General Anatomy (some in autism deck)

Question 1

what is the amygdala involved in?

Answer 1

• emotional response to face recognition
• involved in reward and addiction

Question 2

what is the reticular formation?

Answer 2

a diffuse ascending network regulating arousal

Question 3

Where does the NAdr efferent pathways (tracts) originate from?

Answer 3

locus coeruleus

Question 4

Where is the locus coeruleus located?

Answer 4

midbrain

Question 5

What does the locus coeruleus play a role in?

Answer 5

its part of the reticular formation and has a role in the arousal, sleep/ wake cycle

Question 6

what are the three main dopamine pathways?

Answer 6

• mesocortical pathway
• mesolimbic pathway
• nigrostriatal pathway

Question 7

what role does the arcuate nucleus play in dopamine pathways?

Answer 7

sends a short projection into the median eminence, releasing dopamine which goes onto regulate the release of prolactin from the anterior pituitary

Question 8

what are the three dopamine nuclei?

Answer 8

• substantia nigra
• ventral tegmental area
• arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus

Question 9

what are the two dopamine pathways and there roles?

Answer 9

nigostriatal : motor control
mesolimbic and mesocortical: behaviour

Question 10

Where is the raphe nuclei located and what does it do?

Answer 10

In the medulla and is part of reticular formation. It acts by innervating the limbic system.
It has been shown that the level of neuronal activity increases immediately prior to and during periods of activity (in free moving animals).

Question 11

what is the nucleus basalis of meynert involved in?

Answer 11

Cognitive formation and memory

Question 12

what are the five methods for studying CNS disorders?

Answer 12

• imaging techniques
• indirect ‘markers’ for changes in neurotransmitter function
• post-mortem studies on human brain
• genetics - linkage analysis
• animal models

Question 13

Name imaging techniques of the brain

Answer 13

• computerised tomography- CT
• MRI (magneticc resonance imaging)
• PET and SPECT

Question 14

Name advantage and disadvantage of CT scans?

Answer 14

A: like an xray of the brain and can be useful to indicate structural changes
D: spatial resolution is only several mm so can’t tell you about any discrete changes

Question 15

what does MRI depend on?

Answer 15

Different level of water content, in different regions of the brain as it gives you different resonance signal

Question 16

Why is MRI better than CT?

Answer 16

Resolution is better (less than 1 mm)

Question 17

what is the developmental MRI called and what is it based on?

Answer 17

Functional MRI (fMRI) and is based on the fact bthat oxyhemoglobin has different magnetic resonance to deoxyhemoglobin (can look at ratio between the two as depends on level of metabolic activity)

Question 18

Name a problem with fMRI?

Answer 18

Does not tell you whether neurons are inhibitory or excitatory just shows which regions of the brain are activated

Question 19

what can fMRI do?

Answer 19

It reveals patterns of activity in the intact brain

Question 20

If an individual saw a visual stimulus what would an fMRI see?

Answer 20

The microvasculature responds by increasing blood flow, this increases the oxyhb to deoxyhb ratio

Question 21

what does diffusion tensor imaging allow?

Answer 21

Allows tracking of fibre tracts in the brain, relying on the fact water molecules inside axons are much less mobile than in the extracellular fluid - relies on limited mobility of water

Question 22

what is PET?

Answer 22

Positron Emission Tomography

Question 23

what is SPECT?

Answer 23

Single photon Positron Emission Tomography

Question 24

what is the main advantage of SPECT ?

Answer 24

Does NOT require on site cyclotron first unstable positron emission isotopes are created in cyclotron (eg. O (15) - half life of 2 min)

Question 25

what two ways can SPECT be used for?

Answer 25

• isotopes are imjected they distribute according to the relative activity of the brain regions
• technique may be used to estimate receptor levels

Question 26

Name two non-invasive techniques to study the brain?

Answer 26

• electroencephalography (EEG)
• magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Question 27

Name the three places to look for metabolite levels as indirect markers for neurotransmitter functions

Answer 27

1) Cerebrospinal fluid
2) plasma
3) urine

Question 28

disadvantages on post-mortem studies on brains

Answer 28

1) protein is labile - may degrade
2) patient may have been taking medication
(need to know drug history of patients)

Question 29

what are RFLPs

Answer 29

Restriction-fragment length polymorphisms

Question 30

what do RFLPs do?

Answer 30

they change where restriction endonucleases (enzymes) cleave DNA

Question 31

When RFLPs are referred to as inherited in a Mendelian manner what does this mean?

Answer 31

it requires family ‘pedigree’ of inheritable disease - easiest to study in ‘genetically isolated’ communities

Question 32

What disease did RFLP allow gene mutation mapping for?

Answer 32

Huntigdon’s chorea

Question 33

whats a disadvantage of RFLPs?

Answer 33

less successful for other disorders - as these may involve multiple genes or mitochondrial DNA

Question 34

whats an advantage and disadvantage of animal models mimicing neurochemical changes that occur in disease?

Answer 34

A: Drug screening therapy
D: not an exact ‘phenocopy’ of the disease

Question 35

what does the medial forebrain bundle consist of?

Answer 35

dopaminergoic, noradrenergic and serotonergic projections

Question 36

what is CRF

Answer 36

Cortoicotrophin releasing factor
(a neuropeptide)

Question 37

where are mu opiate receptors expressed ?

Answer 37

GABA interneurons in the VTA

Question 38

What do mu receptors do ?

Answer 38

• inhibit GABA release
• increase activity in the dopamine mesolimbic pathway

Question 39

If LSD decreases 5-HT turnover in rat brain what is that evidence for?

Answer 39

LSD acts as a 5-HT2 receptor agonist