CH3: Cells & The NS

Question 1

5 major steps of a NT’s life cycle

Answer 1

1. Synthesis: create them
2. Storage: in synaptic vesicles
3. Release: action potential
4. Binding: hit target
5. Degradation: breakdown or reuptake

Question 2

Explain the lock and key analogy of NTs

Answer 2

Each NT system has its own set of receptors (the lock) that are activated when the natural substance or an agonist connect to them

Question 3

Define a ligand

Answer 3

Any endogenous or exogenous substance that attaches to a binding

Question 4

Define an agonist

Answer 4

Substances chemically similar to a natural substance that can activate a specific receptor

Question 5

Define an antagonist

Answer 5

Substances that fit inside receptors but do not activate them (receptor blockers)

Question 6

Major parts of a neuron

Answer 6

Dendrites, cell body, axon, axon terminals

Question 7

Dendrites

Answer 7

Receive communication from other cells

Question 8

Cell body

Answer 8

Contains the nucleus

Question 9

Axon

Answer 9

Carries nerve impulses away from the cell body

Question 10

Axon terminals

Answer 10

Where neurotransmitters are stored and released into the synapse

Question 11

2 types of NTs

Answer 11

Excitatory and inhibitory

Question 12

2 major divisions of the NS

Answer 12

1. Central NS - brain and spinal cord

2. Peripheral NS - sensory/motor neurons and autonomic NS

Question 13

What makes up the autonomic NS?

Answer 13

1. Sympathetic NS: FIGHT OR FLIGHT, norepinephrine

2. Parasympathetic NS: REST AND DIGEST, acetylcholine

Question 14

What are the three main divisions of the brain, and what specific structures comprise each division?

Answer 14

1. Hindbrain: cerebellum, pons, medulla
2. Midbrain: VTA, substantia nigra, PAG
3. Forebrain: everything else