Nervous Tissue Lecture 4 Flashcards
What are the factors that influence the speed of propagation?
- Amount of myelination
- Axon diameter
- Temperature
How are nerve fibers classified based on propagation speed?
A fibers (Very fast)
B fibers (Moderately fast)
C fibers (Slowest)
What are the characteristics of A fibers?
- Largest diameter axons and myelinated, therefore FASTEST
- Speeds up to 130 m/sec.
- Associated with touch, pressure, proprioception, some pain, and temperature sensations
- Conduct APs to skeletal muscles
Describe B fibers.
- Moderate sized diameters and myelinated, therefore moderately fast
- Speeds up to 15 m/sec.
- Found in ANS & visceral organs
What are the characteristics of C fibers?
- Smallest diameters with no myelination, therefore SLOWEST
- Slowest of the 3 fibers.
- Found in reproductive, urinary, excretory, digestive neurons, nociceptors from skin and viscera
What is the site of communication between two neurons or a neuron and an effector cell?
Synapse
What are the terms used to describe neurons before and after the synapse, and the connections between an axon and a dendrite/cell body?
- Pre-synaptic neuron
- Post-synaptic neuron/cell
- Axo-dendritic (connection between an axon and a dendrite)
- Axo-somatic (connection between an axon and a cell body)
What type of synapse contains gap junctions and what are its advantages?
- Electrical synapses
- Advantages: Faster communication, synchronization, allows a large number of neurons or muscle fibers to produce action potentials in unison
What is the most abundant type of synapse and what are its advantages?
Chemical synapses
Advantages: Can modulate response, can be excitatory or inhibitory
What are the steps involved in chemical synapses?
- Arrival of action potential at the pre-synaptic neuron’s synaptic end bulb
- Membrane depolarization opens voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, allowing Ca2+ influx
- Ca2+ stimulates exocytosis of synaptic vesicles containing neurotransmitters (NTs)
- NTs diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the post-synaptic membrane
- Binding of neurotransmitters to receptors opens ligand-gated channels, allowing ion flow
- Ion flow generates a graded potential (post-synaptic potential)
- Signal ends when NT is broken down by an enzyme and recycled, diffuses out of the synaptic cleft, or taken back into pre-synaptic neuron.
What is the process involved in the integration of information in a single neuron?
- Single neuron may receive information from thousands of synapses, both excitatory and inhibitory.
- Axon hillock integrates all stimuli and determines the rate of action potential generation at the initial segment.
- The sum of all excitatory and inhibitory effects at any given time determines the effect on the postsynaptic neuron.
What happens during synaptic fatigue and what are its consequences?
- Neurotransmitters are usually reabsorbed and recycled.
- After extended stimulation, the supply of neurotransmitter may not keep up with demand.
- Synapse is unable to function until ACh (acetylcholine) is replenished.
- Inability to function leads to synaptic fatigue.
What are the two types of neurotransmitter receptors?
- Ionotropic receptors (Ligand-gated receptors)
- Metabotropic receptors (G-protein coupled receptors)
What are the characteristics of ionotropic receptors?
- Neurotransmitter receptor connected directly to an ion channel
- Can be excitatory or inhibitory
How do metabotropic receptors function?
- Uses a messenger protein (G Protein) to open certain ion channels
- Usually inhibitory
- Acetylcholine (ACh) can be excitatory at some synapses (ionotropic) and inhibitory at others (metabotropic)