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Pharmacology I > CNS Anatomy & Physiology > Flashcards

CNS Anatomy & Physiology Flashcards

1
Q

What are the major “pacemakers” or generators of rhythmic electrical activity in the brain?

A

Cerebral cortex and thalamus

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2
Q

What’s involved when it comes to rhythmic electrical activity?

A

sleep/wake, consciousness/unconsciousness, and other functions in diseases such as epilepsy

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3
Q

Drugs that can alter brain rhythms

A

sedative-hypnotics, antiepileptics and general anesthetics

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4
Q

What is the cortex?

A

the thin outermost layer of brain, densely pack with neuron cell bodies

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5
Q

Highly specialized functions performed by the cerebral cortex

A

sensory and motor information, planning, reasoning

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6
Q

What percentage of the cerebral cortex is made up of excitatory neurons? What’s the name of the excitatory neurotransmitter?

A

80%
Glutamate

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7
Q

What percentage of neurons in the cerebral cortex are inhibitory? What’s the name of the inhibitory neurotransmitter?

A

20%
GABA

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8
Q

What does an EEG measure?

A

net electrical activity in cortex (but not in deeper regions) using electrodes placed on the scalp

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9
Q

The most powerful pacemaker in the brain

A

Thalamus

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10
Q

Diffuse modulatory neurotransmitters

A

Norepinephrine
Dopamine
Serotonin
Acetylcholine
Histamine

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11
Q

Differences between diffuse modulatory NTs (DMNT) and glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons

A
  1. Modulatory NTs are not very populated in the brain
  2. Cell bodies of DMNTs are clustered into small groups mostly in brainstem
  3. Axons are long and branched and synpase on cortical cells all over the brain
  4. DMNTs are not consistently excitatory or inhibitory but modulate cortex activity
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12
Q

Two major pathways regulating sleep/wake

A

Sleep: preoptic area (POA)
Wake: ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)

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13
Q

4 major functions of the hypothalamus

A

secretes neurohormones that alter pituitary function, and regulate body temperature, thirst, hunger, and sleep

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14
Q

3 major regulators of sleep (groups of sleep-regulating neurons that live in the hypothalamus)

A
  1. suprachiasmatic nucleus
  2. histamine neurons
  3. orexin neurons
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15
Q

Define circadian rhythms

A

24 hour cyclic oscillations in biological processes like hormone secretion and gene expression

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16
Q

Hormone involved in regulating circadian rhythms

A

melatonin

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17
Q

Major structure that regulates circadian rhythm

A

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus

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18
Q

What activates the SCN and what happens when it’s activated?

A

Light activates SCN causing it to suppress melatonin production during the day

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19
Q

Which lobe plays a key role in forming and storing declarative memories?

A

temporal lobe

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20
Q

3 key memory structures that are a part of the temporal lobe

A
  1. temporal cortex
  2. amygdala
  3. hippocampus
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21
Q

Which part of the brain is involved in processing emotions (pleasure, fear, anger) and is active when recalling emotionally-charged memories?

A

amygdala

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22
Q

Which part of the brain is involved in declarative memories and moves them from short to long-term memory?

A

hippocampus

23
Q

Axons of ACh neurons synapse onto what 2 structures

A

Hippocampus and frontal cortex

24
Q

How do agonists and antagonists of muscarinic ACh receptors affect memory

A

-antagonism of brain
muscarinic receptors
can impair working
memory and the
formation of new
memories
-muscarinic agonists can
produce some
improvement in
memory formation

25
Q

Prefrontal cortex is responsible for…

A

executive functioning (planning, controlling emotions and impulses, distinguishing right from wrong, motivation, drive, focus, meeting day-to-day responsibilities)

26
Q

Name the term for the system of brain structures that regulate emotion (mood, fear and reward), and list 5 structures that are part of this system.

A

Limbic system
5 structures:
1. cerebral cortex
2. amygdala
3. hippocampus
4. hypothalamus
5. thalamus

27
Q

Name 3 key brain structures that mediate evolutionarily-conserved fear responses, and the 1 structure that is necessary for experiencing fear.

A
  1. Hippocampus
  2. Amygdala
  3. Hypothalamus

Amygdala is necessary for experiencing fear

28
Q

Name the most important reward pathway in the brain; explain where the cell bodies in this path are located, what neurotransmitter they release, and where they release it.

A

Mesolimbic dopamine pathway
-cell bodies are located in the ventral tegmental area (VTA)
-they release dopamine onto the nucleus accumbens (NAc)

29
Q

When is the NAc selectively activated?

A

During the perception (or imagining) of pleasant, emotional scenes

30
Q

Contrast between upper and lower motor neurons:
a. Which have cell bodies in spinal cord, which have cell bodies in brain?
b. What structure does each send its signals to?

A

a. Upper motor neurons have cell bodies located in the brain. Lower motor neurons have their cell bodies in the spinal cord
b. Upper motor neurons send signals to the spinal cord. Lower motor neurons send their signals to the muscles.

31
Q

What 1 region of the cortex is responsible for planning and instructing voluntary muscle movement?

A

Motor cortex

32
Q

What 1 brain structure is mainly responsible for sequencing and timing (coordinating) muscle movement?

A

Cerebellum

33
Q

What group of structures selects and initiates voluntary movements, and includes structures such as striatum and substantia nigra?

A

basal ganglia

34
Q

The caudate and putamen together make up what structure?

A

Striatum

35
Q

Key function of the nigrostriatal pathway and what neurotransmitter they release and where they release it

A

Major dopamine pathway for movement; releases dopamine onto the striatum

36
Q

Name the basal ganglia structure that regulates motor activity levels and state which two neurotransmitters it uses to “turn up” and “turn down” motor activity levels

A

-striatum regulates motor activity levels
-uses acetylcholine and dopamine
-dopamine from substantia niagra inhibits the activity of inhibitory GABAergic striatic cells (increases motor activity)
-ACh from striatum stimulates inhibitory GABA cells (decreases motor activity)

37
Q

Pain

A

-a sensory (detection of damaged tissues) and emotional (experiencing unpleasant feelings) experience
-an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage

38
Q

Nociception

A

the process by which information about a noxious stimulus is conveyed to the brain; it is necessary but not sufficient for experience of pain

39
Q

Hyperalgesia

A

Increased pain from a noxious stimulus

40
Q

Hypoalgesia

A

diminished pain in response to a noxious stimulus

41
Q

Analgesia

A

absence of pain in response to a noxious stimulus

42
Q

Allodynia

A

pain due to a non-noxious stimulus

43
Q

What type of cell is specialized to detect specific types of noxious stimuli?

A

Nociceptors

44
Q

4 stages of nociceptive pain processing

A
  1. transduction
  2. transmission
  3. perception
  4. modulation
45
Q

Transduction

A

noxious stimuli trigger an action potential in nociceptors; AP travels along nociceptor axon from PNS to CNS, releases glutamate to trigger AP in neurons of the spinothalamic tract

46
Q

Transmission

A

sending pain signal to processing area; pain signal moves up spinothalamic tract to thalamus

47
Q

Perception

A

thalamus sends signal to processing areas (somatosensory cortex, frontal lobe and limbic system) causing awareness & experience of pain; signal continues to periaquaductal gray (PAG)

48
Q

Modulation

A

taking action to lessen the pain; PAG neurons send signals down descending pathways, to stimulate the release of endogenous opioids (decreases production of pain signals)

49
Q

Activation of PAG neurons stimulates release of what substance, and what does it do?

A

Stimulates the release of endogenous opioids which decreases production of pain signals

50
Q

Endorphins

A

Endogenous ligands for opioid receptors which are released in response to pain or stress and are also involved in addiction and reward

51
Q

Where do endorphins act to reduce their firing rate and incoming pain signals?

A

nociceptor neurons

52
Q

Where do endorphins act to make you feel good?

A

in the brain (especially pain and emotion centers)

53
Q

Does H1 histamine receptor activation promote sleep or wake?

A

Promotes wake, alertness and quick reaction time

54
Q

What is orexin and what is the main job of orexin neurons?

A

-a neurohormone made by orexin neurons of the hypothalamus
-orexin neurons regulate sleep/wake cycle by alternately suppressing activity of sleep- or wake-active neurons

Pharmacology I (16 decks)

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