Lecture 5- Neurocytology 1

Question 1

What are Nissl bodies?

Answer 1

Rough ER

Question 2

What are the cells called that line the ventricles?

Answer 2

ependymal cells

Question 3

What is a set back of the Nissal staining technique?

Answer 3

Doesn’t show axon/dendrites and cell connections very well

Question 4

Which staining technique is useful for cell counting?

Answer 4

Nissl stain

Question 5

What parts of the cell does the Nissl cell stain?

Answer 5

Cell body and proximal dendrites

-especially the nucelolus and nucleus

Question 6

Which staining technique would be most useful in determining the course of bundles of axons?

Answer 6

myelin stain

Question 7

Which staining technique reveals fibrillar components of the neuron?

Answer 7

silver stain

Question 8

What is advantageous about the Golgi stain?

Answer 8

shows only about 3-5% of the cells but those that are stained should the axons and dendrites

Question 9

What is a limit of electron microscopy?

Answer 9

thinness of the section (brain tissue is hard to cut)

Question 10

Does an active cell appear lighter or darker on a Golgi stain?

Answer 10

lighter-DNA uncoiled-active transcription

Question 11

How do LESS active cells appear in a Golgi stain?

Answer 11

darker

Question 12

What is the name of the MAP (microtubule associated protein) that has been found to be modified in Alzheimer’s disease neurons?

Answer 12

Tau

Question 13

What causes neurofibrallary tangles seen as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease?

Answer 13

hyperphosphorylation of the tau (MAP) protein

Question 14

Can axons be visualized on a nissl stain?

Answer 14

no, just cell bodies and proximal dendrites

Question 15

What parts of the neuron contain rough ER and free ribosomes?

Answer 15

Cell Body and proximal dendrites (NOT AXONS)- think of what stains in Nissl

Question 16

What cells myelin ate neurons of the CNS?

Answer 16

oligodendrocytes

Question 17

What are the four characteristics of an asymmetric synapse?

Answer 17

Wide clefts
Excitatory
Asymetric density of the pre/post synaptic membranes
Round vesicles

Question 18

What are the four characteristics of the symmetric synapse?

Answer 18

Pleomorphic vesicles
Inhibitory
Narrow cleft
Symmetric density of the pre and post synaptic membrane

Question 19

What is anterograde transport?

Answer 19

from the cell body to other parts of the cell

Question 20

What motor proteins mediate anterograde transport?

Answer 20

kinesin

Question 21

What motor protein mediates retrograde (towards the cell body) transport?

Answer 21

dynein

Question 22

What virus takes advantage of retrograde transport to invade the neuron?

Answer 22

rabies

Question 23

What is the most numerous classification of neuron in the body?

Answer 23

multipolar neuron

Question 24

Where are unipolar neurons found?

Answer 24

senory ganglia (dorsal root ganglion, sensory ganglia)

Question 25

Intracellular filling stains all parts of the neuron, what is the downside to this process?

Answer 25

you can only fill one neuron at a time