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Neuroscience > Exam 3 > Flashcards

Exam 3 Flashcards

1
Q

Between cones and rods which are more sensitive?

A

Rods are more sensitive than cones

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2
Q

Between cones and rods which experience more spatial convergence?

A

More spatial convergence in (larger receptive fields) in
rod pathways

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3
Q

Between cones and rods which has longer responses?

A

Rod responses are longer

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4
Q

What is a person’s visual field?

A

The entire area that a person can see at any given moment, including peripheral vision.

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5
Q

What is a person’s visual acuity?

A

A measure of the eye’s ability to distinguish fine details. (Ex. 20/20 vision)

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6
Q

What is a photoreceptor? What are the different types?

A

Specialized cells in the retina that detect light and convert it into electrical signals. There are two main types of photoreceptors, rods and cones.

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7
Q

What is the order of transduction in the eye?

A

Photoreceptor > Bipolar cells > Ganglion cells > Optic nerve

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8
Q

What is the Dark current?

A

The steady, depolarizing flow of ions (specifically Na+ ions) into photoreceptor cells in the dark. (Keeps the cell partially depolarized for rapid response to light)

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9
Q

What is the role of cGMP?

A

A second messenger molecule in photoreceptors that regulates the opening of sodium channels. (Darkness = High cGMP levels = Dark current, Light = Low cGMP = No dark current = hyperpolarization)

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10
Q

What is the role of Rhodopsin & Transducin?

A

Rhodopsin: A light-sensitive pigment found in rod cells that initiates the phototransduction cascade.
Transducin: A G-protein activated by rhodopsin in the phototransduction pathway. (Breaks down cGMP)

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11
Q

What breaks down cGMP? (The actual enzyme)

A

Phosphodiesterase turns cGMP into GMP

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12
Q

What is a neuron’s receptive field?

A

The area on the retina where light stimulation affects the firing of a neuron in the visual pathway.

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13
Q

What are the two types of bipolar cells and what do they do?

A

Off-Bipolar cells: A type of retinal bipolar cell that is depolarized when light is off in the center of its receptive field.
On-Bipolar cells: A type of retinal bipolar cell that is depolarized when light is on in the center of its receptive field.

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14
Q

What is a Center-Surround Receptive Field? What are the types?

A

A structure where the central region of a receptive field responds oppositely to light compared to the surrounding region.
ON-center: Respond to light in the center (Inhibited by light off-center)
OFF-center: Respond to light in the surrounding area. (Inhibited by light on -center)

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15
Q

What is the difference between M-type ganglion cells and P-type ganglion cells? (Receptive fields)

A

M-type ganglion cells: respond quickly to movement but do not process color well. (Large receptive field)
P-type ganglion cells: more sensitive to color and fine visual details than movement (Small receptive field)

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16
Q

What is the purpose of NonM–NonP Ganglion Cells?

A

NonM–NonP ganglion cells are a type of retinal ganglion cell that play a role in color processing (They help distinguish colors that are not handled by M or P ganglion cells)

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17
Q

Explain the concept of a Color-Opponent Cell.

A

These cells respond to different colors in the center and surround (Ex. Red in the center is excitatory, and yellow on the outside is inhibitory) (The above example would be called Red ON, Yellow OFF)

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18
Q

What are Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cell (ipRGC)?

A

ipRGCs are a type of ganglion cell that contains melanopsin, allowing it to respond to light directly. They play an important role in regulating circadian rhythms and pupil responses

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19
Q

What is the optic chiasm? What is important about it?

A

Optic chiasm: The point where the optic nerves from each eye meet and partially cross.
-Only the central visual field is transported across the chiasm

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20
Q

What does the term decussation mean?

A

It refers to the crossing of neural fibers from one side of the body to the other.

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21
Q

Where is the optic tract located?

A

The optic tract is the continuation of nerves past the optic chiasm.

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22
Q

What is the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus?

A

A relay center in the thalamus for visual information coming from the retina. It then sends it to the Primary visual cortex for further processing

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23
Q

What is a visual hemi field? Where are they processed?

A

The half of the visual field associated with each eye. (Left hemifields are processed by the right hemisphere and vice versa)

24
Q

What is the Optic Radiation?

A

The bundle of nerve fibers that carry visual information from the LGN to the primary visual cortex.

25
Q

What is the Superior Colliculus?

A

A structure in the midbrain that helps coordinate eye movements and respond to new visual stimuli

26
Q

What are the three layers of the LGN?

A

Magnocellular LGN Layer: This layer contains large cells and primarily processes information related to movement, depth, and brightness.
Parvocellular LGN Layer: This layer is composed of smaller cells and primarily handles information about fine detail and color.
Koniocellular LGN Layer: A smaller, less understood layer interspersed between the magnocellular and parvocellular layers.

27
Q

What are some common nicknames for the primary visual cortex?

A

Area 17 / V1 / Striate Cortex

28
Q

What is the visual cortex responsible for?

A

Responsible for the initial processing of visual information received from the retina.

29
Q

What is the Ocular Dominance Column?

A

These are columns in the primary visual cortex that respond predominantly to input from one eye over the other, providing depth perception through binocular vision.

30
Q

What are Cytochrome Oxidase Blobs?

A

Cytochrome oxidase blobs are clusters of cells within the V1 that are involved in color processing.

31
Q

What is Orientation Selectivity? What is Direction Selectivity?

A

Orientation selectivity: Many neurons in the primary visual cortex respond best to edges, lines, or bars of a specific orientation within their receptive fields.
Direction selectivity: Some visual cortex neurons respond to movement in a specific direction

32
Q

What is the difference between simple cell and complex cell neurons?

A

In short simple cells detect simple slow movement whereas complex cells can detect more nuanced and faster movement

33
Q

Explain Area MT?

A

It is an area located in the dorsal stream of the visual cortex, is heavily involved in the perception of motion. (highly sensitive to the direction and speed of moving stimuli)

34
Q

Explain Area V4?

A

Part of the ventral stream, V4 is primarily involved in processing color and form. (detailed analysis of complex shapes and colors)

35
Q

Explain Area IT?

A

This area is located further along the ventral stream and plays a crucial role in high-level visual processing, particularly in recognizing complex shapes, objects, and faces. (respond to specific features, like familiar shapes and patterns)

36
Q

What is the Medial Geniculate Nucleus?

A

The MGN is part of the thalamus and serves as a crucial relay station for auditory information. (receives input from the inferior colliculus)

37
Q

What is the duplex theory of sound localization?

A

It explains how humans determine the location of sounds using two main cues: interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD).

38
Q

What is Interaural Time Difference (ITD)?

A

ITD is the difference in the time it takes for a sound to reach each ear.

39
Q

What is Interaural Level Difference (ILD)?

A

ILD refers to the difference in sound intensity between the two ears, which occurs because the head creates a “sound shadow”

40
Q

Between ITD and ILD which is more effective for higher and lower frequencies?

A

ITD more effective for low frequencies and ILD more effective for high frequencies.

40
Q

What is the overall pathway for audition?

A
  1. Cochlea
  2. Ventral (and dorsal) Cochlear Nucleus
  3. Superior Olive (ITD & ILD) (Brain stem)
  4. Inferior Colliculus (Midbrain)
  5. MGN
  6. Auditory cortex
40
Q

What is the Volley Principle?

A

The volley principle is a mechanism that complements phase locking, especially for encoding frequencies too high for individual neurons to fire at each cycle. (A group of neurons work together to fire at peaks of the soundwave)

40
Q

What is phase locking?

A

Phase locking is a process in which auditory nerve fibers fire action potentials at the same phase of a sound wave. (Neuron fires at the peaks of the wave)

41
Q

What are the different spinal segments?

A

Cervical: Arms, shoulders, and head
Thoracic: Abdomen
Lumbar: Front of legs and hips
Sacral: Back of legs and groin

42
Q

What is the Dorsal Column–Medial Lemniscal Pathway?

A

This is a neural pathway that carries information about fine touch, vibration, and proprioception from the body to the brain. (It involves the dorsal columns of the spinal cord and the medial lemniscus in the brainstem)

43
Q

What is the Dorsal Column?

A

These are the areas of white matter in the spinal cord that carry sensory information related to touch and proprioception to the brain.

44
Q

Where do signals go from the dorsal columns before it is sent to the thalamus?

A

Dorsal Column Nuclei

45
Q

What is the Medial Lemniscus?

A

A bundle of sensory fibers that carry touch and proprioceptive information from the dorsal column nuclei to the thalamus.

46
Q

What does the VP (Ventral Posterior) nucleus do?

A

It’s an area in the thalamus responsible for relaying somatosensory information to the primary somatosensory cortex.

47
Q

What are Trigeminal nerves responsible for?

A

-Sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewing.

48
Q

What is Substantia Gelatinosa?

A

A region in the spinal cord involved in processing pain signals. It plays a critical role in modulating pain perception and is located in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.

49
Q

What is an extremely important function of mechanoreceptors?

A

They adapt to stimuli either rapidly or slowly

50
Q

What are the four different types of Mechanoreceptors?

A

Merkel’s Disks- Slowly adapting and small receptive field
Meissner’s Corpuscle- Fast adapting and small receptive field
Pacinian Corpuscle- Fast adapting and large receptive field
Ruffini’s ending- Slowly adapting and large receptive field

51
Q

What is the order of sensitivity of the four different types of Mechanoreceptors?

A

Pacinian - Most sensitive
Meissner
Merkel
Ruffini - Least sensitive

52
Q

How are the size and myelination of neurons correlated to which signals they process? What are these types of neurons called? (Touch)

A

Smaller unmyelinated cells are related to pain and temperature (A-delta and C type)
Larger heavily myelinated cells are related to proprioceptors of skeletal muscles or mechanoreceptors of skin (A-Alpha and A-Beta type)

53
Q

What is the pathway for touch? (Dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway)

A

Touch receptor
Dorsal root axons
Dorsal column
Dorsal column nuclei (Medulla oblongata)
Medial lemniscus
Thalamus (Ventral Posterior (VP) Nucleus)
Cerebral cortex

54
Q

What is the pathway for pain? (Spinothalamic pathway)

A

Touch receptor
Dorsal root axons
Lateral spinothalamic tract
Thalamus
Cerebral cortex

Neuroscience (5 decks)

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