Neurochemistry Flashcards
What are ependymal cells?
Cells that line the ventricles
They produce, monitor, and circulate CSF
What type of cell is an olfactory or retinal cell?
Bipolar neuron
What are basket cells?
Inhibitory interneurons that form dense plexus of terminals around the soma of target cells
Found in the cerebellum and cortex
What are betz cells?
Large motor neurons
What type of cell forms most of the corpus striatum?
Medium spiny neurons
What are Purkinje cells?
Huge neurons in the cerebellum
What are Renshaw cells?
Neurons with both ends linked to alpha motor neurons
What are granule cells?
The smallest type of neurons, found in the cerebellum
What are anterior horn cells?
Motor neurons located in the spinal cord
What are spindle cells?
Interneurons that connect widely separated areas of brain
What are the main types of circuits neurons can form?
▪️Divergence (same or multiple pathways)
▪️Convergence (single or multiple sources)
▪️Reverberating circuit
▪️Parallel after-discharge circuit
How are neurotransmitters transported down an axon?
I’m vesicles
What evokes the release of neurotransmitters from vesicles?
Influx of calcium caused by action potential
Where do vesicles go after releasing neurotransmitters?
Back up the axon to the soma
What are the two types of axonal transport?
▪️Slow (1-5mm/day)
▪️Fast (200-400mm/day)
What is transported via fast axonal transport?
▪️Neurotransmitters
▪️Growth factors
▪️Toxins/pathogens (e.g. HSV, tetanus)
What is slow axonal transport important for?
▪️Transporting complex products (e.g. axoplasm to terminals)
▪️Neuronal growth
▪️Part of mature neuron function
What are the 3 main types of synapses?
▪️Axodendritic
▪️Axosomatic
▪️Axoaxonic
What targets are relevant for neurotransmitters?
▪️Receptors (ionotropic, metabotropic)
▪️Enzymes
▪️Transporters
▪️Nuclear/mitochondrial receptors
What are ionotropic receptors?
Receptors with a channel that opens up when a ligand (NT) binds to it, changing its shape, and allowing ions to flow across the membrane.
(Aka neurotransmitter-gated or ligan-gated channels)
What are cations?
Ions with a positive charge (e.g., Na+, K+, Ca+)
How does the opening of an ionotropic receptor effect the membrane?
Has direct and fast effects of neural membrane excitability.
How does synaptic transmission with metabotropic receptors compare to ionotropic receptors?
Much slower
What happens when a neurotransmitter binds to a metabotropic receptor?
▪️ G-protein coupled with the receptor is activated and produces effector
▪️ Effector stimulates secondary messenger synthesis
▪️ Secondary messenger activates intercellular process, which opens the channel