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Science for Medicine > Nerves > Flashcards

Nerves Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is the nervous system composed of?

A

Brain
Spinal cord
Peripheral nerves

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2
Q

What composes the central nervous system?

A

Brain and spinal cord.

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3
Q

What composes the peripheral nervous system?

A

Peripheral nerves.

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4
Q

What does the somatic nervous system control?

A

Conscious activity.

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5
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system control?

A

Unconscious activity- divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

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6
Q

What are the divisions of the autonomic nervous system?

A

Sympathetic
Parasympathetic
Enteric

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7
Q

What does the sympathetic nervous system control?

A

Flight / fight response.

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8
Q

What does the parasympathetic nervous system control?

A

Rest / digest response.

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9
Q

What does the enteric nervous system control?

A

Intrinsic gut motility.

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10
Q

What are the meninges?

A

Layers of connective tissue lining the brain and the spinal cord. (dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater).

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11
Q

What are the functions of the gyrus / sulcus?

A

Provide the folded appearance of the brain.

Gyrus = ridges, Sulcus = depressions/furrows

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12
Q

What is the function of the gyrus?

A

Ridges within folded appearance.

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13
Q

What is the function of the sulcus?

A

Depressions/furrows within folded appearance.

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14
Q

What is the cerebrum?

A

Mass of the brain.

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15
Q

What is in the cerebrum?

A

Frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe.

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16
Q

What is the diencephalon composed of?

A

Thalmus

Hypothalamus

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17
Q

What is the function of the thalamus?

A

Final relay of sensory signals to the cerebral cortex.

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18
Q

What is the function of the hypothalamus?

A

Homeostatic control; hormone production.

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19
Q

What is the brainstem composed of?

A

Midbrain
Pons
Medulla obligata

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20
Q

What is the function of the midbrain?

A

Motor movement; visual/auditory processing.

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21
Q

What is the function of the pons?

A

Contain nuclei for signal relay.

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22
Q

What is the function of the medulla obligata?

A

Regulates subconscious breathing / heart rate / breathing etc.

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23
Q

What is the structure of the spinal cord?

A

31 pairs of spinal nerves, 12 cranial

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24
Q

How many pairs of spinal nerves are there?

A

31

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25
Q

How many pairs of cranial nerves are there?

A

12

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26
Q

What is the grey matter in a spinal cord?

A

Contains the cell bodies, dendrites and axon terminals of neurones, so it is where all synapses occur.

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27
Q

What is the white matter in a spinal cord?

A

Consists of axons connecting different parts of grey matter to each other.

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28
Q

Do synapses occur in the grey matter or the white matter?

A

Grey matter- location of cell bodies, dendrites and axon terminals.

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29
Q

What is the function of the dorsal horn in the spinal cord?

A

Afferent sensory signals are taken through the dorsal root ganglion going TOWARDS the spinal cord.

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30
Q

What is the function of the ventral horn in the spinal cord?

A

Ventral motor signals are taken through the ventral root ganglion going AWAY from the spinal cord.

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31
Q

What are afferent signals?

A

Sensory.

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32
Q

What are efferent signals?

A

Motor (eff = effect).

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33
Q

What are interneurones?

A

Interneurones exist in between dorsal/ventral routes to make sense of information- they control some information but just within the small spinal cord circuit.

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34
Q

Where do interneurones exist?

A

In between dorsal/ventral routes.

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35
Q

What are spinal tracts?

A

Spinal tracts are located in the white matter and they transfer information to the brain; some are sensory and control whether a motor response is necessary.

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36
Q

Where do spinal tracts exist?

A

White matter.

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37
Q

What are the parts of a neurone/nerve cell?

A

Cell body (soma)
Dendrites
Initial segment (axon hillock)
Axon terminals

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38
Q

What is the cell body of a neurone called?

A

Soma.

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39
Q

What is the function of the cell body (soma)?

A

Contains nucleus; protein synthesis.

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40
Q

What is the function of dendrites?

A

Receive incoming sensory information.

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41
Q

What is the initial segment also called?

A

Axon hillock.

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42
Q

What is the function of the initial segment?

A

Has machinery to fire an action potential. Evaluates whether or not this is required.

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43
Q

What is the function of the axon terminals?

A

Presynaptic area which releases a neurotransmitter when needed for continuation of the neural impulse.

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44
Q

What are glial cells?

A

Glial cells are neural cells that surround neurones and provide support and shape around them.

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45
Q

What are the types of glial cell?

A

Oligodendrocyte- produces the myelin sheath
Astrocyte- keeps neurones happy by maintaining the blood/brain barrier and keeping ion concentration to an optimum
Microglia- phagocytotic hoovers which clean up infection

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46
Q

What do oligodendrocytes do?

A

Produce the myelin sheath.

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47
Q

What do astrocytes do?

A

Maintain the blood brain barrier at optimum levels of ion concentration in order to keep neurones happy.

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48
Q

What do microglia do?

A

Act as phagocytotic hoovers to clean up infection in the nervous system.

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49
Q

What do neurones exist to do?

A

Send electrical impulses.

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50
Q

What do action potentials do?

A

Send electrical impulses over long distances.

51
Q

What do graded potentials do?

A

Decide whether or not an action potential should be fired.

52
Q

What does the resting potential do?

A

Maintains the cell ands keeps it ready to respond.

53
Q

What is the usual resting potential of a cell?

A

-70mV

54
Q

Is the resting potential of a cell usually negative or positive?

A

Negative.

55
Q

What maintains the negative resting potential of a cell?

A

Leaky potassium channels
NaKATPase action
Negative intracellular proteins

56
Q

How do leaky intracellular channels help maintain the negative resting potential of a cell?

A

Potassium (K+) ions leak out of the cell down a concentration gradients. This creates an opposite but equal electrical gradient.

57
Q

How does NaKATPase action maintain the negative resting potential of the cell?

A

Transporter protein NaKATPase uses ATP hydrolysis to pump 3 sodium ions out of the cell and 2 potassium ones in (only 2+ whereas 3- each time) therefore the unbalanced ratio results in a subsequent negative intracellular charge.

58
Q

How do negative intracellular proteins help maintain the negative resting potential of a cell?

A

Maintain a negative charge within the intracellular base.

59
Q

What is the concentration gradient related to potassium?

A

High in cell, low outside cell.

60
Q

What is the concentration gradient related to sodium?

A

Low in cell, high outside cell.

61
Q

What is the concentration gradient related to chlorine?

A

Low in cell, high outside cell (although opposite -ve)

62
Q

What is the concentration gradient related to calcium?

A

Low in cell, high outside cell.

63
Q

What does the graded potential do?

A

Determines the threshold for an action potential.

64
Q

What are the 4 examples of graded potentials?

A 
Generator potentials (sensory receptors)
Postsynaptic potentials (synapses)
Endplate potentials (NMJ)
Pacemaker potentials (cardiac tissue)
65
Q

What are the 4 properties of graded potentials?

A

Decremental
Graded
Depolarising / hyperpolarising
Summation

66
Q

Why are graded potentials decremental?

A

Act as a leaky hose- neural charge reduces as it travels across. Only useful when travelling short distances.

67
Q

Why are graded potentials graded?

A

Depolarisation caused is based on the magnitude of the initial stimulus- therefore the amplitude of the graded potential will correspond to the stimulus intensity.

68
Q

Why are graded potentials depolarising / hyperpolarising?

A

Firing an action potential depends on activation of a threshold- graded potentials will excite or inhibit this. Neurotransmitters can be excitatory or inhibitory.

69
Q

What is an EPSP?

A

Excitatory postsynaptic potential.

70
Q

What is an IPSP?

A

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential.

71
Q

How does summation apply to graded potentials?

A

Graded potentials can add together if individually small to evoke an action potential.

72
Q

What is synaptic integration?

A

Synaptic integration occurs when the input of various graded potentials integrates to form an action potential.

73
Q

What is temporal summation?

A

When two of the same potentials summate.

B + B

74
Q

What is spatial summation?

A

When two different potentials summate.

A + B

75
Q

Which summative graded potentials take priority?

A

Those closer to the axon hillock / initial segment.

76
Q

What are action potentials mediated by?

A

Voltage-gated channels.

77
Q

What are action potentials subject to?

A

The threshold given by graded potentials.

78
Q

Are action potentials self-propogating?

A

Yes.

79
Q

What does the self-propogating nature of action potentials mean?

A

Means there is a propagated spread of depolarisation across various neurones.

80
Q

Are action potentials all-or-none?

A

Yes.

81
Q

Why are action potentials all-or-none?

A

There is always a full movement otherwise there is none.

82
Q

Do action potentials have a refractory period?

A

Yes.

83
Q

What does the refractory period allow within action potentials?

A

No backwards movement.

84
Q

At what speed do action potentials travel?

A

Travel slowly- improved through myelination and increasing the size of axon fibres.

85
Q

What can increase the speed of action potentials?

A

Myelination

Increasing the size of axon fibres

86
Q

What is myelination?

A

Neural insulation.

87
Q

How is the peripheral nervous system myelinated?

A

Schwann cells form myelin sheath by wrapping themselves around axons to insulate and prevent leakage of neural impulse.

88
Q

How is the central nervous system myelinated?

A

Oligodendrocytes.

89
Q

What are microscopic gaps found within myelinated axons called?

A

Nodes of Ravier.

90
Q

What are nodes of Ravier?

A

Microscopic gaps found within myelinated axons.

91
Q

What does demyelination do?

A

Can lead to leakage of neural impulse.

92
Q

What conditions does demyelination cause?

A

Autoimmune disease- including multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disorder.

93
Q

What is a compound action potential?

A

There are small/large myelinated and non-myelinated axons. A bundle of these axons can evoke a compound action potential which correlates to an altered speed and function.

94
Q

What does a compound action potential correlate to?

A

Altered speed and function.

95
Q

What is an example of a simple synapse?

A

Neuromuscular junction.

96
Q

What is the neuromuscular junction?

A

Simple synapse between synapses of motor neurones and muscle cells/

97
Q

Where do NMJ synapses occur?

A

Between the synapses of motor neurones and muscle cells.

98
Q

Where do non-NMJ synapses occur?

A

Central nervous system- between neurones and the next cell.

99
Q

What is the function of the neuromuscular junction?

A

To pass on the neural signal from a motor neurone to a muscle cell where a musculoskeletal response can be generated.

100
Q

What does the neuromuscular junction result in?

A

Musculoskeletal response.

101
Q

What is the first stage of the neuromuscular junction?

A

The action potential across the motor neurone triggers the opening of voltage-gate Ca2+ channels. This triggers the fusion of synaptic vesicles.

102
Q

What happens after the fusion of the synaptic vesicles in the neuromuscular junction?

A

Following fusion of synaptic vesicles, the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine is released, which travels across the synaptic cleft and binds to ACh nicotinic receptors. This opens ligand-gated Na+/K+ channels which allows the entry of sodium.

103
Q

What receptors does acetylcholine bind to in the NMJ?

A

Nicotinic ACh receptors.

104
Q

What does Ash binding to nicotinic receptors allow?

A

Opening of ligand-gated Na+/K+ channels which allow the entry of sodium.

105
Q

What happens after the entry of sodium?

A

Evokes a graded (local) potential called the END PLATE POTENTIAL. This always depolarises the adjacent membrane to the threshold required for action potential generation.

106
Q

What is the end plate potential an example of?

A

Graded (local) potential.

107
Q

Does the endplate potential always depolarise the adjacent membrane to the AP threshold?

A

Yes.

108
Q

What happens after AP threshold is reached?

A

Voltage-gated Na+ channels are opened which evokes a new action potential which propagates to allow musculoskeletal response.

109
Q

How is acetylcholine removed?

A

Degradation by acetylcholinesterase.

110
Q

What does acetylcholinesterase do?

A

Removes acetylcholine through degradation.

111
Q

How does the general basis of the NMJ relate to that of the CNS synapse?

A

Same mechanism, however CNS synapses are more complex.

112
Q

What synapses are more complex?

A

CNS synapses.

113
Q

How do neurotransmitters differ in CNS synapses compared to NMJ?

A

Range of neurotransmitters, each with different receptors- ACh, noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, histamine, glutamate, GABA, glycine, peptides, ATP etc)

114
Q

Do CNS synapses always result in an action potential?

A

No- they have a range of postsynaptic potentials (Slow/fast EPSPs/IPSPs)

115
Q

Are postsynaptic potentials in CNS synapses usually large/small?

A

Generally small to enable complex synaptic integration.

116
Q

Why are postsynaptic potentials in the CNS usually small?

A

To enable complex synaptic integration.

117
Q

How does anatomical synaptic arrangement vary in the CNS compared to the NMJ?

A

Varied in CNS compared to NMJ always bearing the same arrangement- has significant effects on function (axo-somatic, axon-dendritic, axon-axonic).

118
Q

Describe the altered synaptic connectivity in CNS synapses.

A

Whilst the NMJ is simply wired to a muscle cell, CNS synapses can be wired in more varied ways to allow complex pathways to occur (convergence/divergence)/

119
Q

What is the difference between convergence and divergence?

A

Convergence starts with multiple neurones and feeds into a big synapse whereas divergence starts with a single neurone and branches out.

120
Q

What can convergence and divergence give rise to?

A

Feedback inhibition- an inhibitory effect can be used to revert the neural pathway back to the beginning.

121
Q

What are monosynaptic pathways?

A

Neural pathways with only one synaptic route.

122
Q

What are polysynaptic pathways?

A

Neural pathways with multiple synaptic routes.

123
Q

What do monosynaptic and polysynaptic pathway differences give rise to?

A

The basis of many drug functions.

Science for Medicine (19 decks)

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