Exam 3 Flashcards
The spinal cord has two different pathways. What are they called, what type of information do they carry and where?
Ascending or afferent pathway- carries sensory info. from the periphery to the brain.
Descending or efferent pathway- carries motor signals from the brain to the body.
What are the three main tracts in the ascending pathway? What information do each carry?
- Dorsal Column Medial Lemniscus tract- fine/localized pressure sensors from the skin touch sensitive
- Spinocerebellar tract- sensory information
- Anterolateral tract (spinothalamic) fast and slow pain signals
What are the two main tracts in the descending pathway? What information do each carry?
- Pyramidal (corticospinal) tract-conscious or voluntary movement
- Extrapyramidal tract- subconscious or involuntary movement, accessory motor
What are Rexed’s Laminae?
Laminae are how we organize grey matter in the cord. There are 10 laminae (sections) in total.
Lamina I: name, location and information
Lamina marginalis, dorsal part of the dorsal horn. Fast sharp pain via myelinated A delta fibers
Lamina 2, 3 and 5: name and information
Substantia gelatinosa. Slow pain, nonmyelinated C fibers
Lamina 1 through 6: type of information these receive
mechanoreceptors and pressure sensors
Lamina 7,8,9: type of information
large motorneurons, activated by the descending pathway in the anterior/ventral horn
Lamina 10: location and what’s special about it?
middle of the grey matter, between right and left sides, this is where crossover happens
Say a feather brushes your fingertip or you stub your toe and go grab it to stop the pain… what pathway is activated?
Dorsal Column Medial Lemniscus pathway (DCML)
Describe the transmission of information in the DCML from the periphery (lower extremity) to the higher processing centers in our brain…
Foot –> dorsal root ganglia –> dorsal column (fasciculus gracilis) –>cross over at medulla –> medial lemniscus of the pons–> ventrobasal complex in the thalamus–> the internal capsule –> somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe
What type of information gets relayed in the DCML pathway?
Sensory information other than pain. This pathway is good at localizing the stimulus and can pick up fine pressure. This pathway uses myelinated a fibers and has very fast signal propagation.
What are the two parts of the dorsal column and what is unique about these parts?
- Fasciculus gracilis: carries sensory info from the legs up to the brain
- Fasciculus cuneatus: carries sensory info from the upper extremities up to the brain
How much of our somatosensory (postcentral gyrus) information gets transmitted via the DCML pathway?
80%
What are the two destinations of touch information in the DCML pathway?
- Touch sensation comes into the dorsal horn of the cord, stays in the grey matter and can participate in lateral inhibition and modulation of cord activity
- Info can hop over into the ascending pathways and ascend to the brain via the dorsal column
What are the two parts to the pyramidal tract?
- Anterior corticospinal tract
- Lateral corticospinal tract
Which corticospinal tract has the majority of motor output, how much?
The lateral corticospinal tract (primary pathway). 80% of motor function.
How much of our motor output comes from the anterior corticospinal tract?
17%
Describe the transmission of motor signals from the motor cortex (precentral gyrus) to the primary corticospinal tract.
motor cortex–> internal capsule–> crossover at the decussation between pyramids of the medulla –> lateral corticospinal tract
What is considered to be the secondary motor pathway and how much of our motor output comes from this pathway?
The anterior corticospinal tract. 17%.
What is the major difference between the anterior and lateral corticospinal tracts?
The location of crossover. In the lateral cs tract this occurs at the decussation of the medulla pyramids, in the anterior cs tract it happens in the spinal cord at the level of communication with the motorneuron.
What are the two main divisions of the anterolateral tract?
- Anterior spinothalamic tract
- Lateral spinothalamic tract
Fast pain: what pathway, which neurotransmitters, what receptors, good or bad at localization and why?
Fast pain is transmitted via myelinated a delta fibers in the lateral st tract.
NT: glutamate
Receptors: nociceptors/ free nerve endings
Detailed localization due to parallel processing with DCML pathway
What is unique about glutamate as a neurotransmitter?
It is always excitatory. It’s fast to release, fast to bind and fast to generate an action potential. IT’S FAST!
Slow pain: which pathway, what NT’s, good at localization and why?
Pathway: anterior ST tract via unmyelinated c fibers
NT: Substance P mostly, also glutamate and CGRP
Not good at localization because most of this pain information gets terminated before reaching the thalamus.
Where do the myelinated a fibers from the fast pain pathway synapse in the spinal cord? Where to the unmyelinated c fibers from the slow pain pathway synapse in the cord?
Fast pain: dorsal horn at Lamina 1 (Lamina marginalis)
Slow pain” dorsal horn at Lamina 2,3, and 5 (Substantia gelatinosa)
What are the other names for the slow pain pathway and the fast pain pathway?
slow pain: “paleospinothalamic tract”
fast pain: “neospinothalamic tract”
Where do the anterolateral/ spinothalamic tracts crossover?
At the anterior white commissure in the spinal cord
What type of sensory information does the anterolateral and spinothalamic tract carry?
Fast pain and slow pain. Also, temperature and irritants (such as tickle and itch sensations)
Where, specifically, does slow pain signals terminate before reaching the thalamus?
Reticular formation
Why does slow pain tend to “mess with our heads” more?
Part of the slow pain pathway gets routed to our emotional centers of the brain.
What are the four extrapyramidal tracts and what motor functions are relayed in each?
- Vestibulospinal: eye fixation and helps maintain balance
Olivospinal: movement coordination from the cerebellum
Reticulospinal: maintenance of basal muscle tone
Rubrospinal: monitors and adjusts voluntary movement
What is the descending inhibitory complex (DIC)?
This is a system of three neurons that our body uses intrinsically to suppress pain signals.
What are the three neurons in the descending inhibitory complex and where do the start/synapse?
first order neuron is in the periaqueductal gray (near the cerebral aqueduct between the 3rd and 4th ventricle) which synapses on the second order neuron in the raphe magnus nucleus in the pons. Neuron 2 synapses on the 3rd neuron in the dorsal horn of the s.c.
What neurotransmitters do each of the neurons in the DIC pathway release and are they excitatory or inhibitory?
1: Enkephalins (endogenous opiates) excitatory
2: Serotonin, excitatory
3: Enkephalins (inhibitory in the S.C.)
Why might someone prescribe an SSRI or tricyclic antidepressant for chronic pain?
SSRI’s inhibit serotonin reuptake, therefore the more serotonin around can effect the third order neuron in the DIC pathway which inhibits the pain signals coming into the s.c. TCA’s often have drowsiness as a side effect so these can help with sleep
What are different signals from the body that can be registered as pain by nociceptors?
cellular damage (say a crush injury), H+, K+, histamines, serotonin, ACh, prostaglandins, and bradykinins.
What is lateral inhibition?
communication from an adjacent neuron (from the DCML pathway) that can help deaden pain from the nociceptor. These neurons run parallel to one another and in close proximity allowing them to have crosstalk.
Name three compounds that can increase pain sensitivity at the synapse between a first order neuron and second order neuron
- iNOS-
- COX-2
- prostaglandins
What are the three inotropic glutamate receptors? and what adjacent ion channels do they activate?
- AMPA receptors: Na+
- NMDA receptors: mainly Ca2+, but a little Na+ too
- Kanate receptors (mediates GABA)
What type of receptors are enkephalin receptors and what ion channel is associated with these?
They are GPCR’s. K+ channels.
What’s another GPCR that activates these K+ channels?
alpha 2 receptors.
Name three alpha 2 agonists we talked about in class
- xylazine
- clonidine
- dexmedetomidine (precedex)
Why are NMDA receptors “slower” to open than AMPA receptors?
NMDA-R need a prior depolarization to push intracellular Mg2+ out of the way.
Which type of receptor increases in number as we mature?
NMDA receptors
What does chronic pain do to AMPA and NMDA receptors?
It increases the amount of these receptors at the synapse via sensitization
What are some NMDA receptor antagonists we talked about in class?
ethanol, lead poisoning, ketamine, nitrous, tramadol
Name the two reflexes that use stretch receptors for input…
- stretch reflex
- tendon reflex
Name the two reflexes that use pain receptors as input…
- withdrawal reflex
- crossed extensor reflex
Stretch reflex: what is it responsible for, what muscles are engaged, and which are relaxed?
Goal: to keep muscles at a constant length, helps us stand upright
Quads are engaged
Hamstrings are relaxed
The tendon reflex: what is it responsible for, which muscles are engaged and which are antagonizing?
This is a protective reflex, prevents muscles from being pulled out of bones. Uses interneurons…
one excitatory (recruits antagonistic muscles for retraction from load source)
one inhibitory (ceases contraction under heavy load to prevent tears)
what is another name for a muscle spindle?
“stretch” receptor
The flexor reflex: what does it do, and which muscles are engaged and what are the antagonizing muscles?
This is the withdrawal reflex, flexor muscles are activated and they contract. Antagonistic muscles are the extensors (these relax). Goal: to withdraw from painful stimuli. Uses ascending and descending interneurons to disperse information along the cord.
Crossed extensor reflex: what does it do and how does it do it?
This reflex is also pain mediated. It occurs with dynamic movement and utilizes multiple interneurons to send information to the other side of the cord and has ascending and descending interneurons to get information to the appropriate motorneurons. Often occurs in conjunction with flexor reflex on the other side of the body.
Give an example of the crossed extensor reflex…
You stub your right toe into a coffee table while walking. The Left leg “braces itself” to hold you upright by contracting the quad and relaxing the hamstring like the stretch reflex only on the other side of the body and in response to pain. Meanwhile, the right leg can withdraw from the painful stimulus (flexor reflex).
Which reflex does not use any interneurons?
The stretch reflex. It is a direct reflex arc.
Which reflex is being elicited when a doctor strikes the ligament just below the Patella with a reflex hammer?
the stretch reflex
Give an example of the tendon reflex and a scenario where the body can override this reflex.
Fall off a two story deck and land on feet. This increase in muscle tension causes sudden complete relaxation of affected muscle to protect the muscle from tearing. The body can override this in extreme cases of fight or flight, like lifting a car off a child.
What are some of the differences between mature and fetal nACh receptors?
- Fetal nACh-R have a gamma subunit instead of an epsilon subunit
- Fetal receptors have a lower ion conductance
- Fetal receptor pores can stay open longer due to their higher affinity for ACh
In the case of muscle paralysis how does the body respond? Which receptor types can it make more of and where does it put these?
With muscle paralysis the body makes more immature nACh-R to try to help ACh bind and contract the muscle. It places these immature nACh receptors all along the muscle fibers (not just at the end plate).
Why is it so dangerous to give Succinylcholine to paralyzed patients or patients with neuromuscular disorders?
This patient population has much more of these fetal nACh-Rs that Succ can bind to. They stay open longer and allow more K+ out and Na+ depolarizing the muscle much longer. The increased K+ that floods out is significant and can lead to life threatening hyperkalemia and v fib.
Which muscle are we stimulating with train of four at the ulnar nerve?
the adductor pollicis muscle
What is supramaximal stimuli?
the voltage used to generate a twitch contraction, and an excellent name for a heavy metal band!
What is the frequency and interval applied when using a nerve stimulator to elicit ToF?
4 twitches administered over…
a frequency of 2 Hz
and an interval of 2 sec