Nervous System - Neurotransmitters and Synpases

Question 1

What types of cells can a postsynaptic cell bind to?

Answer 1

another neuron
muscle
gland

Question 2

Where are neurotransmitters made? What are they packaged into and where do they travel?

Answer 2

Made in soma/cell body
packaged into vesicles
released by presynaptic cell and move into synaptic cleft, travel across synapse and bind to receptors on target cells

Question 3

How does synapse propagation from cell to cell occur? (7)

Answer 3

action potential reaches presynaptic neuron
voltage gated Ca2+ channels open
neurotransmitters exocytosis from axon terminals
NT diffuse across membrane
NT bind to receptors of postsynaptic neuron
stimulation of postsynaptic
AP in post synaptic cell

Question 4

Does the influx or removal of calcium through voltage gated channels stimulate the release of neurotransmitters?

Answer 4

Influx

Question 5

What happens after the neurotransmitters have been used? (1 response, 4 non-response)

Answer 5

1. bind to receptors of postsynaptic cell to produce response
2. destroyed by enzymes
3. re-absorbed by presynaptic terminals
4. diffused away
5. absorbed by glial cells

Question 6

What are the two effects a neurotransmitter can have?

Answer 6

EPSP (excitatory post-synaptic effect) or IPSP (inhibitory post-synaptic effect)

Question 7

What happens during EPSP (channels, charge of ions, membrane potential)?

Answer 7

binds to specific receptor
ligand gated Na+ channels open
allow entry of positive ions
MP reaches -55 mV
AP initiated
message passed on

Question 8

What happens during IPSP (channels, charge of ions, membrane potential)?

Answer 8

binds to specific receptor
ligand gated Cl- channels open
allow entry of negative ions
MP becomes more negative
AP not initiated
message not carried on

Question 9

What does dopamine do? Where is it produced and what is it released by? What does it act on?

Answer 9

pleasure/reward
mood, cognition, sleep, memory, movement, attention
produced by midbrain
released by hypothalamus
acts on neurons in basal ganglia + reward centre

Question 10

What does serotonin do? Where is it produced? What does it act on?

Answer 10

appetite, mood (calming), behavior, function of cardiac + endocrine systems
produced in pineal gland and digestive tract
acts on multiple regions of the brain

Question 11

What does epinephrine/adrenaline do? Where is it produced? What does it act on?

Answer 11

excitatory effect on autonomic pathways
produced by adrenal glands and neurons
acts on thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain and spinal cord

Question 12

What does norepinephrine/noradrenaline do? Where is it produced? What does it act on?

Answer 12

'stress' chemical
produced by pons and adrenal gland
NT of sympathetic pathway
acts on cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, brain stem, cerebellum, spinal cord
increases; HR, BP, expands airways