Lecture: Cells and Neuroanatomy Flashcards
In what direction does information travel across a neuron?
From the cell body to the axon terminals
What is the analogy to remember for dendrites?
Trees
What color is myelin?
White
What are the three kinds of neurons anatomically?
Unipolar
Bipolar
Multipolar
Which type of anatomical neuron transmits information the fastest?
Unipolar
Where are bipolar neurons typically found?
Visual systems
What type of anatomical neuron has a single extension that branches into two directions to form a receptive pole and an output zone
unipolar neurons
What type of anatomical neuron has one axon and one dendrite
Bipolar neurons
What type of anatomical neuron has one axon and many dendrites
Multipolar neurons
What are the 4 functional zones of neurons?
Input
Integration
Conduction
Output
In which functional zone does a neuron collect and integrate information from the environment or other cells?
Input zone
In which functional zone does a neuron decide whether or not it will produce a neural signal?
Integration zone
In which functional zone does a neuron transmit information over great distances?
Conduction zone
In which functional zone does a neuron transfer information to other cells?
output zone
In which functional zone of a neuron are the dendrites located?
Input zone
In which functional zone of a neuron is the axon hillock located?
Integration zone
In which functional zone of a neuron is the axon located?
Conduction zone
In which functional zone of a neuron are the axon terminals located?
Output zone
What are the two types of brain cells?
Neurons and Glia
What are the three types of neurons?
Sensory neurons
Motoneurons (motor neurons)
Interneurons
What are the four types of glia?
Astrocytes
Oligodendrocytes
Ependymal cells
microglia
Which type of neuron receives sensory input?
Sensory neurons
What is another term for sensory neurons?
Afferent neurons
Which type of neuron integrates the sensory input once it is received?
Interneurons
Which types of neuron is responsible for the output of integrated sensory input?
Motor neurons
What is another term for motor neurons?
Efferent neurons
Where are sensory and motor neurons located?
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Where are interneurons located?
Central nervous system (CNS)
Which type of neurons respond to the environment, such as light, odor, and touch?
Sensory neurons
What is the most common type of neurons?
Motor neurons
Which type of neurons contact muscles or glands
Motor neurons
Which type of neurons receive input from other neurons and send it out to other neurons
Interneurons
Which type of glial cell is most numerous in the brain?
Astrocytes
Which type of glial cell fills spaces between neurons for support?
Astrocytes
Which type of glial cell provides the blood-brain barrier
Astrocytes
Which type of glial cell regulates composition of the extracellular space
Astrocytes
Which type of glial cell latches onto neurons?
Astrocytes
Which type of glial cell filters the outside world for neurons?
Astrocytes
Which type of glial cell is vital for keeping the neuron alive?
Astrocytes
Are Oligodendrocytes more or less vital than Astrocytes?
Less
Which type of glial cell wraps axons with myelin sheaths inside the brain and spinal cord?
Oligodendrocytes
Which type of glial cell makes myelin?
Oligodendrocytes
Which type of glial cell forms nodes of Ranvier
Oligodendrocytes
What are nodes of Ranvier?
Segments of myelin sheath where the axon membrane is exposed
What provides insulation for the axon?
Myelin
Which type of glial cell moves around and cleans up debris from dying neurons and glia?
Microglia
Which type of glial cell contains chemicals that can cause unintended injury?
Microglia
Which type of glial cell lines the ventricles?
Ependymal cells
Which type of glial cell secretes and absorbs cerebral spinal fluid?
Ependymal
What is CSF?
Cerebral spinal fluid
What characteristic of dendritic spines allows them to change their number and structure rapidly?
Neural plasticity
True or False?
Learning automatically changes neuron shape
True
True or False?
Neurons can lose dendric spines depending on activity level
True
True or False?
Dendrites cannot grow or shrink branches
False
How is the signal in a neuron transferred across the synapses?
It is transformed from an electrical signal,
to a chemical signal (release of neurotransmitters at axon terminal triggered),
to a molecular signal (neurotransmitters bind to postsynaptic neurons membrane),
then back to an electrical signal
What do mitochondria do for neurons?
Provide power
What structure does information flow into after crossing the synapses?
Dendritic spines
What is the central nervous system comprised of?
Brain and spinal cord
What is the peripheral nervous system comprised of?
Cranial and spinal nerves
Which autonomic nervous system prepares the body for action in instances of danger?
Sympathetic nervous system
Does the sympathetic nervous system turn each mechanism on one at a time or all at once?
All at once
Does the Parasympathetic or Sympathetic nervous system cost more energy?
Sympathetic
How is stress relate to the sympathetic nervous system
It occurs when the system is activated too much
Which autonomic nervous system allows the body to rest and digest after danger has passed?
Parasympathetic nervous system
Does the parasympathetic nervous system turn things off one at a time or all at once?
One at a time
Afferent definition
Carries impulses into the region of interest (sensory)
Efferent definition
Carries impulses away from a region of interest (motor)
Which view separates the brain from front to back?
Coronal
True or False?
The coronal view of the brain shouldn’t be symmetrical
False
Which view slices the brain down the middle, between the eyes?
Sagittal
Which view separates the brain from top to bottom?
Horizontal
True or False?
The white and gray matter in the brain are made up of the same types of cells, just different parts
True
Which type of matter in the brain is composed of myelin sheaths?
White matter
Which functional zone of the neuron is located within the white matter of the brain?
Conduction zone
Which type of matter in the brain is composed of clusters of neuron cell bodies?
Gray matter
Which type of matter in the brain is affected by multiple scerlosis?
White matter
Which type of matter in the brain is affected by Alzheimer’s?
Gray matter
True or False?
Different diseases affect different types of matter?
True
Did the brain evolve from spinal cord to cortex or cortex to spinal cord?
Spinal cord to cortex
True or False?
The brain evolved one layer at a time, working outwards?
True
True or False?
Each layer of the brain has an independent function system, due to the system it evolved in?
True
Which region of the brain is considered the “base” of the brain
Basal Ganglia
Which region of the brain is responsible for movement control
Basal Ganglia
What was the first region of the brain to evolve?
Basal Ganglia
Which part of the brain allowed for voluntary movement when it evolved?
Basal Ganglia
Which region of the brain evolved after the Basal Ganglia and is wrapped around it?
Limbic system
Which region of the brain is responsible for emotional memory and regulation
Limbic system
Which region of the brain is responsible for motor coordination and learning?
Cerebellum
What is the Latin term for cerebellum
Little brain
What region of the brain is considered a small version of the brain?
Cerebellum
Which region of the brain is responsible for waking you up from sleep ad preventing coma?
Midbrain
What region is the midbrain a part of?
Reticular formation
What region of the brain is responsible for sleep and arousal, as well as body temperature
Reticular formation
What is the term for the structures that wrap the brain?
Meninges
What is the outermost layer of the Meninges?
Dura matter
What is the role of the dura matter?
Protects the brain
What is the region of the Meninges below the dura matter?
Subdural space
Which region of the meninges has the potential to fill with blood?
Subdural space
Which region of the meninges is below the Subdural space?
Arachnoid membrane
What is the analogy for the arachnoid membrane?
Spider legs
What does dura mean in Latin?
Hard
What region of the meninges is below the arachnoid membrane?
subarachnoid space
Which region of the meninges is below the subarachnoid space?
Pia matter
What is the analogy for Pia matter?
Piano = soft
Which region of the meninges touches the brain and is 1-2 cells thick?
Pia matter
Which region of the meninges provides a moist enclosure for the brain?
Pia matter
True or false?
It is abnormal for the brain to pulse.
False
What causes the brain to pulse?
The heart beats, forcing blood to the head which makes the brain swell, then the blood drains through the venous system and collapses
`What are the water filled spaces inside the brain called?
Ventricles
True or False?
The ventricles work to prevent Alzheimer’s
True
What do the ventricles make?
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
What substance comes from the ventricles and works to surround and cushion the brain?
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
True or False?
CSF is produced inside the brain, circulates, then exits the brain.
True
What is it called when the draining of CSF from the brain gets backed up?
Hydrocephalus
What does the Choroid Plexus produce?
CSF
What layer of the meninges does CSF leave the brain through?
Subarachnoid
Which region of the meninges is filled with CSF?
Subarachnoid
True or False?
The speed of CSF flow varies greatly depending on what an individual is doing.
False. It remains almost constant
What is used to treat Hydrocephalus?
A shunt
How does a shunt work to treat Hydrocephalus?
Put a straw in the brain that allows for the fluid to squirt out. Liquid is directed to go under the skin and drip into the body
How many layers does the Cerebral cortex have?
6
True or False?
All parts of the Cerebral cortex have 6 layers.
False, some older areas only have 4
What does CT stand for?
Computerized axial tomography
What brain imaging technique uses xray absorption to show tissue density?
CT
In a CT, how does the density of tissue translate to the immage?
Denser tissue=whiter image
Is asymmetry in a CT normal or abnormal?
Abnormal
Which brain imaging technique involves a computer taking a flurry of x-ray images circling around the head then combining them into one single image?
CT
What does MRI stand for?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
How many steps are there in an MRI?
3
How is the image in an MRI formed?
Strong magnets are used to cause protons in the brain to emit radio waves
Some parts of the brain throw energy back better than others.
What does PET stand for?
Positron Emission Tomography
Which brain imaging technique involves the injection of radioactive chemicals to map their destination by their emissions?
PET
Why can PET scans be controversial?
Some individuals do not want to be injected by radioactive chemicals
Are PET scans widely useful in the clinical context?
No
What is the only thing PET scans can be used for in the clinical context?
Look for cancer cells
What brain imaging technique is used to identify which brain region contributes to specific functions?
PET
True or false?
PET scans have good spatial resolution
False
What is observed in PET scans of patients with Alzheimer’s disease?
Less activity in the temporal lobes
Can PET scans be used to diagnose Alzheime’s?
No
What does fMRI stand for?
Functional MRI
What do functional MRIs image?
brain activity
Which imaging technique detects changes in brain metabolism, like oxygen use, in active brain areas?
fMRI
Which brain imaging technique shows how networks of brain structures collaborate?
fMRI
What is the approximate resolution of fMRIs?
4mm
Which brain imaging technique images the axons of neurons, showing brain connections?
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
What do blue regions represent in Diffusion Tensor Imaging?
Ascending or descending axons
What do red regions represent in Diffusion Tensor Imaging?
Axons from projecting from side to side
What do green regions represent in Diffusion Tensor Imaging?
Axons projecting front to back
What is the Soma?
Cell body
Where in a neuron is DNA in chromosomes, mRNA transcribed from DNA, and gene expression
Nucleus
True or False?
DNA is activated to make new dendrite spines
True
What are the arrays of membranes with ribosomes in the cell body?
Rough endoplasmic rheticulum
Where is the site of protein synthesis for membrane-associated proteins in the cell body?
Rough endoplasmic rheticulum
What structure in the cell body regulates cytoplasm?
Smooth endoplasmic rheticulum
What structure in the cell body consists of stacks of flat membrane compartments and packages products for shipments in the cell
Golgi Apparatus
What is the lipid bilayer that surrounds the cell and separates cytoplasm from extracellular fluid?
Neuron membrane
What are the receptors and ion channels that give neurons the necessary properties for signaling?
Intrinsic membrane proteins
True or false?
Membrane proteins are usually closed but can be opened by drugs such as coke, alcohol, and antianxiety meds
True
What is the role of the cytoskeleton?
Holds the cell together
What is the term for the “railroad track” that transmits neurotransmitters from the cell body to the axon terminals?
Microtubule
How thick are microtubules?
20nm
What are microtubules made of?
Spirals of tubulin
What are the 10nm twisted cables that function as static support structures?
Neurofilaments
How do microtubules make material from the soma to terminals?
Anterograde transport using kinesin as the enabling protein
How is material moved from the terminals to the soma?
Retrograde transport via dynein as the enabling protein
True or False?
The kinesin cannot move across the cell if the microtubule breaks
True
True or False?
Larger neurons have more complex inputs and outputs
True
True or False?
Larger neurons can spread from the brain to spinal cord.
True
True or false?
Neuron size does not dictate the speed in which information is conveyed.
False
Large neurons convey information more rapidly
