Final Exam Flashcards
An atom or group of atoms that has an unpaired (extra) electron and is therefore unstable and highly reactive
Free radical
Chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen
Reactive oxygen species (ROS)
An imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and the bodies ability to detoxify the free radicals or repair damage
Oxidative stress
Enzyme that is part of the detoxification of reactive oxygen species
Superoxide dismutase (SOD)
Aβ peptide in amyloid plaques
Alzheimer’s disease
Hyperphosphorylated tau
Neurofibrillary tangles
α-synuclein
Lewy bodies
Hippocampus, cortical and limbic structures
Alzheimer’s disease
Substantia nigra (& linked cortical regions)
Parkinson’s disease
Spinal cord (and precentral gyrus -part of the primary motor cortex)
ALS
Subcortical brain structures that are crucial in planning, organizing and executing movement, addiction
Basal ganglia
Nucleus in the basal ganglia involved in initiating voluntary movement. Contain a lot of dopaminergic neurons
Substantia nigra
One of the three major classes of glia in nervous system, controls the ionic environment of neurons and can be involved in neurotransmitter reuptake
Astrocyte
Stimulus that produces a natural, automatic reaction; food is the most famous example, but there are many things you respond to without learning
Unconditioned stimulus
Previously neutral stimulus that, after repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus, elicits the response produced by the unconditioned stimulus itself
Conditioned stimulus
Single neuron (or small number) whose stimulation triggers a specific naturally occurring behavior
Command neuron
Activated by changes in environmental temperature
TRP channels
Process of synapse elimination
Synaptic pruning
Induces gene expression that produces proteins that strengthen the synapse
Long Term Potentiation
Structural or functional changes in the nervous system
Plasticity
Experience driven reorganization of neural pathways in the brain, forming new connections, strengthening or discarding old ones; increases in myelination speed up nerve conduction velocities strengthening circuits – allows signals to arrive synchronously
Neuroplasticity
Cell bodies, uninsulated axons
Gray matter
Myelinated axons
White matter
Nuclear complex in the temporal lobe whose major functions concern autonomic, emotional and sexual behavior; most often connected with the major emotions such as fear and avoiding situations that induce fear
Amygdala
