Final Exam Flashcards
Peripheral Nervous System consists of …
Nerves
Central Nervous System consists of ….
Brain (Cerebrum and Brainstem) and Spinal Cord
Innate Behavior
Behavior that is hereditary
Learned Behavior
requires brain “plasticity”/ to be able to learn from repeated sequences
Anterior/Rostral
Front of body (face on human)
Posterior/ Caudal
Back of body (butt on human)
dorsal/ superior
top of body (head on human)
ventral/inferior
bottom of body (feet on human)
medial
center of body (belly button on human)
lateral
side of body (arms on human)
meninges
dura mater, arachnoid membrane, pia mater
Coronal plane
plane that cuts from ear to ear (separates front and back)
horizontal plane
cuts off top of brain
sagittal plane
separates left and right side of brain
Frontal Lobe function
motor/executive functions
parietal lobe
tactile functions
temporal lobe function
visual and auditory processing
occipital lobe
visual processing
sulci
furrow on the brain surface
gyri
ridge on surface of brain
White matter
myelin
grey matter
cell bodies
the corpus callosum is a …
branch of white matter that connects hemispheres
Hindbrain contains the…
Cerebellum
Cerebellum size
sloths have smaller cerebellums therefore they move slower
Midbrain consists of….
consists of tectum (superior colliculus and inferior colliculus)
superior colliculus
part of tectum in midbrain, function is to help orientation of visual info
inferior colliculus
part of tectum in midbrain, function is to process auditory info
diencephalon
consists of thalamus
function: integrates sensory information coming from cortex
Forebrain
consists of cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and basal ganglia
cerebral cortex
consists of the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes and is responsible for higher level function like language, memory, and thoughts
hippocampus function
function: learning and memory
basal ganglia function
function: motor control/ executive functions
consists of substructures: caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus
Right side of brain receives sensory info from the …. side and sends motor info to the … side
Recieves sensory info from left and sends motor info to left
Left side of brain receives sensory info from the … side and sends motor info to the … side
Receives sensory info from right and sends motor info to right
dendrite
part of neuron that receives info
soma
cell body of neuron (head of neuron)
function: location for internal cell mechanism
axon
long chain of neuron
function: carry info from soma to terminal buttons, insulated by myelin which speeds up transmission
thalamus function
function: to organize all sensory info, main relay center in brain, important for motor processing
terminal buttons
small knobs at the end of the neuron that release neurotransmitters
Astrocytes
- star shaped
- provides structural support/ nutrients, provides structure for blood brain barrier
Microglia
- main immune cells in the CNS
- removes debris throughout brain
- (microglia sounds like bacteria)
myelinating glia
- insulates axons and speeds up transmission
- comprised of oligodendrocytes and shwann cells
oligodendrocytes
myelinate in CNS, many neurons at once
schwann cells
myelinate in PNS, only one neuron at once
Nucleus
function: contains genetic info
Mitochondria
function: powerhouse of cell, creates ATP
Transcription
DNA –> mRNA
Translation
mRNA –> protein
genotype
genetic makeup that gives instructions for physical and behavioral traints
phenotype
physical and behavioral traits
Chromosomes
23 pairs, 46 total
autosomal chromosomes
genes for phenotype (22 pairs)
sex chromosomes
determines biological sex (23rd pair)
sodium
Na+ positively charged
Potassium
K+ positively charged
Chloride
Cl- negatively charged
Diffusion
movement of ions down their concentration gradient
concentration gradient
difference in concentration
voltage gradient
difference in charges
Equilibrium potential
occurs when concentration and electrical gradients are equal in strength and opposite in direction
resting membrane potential (RMP)
-70 mv
K+
low conc outside
high conc inside
concentration gradient is outside, voltage gradient is inside
Cl-
high conc outside
low conc inside
concentration gradient is inside, voltage gradient is outside
Na+
Low conc outside
High conc inside
concentration gradient is inside, voltage gradient is inside
*sodium wants to go inside the cell but it cannot because sodium channels are not open at rest
Sodium potassium pump
moves 3 Na+ ions out of the cell and brings 2K+ ions inside the cell
*net negative effect
depolarization
EPSP (more positive)
hyperpolarization
IPSP (more negative)
Na+ Channels
IPSP - flowing out of cell
K+ Channels
IPSP - flowing out of cell
Cl- Channels
IPSP - flowing into cell
threshold of excitation
-50 mV
what triggers action potential?
voltage gated sodium channels open when excitation threshold is met
during depolarization…
Na+ flows in and becomes more positive
hyperpolatization
K+ flows out, neurons become negative
saltatory conduction
action potential jumps node to node down the axon
communication within a neuron is …
electrical
communication between neurons is …
chemical
presynaptic membrane
end of one neuron
stores and then releases neurotransmitters
synaptic cleft
gap between pre and post where they travel to get from one to another
post synaptic membrane
beginning of next neuron
contains receptors that NT attach to, picks up message from presynaptic membrane
axodentritic synapse
presynaptic terminal button connects to postsynaptic dendrites
axosomatic
presynaptic terminal button connects to postsynaptic soma
axoaxonic
presynaptic terminal button connects to postsynaptic axon
Steps of neural transmission
Synthesis: NT synthesized/mode in neuron from precursor molecules (occurs in presynaptic membrane)
Packaging: NT are packaged into vesicles and move to terminal buttons and wait for action potential
(occurs in presynaptic membrane)
Neurotransmitter release: calcium is released when AP is reached, triggers vesicles to bind to fuse to presynaptic membrane
(occurs in presynaptic membrane)
Binding: NT travel across synaptic cleft and attaches to receptors on post synaptic membrane
Inactivation: diffusion, degradation, or reuptake
kinds of inactivation
a) diffusion: NT diffuse/float away
b) degradation: broken down by enzymes
c) reuptake: taken back up by presynaptic neurons
types of binding receptors
iontropic: receptors with ion channels that open directly by binding (one step)
metatropic: open an ion channel indirectly by using G-proteins and secondary messenger (multiple steps)
acetylcholine (precursor, main function, receptors, inactivation)
precursor: choline + acetate
function: waking behavior, attention, memory, muscle activation
receptors: nicotinic and muscarinic
inactivation: AchE
Dopamine (precursor, main function, receptors, inactivation)
precursor: tyrosine –> L dopa –> dopamine
function: motor behavior and addictive/ repetitive behaviors
receptors: dopamine receptors 1-5 (all metatropic)
inactivation: reuptake by dopamine transporters, degraded by MAO
Glutamate (precursor, main function, receptors, inactivation)
precursor: glutamine –> glutamate
function: main excitatory NT in the brain
receptors: AMPA and NMDA
inactivation: reuptake by excitatory amino acid transporters
GABA
precursor: glutamine –> glutamate –> GABA
function: main inhibitory NT in brain
receptors: GABAa and GABAb
inactivation: reuptake by GABA receptors
oral drug administration
by mouth and absorbed in digestive tract
inhalation drug administration
inhaled and absorbed by lungs
topical drug administration
absorbed through skin
injections
injected in blood (IV) or muscle (IM)
brain drug administration
small enough to pass through the blood brain barrier
Drugs mimicking precursor molecules
synthesis
drugs causing less NT to be packaged into vesicles
packaging
drugs blocking calcium from entering the cell
NT release
drugs binding and activating a NT receptor
receptors/ binding (fourth step)
drugs blocking transporters that cause reuptake
inactivation
agonist drugs
enhance the effect of a NT
antagonist drugs
decrease effect of a NT
acetylcholine
nicotine: activates ach receptor (agonist)
botulinum: causes paralysis/ prevents release of ach (antagonist)
black widow venom: causes paralysis/ promotes release of ach (agonist)
Dopamine
cocaine/ritalin: blocks DA transporters, DA remaines in synapse (agonist)
amphetamine/ meth: causes DA transporters to run in reverse, more DA in synapse (agonist)
Seratonin
MDMA: activates 5HT receptors (agonist)
LSD: blocks 5HT receptors (agonist)
glutamate
PCP: blocks NMDA receptors (antagonist)
Ketamine: mech unknown (antagonist)
Morris Water Maze (measuring behavior)
measures spacial learning and memory
Freezing (measuring behavior)
measures anxiety: how long rodents stay in one place
Anhedonia
reduced ability to feel pleasure (when a rodent doesn’t drink enough sugar water)
Single cell recordings (electrical activity)
measure electric activity for one neuron using an electrode
electro-encephalogram (EEG) (electrical activity)
measures electric activity for many neurons
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
it measures oxygenated blood flow to the brain, indicates what region of the brain is active
PET (positon emission tomography)
detects change in blood-flow in the brain
uses radioactive markers
DTI (diffusion tensor imaging)
measures movement of water molecules, shows neural tracks (myelination)
Surgical (lesions)
can remove part of the brain (permanent)
High Intensity focused ultrasound (lesions)
points beams through the head which heats and destroys tissue at beam intersections (permanent)
Reversible (lesions)
GABA agonist
- causes IPSPs
- temporarily inhibits a brain region
(reversible/ not permanent)
Knock in (transgenetics)
add in a gene to genome
knock out (transgenetics)
makes a gene defective of missing, prevents the production of a protein
channelrhodopsin-2 (optogenetics: what color activates it, does it depolarize/activate or hyperpolarize/inhibit a neuron)
- activated by blue light
- depolarizes/ activates a neuron
- causes neuron to fire
Halorhodopsin (optogenetics: what color activates it, does it depolarize/activate or hyperpolarize/inhibit a neuron)
- activated by yellow light
- hyperpolarizes/inhibits the neuron
- prevents neuron from firing
Visual System
1) signal from environment: light
2) detected by sensory receptors: receptors convert physical stimulus into electrical signal (transduction)
3) relayed to the brain: visual receptor –> thalamus –> cerebral cortex
Structures of the eye
pupil: hole in iris that lets in light
iris: colored muscle that controls how much light enters the eye
retina: contains photoreceptors that detect light
optic nerve: carries info from retina into brain
structures of retina
photoreceptors: site of transduction (rods and cones)
fovea: detects light from center of visual field (cones)
optic disc/blind spot: spot where optic nerve leaves
retinal ganglion cells: receive info from bipolar cells, axons from optic nerve send info back into the brain
optic chiasm
- partial crossover of axons
- after the chaism all of the left visual field info is in the right hemisphere and all of the right visual field info is in the left hemisphere
- each hemisphere receives info from both eyes and one side of the visual field
retinal ganglion cells
detects pixels, donut shaped receptive field consisting of the “center” and “surround”
on center retinal ganglion cells
fire a lot when light hits center, inhibits firing when light hits the surround of the receptive area
off center retinal ganglion cells
fire a lot when light hits surround, inhibits firing when light hits the center of the receptive area
V1, primary visual cortex
detects lines and movement
Dorsal (v1) pathway
“how” pathway: identifies how to interact with an object
occipital lobe –> parietal
Ventral (v1) pathway
“what” pathway: Identifies what something is
occipital lobe –> temporal lobe
