Chapter 5 pt.3 Flashcards
To figure out if a chemical in the nervous system is a neurotransmitter, there are 4 criteria they must meet, what are they?
1) They have to be synthesized in the neuron or at least present in it
2) The transmitter must be released and produce a response in some target
3) The response must be obtained when the transmitter is experimentally placed on target
4) A mechanism must exist for removing the transmitter from its site of action after the work is done
A suspect chemical that has not yet been shown to meet all four of the identifying criteria is called a _____________ transmitter
Putative transmitter
Researchers trying to identify are CNS neurotransmitters can use a glass micro electrode to stimulate and record responses from single neurons, why a glass micro electrode?
because they are small enough to be placed on specific neuronal targets
How exactly do glass micro electrodes work?
They are first filled with a chemical of interest, then a current is passed through the electrode, ejecting the chemical into the neuron to mimic a neurotransmitter releasing on a cell.
Many _______ techniques can identify specific chemicals inside the cell.
Staining
The use of ________ _________ __________ simplifies the investigation by allowing the researcher to view a single neuron through a microscope while stimulating it
Living tissue slices
All motor neuron axons leaving the spinal chord use ______________ as a transmitter
acetylcholine
An axon typically develops side branches called ________ ___________ so that one neuron can send information to several others
Axon collaterals
What are “Interneurons”
neurons that connect to brain regions
Each axon has an axon collateral within the spinal chord that synapses on a nearby CNS interneuron. What does this interneuron do?
It synapses on the motor neurons cell body,
The term “Neurotransmitter” applies to chemicals that have the following three functions:
1) Carries a message from the presynaptic membrane of one. heron to the other by influencing the postsynaptic membranes voltage
2) Changes the structure of a synapse
3) communicates by sending messages in the opposite direction
(these retrograde messages influence the release/reuptake of transmitters on the presynaptic side)
What are the 5 types of neurotransmitters
small molecule, peptide, lipid, gaseous, and ion transmitters
The quick acting small-molecule transmitters such as __________ are typically synthesized from ________ _____________ and packaged so that they are ready to use in _______ terminals
Acetylcholine, dietary nutrients, axon
When a small-molecule transmitter is released from a terminal button, it can quickly be replaced at the ______________ membrane
Presynaptic
What is a breakdown product of the fats present in foods such as egg yolk, avocado, salmon, and olive oil
Choline