inhibitory neurotransmitters Flashcards
what does it mean by inhibitory
there is a decrease in likelihood that the receiving neuron will fire its own action potential.
How does it become inhibitory
decrease the likelihood of a neuron firing by hyperpolarizing it, making it less likely to reach the threshold needed for activation.
How would inhibitory neurotransmission be beneficial ( 2 points)
helps regulate brain activity and prevents excessive neural firing,
maintaining balance in the nervous system
Acetylcholine is often considered an excitatory neurotransmitter, why can the study of Antonova be used?
it demonstrates how blocking its function can disrupt neural activity in the hippocampus
What are cognitive impairments a result of
disrupted neural activity
Aim of Antonova et al
investigate the role of acetoylchloline in spatial memory by using spocolamine
What does scopolamine do
it blocks acetylcholine receptors
who were the participants
20 healthy male participants
Research method
repeated measures design
two conditions they were allocated into
- either had injection of scopolamine
- placebo
Procedure (time after + what task they did)
After 70–90 minutes, they completed the Arena task, a virtual reality navigation test.
How it was measured
Their brain activity was measured using fMRI to assess hippocampal activation
Why is this experiment considered a repeated measures design
participants returned weeks later to repeat the task under the opposite condition
results
Those that received scopolamine has reduced hippocampal activation compared to those in the placebo condition
What does the results suggest about acetylcholine
it is necessary for effective memory encoding as blocking it resulted in less neural activity in the hippocampus
Link
antonova’s study demonstates how blocking a key neurotransmitter can result in inhibitory effects
How does scopolamine work as an inhibitory neurotransmitter
by preventing acetylcholine from binding to receptors, reduces exitatory transmission, leading to a decrease in hippocampal activity
This artifically induced inhibition disrupts ……. ( what process)
memory encoding
Without sufficient excitatory input, what happens to neural communication and what happens as a result of this
neural communication slows down, impairing cognitive functions such as spatial memory
