Lange 7 Flashcards
what does the resting membrane potential close to?
Ek because K+ is the major determinant of the charge difference across a membrane
when are neurotransmitters released?
Ca++ dependent exocytosis
inhibitory neurotransmitters and actions
GABA and glycine: open Cl- channels causing inhibitory postsynaptic potential
what happens when NE binds B-adrenergic receptors?
activates adenylyl cyclase and stimulates the production of cAMP which activates the cAMP-dependent protein kinase that can phosphorylate voltage-gated calcium channels
what are the alpha1-adrenergic, muscarinic cholinergic, and metabotropic glutamate receptors coupled to?
phospholipase C which catalyzes the hydrolysis of the membrane lipid phosphatidylinositol-4,5 bisphosphate causing two second messengers: 1,2 diacylglycerol (activates enzymes in protein kinase C family) and inositol-1,4,5 triphosphate (binds intracellular receptor that is a calcium ionophore allowing release of calcium from intracellular stores into cytosol)
astrocytes functions
- regulate K and Ca concentrations within the interstitial space
- provide structural and trophic support for neurons through production of extracellular matrix molecules such as laminin and release of growth factors
- provide sites for release of cytokines and chemoattractants at blood vessels during CNS injury
- respond to brain injury by increasing and size and sometimes number
- important role in terminating neuronal responses to glutamate
- contain glutamine synthase (converts glutamate to glutamine) - detoxifies CNS of glutamate and ammonia
microglia
reside in CNS functioning as main immune effector cells - activated by brain injury, infection, or neuronal degeneration
damage to the lower motor neurons results in what?
loss of all voluntary and reflex movement (flaccid weakness) and muscle tone or resistance to passive movement is reduced
describe the path of motor neurons from brain to muscle
begin in principal motor area (precentral gyrus) which can also receive input from premotor area -> converge in corona radiata -> posterior limb of internal capsule -> cerebral peduncles -> central pons -> ventral medulla -> cross in pyramidal tract where most dessucate -> lateral corticospinal tract
what are the extrapyramidal neurons?
neurons in the caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, red nuclei, subthalamic nuclei, substantia nigra, reticular nuclei, neurons of the cerebellum. they are connected to the motor corticospinal and corticobulbar tracts but distinct from these cortical motor (pyramidal) neurons
what is the purpose of extrapyramidal neurons?
important for complex patterns of movement and for coordinating motor responses to sensory stimuli
motor unit
each alpha motor neuron axon contacts up to 200 muscle fibers
what do tendon reflexes and muscle tone depend on?
activity of alpha motor neurons, specialized sensory receptors known as muscle spindles and small gamma motor neurons whose axons innervate the spindles
lambert-eaton syndrome
antibodies to calcium channels inhibit calcium entry into nerve terminal and reduce neurotransmitter release - repetitive nerve stimulation facilitates accumulation of calcium and increases Ach release
what causes a similar syndrome to lambert-eaton syndrome?
aminoglycoside antibiotics
botulin toxin
cleaves specific presynaptic proteins preventing neurotransmitter release at both neuromuscular and parasympathetic cholinergic synapses
when do fibrillations occur?
in denervated muscles - receptors are not clustered and are spread across the muscle membrane
what are the upper motor neurons?
cortical motor neurons that converge in the corona radiata then descend in the posterior limb of internal capsule, cerebral peduncles, ventral pons, and medulla
neurons that innervate lower facial muscles are what?
primarily crossed fibers
motor neurons for the legs are found where?
medial surface of the hemisphere (face on ventral end of the central sulcus)
unilateral upper motor neuron lesions are characteristic how?
muscles innervated by lower motor neurons that receive bilateral cortical input such as eyes, jaw, upper face, pharynx, larynx, neck, thorax, abdomen are spared
upper motor neuron lesions appear how?
characteristic pattern of limb weakness and change in tone - antigravity muscles become more active, arms flex, pronated posture, legs become extended while muscles that move limbs out of this posture (extensors or arms and flexors of legs) are weakened
-tone is increased in antigravity muscles “clasp knife phenomenon”
what is clonus? when is it present?
series of involuntary muscle contractions in response to passive stretch - upper motor neuron lesions especially with spinal cord
how to tell if a lesion is above or below the pons
above the pons: impair movements of contralateral lower face, arm and leg
below the pons: spare the face
lesions of the internal capsule vs cortex
internal capsule: impaired movements of contralateral face, arm, leg equally
cortex: differentially affect the limbs and face because motor fibers are spread over larger area of brain
what are the three regions of the cerebellum?
flocculonodular lobe (flocculus and nodulus of vermis) anterior lobs (remainder of vermis) posterior lobe
flocculonodular lobe
cerebellum - controls posture and eye movement
anterior lobe
receives proprioceptive input from muscles and tendons via the dorsal and ventral spinocerebellar tracts and influences posture, muscle tone, and gait
posterior lobe
important for coordination and planning of voluntary skilled movements initiated from cerebral cortex
superior cerebellar peduncles
efferents from cerebellar cortex to red nucleus and thalamus
ataxia
simple movements are delayed in onset and rates of acceleration and deceleration are decreased (intention tremor and dysmetria (overshooting)) due to cerebellar disease
lesions to cerebellar hemispheres vs midline lesions
hemispheres: affect the limb (limb ataxia)
midline lesions: axial muscles (truncal and gait ataxia + disorders of eye movement)
cerebellar lesions are associated with…..
hypotonia as a result of depression of activity of alpha and gamma motor neurons
what areas of the brain regulate voluntary movement and maintaining posture
basal ganglia, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, subthalamic nuclei
what is the main function of the basal ganglia?
regulate the initiation, amplitude, and speed of movements
where is dopamine synthesized?
substantia nigra
parkinson’s disease pathology
degeneration of nigral neurons leads to loss of dopaminergic inhibition and a relative excess of cholinergic activity - this increases GABAergic output from the striatum and contributes to the paucity of movement that is a cardinal manifestation of the disease
huntington disease
AD - involuntary, rapid, jerk movements (chorea) and slow writhing movements of the proximal limbs and trunk (athetosis)
what gene is implicated in huntington’s disease? which chromosome is it found on?
huntingtin trinucleotide (CAG) repeat on chromosome 4 - involved in intracellular trafficking and endocytosis, gene transcription, and intracellular signaling - GAIN OF FUNCTION
what promotes the striatal cell loss in huntington disease?
loss of neurotrophic support and enhanved caspase activity
somatosensory pathway
confers information about touch, pressure, temperature, pain, vibration and position and movement of body parts -> relayed to thalamic nuclei and integrated in the sensory cortex of the parietal lobes to provide conscious awareness of sensation
describe the path of sensory nerve fibers
dorsal roots enter the dorsal horn - large myelinated fibers divide into ascending and descending branches and synapse in dorsal column or travel in dorsal columns -> terminate in the gracile or cuneate nuclei of lower medulla on SAME SIDE -> cross the midline in the medulla and ascend to the thalamus as the medial lemniscus
where are new fibers added in the dorsal columns?
leg fibers medially, arm fibers laterally
dorsal column-lemniscal system carries what?
information about pressure, limb position, vibration, direction of movement, recognition of texture and shape, and two point discrimination
lateral spinothalamic tracts
pain, temperature, and touch sensation - ascend in anterolateral spinal cord - cross IMMEDIATELY in anterior white commissure
where do fibers carrying information about pain and temp sensation terminate?
nucleus of the spinal tract of cranial nerve V
which fibers convey sensory info in response to chemical, thermal, and mechanical stimuli - what evokes pain?
free nerve endings of unmyelinated C fibers and small diameter myelinated Alpha Delta fibers in the skin - intense stimulation = pain
how is pain in deep tissues evoked?
inflammatory conditions sensitize by bradykinin, prostaglandins, leukotriences released
dyesthesias
abnormal painful sensations - also called neuropathic pain that has a strange buring, tingling, or electric shocklike quality due to damage of pain pathways
how is proprioception and vibratory sense relayed?
receptors in muscles, tendons, joints relayed to spinal cord via large Aalpha and Abeta myelinated fibers and to the thalamus by the dorsal column-lemniscal system
what is often impaired with proprioception?
vibratory sense
what are the primary modalities of sensation?
touch, pain, temp, vibration
damage to sensory cortex or its projections from thalamus has preservation of what?
primary modalities of sensation
brown-sequard syndrome
loss of pain and temperature sensation on one side of the body and of proprioception on the opposite side occurs with lesions that involve one half of the cord on the side of the proprioceptive deficit
what happens in syringomyelia
enlargement of the central cervical canal causes loss of pain and temp sensation across the shoulders and upper arms (cape like)
what fibers do the optic tracts contain?
fibers from the same half of the visual FIELD of both eyes
where do the optic tracts terminate?
lateral geniculate nuclei of the thalamus
oculomotor nerve
III: innervates the ipsilateral medial, superior, and inferior rectus muscles and the inferior oblique muscles
also supplies the ipsilateral levator palpebrae which elevates teh eyelid
carries parasympathetic fibers taht mediate pupillary constriction
trochlear nerve
IV: supplies CONTRALATERAL superior oblique muscle
abducens nerve
VI: lateral rectus muscle of the same side
vertical gaze center
midbrain tegmentum
lateral gaze centers
pontine paramedian reticular formation
sends fibers to the neighboring ipsilateral abducens nucleus and via the medial longitudinal fasciculus, to teh contralateral ocularmotor nueluc (causing activation fo teh right lateral gaze center stimulating conjugate deviation of the eyes to the righ
what are slower eye movements involved in?
parieto-occipital gaze centers - stimulate conjugate gaze to teh side of the gaze center