CNS Neurotransmitters Flashcards
1
Q
small molecule nts
A
aa-glutamate, aspartate, GABA, glycine
- ach
- biogenic amines-catecholamines-epi, norepi, dopamine
- serotonin
- histamine
- chemical signals released from pre-synaptic nerve terminals into the synaptic cleft where they can then bind to receptors on postsynaptic cells resulting in a transient change in the electrical properties of the target cell
- act over tiny distance
2
Q
peptide nts
A
- more than 100 different peptides
- 2-36 aa long
3
Q
nt life cycle
A
-concentration of nt in cleft controlled via regulation of: nt synthesis packaging release removal -removal terminates transmission -specific for each nt
4
Q
synthesizing and packaging
A
- small molecule:
- synthesized within pre synaptic terminal and packaged into vesicles by specific transport proteins in the vesicle membrane
- can respond to increased demand rapidly
- slow axonal transport but fast action
- neuropeptides:
- synthesized and packaged into transport vesicles within the cell body, then vesicles down fast
- cannot respond quickly to increased demand because systhesized in cell body
- release carefully regulated
5
Q
ionotropic receptors
A
- ligand gated ion channels that open in direct response to ligand binding
- consist of 4 or 5 subunits that each contain 3 or 4 transmembrane domains- have pore loop
- usually multiple subunits that can be assembled to generate a diverse set of receptors
6
Q
metabotropic receptors
A
-G protein coupled
activated G proteins modulate ion channels directly or indirectly through intracellular enzymes and second messengers
-monomeric proteins containing 7 transmembrane domains
-wide variety for most nts
7
Q
ionotropic receptor subunits
A
- wide variety
- ampa and nmda are ionotropic
- 4 or 5 combined to make a functional receptor
- there are a number of rules that govern which set of subunits are found within each receptors
- for most each has distinct properties
- same with metabotropic
8
Q
amino acid nt
A
- glutamate
- GABA
9
Q
biogenic amines
A
-dopa, norepi, serotonin
10
Q
Ach
A
- NMJ, synapses in ganglia of visceral motor system
- in CNS-interneruons in brainstem and forebrain
- large neurons in the basal forebrain that project to cerebral cortex
- function in CNS not as well understood-attention, arousal, reward plasticity, enhances sensory functions, damaged associated with memory deficits in AD
11
Q
Ach in cholinergic nerve terminals
A
- synthesized in nerve terminal from acetyl coA and choline
- packaged by vesicular Ach transporter
- removed from synaptic cleft via cleavage to acetate and choline by AchE
- choline taken up by nerve terminal via transporter and is used to make more Ach
- organophosphates and nerve gas can be lethal because they inhibit AchE causing accumulation
- continued depolarization, muscle paralysis
12
Q
Ach receptors 1
A
- nicotinic/ionotropic
- excitatory cation-selective channels
- mediate synaptic transmission at NMJ
- also present in CNS
- muscle and neuronal receptors have different subunit compositions, both consist of 5 subunits
13
Q
Ach receptors 2
A
- metabotropic/muscarinic
- mediate most Ach in brain
- highly expressed in forebrain
- also present in peripheral ganglia where they mediate responses of autonomic effector organs
- antagonists atropine (pupil dilation) and scopolamine (motion sickness) are therapeutically useful
14
Q
Myasthenia Gravis
A
- 14/100,000
- tired
- Achreceptor AI disease
- size of MEPPs reduced, EPPs reduced, probability of post synaptic AP reduced
- cholinesterase inhibitors, thymectomy, corticosteroids, immunosuppressents
15
Q
glutamate
A
- most prominent transmitter for normal brain function
- nearly all excitatory neurons in brain use it
- more than half of all brain synapses
- excitotoxicity
- high EC concentration toxic
- excessive activation can excite neuron to death
- thought to cause neuronal damage during strokes, oxygen deprivation slows glutamate reuptake
- considerable interest in using glutamate receptor antagonists to block excitotoxic nerve damage following stroke
- also involved in other acute forms of neuronal insult such as hypoglycemia, trauma, and repeated intense seizures
16
Q
glutamate in glutamatergic nerve terminals
A
- glutamate can’t cross blood-brain barrier but glutamine can
- synthesized in nerve terminal from glutamine
- can also be synthesized by transamination of alpha-ketoglutarate
- packaged into vesicles by vesicular glutamate transporter
- removed from synaptic cleft by high affinity glutamate transporters on both nerve terminal and nearby glial cells
- in glial cells, glutamate is converted into glutamine and then transported out of the cell and back into nerve terminals
17
Q
ionotropic glutamate receptors
A
- ionotropic-NMDA, AMPA, kainate
- excitatory cation selective Na channels