How nerves work Flashcards
Name the parts of the brain!!
Front - frontal lobe Middle - parietal lobe Back - Occipital lobe Bottom lobe - temporal Cerebellum - controls basic function - at the bottom too
what are low and high grooves in the brain called?
low - sulcus
high - gyrus
what nerves go to and from the brain - not via the spinal cord ?
cranial nerves
name the 3 subdivisions of the nervous system
autonomic, somatic, enteric
What nerves are sensory and what are motor?
Sensory - afferent
Motor - efferent
Describe what each part of the nerve does from the dendrite to the axon terminal
dendrite - receives information
cell body (soma) - makes things
Axon hillock (initial segment) - triggers action potential
Axon - sends action potential
Axon terminal - releases neurotransmitter
what roots does the sensory information come in, and what root does the motor information leave?
In - dorsal root (back)
Out - ventral root (front)
What is grey matter and what is white matter- which one makes the cross shape?
white - axons
grey - cell bodies
Grey is the middle bit
What does glia do - and how much of the CNS is it?
Cells that keep nerves happy - 90% of the central nervous system.
What do astrocytes do?
Maintain a good environment and protect the blood brain barrier.
what do oligodendrocytes do?
make myline sheaths
what do microglia do?
Phagocytotic hoover - mop up infection
What do ependyma cells do?
On surface - produce cerebral spinal fluid
name the three parts of the brain stem
midbrain
poms
medulla oblongata
what are the hypothalamus and the thalamus called together?
diencephalon
What causes the resting membrane potential -describe steps.
- 70v
Na K pump pumps 3 Sodium out and 2 potassium in. (charge still equal on both sides)
Leaky potassium channels cause potassium to leave the cell due to its concentration gradient.
Reaches equilibrium potential (when electrical gradient and conc gradient are exactly opposite and equal)
Should be -90 but its -70 due to a few other leaky channels E.g calcium etc.
What does the action potential do?
Transmits signals over a distance
what does the graded potential do?
decides when to fire the action potential
what does the resting membrane potential do?
Gets the cell ready to respond
If the extracellular potassium concentration increases - this causes depolarisation. (it will be less negative as outside is more negative). How does this fail to cause damage?
Blood brain barrier - network of blood vessels that can block substances. So the tight capillaries in the brain does not get affected - however, the heart might
there is a high level of potassium within the cell. What ions have a high level outside the cell?
Na +
Cl -
Ca 2+
When will an action potential fire?
If the threshold is reached -55v.
This occurs due to sodium channels opening - and sodium rushing into the cell down it’s concentration gradient.