Knowledge clips intro 3

Question 1

Vagus nerve: Runs to almost all organs in your periphery. Regulates …

Answer 1

• Appetite
• Mood
• Intestinal inflammation

Question 2

In what disease does the vagus nerve maybe play a role?

Answer 2

Parkinson’s disease

Question 3

True/false and why:

1) An axon is covered with myelin.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

True/false and why:
2) Myelin is produced by astrocytes

Answer 4

False: Myelin is produced by oligodendrocytes

Question 5

True/false and why:
3) Dopamine is instantly synthesized and completely degenerated after release

Answer 5

False: dopamine does not use the ‘instant synthesis’ pathway.

Question 6

True/false and why:
4) Grey matter is mainly ‘in the core’ of the brain

Answer 6

False: white matter is mainly in the core

Question 7

True/false and why:
5) Only the number of synaptic vesicles with neurotransmitter will increase after repeated stimulation in synaptic plasticity

Answer 7

False: the number of receptors at synapse also increases

Question 8

6) Which neurotransmitters levels could you increased if you ate an excessive number of eggs? Could you elucidate why these neurotransmitter levels can rise?

Answer 8

Serotonin, Glutamate and endocannabinoids (e.g. high levels of precursors which can cross the blood brain barrier)

Question 9

True/false and why:
7) Aging is associated with neuroinflammation.

Answer 9

True

Question 10

True/false and why:
8) Microglia morphologically change in neuroinflammatory processes.

Answer 10

True

Question 11

True/false and why:
9) Reactive astrocytes tend to shrink in size

Answer 11

False: microglia shrink in size, their branches disappear

Question 12

True/false and why:
10) GLUT-1 has a higher glucose transport rate than GLUT-3

Answer 12

False: It is the other way around

Question 13

True/false and why:
11) Astrocytes store glucose, in case of low glucose levels.

Answer 13

False: they don’t store it, they provide it

Question 14

True/false and why:
12) Reactive oxygen species are always harmful

Answer 14

False: apparently not

Question 15

14) Which tricks does a pharmaceutical have to get its medicine over the blood brain barrier?

Answer 15

Gases; lipid-compound (of note small molecule and no charge); bind to glucose (active transport by receptor/transporters)

Question 16

True/false and why:

Question 17

True/false and why:
15) Amygdala is involved in addiction.

Answer 17

True

Question 18

True/false and why:
16) Hippocampus stores long-term memory.

Answer 18

False: Hippocampus is involved in long-term memory, but it is stored in the cerebral cortex

Question 19

True/false and why:
17) Signalling pathways in the basal ganglia are degenerated in Parkinson’s disease.

Answer 19

True

Question 20

True/false and why:
18) Only the hippocampus degenerates in Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 20

False: simply not true, other parts are also affected

Question 21

20) Write down in detail the HPA-axis involved in the stress response

Answer 21

Hypothalamus -> CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) -> pituitary gland -> ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) -> adrenal gland -> cortisol -> hypothalamus responds to cortisol

(negative feedback)

Question 22

True/false and why:
19) The vagus nerve innervates your stomach and intestines

Answer 22

True
innervate = supply with nerves