Exam 2 Flashcards
Electrical Signaling Via Membrane Potential Changes
- look at graph
- signal is a very brief change in voltage in membrane at one spot
- start at depolarization: Na+ dominant but only open for a little bit then they inactivate and close which causes repolarization: K+ open and brings potential back down then hyperpolarization: so much K+ in brings potential down even more negative than beginning point
Graded Potentials
- congressman example
- as a congressmen you get inputs from many constituents telling you how to vote. One vote is smaller than two votes
- hyperpolarizing is when you vote no and there’s a dip; if there’s a yes it goes up and is depolarizing
- look at graphs
- threshold is the decision point when the congressman he has enough votes to act and action potential is the actual casting of the congressman’s vote
- a transmitter binds to a receptor to trigger some leakiness of ions; each unit of activation makes a change in membrane potential
- graded potentials get the membrane to threshold which then starts the action potential
- excitatory signal is when Na+ open and inhibitory is when K+ open
Action Potential
- when you decide to vote-it’s the actual action
- look at graph
Explain how graded potentials can summate to reach the threshold for an action potential on either a spatial or temporal basis.
- spatial: different neurons influencing cell-vote yes-pushing toward threshold
- temporal: one neural input repeatedly
How do changing ion conductances occur?
- resting membrane potential: activation gate closed but capable of opening, inactivation gate open–>depolarization opens activation gate and inactivation gate open–>1 ms activation gate open and inactivation gate closed (incapable of opening until return to resting state
- can’t use it again till it goes through period of recovery (refractory period) which is why the gates slam closed
- the change in molecular shape means they have to reconfigure to go again
All-or-none Law
- 1 kind of action potential that either happens all at once or not at all
- has nothing to do with gradation/amplitude of the action potential, it’s either there or it isn’t
- all action potentials are identical
Refractory Period
-takes a while to recover to be ready to go again
Why is there an absolute refractory period-a time during which now stimulus can elicit an action potential
-after the peak of action potential all the sodium channels close and they cannot open until they go through this period
How can nervous system distinguish between different stimuli like light touch vs. heavy touch or sharp pain vs. sharp pain?
- number of action potentials per time
- pattern of action potentials
- change in sensitivity-long term effect
- how many receptors are activated
- number of classes of receptors
Coding for Stimulus Intensity
- look at graph
- number of potentials influenced by the strength of the stimuli
Conduction of the Impulse
- positive attracted to negative which changes threshold and signal continues to move down neuron
- look at image
Axon Potential Propagation in Myelinated Axons
- enough insulation that when it reaches threshold it is enough for current to jump to next node
- voltage spreads a distance and if it goes far enough the signal is able to jump from node to node thus skipping the myelinated sections
- the myelinated sections allow the voltage to spread far enough for the jump to happen
MS attacks and destroys myelin sheath of CNS neurons and oligodendrocytes that form the myelin. What are some symptoms of MS that might be expected and how these might arise from loss of myelin?
- action potentials cannot move quick enough down axons to deliver stimulus
- loss of control
- slower rate of AP means you lose energy and there’s a delay
- makes motor and sensory pathways slower
- weakened muscles, touch receptors are numb
- lose coordination
How Chemical Synapses Work
- AP travels down axon and tells Ca2+ channels to open and Ca2+ ions allow neurotransmitters to be released into synapse
- neurotransmitters attach to receptor which gives a signal to cell which results in response
3 Ways to End Synaptic Activity
- diffusion away
- reuptake
- enzymatic breakdown
If action potential frequency increases, what adaptations could occur to either increase or decrease the response of the postsynaptic neuron?
-change numberof Ca2+ channels, change number of receptors, change sensitivity of receptors, change number of neurotransmitters released
Excitatory and Inhibitory Post-Synaptic Potentials
- EPSP’s and IPSP’s
- these are the “votes” received from constituents
- excitatory increases voltage and inhibitory decreases voltage
- bumps in the membrane potential when an interaction happens with the congressman
Divergent Neuronal Integration
-one neuron has effects on many separate neurons
Convergent Neuronal Integration
-on neuron is affected by many separate neurons
Spatial and Temporal Summation
- multiple inputs happen at same time to increase the potential more than a single input would=spatial
- have two EPSP’s and one IPSP on an axon so one EPSP will cancel with the IPSP and will be left with one EPSP which generates the response
- temporal is when one neuron repeatedly sends the same message in a short period of time
Pre-synaptic Facilitation and Inhibition
- one neuron is a part of another neuron that’s attached to the cell body and together they cause a higher spike in the membrane potential thus bringing it to threshold more easily and producing an AP
- opposite could also be true where one inhibits voting of other and then hyperpolarizing could happen thus bringing it further away from threshold and AP
- look at image
Why did dogs learn to salivate every time Pavlov’s assistant came into room even without food? What neural adaptations underlie this phenomenon?
- assistant became presynaptically linked with being fed
- neurons that fire together wire together
- neuronal circuits are plastic
In certain areas of the brain neurons are difficult to activate a first time, but repeated activation makes subsequent activation much easier. List some reasons why this fits with our experience of how learning develops.
-repetition reinforces information gathered
Would you like to see potentiation (greater and greater neural activation) of all incoming stimuli if the same synapses are used? List examples of sensory inputs that adapt to repetitive stimuli with decreased neural activation
- seeing unchanging things (nose on face)
- sounds you hear constantly (fans, trains if near tracks, sirens in bloomington)
- getting used to sharp smell after some time
- pressure/touch
Acetylcholine
-ACh as a neurotransmitter plays a role in motor nerves to muscles
Nicotinic and Muscarinic Receptors of ACh
- nicotine activates high effects in both directions-used in skeletal muscles
- muscarinic has different effect and plays a role in GI tract-differentiates from skeletal muscle
- point is that different classes of cholinergic receptors that all have different essential functions in the body
How would you design a drug that would slow the heart rate by mimicking the action of acetylcholine on cardiac muscarinic cholinergic receptors?
-make an analog which has similar shape/structure to portion that goes in the binding site of the receptor
Nicotinic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors are also found in the CNS. Is there any way to predict the actions of acetylcholine
No, it’s not about the neurotransmitters, it’s about the receptors
Alpha and Beta Adrenergic Receptors
- adrenaline activating
- can make more active or fit in receptor and do nothing
Based on effects of adrenaline in the body, what would be the effects of using a drug that inhibits the actions of adrenaline (e.g. a beta blocker)
- diminished response/alertness
- decreased heart rate
- decreased blood pressure
- relaxed
- lethargic
Agonist vs. Antagonist
- agonist does what endogenous neurotransmitters does in the body
- antagonist blocks receptor but does nothing but block NT binding
List some ways that SSRI’s might alter the level of activation of the post-synaptic serotonin neurons in the brain
- would activate many more receptors
- increase activity means more serotonin in synaptic cleft which increases activation of post-synaptic receptors
What do you suppose would be the effect on mood of a drug that was a serotonin reuptake enhancer?
-decreased serotonin levels means unhappiness and depression
Given that GABA is the most widespread inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, what would be some of the expected actions of drugs that mimic actions of GABA?
- decreased pain perception
- anti-anxiety
- decreased emotional response
Concussion
- only 20% of athletes that have had a concussion know they had one
- first concussion increases risk for second and cumulative risk increases steadily
- result from rotation of cerebral hemispheres in anterior/posterior plane-no rotation, no concussion
- happens right around midbrain-brain rocks forward and backward like on a hinge=concussion
- linked to depression
- symptoms: headache, nausea, disorientation, dizziness, memory loss, light sensitivity
What could explain the association of depression with repeated episodes of concussion?
-areas associated with mood get messed with/knocked around during a concussion
Postconcussion syndrome can be disabling. What are some of the most important symptoms?
-headaches, depression, difficulty focusing, decreased cognitive ability, brain response to special senses changes–>more sensitive
CNS Blood Supply
- needs a lot of blood and eats only sugar (glucose) and does not need insulin to get it into the cells
- the reason you regulate blood glucose is for the brain
- will eat ketone bodies if not enough glucose
Blood Brain Barrier
- tight junctions and astrocytes mean only certain things can get across to the brain
- protects brain from harmful toxins/drugs and regulates brain ECF
- oxygen, water, glucose by facilitated diffusion, salt (NaCl), carbon dioxide (out) and amino acids are what can enter
Gray Matter vs. White Matter
- gray is dendrites, cell bodies, axon terminals of presynaptic cell
- white is myelinated axons and oligodendrocytes
Spinal Nerves
-almost all mixed: have motor and sensory side to each
Explain why bulging spinal discs often cause both numbness and muscle weakness.
-They press on nerves and prevent effector functions to muscle/part of body and also affect sensory function resulting in numbness or pain
Axon Regeneration
- can occur if you cut a peripheral neuron
- if scarring occurs it cannot regrow
What are some factors that make axon regeneration in the spinal cord so difficult, given that the human spinal cord contains about 1 million neurons.
- sheer number of axons that would have to regrow
- complex network that exists in a web
- spatial concerns-density
- usually have scaring
Broca’s and Wernicke’s Areas of Brain
- Broca’s deals with speech formation/expression
- Wernicke’s deals with language comprehension
Motor and Sensory Areas of Cortex
-mapped out in a very specific way on the brain so that each part of the cortex relates to a specific motor/sensory response when activated
Why doe symptoms of a stroke tell us what portions of the brain have been damaged?
- portions damaged result in certain symptoms like loss of speech
- ask patients to do tests and if they can’t that’s the area that has been damaged
Phineas Gage
- got super mean; impulsive, hot-headed, and irresponsible
- after a while personality returned-plasticity; brain was able to make new connections and adapted around the injury; rewarded for making new connections via conditioning for correct response
What are some possible CNS and peripheral neural factors that may contribute to phantom limb pain?
-connections to spinal cord/brain still exist–>signals still sent from distal end of remaining neuron that is still mapped on the sensory cortex the same way–>typical pre-loss response
Functions of Hypothalamus
- appetite
- water balance (ADH)
- body temp regulation
- libido
Limbic System
- plays role in emotion and motivation
- primitive emotional brain at core of brain
- hippocampus and amygdala are important here
Hippocampus
- plays role in short term memory
- interacts with emotions-specifically fear (amygdala)
- if no fear/anxiety/emotional factor is present in a memory in short term it is erased
- if fear/anxiety/strong emotion is present it gets put into long term and may last for a while in the cortex
What parts of the brain may be involved in PTSD
- amygdala and hippocampus
- memory is too emotional so it goes from hippocampus to the long-term storage in the cortex that sticks around for a very long time, possibly forever
- loss of kappa opioid receptors in PTSD** important
- body’s endogenous versions of heroin or morphine cannot be used to relax a person because their receptors are gone
What does the limbic system do?
- regulates emotional responses
- don’t have to have a perfect system in order to feel emotions but it does have to be intact to respond correctly with regulation
What are some situations for which involuntary control of motor activity is advantageous or essential?
- breathing
- blinking
- withdrawal from pain/reflexes
- shivering
Muscle Spindles
- look at images
- stretched releases the most action potentials per time
- relaxed releases fewer action potentials per time
- contracted releases very few action potentials per time
Patellar Reflex
-stretching the muscle spindles feeds back to the spinal cord that then goes out to leg again and leg extends
Voluntary Movement
- idea: have to decide to do it–>
- primary motor cortex: activates other areas–?
- midbrain, basal ganglia–>
- lower motor neuron (spinal cord)–>
- muscle–>feedback
- feedback to sensory part-cerebellum to previous portions of sequence
Feedback
- need sensory systems to give sensory feedback to tell us where we are in space
- main part that does this is cerebellum and basal nuclei
Cerebellum
-plays a role in fine movement accuracy
Basal Nuclei
- midbrain
- feed into both feedback and motor attention
- damage to these cause Huntington’s and Parkinson’s
- Huntington’s: genetic, characteristic shaking action in limbs (circular)
- Parkinson’s: problem with tremors and inability to activate (facial) muscles (mask like face); damage to both sides of basal nuclei; trouble walking
After an injury that completely severs the spinal cord, why do spinal reflexes persist both above and below the point of transection of the cord?
- they don’t travel to the brain
- goes to spinal cord and right back-no CNS
- if the cord that gets chopped is the one that goes to the brain it doesn’t matter and will just feed into the reflex
List some possible reasons why spinal reflexes often become more pronounced after cord transection.
- loss of feedback
- keeps repeating signal
Reticular Activating System
- turns off when asleep
- essential for consciousness but not for brain activity
Circadian Rhythm and Homeostatic Sleep Drive
- all built to have circadian rhythm that works on a 24 hour + ~5 min cycle
- accomplished by monitoring cortisol levels and body temperature
EEG-Stage 4 Sleep and REM Sleep
- stage 4: non-REM slow wave sleep; essential for recovery and learning; consolidate memories that matter into long term during this
- REM: dreaming happens here; also plays a role in recovery and learning
- deny these two cycles you don’t learn
- also play role in refreshing
Symptoms of sleep deprivation and what do they tells us about functions of sleep?
- loss of cognitive function, fatigue, lack of motivation means decrease in creativity, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, hungry, liable mood, sleep latency decreases
- need to sleep to regulate these feelings and refresh your brain and body
- decrease in sleep latency means your sleep cycle gets messed up so you can fall asleep almost instantly and at inopportune times
Appetite in Sleep Deprivation
- increases due to hormone called ghrelin which is made in stomach wall
- increases production when you’re sleepy
How would you accumulate a sleep debt? What prevents a person from “paying off” the entire debt in one night?
- lack of sleep for many continuous nights-less than your sleep need
- piles up hour for hour
- circadian rhythm won’t let you sleep for entire length of sleep debt
Synaptic Changes
- long term potentiation; synaptic plasticity
- making neuron fire more at same stimulus
- happens in hippocampus-cortex, once activated it gets easier and it doesn’t go away for a long time