Neural Structure & Function

Question 1

Anatomical Directions:

1. Anterior & Rostral
2. Posterior & Caudal
3. Dorsal
4. Ventral
5. Medial
6. Lateral

Answer 1

1. Front
2. Back
3. Top
4. Bottom
5. Middle
6. Side

Question 2

A wrinkled brain has…

Answer 2

…a greater surface area

Question 3

Function of Frontal Lobe

Answer 3

behavioural traits (personality, decision-making and motor control)
makes sense of info about the enviro, memories and emotions and it uses this info to make decisions.

Question 4

Function of Temporal Lobe

Answer 4

houses memories, emotions and language comprehension

contains hippocampus, V1 and Wernicke’s area

Question 5

Function of Parietal Lobe

Answer 5

integrates info from our senses to focus attention on enviro

receives signals from OL that reflect the location of objects in our VF

Question 6

Function of Occipital Lobe

Answer 6

decodes visual signals

Question 7

Inferior Frontal Gyrus

Answer 7

responsible for response inhibition

home of Broca’s area (controls language production)

Question 8

Function of Basal Ganglia

Answer 8

involved in flexibility (motor and cognitive)

control voluntary movements, habitual behaviours and emotions

Question 9

Functions:

1. Globus Pallidus
2. Putamen
3. Caudate Nucleus
4. Thalamus
5. Sub-thalamic Nucleus
6. Substantia Nigra

Answer 9

1. receives signals from caudate nucleus and putamen and sends info about motor control to cerebral cortex via thalamus
2. works with caudate nucleus to transfer info from frontal cortex to the globus pallidus, involved in initiation and learning of motor movements
3. conduit for info from cerebral cortex into basal ganglia
4. relays info from senses to cortex
5. dampens signals from the basal ganglia
6. initiates movements by sending signals to dorsal striatum (contains neurons that produce dopamine)

Question 10

Function of Limbic System

Answer 10

involved in emotion and motivation, learning and memory

contains cingulate cortex, thalamus, amygdala and septum

Question 11

Function of Ventricular System

Answer 11

allows toxic substances and waste products to be removed from the brain preventing harm to the CNS

Question 12

Function of Hypothalamus

Answer 12

responsible for functioning of organisms and communication with endocrine system

Question 13

Function of Hippocampus

Answer 13

important for learning and memory

Question 14

Functions:

1. Cingulate Cortex
2. Thalamus
3. Septum
4. Amygdala

Answer 14

1. group of interconnected brain structures involved in emotions
2. relays info from senses to cortex
3. ?
4. works with HC to create episode LTM

Question 15

Two main types of cells:

Answer 15

1. glial cells

2. nerve cells

Question 16

Glial cells are…
Active role in…
and determining…
Two types of glial cells are…

Answer 16

support cells
regulating neurotransmission
structural integrity of the brain
resting glial cells and active glial cells

Question 17

Astrocytes are…
Structure?
Function?

Answer 17

cells that control brain homeostasis
dendrite-like structure
does not conduct electricity and mainly controls the extracellular space, regulating the neurotransmitter levels

Question 18

Microglia are…

Answer 18

immune cells that corneal the health of the brain

Question 19

Oligodendrocytes are…
Function of Myelin Sheath:
Multiple Sclerosis:
Multiple/different oligodendrocytes contribute to the myelination…

Answer 19

cells that are involved in the formation of the myelin sheath around neuronal axons
insulation that speeds up the AP moving from the cell body to the terminal region where NT are released
demyelination of cells
of one/same neuron

Question 20

Satellite cells are…

Answer 20

peripheral astrocytes

Question 21

Schwann cells are…

Answer 21

peripheral oligodendrocytes

Question 22

The role of radial cells (early development stages) are to….
Neuronal Precursor Cells (cells that develop inter-neurons) attach and wrap themselves….
Patients with schizophrenia have cells…

Answer 22

determine the placement of neuronal cells in the CNS
around stalks and move along them to the position where they need to be, once they reach the position they detach
in a different position in the HC

Question 23

Nerve cells are...
1. Allows...
2, Can be subdivided in different types of cells based on...
3. They are be very...
4. They can not...
5. They are excitable and can...
6. They can communicate via...
7. They consume large amounts of energy and...

Answer 23

neurons

1. communication from one part of the brain to the other
2. size, biochemical composition and structural characteristics
3. large
4. divide anymore, however in parts of the brain embryonic stem cells can develop into neurons
5. conduct electricity
6. two different kinds of mechanisms
7. without oxygen, die within a few minutes

Question 24

In the hippocampus area there are specific ESC that can….
It is important for the function….
In major depression neurogenesis is reduced and antidepressants can…

Answer 24

fully develop into neurons and move out of the layers into other parts of the brain, allowing neurons to get into the right position
at the HC
increase this neurogenesis, the development of new neurons from ESC.

Question 25

Neurons: Basic Structure
Input Part –info from other…
Propagating Part – AP…
Transferring Part – chemical messengers/NT…

Answer 25

neuronal cells come in
movement (electricity)
are being released

Question 26

Neurons: Basic Function
Cells have a....
The membrane is a...
To ensure...
Ions are...
All cells in the body have channels for...
Neuronal cells have channels for...
The phospholipid bilayer is the core of the...

Answer 26

thick membrane surrounding them
lipophilic part (fat-loving structure)
all the components are retained within the cell
water soluble, do not like to be in a fatty environment, therefore do not move across the membrane
K+ to move through (small gaps in the fatty layer)
Na+ ions, to move electricity (AP generation)
neuronal membrane and forms a barrier to water-soluble ions

Question 27

Neurons: Resting Potential
There are more K+
K+ is hydrophilic, therefore…
Under resting conditions…

Answer 27

inside the cell than outside the cell
unable to move across the membrane
K+ channels are open and Na+ channels are closed

Question 28

Neurons: Resting Potential
1. K+ flows…
2. K+ flow is impeded by the…
3. An equilibrium is…
4. The Nernst Equation
5. In general cells are charged around…
The more K+ flows out, the more the outside becomes…

Answer 28

out because of the concentration gradient
electric gradient
established between the two forces
-60mV to -80mV (inside negative)
positivity charged, the more there will be an electrical gradient forcing K+ inside

Question 29

Neurons: Action Potential

1. When cells become stimulated above a certain threshold…
2. The concentration and electric gradient…
3. The polarity of the cell changes…
4. At a specific polarity…
5. K+ flows out again…

Na and K pushed against concentration gradients which..
Energy required to maintain…

Answer 29

1. the Na+ channels open (voltage-gated channels - neuronal cells)
2. forces Na+ into the cell
3. inside positive
4. Na+ channels close again
5. to restore the resting potential

costs at lot of energy
the right concentration of Na (extracellularly) and K (intracellularly)

Question 30

Neurons: Action Potential
Refractory Na+ channels open at ? and close at ?

When the Na+ channels close after being opened they enter…
In this state they…
which prevents the Na+ from…
Although this refractory state only lasts….
It is enough to prevent the cells from….
Moreover, it ensures that…

Answer 30

-70mV and 10mV
 into a refractory state
cannot be opened 
opening immediately
a few milliseconds 
firing too much
action potentials move into one direction only

Question 31

Neurons: Neurotransmission

Na+ channels open, AP electrical gradient moves from…
The small space between two neurons is called…
NT are synthesized in neuronal cells and located in…
Another channel opens when an AP arrives…
Ca+ flows into the cell and activates….
As a consequence of all these biochemical processes, the vesicles move…
The content of the vesicles (MT) are…
Some NT bind to a receptor, the post-synaptic cells gets a signal (activation), that signal is transmitted to another cell.
Activation of this cell leads to….
Activation of this cell may inhibit….
Activation of the post-synaptic cell or inhibition of the post-synaptic cell…
This process is very fast.

Answer 31

the cell body to the terminal region
the synapse
specific neurons, stored in specific vesicles
Ca+ channel
the proteins in the cells
towards the membrane and merge with the membrane and open up
released into the synaptic cleft.
the activation of the other cell.
the firing of the other cell.
info from one cell has been transferred to the other cell.

Question 32

Neurons: Neurotransmission

1. Biogene amines
2. Amino acids
3. Neuropeptides

Stored in…
Neuropeptides are…

Answer 32

Acetylcholine
Dopamine
Noradrenaline
Adrenaline
Histamine
Serotonin

GABA
Glutamate
Aspartate
Glycine

Endorfin
Enkephaline(s)
Dynorphin 
Cholecystokinin
Bradykinin
Substance P
Substance K
Neurotensin
Somatostatin
Neuropeptide Y

Vesicles
Larger

Question 33

Neurons: Neurotransmission

NT are synthesized in….
NT are stored in…

Peptides are not synthesized in…
There are no re-uptake transporters for….
When peptides bind to receptors, they are…
Neuropeptides work slower and….

Same cells releases more than…
Different NT are stored in…
This allows for additional…

Answer 33

terminal region
vesicles, released, taken up, recycled.
the terminal region, but are synthesized in the cell body.
peptides
degraded extracellularly or diffused out.
replenish themselves

one NT (generally neuropeptide and classical NT)
different vesicles
flexibility in communication between neuronal cells

Question 34

Neurons: Neurotransmission

NT interact with…
There are always more than 1 receptor per NT…
The NT receptors can belong to different functional classes…

Irrespective of whether NT bind to ionotropic or metabotropic receptors, they change the…

Answer 34

specific receptors
not always (oxytocin has one receptor)
Ionotropic and Metabotropic
electrical properties (membrane potential) of the postsynaptic cells either depolarising it (-80mV to -70mV) or hyper-polarising it (-80mV to -90mV) leading to excitation or inhibition

Question 35

Neurons: Ionotropic receptors
3 Examples:

The opening and closing of the receptor is dependent on whether a….

Answer 35

GABAA receptor
NMDA receptor
Nicotinergic receptor

NT binds or not (referred to ligand gated ion channels)

Question 36

Neurons: Ionotropic receptors - GABAa

Answer 36

Activation of benzodiazepine site by itself does not affect channel opening. This will only occur after GABA has bound to the receptor: when GABA binds to the receptor, additional binding of benzodiazepines lead to an increase in the frequency with which the channel is opened

Question 37

Neurons: Metabotropic receptors

Metabotropic receptors in the CNS belong to…
They all have the same overall general structure:
A single long chain of amino acids with…
This leads to a 3D structure with…
This receptor binds to a G-protein and can…
The second messenger system (G-protein) binds to the…

Gs – ? coupled to adenylate cyclase
Gi – ? coupled to adenylate cyclase
Go – coupled to…
Gq – coupled to…

Answer 37

G-protein coupled receptors
7 hydrophobic (lipophilic stretches)
3 extracellular and 3 intracellular loops
induce many complex changes in the cell
third intracellular loop

positively
negatively
ion channels
phospholipase C

Question 38

Neurons: Metabotropic receptors

Amino acids sit in the…
Substances cannot flow through – do not form a channel
NT bind on the outside, it forces transmembrane domains to open that leads…
The structure of this receptor changes from…
It is detected intracellularly and leads to…

By binding on the outside, the 3D structure changes, the conformation of the receptor, which leads to activation of the intracellular routes, leading to activation of processes in the cell.

Answer 38

membrane
intracellularly to a closing of those intracellular parts of those transmembrane domain
the NT binding
activation of processes

Question 39

Neurons: Metabotropic receptors

G-proteins binds…
In resting state (when the receptor is not activated), GDP is bound to the protein which consists of…
When the receptor is activated, the NT released from the pre-synaptic terminal binds to the…

When the NT binds, GDP is changed to…
G protein splits up…
Indirectly activates ion channels and changes inside the cell

Answer 39

GDP
alpha, beta and gamma tightly bound together.
outside of the receptor, compressing the outside open and the inside tightly together, the 3D structure (third intracellular domain) starts to change it’s configuration, and activates the G-protein.

GTP (additional phosphate is added), activates G-protein.
alpha unit separates from beta and gamma unit

Question 40

Ionotropic Receptors
Consists of multiple (5) proteins that form...
Activation by a NT or drug (ligand)... 
Limited...
Fast...
Usually has multiple...

Metabotropic Receptors
Consists of a... 
Activation by a NT or drug (ligand) splits the...
More widespread...
Somewhat slower...
Usually has only one...

Answer 40

an ion channel
opens the channel, allowing ions to flow into or out of the cell
action
response
binding sites

single protein
receptor-coupled G-protein in two parts and induces biochemical changes
actions
response
binding site