midterm 2 Flashcards
what is in the central nervous system?
brain and spinal cord
what does gray matter consist of?
unmyelinated somas, dendrites and axons- sensory and motor nuclei
what does white matter consist of?
myelinated axons that carry info to and from the brain
function of the spinal cord?
major pathways for info flowing between brain and skin, joint and muscles
dorsal root function?
carries sensory info to CNS
ventral root function
carries motor info to muscles and glands
what are the 4 regions of the spinal cord?
cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral
nuclei?
clusters of cell bodies in CNS
ganglia?
clusters of cell bodies in PNS
what is a spinal reflex?
initiated a response without input from the brain
stimulus > sensory info > integrating center > command to muscles > response
how do chemical and electrical signals in neurons lead to complex behaviours?
individual neurons reductionist > groups of neurons (circuits, pathways, networks) > complex behaviour
what are the 4 major regions of the brain stem?
midbrain (eye movement), pons (relay station between cerebrum and cerebellum, coordination of breathing), medulla (control of involuntary functions), reticular formation (arousal, sleep, muscle tone, pain modulation)
what is the brainstorm made up of?
11-12 cranial nerves (carry sensory and motor info for head and neck) and many nuclei
what does the medulla contain and it’s function?
white matter (ascending somatosensory tracts and descending corticospinal tracts- crossover at the pyramids) controls involuntary functioning in the cardiovascular center and the medullary respiratory center - vomiting, swallowing (deglutition), coughing, sneezing, hiccuping
pons - contents and function
contains nuclei and tracts, relays info between cerebrum and cerebellum, assists the medulla in the coordination of breathing
midbrain contents and function
junction between nuclei and tracts, contains the substantia nigra, controls eye movement, relays auditory and visual reflexes in response to stimuli
what is the reticular formation and function?
extends throughout the brain stem (small clusters of neuronal cell bodies interspersed among ascending and descending tracts) important in consciousness, arousal, attention and alertness. reticular activating system sends sensory info to cortex, RAS inactivated during sleep, damage can induce coma, regulates muscle tone, assists in vital functions
cerebellum contents and function
second largest brain structure (2 cerebellar hemispheres), process sensory info and coordinates the execution of movement, sends feedback signals to motor areas of the cerebral cortex via its connection to the thalamus helping to correct and errors and smooth the movements, regulates posture and balance
diencephalon contents
lies between brain stem and cerebrum, 2 primary structures (thalamus and hypothalamus), 2 endocrine structures (pineal gland and pituitary)
thalamus functions
relay center: relieves sensory info from optic tract, ears, spinal cord and motor info from cerebellum and projects info to cerebrum for processing
pineal gland function
cyclically releases melatonin involved in sleep/wake
hypothalamus function
center for homeostasis, influences autonomic and endocrine function, helps maintain blood glucose concentrations, maintains body temp, controls body osmolarity, stimulates shivering/sweating, controls reproductive functions, controls food intake, influences behaviour/emotions, release of hormones
pituitary contents
endocrine output of the hypothalamus, posterior pituitary is neural tissue, anterior pituitary is endocrine tissue, infundibulum is the stalk that connects the pituitary to the brain
posterior pituitary function
an extension of the brain that secretes neurohormones made in the hypothalamus.
neurohormone is made and packaged in cell body of neuron > vesicles are transported down the cell > vesicles containing neurohormones are stored in posterior pituitary > neurohormones are released into blood
cerebrum contents
largest part of the brain, gray matter(cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system), area of higher processing, 2 hemispheres divided into 4 lives connected by corpus callosum
basal ganglia (nuclei) contents and function
made of 3 nuclei (globus pallidus, putamen, caudate nucleus) regulates the initiation and termination of movement, receives input from cerebral cortex and provides output to motor portions of the cortex
limbic system contents and function
“emotional brain” 3 components (cingulate gyrus- emotion, amygdala- emotion and memory, hippocampus- leading and memory) plays a role in pain, pleasure, docility, affection, anger, learning and memory
cerebral cortex contents and function
outermost later if the cerebrum, integrating center for CNS, 3 specializations- sensory areas (translate sensory input), motor areas (direct skeletal muscle movement), association areas (integrate info from sensory and motor areas and help direct voluntary behaviours
frontal lobe function
primary motor cortex, motor association area (premotor cortex) > skeletal muscle movement, prefrontal association area
parietal lobe function
primary somatic sensory cortex, sensory association area
occipital lobe function
visual association area, visual cortex > vision
temporal lobe function
auditory cortex, auditor association area > hearing
gustatory cortex function
taste
olfactory cortex function
smell
what are the conscious special senses?
vision, hearing, taste, smell, equilibrium
what are the conscious somatic senses?
touch, temp, pain, itch, proprioception
what are the subconscious somatic stimuli?
muscle length and tension, proprioception
what are the subconscious visceral stimuli?
blood pressure, distension of gastrointestinal tract, blood glucose concentration, internal body temp, osmolarity of body fluids, lung inflation, pH of cerebrospinal fluid, pH and oxygen content of blood
function of sensory systems
a sensory neuron with a transducer (receptor) that coverts a physical stimulus into an intracellular signal (change in membrane potential) usually through the opening or closing of gated channels
chemoreceptors stimuli and receptor potentials
stimuli: oxygen, pH, various organic molecules such as glucose
senses: blood chemoreceptors, nociceptors, hypothalamic glucose sensing neurons, taste, smell
mechanoreceptors stimuli and receptor potentials
stimuli: pressure, cell stretch, vibration, acceleration, sound
senses: touch, proprioceptors, nociceptors, auditory, balance
photoreceptors stimulus and receptor potential
stimulus: photons of light
sense: vision
thermoreceptors stimulus and receptor potentials
stimulus: varying degrees of heat
receptors: thermal receptors, nociceptors
physical stimuli are transducer into receptor potentials (graded potentials) once they reach threshold what do they induce?
action potentials
where is almost all special and somatic sensory info routed?
through the thalamus
how do somatosensory neurons bring info the the CNS? (steps)
pain, temp, and touch cross the midline in the spinal cord > fine touch, vibration, and proprioception pathways cross the midline in the medulla > sensory pathways synapse in the thalamus > sensations are perceived in the primary somatic sensory cortex
how does the CNS integrate sensory info? (steps)
olfactory pathways from the nose project through the olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex > most sensory pathways project to the thalamus which modified and relays info to cortical centers > equilibrium pathways project primarily to the cerebellum
how does the CNS distinguish modality?
the physical stimuli being sensed, determined by the sensory receptor being activated, temp vs touch receptor and where the pathways terminate in the brain
how does the CNS distinguish the location of stimulus?
coded according to which receptive fields are being activated, most sensory stimuli for specific regions of the body are projected to particular areas of the somatosensory cortex
how does the CNS distinguish intensity and duration of stimulus?
- intensity is determined by the number of receptors being activated (population coding) and the frequency of action potentials coming from those receptors (frequency coding)
- duration of a stimulus is determined by how long APs are being activated
why can’t intensity be determined by amplitude?
because AP amplitude is constant
what are tonic receptors?
slowly adapting receptors that respond for the duration of a stimulus
what are physic receptors?
rapidly adapt to a constant stimulus and turn off
what does duration of a stimulus depend on?
how long APs are being activated, receptor adaptation, characteristics of the channel or pathway generating the receptor potential ex. a Na+ channel that quickly inactivates
autonomic nervous system functions and divisions
involuntary control of smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, many glands and some adipose tissue
subdivided: sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest)
how and why are autonomic reflexes important for homeostasis?
the autonomic nervous system works closely with the endocrine system and behavioural systems to maintain homeostasis
the hypothalamus, pons, and medulla initiate autonomic, endocrine, and behavioural responses
what are the 2 efferent neurons in series in autonomic pathways?
preganionic neuron (1) and postganglionic neuron (8 or 9)
sympathetic branches contents
ganglia found in 2 ganglia chains running along the vertebral column, preganglionic neurons originate in thoracic and lumbar regions, short preganglionic, long postganglionic neurons
parasympathetic branches contents
preganglionic neurons originate in the brain stem and exit via cranial nerves or from the sacral region of the spinal cord, ganglia located on or near their target organs, long preganglionic, short postganglionic, cranial nerve (vagus) contains 75% of all parasympathetic neurons
sympathetic pathways use what chemical signals?
acetylcholine and norepinephrine
parasympathetic pathways use what chemical signals?
acetylcholine
adrenal medulla contents and function
secretes catecholamines, specialized neuroendocrine structure associated with the sympathetic nervous system, contain chromatic cells which are modified postganglionic neurons
what do autonomic pathways do?
target smooth and cardiac muscle, many exocrine glands, few endocrine glands, lymphoid tissue and some adipose tissue
where are autonomic neurotransmitters synthesized?
in the axon, acetylcholine and norepinephrine can be synthesized in the varicosities
autonomic neurotransmitter synthesized steps
AP arrived at the varicosity > depolarization opens voltage gated Ca2+ channels > Ca2+ entry triggers exocytosis of synaptic vesicles > NE binds to adrenergic receptor in target > receptor activation ceases when NE diffuse away from the synapse > NE is removed from synapse > NE can be taken back into synaptic vesicles for re release > NE is metabolized by MAO
how is ACh made? (steps)
acetylcholine is made from choline and acteyl CoA > in synaptic cleft ACh is rapidly broken down by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase > choline is transported back into the axon terminal by cotransport with Na+ > recycled choline is used to make more ACh
what are sympathetic adrenergic (NE and E) receptors made of and their 2 categories?
all g- protein coupled receptors (metabotropic receptors), 2 main categories Alpha (most common) and Beta
what happens when g-protein coupled receptors interact with ion channels?
can lead to opening or closing of a channel depending on g-protein
what happens when g-protein coupled receptors interact with a membrane bound enzyme?
phospholipase C signal transduction pathway > increase in intracellular Ca2+ mediates a cellular response, PKC can also mediate a cellular response
adenylyl cyclades signal transduction pathway > PKA phosphorylation proteins to cause a cellular response
what kind of movement are skeletal muscles?
primarily voluntary by somatic neurons
multinucleated
what kind of movement are cardiac muscles?
primarily involuntary, spontaneous electrical activity
can be altered by autonomic NS, hormones
what kind of movement are smooth muscles and what do they control?
primarily involuntary, autonomic control, spontaneous, hormones, paracrines or autocrines
controls digestive tract, urinary tract, reproductive tract, blood vessels, airways
how is skeletal muscle attached?
to bones by tendons
skeletal muscle origin
closest to the trunk or to more stationary bone
skeletal muscle insertion
more distal or more mobile attachment
what does the flexor do in skeletal muscle?
moves bones closer together
what does the extensor do in the skeletal muscle?
moves bones away from each other
how much of your total body weight is skeletal muscle?
40%
what are these general terms called as muscles?
1) muscle cell
2) cell membrane
3) cytoplasm
4) modified endoplasmic reticulum
1) muscle diver
2) sarcolemma
3) sarcoplasm
4) sarcoplasmic reticulum
what is the F-actin?
back bone of thin filaments, double stranded alpha helical polymer of G-actin molecules. contains binding site for thick filaments (myosin)
what is tropomyosin?
2 identical alpha helictites that coil around each other and sit in the two grooves formed by actin strands, regulates the binding of myosin to actin
what is the troponin complex? (thin filaments)
heterotrimer consisting of troponin T (binds to a single molecule of tropomyosin), troponin C (Ca2+ binding site), troponin I (under resting conditions is bound to actin inhibiting contraction)
what are thick filaments made of?
consist of a bundle of myosin molecules, each heavy chain contains 2 light chains
what does the myosin head do in thick filaments?
contains a region for binding actin as well as a site for binding and hydrolyzing ATP
what does regulatory light and essential light do in thick filaments?
regulatory light chain regulates ATPase activity of myosin
essential light chain stabilizes myosin head
what is titin?
a large protein extending from M line to Z line, appears to be involved in stabilization and the elastic recoil behaviour of muscle
what is nebulin?
a large protein that wraps around the thin filament believed to regulate the length of filaments and contribute to the structural integrity of myofibrils
what is the Z disk? (sarcomere)
zigzag protein structure that is the attachment site for the thin filaments
what are I bands? (sarcomere)
lightest band of sarcomere, region occupied only by thin filaments
what is the A band?
darkest band of sarcomere, encompasses entire length of the thick filament including very dark area where thin and thick filaments overlap
what is the H zone?
central region of A band, consists only of thick filaments
what is the M line?
proteins form attachment site for thick filaments, equivalent to Z disk for thin filaments
where and how is glucose stored in muscle fibre?
stored as glycogen within the sarcoplasm
what is the force generated by a contracting skeletal muscle called?
muscle tension
what is the neuromuscular junction?
point of synaptic contact between somatic motor neuron and individual muscle fibre
what is the excitation-contraction coupling?
an action potential initiated in the skeletal muscle fibre results in an increase in intracellular (sarcoplasmic) Ca2+
which brain regions are involved in voluntary movement?
premotor cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, midbrain, cerebellum