Chapter 3 Flashcards
Textbook question: Which part of a neuron receives input from other neurons (ordinarily)?
Dendrites
Textbook question:
Which part of the neuron sends messages to other neurons?
Terminal Butons
What are glia cells?
They are cells in the nervous system that insulate neurons, but also organize, and clean out any information/ signals that get sent through
Are there more neuron or glia cells in the brain?
More neuron cells
What does the cell body of a neuron contain?
the nucleus
What does the dendrites of the neuron do?
receive information from other neurons
What is myelin?
It insulates the axons in some vertebrae neurons to speed up the impulse transmission throughout the neuron
What is action potential?
an excitation that travels along the axon a with the same amount of energy regardless of the distance that is being covered
What is all or none law when it comes to action potential?
it means that it is either firing off or its not there is little to no in-between
What is the resting potential of a neuron?
It is the electrical charge of an axons membrane when it is at rest which is usually -70mv
What is the threshold of a resting/simulated neuron?
It is about -55 millavolts and is caused when sodium ions enter the cell
What causes excitation of a neuron?
When a rush of sodium enters the sodium potassium pump
What causes the neuron to return to its resting potential?
When potassium returns to the cell and brings it back to its normal charge
Textbook question: If you simultaneously received a touch sensation on your left food and a painful sensation on your right foot, which would you feel first? Why?
You would feel the touch sensation first since the action potential for pain sensation travels at a slower rate.
Textbook question: If some drug blocked all sodium gates throughout your brain, what would happen?
All action potentials would stop, including those that control breathing. So you would die. Don’t take that medicine.
Textbook question: If some drug blocked all the potassium gates what would happen?
After an action potential, the neuron could not return to its resting potential. Therefore, a stimulus could not cause sodium to enter the cell to produce action potential. So you would die. Don’t take that medicine.
What is a synapse?
It is the space between the terminal button of one neuron and the dendrites of the next. Where chemical signals are sent that either excite or inhibit the neuron.
What is a neurotransmitter?
It is a chemical that activates receptors in another cell that gets sent out via terminal buttons.
What is a postsynaptic neuron?
A neuron on the receiving end of the synapse
Textbook question: why is it useful to have synapses that vary in their speed and duration of effects?
For vision and hearing, the brain needs instantaneous updates of information. Hunger, thirst, and sleepiness, and many other long-term behaviors are gradual processes.
What do peptide transmitters do?
They reach a larger part of the brain and their effects last for minutes.
Textbook Question: What about the neuron is most unusual, compared to other body cells?
A) size
B) color
C) Shape
D) Mitochondria
pg 62
Textbook Question:
For an axon to signal increased or decreased strength of a stimulus, which of the following could it change?
A) frequency of firing action potentials
B) velocity of action potentials
C) amplitude (size) of action potentials
D) neurotransmitters released
pg 62
Textbook Question:
During an action potential, what is the movement of ions?
A) Potassium into the cell, then sodium out
B) Sodium into the cell, the potassium out
C) Both potassium and sodium into the cell, then both out
D) Both potassium and sodium out of the cell, then in
pg 62
Textbook Questions: In most cases, which part of the neuron releases a neurotransmitter?
A) cell body
B) the dentrites
C) the axon
D) all parts equally
pg 62
Textbook Question: When a neurotransmitter excites a postsynaptic neuron, how long do the effects last?
A) just milliseconds
B) about a 1/10th of a second
C) several seconds or longer
D) the results vary from one synapse to another
pg 62
Textbook question: Because neurons have more than one type of receptor for each neurotransmitter, which of the following is a consequence?
A) an excitatory neuron quickly shifts to become inhibitory
B) certain drugs can alter the experience
C) prolonged brain activity can damage neurons
D) action potentials grow weaker as people age
pg 62
What is a stimulant?
drugs that increase energy, alertness and activity
What does amphetamine do to the brain?
Increases arousal and produces mostly pleasant affects but it does washes away quicker than it can be replaced causing lethargy and depression
What is methylphenidate (Ritalin) prescribed for?
ADHD
How does methylphenidate (Ritalin) work?
It reaches the same synapses as cocaine, but it is slowly released over an hour or longer and declines over a course of hours
Textbook question: The drug AMPT (alpha- methyl- para- tyrosine) prevents the body from making dopamine. How would a large dose of AMPT affect someone’s later responsiveness to cocaine, amphetamine, or methylphenidate?
Someone who took AMPT would become less responsive than usual to it because if the neurons cannot make dopamine, they cannot release it.
Textbook question: Some people with ADHD experience benefits for the first few hours after taking methylphenidate pill but become less attentive in the late afternoon and evening. Why?
Its similar to what happens after taking cocaine. Neurons release dopamine and other transmitters faster than they can resynthesize them. Because it blocks reuptake the supply of transmitter dwindles, causing lethargy and mild depression. Which is what is occurring with ADHD meds.
What are depressants?
they are drugs that cause arousal
What is an example of a depressant?
Alcohol
What molecules are in alcohol?
Methanol, ethanol, propyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) ect. Ethanol is the type that people drink
What are some of the physical effects of drinking alcohol?
suppresses breathing and heart rate to a dangerous level and over time can cause liver damage or affect memory and motor control
What do anxiolytic or tranquilizer drugs do?
help people relax
Textbook question: what do alcohol and anxiolytic drugs have in common?
They increase relaxation by facilitating inhibitory synapses.
What are narcotics?
drugs that can cause drowsiness, dwindle feelings of pain, and decrease responsivity.
What are opiates?
they are natural drugs derived from opium poppy or synthetic drugs with a chemical structure similar to natural opiates
what do opiates do?
they make people feel happy, warm, and content with little anxiety or pain
What are endorphins?
Chemicals produced by the brain that bind to the opiate receptors
What effect does marijuana have on the brain?
It has a calming effect and unlike other drugs the neurotransmitter receptors are located on the presynaptic neuron.
Textbook question: An overdose of opiates produces a life-threatening decrease in breathing and heart rate. Marijuana does not ordinarily produce those effects. Why not?
Opiate receptors are abundant in the medulla, which controls the heart rate and breathing. But the medulla has few receptors that are sensitive to marijuana.
Textbook question: Why do methylphenidate (RItalin) pill produce milder behavioral effects than cocaine does?
A) methylphenidate acts on acetylcholine synapses whereas cocaine acts on dopamine synapses
B) methylphenidate acts on dopamine synapses, whereas cocaine acts on acetylcholine synapses
C) methylphenidate inhibits dopamine synapses whereas cocaine stimulates them
D) methylphenidate enters the brain at a slower rate and leaves at a slower rate
pg 68
Textbook question: For whom, if anyone is cocaine more likely to facilitate cognition?
A) children
B) People with good cognitive abilities
C) it is most helpful for people with weaker cognitive abilities
D) it is not helpful for anyone
pg 68
Textbook question: What is meant by the term “anxiolytic”?
A) increases anxiety
B) decreases anxiety
C) increases cognition
D) decreases cognition
pg 68
Textbook question: THC the active component of marijuana smoke produces it behavioral effects by what action on neurons?
A) it blocks reuptake of dopamine and serotonin
B) it decreases glutamate or GABA
C) it attaches to serotonin receptors
D) it facilitates transmission at inhibitory purposes
pg 68
Textbook question: What is the main reason marijuana use correlates with schizophrenia?
A) marijuana blocks dopamine synapses and leads to cognitive impairment
B) marijuana stimulates serotonin synapses and produces emotional swings
C) marijuana damages connections between the sense of organs and the brain
D) people with schizophrenia increase the use of marijuana and other drugs
pg 68
What is the concept of monism?
mental and brain activity are inseparable
What makes up the peripheral nervous system?
the nerves that connect the spinal cord to the rest of the body
What makes up the central nervous system?
the brain and the spinal cord