Lec5: Brain Development 4 Flashcards
What is the relationship between different intensities of exercise and neurogenesis?
- Short = Mild BRDV cell development
- Long = Lots of BRDV cell development
- Extended = Little BRDV cell development
What is the relationship between different intensities of exercise and neurogenesis?
- Short = Mild BRDV cell development
- Long = Lots of BRDV cell development
- Extended = Little BRDV cell development
Why does extended exercise have the least BRDV development despite the the positive relationship between exercise and neurogenesis?
Corticosteroids (stress hormones) are helpful to condition the body in mild doses, but excessive production decreases brain cell proliferation.
How is the amount of brain cell proliferation “tested” in mice in a lab? Draw an accompanying diagram.
Measuring spatial memory (ie. how well the mice can look for subtle cues in the room).
Intially, took all mice about 2 minutes to reach platform.
Then after being put through different levels of exercise, they were made to find the platform again:
1. Long = 15 seconds
2. Extended = 1-2 minutes, maybe even more
What sorts of leisure activity improve brain health and how long is it recommended that a person does each?
- Physical exercise
- Cognitive exercise
- Social interaction - creates thicker synapses which house new memories
Perform these 30 minutes, 3 times per week.
What are the two factors responsible for brain damage in Alzheimer’s and describe how each works.
- Neurofibrillary tangles: stiffened cell interior (no loner transport substances)
- Amyloid plaques: Targets hippocampus and are especially toxic to younger cells (so severely decreases new brain cell development).
What factor is responsible for brain damage in Parkinson’s disease, and state where it is produced and describe how it works.
Alpha synuclein - Produced in Substantia Nigra and destroys dopamine-producing cells.
What is strange about the way that Huntington’s Disease affects the brain?
Induces a regenerative response (similar to like skin being cut) that actually increases brain cell proliferation.
Why is the “motorway” from the subventricular zone to the olfactory bulb clinically significant?
Amyloid plaques target the olfactory bulb first (before they reach temporal lobe and substantia nigra), so if scientists can design a method of targeting the development of brain diseases in the olfactory bulb, they can treat patients before irreversible damage has been done (ie. once the disease spreads into the other brain regions).
