Chapter 1, 3-5 - Background Flashcards
1
Q
How would you define neuropsychology?
A
- Understanding how the brain is organized to produce behaviour
2
Q
CNS vs. PNS?
A
- CNS - Brain, spinal cord, retina (develops as an out pocketing of the diencephalon) (all are encased by bone)
- PNS - Nerves that carry signals in and out of the CNS
3
Q
T/F: Sensory and motor systems are crossed.
A
- TRUE
- Ex. If touched on the left side, this is then processed on the right side of the brain. Instructions are then sent from the right side of the brain, and executed by the left side.
4
Q
What are the two major divisions of the autonomic nervous system?
A
- Sympathetic branch - fight or flight response
- Parasympathetic branch - rest and digest response
5
Q
What’s the general overview of nervous system function?
A
1) Sensory input (i.e., the PNS)
2) Integration (within CNS)
3) Motor input (doesn’t always have to involve muscles)
6
Q
Afferent vs. efferent?
A
- Afferent - incoming information from a neuron/network
- Efferent - outgoing information from a neuron/network
*Labelling requires context - A before E
7
Q
What are glial cells?
A
- Cells that provide nutritional support, immune function, and regulate neuronal signalling
8
Q
What are the different types of neuron morphologies?
A
- Unipolar neurons (contains 1 neurite, which could be a dendrite or an axon)
- Bipolar neurons (1 axon, 1 dendrite)
- Pyramidal neurons (pyramid-shaped cell bodies with apical and basilar dendrites, found in cortex and act as interneurons)
- Purkinje neurons (2D dendritic arbor, found in the cerebellum only)
9
Q
What’s the benefit of having more dendrites on a neuron?
A
- More dendrites increase the surface area of a neuron, allowing for more synapses
10
Q
Axon hillock?
A
- Junction of a soma and axon
11
Q
Axon collateral?
A
- A branch coming out of an axon
12
Q
Telodendria/terminal branches?
A
- End branches of an axon
13
Q
Terminal button/end foot?
A
- Knob at the tip of an axon that conveys info to other neurons
14
Q
Axon initial segment (AIS)?
A
- Signal integration centre for incoming potentials
15
Q
What are the common terms used to differentiate different spaces in anatomy?
A
- Dorsal - Higher up
- Ventral - Lower
- Posterior - near the back
- Anterior - near the front
- Medial - near the middle
- Lateral - Near the side/exterior
16
Q
What are the different imaging perspectives of the brain?
A
- Coronal section - takes a frontal view (can’t see posterior or anterior)
- Horizontal section - takes a dorsal view (can’t see dorsal or ventral)
- Saggital section - takes a medial view (can’t see lateral or medial)
17
Q
Ipsilateral vs. unilateral?
A
- Ipsilateral - when two brain areas are found on the same side
- Unilateral - When a brain region is only found on one side of the brain
18
Q
Contralateral vs. bilateral?
A
- Contralateral - When a brain region is found on the opposite side relative to another brain region
- Bilateral - when a brain region has a mirror image counterpart
19
Q
What’s the outermost layer of the cerebrum called?
A
- The cerebral cortex
20
Q
What are the different lobes and their major functions?
A
- Frontal - executive functions
- Parietal - somatosensations
- Temporal - audition, language, and memory
- Occipital - vision
*all together, referred to as the neocortex
21
Q
Gyri vs. Sulci?
A
- Gyri - bumps
- Sulci - cracks
22
Q
What brain matter makes up the first 6 layers of the neocortex?
A
- Grey matter
23
Q
Reticular matter?
A
- Both grey and white matter mixed together.
24
Q
What’s the order of grey and white matter in the brain and spinal cord?
A
- Brain - Grey matter on outside, white matter on inside
- Spinal cord - White matter on outside, grey matter on inside
25
What are the terms used to describe myelin in the CNS versus myelin in the PNS?
- In CNS: oligodendrocytes
- In PNS: Schwann cells
26
What terms are used to describe the CNS's neuron clusters versus the PNS?
- In CNS: Nuclei
- IN PNS: Ganglia
27
What terms are used to describe collections of white matter in the CNS versus in the PNS?
- In CNS: Tracts
- In PNS: Nerves
28
What brain regions make up the allocortex?
- The hippocampus and amygdala
29
A fasciculus vs. a commissure?
- Fasciculus - white matter tracts that connect areas within the same hemisphere
- Commissure - white matter tracts that connect equivalent/homotopic between hemispheres
30
T/F: The spinal cord can act independently of the brain.
- TRUE
- Where spinal reflexes come into play (they're automatic, hard to prevent). They move through interneurons in the spine
31
What are the five anatomical regions found along the spinal cord?
1) Cervical - head, arms
2) Thoracic - back
3) Lumber - lower back
4) Sacral - bum legs
5) Coccygeal
32
What's a dermatome?
- A region of body surface that corresponds to a specific spinal segment
33
T/F: Spinal cord nerves work contralaterally.
- FALSE
- They work ipsilaterally
34
What does the Law of Bell Magendie claim?
- Posterior root - carries afferent, sensory info to the brain
- Anterior root - carries efferent, motor info from the brain and out to the body
- Backside of nerves take in sensory info while the frontside of nerves send out demands from the brain
35
What are the three major areas of the brainstem?
- Hindbrain (near spine)
- Midbrain
- Diencephalon (higher up)
36
What brain components make up the hindbrain and their respective functions?
- Reticular formation - sleep-wake behaviour and arousal
- Pons - acts as a bridge between the cerebellum and the rest of the brain, also helps with vital body movements
- Medulla - vital functions such as breathing, cardiovascular system
- Cerebellum - voluntary movements such as coordination, posture, and balance
37
What brain components make up the midbrain and their respective functions?
- Tectum - a posterior sensory structure made up of the superior and inferior colliculi (superior - receives visual input; inferior - receives auditory input)
- Tegmentum - an anterior motor structure, often species-specific behaviours; contributes to pain perception (pain inhibition)
38
Where is the substantia nigra found?
- In the tegmentum
39
What's the core function of the diencephalon?
- Integrates sensory and motor info when on its way to the cerebral cortex
40
What brain components make up the diencephalon and their respective functions?
- Thalamus - acts as a relay centre
- Pituitary gland - hormone release
- Hypothalamus - regulates pituitary and covers aspects of motivated behaviour (homeostatic functions, 22 nuclei)
41
How many nuclei are in the thalamus?
- 20 nuclei, each projecting to a specific area of the neocortex
42
What are other terms for the cerebrum?
- Forebrain, telencephalon
43
What's the difference in functions between the neocortex and the allocortex?
- Neocortex - perception, planning, emotions, memory
- Allocortex - emotional, motivational states, certain forms of learning and memory
44
What's the role of the basal ganglia?
- Coordination of voluntary movement, specifically the force of movement
- Also a collection of nuclei found below the white matter of the cortex
45
What are the two major components that make up the basal ganglia?
- Caudate nucleus (outside c-shaped part)
- Putamen (circular part)
46
What are the three main functions of the basal ganglia?
1) Connects sensory cortical regions to motor cortical regions
2) Regulates force of movement and fluidity
3) Role in associative learning (i.e., habit/stimulus response)
47
What does a cressyl violet stain highlight?
- Grey matter
48
What core components make up the limbic system in the forebrain?
- The cingulate cortex, amygdala, and the hippocampus
- Fornix (an important white matter tract) also plays a major role
49
What behaviours is the cingulate cortex involved in?
- Sexual behaviour, social interactions, decision making
50
What's the general flow of organization in a projection map in relation to cortical organization?
1) Sensory info
2) Secondary area (interpretation)
3) Posterior tertiary areas (complex associations)
4) Frontal tertiary areas (form action plans)
51
What are the different functions found among the 6 layers of grey matter in the neocortex?
- Layers 1-3: Integrative functions
- Layer 4: Sensory input (afferent layer)
- Layers 5, 6: Output to other parts of brain (efferent layers)
52
What are arcuate fibres?
- Bow-shaped/curved white matter tracts
53
What is the main cause of multiple sclerosis?
- Loss of myelin formed by oligodendria due to a poor immune response
- Hard scar forms at site of myelin loss, therefore cannot propagate signals effectively
54
Chemical synapse vs. Electrical synapse?
- Chemical synapse - Use of NT's, flexible, allows for synaptic plasticity, useful for learning and memory
- Electrical synapse - Neurons connected by a gap junction, allows for instantaneous signal transfer and allows for synchronization between large populations of neurons
55
What does an anterograde synaptic transmission signify?
- Info flows from a presynaptic cell to a postsynaptic cell
56
What are the steps involved for a chemical synapse to occur?
1) Synthesis (NTs synthesized from diet)
2) Packaging and storage
3) Release
4) Receptor action
5) Inactivation (NT either diffuses away, is enzymatically degraded, is taken into the neuron terminal, or is taken up by the astrocyte)
57
What role do calcium ions play in a chemical synaptic transmission?
- Once an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it opens calcium channels
- Incoming calcium ions bind to other molecules, forming complexes
- These complexes bind to vesicles, inducing others to bind to the presynaptic membrane and to empty contents via exocytosis
58
What are the different NT classes?
- Small molecule
- Peptide transmitters
- Lipid transmitters
- Gaseous transmitters
- Ion transitters
59
What are some major characteristics of small-molecule transmitters?
- Quick-acting
- Made from dietary nutrients and packaged ready for use in axon terminals
- Quickly replaced once released
60
What are the different classes of small-molecule NTs?
- Acetylcholine (ACh) - a group of its own.
- Amines - Dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine/adrenaline, serotonin
- Amino acids - Glutamate, Gamma-aminobutaric acid (GABA)
- Purines
61
What are some major characteristics of acetylcholine?
- 1st NT discovered
- Works primarily at the neuromuscular junction (including heart; activates skeletal muscles in the SNS; nicotinic acetylcholine receptor)
- ACh = choline + acetate
62
What are the three enzymes involved in the synthesis and degradation of ACh?
1) Acetyl CoA - carries acetate molecule
2) ChAT - transfers acetate to choline
3) AChe - degradation of ACh
63
What is the Cholinergic activating system involved in?
- Active in maintaining attention and waking EEG pattern
- May play a role in memory by maintaining neuron excitability
- System permeates throughout the entire brain
64
The death of which neuron seems to contribute to Alzheimer disease?
- Acetylcholine (ACh)
65
Which amino acid precursor is dopamine derived from?
- Tyrosine
66
What nuclei are responsible for distributing ACh throughout the brain?
- Basal forebrain nuclei; midbrain nuclei
67
What are the main functions of dopamine in the brain?
- Coordinates movement, attention, learning, motivation, and reward processing, etc.
68
Which NT is implicated in Parkinson Disease?
- Dopamine
- Due to the degeneration of the substantia nigra
- Symptoms only start to appear when less than 10% of the dopaminergic neurons remain in the substantia nigra
69
What's the rate-limiting factor in NT production for small-molecule NTs?
- The abundance of tyrosine hydroxylase
70
Nigrostriatal pathways vs. Mesolimbic pathways?
*The propagation of DA in the CNS
- Nigrostriatal pathways - maintains normal motor behaviour; loss of DA related to muscle rigidity and dyskinesia in PD
- Mesolimbic pathways - Repetition of behaviours; most affected by drugs and behavioural addictions; increased DA is linked to schizophrenia; decreased DA is linked to deficits of attention
71
Which nuclei are associated with each dopaminergic pathway in the CNS?
- Nigrostriatal pathway - substantia nigra
- Mesolimbic pathway - ventral tegmentum area
72
Which amino acid is serotonin synthesized from?
- Tryptopham
73
What are the major roles of serotonin in the CNS?
- Regulates waking activity, mood, aggression, appetite, sleep, memory, respiration, pain perception
- Known as the "calming chemical"
74
What have lower serotonin levels been linked to?
- Depression
75
What disorders are linked to abnormalities in the 5-HT neurons in the brainstem?
- Sleep apnea and SIDS
76
Which nuclei is primarily responsible for the propagation of serotonin in the brain?
- The Raphe nuclei
77
What's the role of norepinephrine in the CNS?
- Maintain emotional tone
- Lower levels have been linked to depression and ADHD
- Increased levels have been linked to mania
78
What's the nucleus of interest for norepinephrine in the brain?
- Locus coeruleus
79
Which NTs are considered the work horses of the brain?
- GABA and glutamate
80
Where are GABA and glutamate usually found in the brain?
- In the forebrain and cerebellum
81
What's considered the main excitatory NT?
- Glutamate
- Key player in learning and memory
82
What's considered the main inhibitory NT?
- GABA
- Involved in learning and memory, also brain development
83
How are peptide transmitters made?
- Translated from mRNA, mot assembled by ribosomes, and form short amino acid chains
84
What types of NTs are peptide transmitters?
- Stress hormones (cortisol)
- Bonding hormones (oxytocin)
- Regulate eating/drinking (orexin)
- Modulate pleasure/pain
85
T/F: Endocannabinoids are a form of lipid transmitters.
- TRUE
- Synthesized at the postsynaptic membrane to act on receptors at the presynaptic membrane
86
What are the two classes of NT receptors?
- Ionotropic receptors - embedded membrane protein that acts as both a binding site for NT and a pore that regulates ion flow
- Metabotropic receptor - embedded membrane protein with a binding site for a NT, although linked to a G-protein (alpha subunit breaks off)
87
What does the Binding Problem in neuroscience state?
- How does the brain bind features together of a single object? How does it form coherent scenes into consciousness?
88
What's the difference between localization, distribution, and lateralization in the brain?
- Localization = some functions/behaviours are controlled by one specific region
- Distribution = When functions are parsed apart and processed in completely separate regions
- Lateralization = When functions are represented bilaterally, while others are localized on one side of te brain
89
What did patient "Tan" help bring about to discover?
- The lateralization of language in the brain (hence Broca's area)
90
What do the dorsal and ventral streams signify?
- Dorsal = Vision for action ("how" stream, runs along the parietal lobe)
- Ventral = vision for identification/recognition ("what" stream, runs along the temporal lobe)
