Class 5 - Mental & Mood Disorders

Question 1

What are the biogenic amines used as neurotransmitters (produced by neurons) in the CNS?

Answer 1

dopamine
serotonin
norepinephrine
histamine

Question 2

What are the two main areas of the brain containing dopamine?

Answer 2

the corpus striatium (basal nuclei)

and the substantia nigra in the midbrain

Question 3

Dopamine is a…

Answer 3

catecholamine

Question 4

Dopamine deficiency can result in movements that are…

Answer 4

delayed and uncoordinated

Question 5

Excess dopamine can cause the body to make what types of movements?

Answer 5

unnecessary movements, such as repetitive tics

Question 6

Dopamine is involved in inhibition of what hormone?

Answer 6

prolactin

Question 7

What are the 3 main functions of NE?

Answer 7

regulating sleep and wakefulness (circadian rhythm)
attention and focus
feeding behaviour (dual and opposite effects - suppresses feeding behaviour in the dark, opposite in light)

Question 8

What is the function of epinephrine as a neurotransmitter? Where in the brain is it found?

Answer 8

unknown

only in epinephrine-secreting neurons

Question 9

Where in the brain is histamine produced?

Answer 9

hypothalamus

Question 10

What does histamine mediate in the CNS?

Answer 10

arousal and attention

Question 11

What neurotransmitter may influence blood-brain flow?

Answer 11

histamine

Question 12

Where in the body is serotonin manufactured (what percentage in each place?)

Answer 12

GI tract (80-90%) + brain (blood platelets in the brain stem and cortex)

Question 13

Can serotonin cross the BBB?

Answer 13

no, so the serotonin used inside the brain must be produced within it

Question 14

What are some of the main functions of serotonin?

Answer 14

mood and social behaviour
regulation of sleep and wakefulness
appetite and digestion
memory
sexual desire + function

Question 15

What are the two major classes of mood disorders?

Answer 15

unipolar depression and

manic-depressive disorders

Question 16

Describe manic-depressive disorders

Answer 16

often episodic and may have a normal state in between

Question 17

Schizophrenia belongs in what family of mental disorders?

Answer 17

mood disorders

Question 18

Depression has been linked to reduced activity in which 2 types of synapses?

Answer 18

serotonin and norepinephrine

Question 19

What is the most common mood disorder in humans?

Answer 19

depression

Question 20

What are the 2 main types of depression?

Answer 20

clinical depression, and

mild sporadic depression

Question 21

Clinical depression may last either…

Answer 21

one single isolated episode lasting weeks/months or

intermittently throughout the entire life

Question 22

80% of people with depression report troubles with…

Answer 22

sleeping

Question 23

Other than depression, what is one of the most common mental disorders in humans?

Answer 23

schizophrenia

Question 24

The cause of schizophrenia is mainly…

Answer 24

genetic inheritance + environmental factors

Question 25

What are the different types of schizophrenia?

Answer 25

catatonic, paranoid, residual, undifferentiated, and disorganized

Question 26

What is the main medication used in treatment of schizophrenia? What does it do?

Answer 26

haloperidol, decreases function in dopaminergic synapses

Question 27

What are the 3 types of symptoms in PTSD?

Answer 27

intrusion avoidance hyperarousal