Depressants Flashcards
What are the four lobes of the cerebrum?
Frontal
Temporal
Parietal
Occipital
What is the diencephalon? What are the structures that are included in this?
Area of the brain that encloses the 3rd ventricle
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
What is the function of the thalamus?
Integration of sensory relays
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
Regulates temperature, appetite, emotional and hormonal regulation
What is the mesencephalon?
Midbrain, the serves as a bridge between the cerebrum/diencephalon, and the brainstem
What are the structures that are contained within the brainstem?
Pons
Medulla oblongata
What is the function of the pons and the medulla?
Controls respiration and cardiovascular function
What is the function of the reticular formation within the brainstem?
Control of consciousness, arousal, and alertness
Where are the basal ganglia located?
deep within the cerebral hemispheres
What is the function of the basal ganglia?
Control of motor activities, and repressing unwanted movements
What are the four components of the basal ganglia?
Cortex Striatum Pallidum Thalamus **AND BACK TO CORTEX!!**
What are the two components of the striatum?
caudate nucleus and putamen
What are the four major areas of the brain that are part of the limbic system?
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Cingulate gyrus
Prefrontal cortex
What is the function of the amygdala?
Regulation of fear
What is the function of the Hippocampus?
Memory formation, conversion of short term memory into long term
What is gray matter?
Synaptic connections between various neurons
What is white matter?
Myelinated axons of neurons, grouped in ascending or descending tracts
What forms the Blood brain barrier?
Tight junctions between endothelial cells on the CNS capillaries
What is the function of astrocytes?
Homeostatic support roles for neuron (maintain nutrition etc)
What is the function of oligodendrocytes?
Glial cells that wrap around the axons of projection neurons in the CNS forming the myelin sheath
What are the cells that myelinate CNS neurons? PNS?
CNS = oligodendrocytes PNS = Schwann cells
What are microglia?
Glial cells derived from the bone marrow specialized in immune defense of the brain
What are the two components that create the blood brain barrier?
Tight junction around capillary endothelial cells
Astrocyte foot processes
What is the protein in neuronal terminals that interacts with Ca, and allows for the release of neurotransmitters?
Calmodulin
What are ionotropic receptors?
receptors on synapses that activate an ion channel
What are metabotropic receptors?
receptors coupled to a second messenger enzyme system (e.g. adenylate cyclase)
What is the only enzymes that breaks down 5HT?
monoamine oxidase
What are electrical synapses?
junctions between cells that allow for ion fluxes, and immediate transmission of signal
What is EPSP?
Excitatory postsynaptic potential
What are IPSPs?
Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials
What are the roles of acetylcholine in the brain?
Memory and learning
Attention
Sleep
What is the function of dopamine?
brain circuits that control movement (think parkinson’s)
What is the function of glutamate in the CNS?
major excitatory neurotransmitter and CNS
What is the function of GABA in the brain?
Major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS
What is the function of substance P in the CNS?
Excitatory transmitter involved in spinal processing
What is the function of endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphins?
Inhibit pain sensation
What is CNS depression?
Decreased neuronal excitability
What are CNS depressants?
agents that are mainly used to treat anxiety states and sleep disorders
What are hypnotics?
Agents that produce drowsiness and encourage the onset and maintenance of a state of sleep
What stages of sleep are amplified with hypnotics, and which are depressed?
Amplified = stage 2 Decreased = REM and 4NREM
True or false: any sedative anxiolytic given in a high enough dose will induce sleep
True
What are the four stages of effects of increasing doses of hypnotics?
Sedation
Hypnosis
Anesthesia
Coma
What is the cause of death with depressant overdoses?
Respiratory depression
What are the two types of sedative hypnotics that have a linear slope of CNS effects, and will cause coma/death at high enough doses?
barbituates
Alcohols