synaptic vesicles
What are boutons en passent?
A presynaptic terminal in the middle of an axon
What is axoplasmic transport?
Transport of molecules up and down axons
Which protein does anterograde transport down the axon?
Kinesin
Which protein does retrograde transport down the axon?
Dynein
How do kinesin and dynein transport molecules along axons?
“Walk” along the microtubules
What is the function of dendrites?
Receive information from other neurones
What are dendritic spines?
Small protrusions of the dendrite membrane
What is the function of dendritic spines? (3)
- Isolate chemical reactions
- Axons can synapse onto them
- Very plastic depending on activity of the dendrite
What are the classifications of neurons based on number of neurites? (4)
- Unipolar
- Pseudounipolar
- Bipolar
- Multipolar
What is a unipolar neuron?
One neurite coming off its cell body
What is a pseudounipolar neuron?
- One neurite coming off the cell body which splits into two
- Peripheral process is partly axon
What is a bipolar neuron?
- 2 neurites coming off the soma
- One side is dendritic, other is axon
What is a multipolar neuron?
- Multiple neurites coming off the soma
- One axon and multiple branching dendritic portions
What is a ganglion?
Group of neuronal cell bodies found in the periphery
What kind of neurons are dorsal root ganglion neurons? (2)
- Sensory neurons
- Pseudounipolar neurons