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LC INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOBIOLOGY > Neuronal Communication > Flashcards

Neuronal Communication Flashcards

1
Q

what are neurones?

A

the building blocks of the nervous system, and the connections between these are important for memory

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2
Q

why are neurones important for memory?

A

information must flow between neurones

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3
Q

transmission within neurones is an _______ process

A

electrical

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4
Q

transmission between neurones is an _______ process

A

chemical

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5
Q

what is resting membrane potential?

A

an example of electrical excitability

it underpins the ability of neurones to communicate and generate signals

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6
Q

how is action potential generated?

A

by using energy to maintain the unstable resting membrane potential

upon a trigger, the stored-up energy is released. this becomes a signal and generates electricity

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7
Q

what is the cell membrane of a neurone?

A

lipid bilayer, which consists of two layers of fatty molecules

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8
Q

what is the function of a sodium-potassium exchange transporter?

A

moves sodium ions outside of the cell in exchange to move potassium ions inside

more sodium is moved out than potassium in, accumulating in positively charged ions outside the cell

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9
Q

cation

A

+ve charge

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10
Q

anion

A

-ve charge

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11
Q

what is the resting membrane potential difference?

A

-70mV

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12
Q

what are the three different forces that control the movement of ions?

A
  • electrostatic pressure
  • transporter
  • diffusion
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13
Q

what is electrostatic pressure?

A

similarly charged ions repel each other and opposite charged ions attract each other

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14
Q

what are transporters?

A

use energy to move specific ions in order to maintain resting potential

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15
Q

what is diffusion?

A

ions want to move from areas of high concentration to low concentration

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16
Q

what do semi-permeable membranes allow?

A

molecules and ions to pass through

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17
Q

moving down a concentration gradient

A

move from areas of high concentration to low concentration

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18
Q

moving against a concentration gradient

A

move from areas of low to high concentration

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19
Q

are cells positive on the outside or inside?

A

positive on the outside and negative on the inside

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20
Q

membrane potential

A

the difference between the electrical potential inside and outside the cell

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21
Q

what is membrane potential altered by?

A

ions moving in and out of the cell

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22
Q

action potential

A

the sudden change of the resting membrane potential

a rapid change in the polarisation (electrical charge) of the neurone to send a signal

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23
Q

K+

A

at rest, more K+ is inside the cell than outside.

diffusion- K+ ions want to move outside the cell

electrostatic pressure- K+ are attracted to the negative inside of the cell

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24
Q

Cl-

A

at rest, more Cl- is outside the cell than inside

diffusion- Cl- ions want to move into the cell

electrostatic pressure- Cl- are repelled by the negative inside of the cell

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25
Q

Na+

A

at rest, more Na+ is outside the cell than inside

diffusion- Na+ ions want to move into the cell

electrostatic pressure- Na+ are attracted to the negative inside of the cell

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26
Q

what is necessary to generate an action potential?

A

the resting membrane potential

for this signal to be sent, the neurone must gain enough action potential to reach the threshold of excitation- an all or nothing process

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27
Q

depolarisation

A

making the membrane less negative

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28
Q

repolarisation

A

returning the membrane to its negative state

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29
Q

what does depolarisation do?

A

brings the membrane closer to the threshold of excitation, and makes it more likely to fire an action potential

depolarisation is caused by opening the voltage-gated sodium channels

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30
Q

activation

A

the minimum energy required for a reaction to occur

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31
Q
  1. what happens at -55Mv?
A

the sodium and potassium channels open at the same time

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32
Q
  1. what happens after the channels open?
A

sodium cations flood into the cell (due to diffusion and electrostatic pressure)

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33
Q

3a. what happens to the membrane potential?

A

it becomes positive (membrane depolarisation as the outside is no longer more positive than the inside)

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34
Q

3b. once membrane depolarisation occurs, what can now leave the cell?

A

potassium cations, as they are no longer stopped by electrostatic pressure keeping them inside

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35
Q

3c. what happens when the membrane potential reaches 40Mv?

A

the sodium channel closes

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36
Q
  1. what remains open?
A

the potassium channels, and potassium cations continue to leave the cell (membrane repolarisation)

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37
Q
  1. when do the potassium channels close?
A

potassium cations continue to leave the cell until the membrane potential goes beyond 70Mv (this is when the potassium channels close)

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38
Q

where does the concentration change occur?

A

close to the membrane

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39
Q

what does action potential act as?

A

the basic code for information in the brain

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40
Q

what does the ‘all-or-nothing’ law explain about the rate of action potentials?

A

because the size and shape of action potentials do not change, it is the frequency (rate) of action potentials that are important in coding information

41
Q

what does breaching the threshold of excitation lead to?

A

a release of energy

42
Q

reasons that membrane depolarisation can occur

A
  • action potential occurs in a close vicinity to the membrane, and localised movement around the area is enough to ‘breach the threshold of excitation’
  • sensory receptors responding to stimulation, which creates a graded response
  • chemical transmission between neurones
43
Q

why is communication within the neurone fast?

A

it is facilitated by the myelin sheath

action potential jumps between nodes, meaning it only needs to regenerate energy at the nodes instead of the entire length of the axon

44
Q

what is a synapse?

A

the junction between two neurones, where they communicate through a chemical process

45
Q

what is the name of the small gap between the synapse and the membrane?

A

synaptic cleft

46
Q

how does information travel between neurones?

A

it travels across synapse A, across the synaptic cleft, and into the receptors on neurone B

47
Q

where are neurotransmitters made and stored?

A

made in the soma of the cell

stored in the vesicles

48
Q

what is the role of neurotransmitters?

A

they bind to the receptor’s binding site on the postsynaptic cell

these binding sites contain ion channels

49
Q

what is the role of ion channels?

A

these let ions in or out of the postsynaptic cell

50
Q

how is a postsynaptic potential created?

A

by ions moving into and out of the cell

51
Q

what is needed for electrical signals to pass?

A

the postsynaptic neurone needs to be depolarised

52
Q
  1. the presynaptic neurone brings new information to the synapse.

what is found at the end of the axon?

A

there is an axonal terminal which contains vesicles (inside these are neurotransmitters)

53
Q

1b. how does the presynaptic neurone release neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft?

A

it ‘fuses the membrane of the vesicle to the external cell membrane of the axon’

54
Q

1c. what does this allow?

A

the contents of the vesicle (neurotransmitters) to diffuse into the synaptic cleft

55
Q

2a. where does the postsynaptic neurone recieve the information?

A

at the synapse, and the neurotransmitters bind to receptors

56
Q

2b. what are these receptors?

A

ion channels

this means that the ion channel opens once the neurotransmitter binds to the receptor

57
Q
  1. what happens when the ion channel opens?
A

certain ions are able to flow through, which changes the voltage of the postsynaptic neurone

this creates a postsynaptic potential

58
Q

what do neurotransmitters provide the basis for understanding?

A

how drugs work within the brain

59
Q

what are the two types of postsynaptic potentials?

A

EPSP and IPSP

60
Q

excitatory postsynaptic potential

A

the receiving neurone cell is encouraged to fire, and sends messages to other neurones

61
Q

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

A

the receiving neurone cell is discouraged from firing and sending on the message

62
Q

sodium (Na+) postsynaptic potential

A

can only move into the postsynaptic cell and not out

if a lot moves in, EPSP occurs

the cell will become depolarised

63
Q

potassium (K+) postsynaptic potential

A

can only move out of the postsynaptic cell

if a lot moves out, IPSP is created

the cell will become hyperpolarised

64
Q

chloride (Cl-) postsynaptic potential

A

can only move into the postsynaptic potential

if a lot moves in, IPSP occurs

the cell will become hyperpolarised

65
Q

why does EPSP occur?

A

because of hyperpolarisation

it brings the membrane closer to the threshold of excitation, and more likely to fire an action potential

66
Q

how is EPSP achieved?

A

opening cation channels

67
Q

why does IPSP occur?

A

due to the opening of anion channels, which make it less likely to fire an action potential

68
Q

what are two types of receptors?

A

ionotropic and metabotropic

69
Q

process of ionotropic receptors

A

the ion channel on the ionotropic receptor will only open when a neurotransmitter binds to their particular binding site

can be said that ‘the receptor is an ion channel’

70
Q

what are ionotropic receptors good for?

A

for quick, direct updates, e.g., sight and hearing

71
Q

process of metabotropic receptors

A

the indirect method of transmission between neurones

72
Q

chain reaction of metabotropic receptors

A

the ligand binds to the ion channel

changes the 3D receptor shape

activates the G-protein

activates an enzyme which produces second messengers

opens the ion channel

73
Q

what are metabotropic receptors good for?

A

more useful for things that need to last a while, e.g., taste, smell, pain

74
Q

what is the difference between ionotropic and metabotropic receptors?

A

unlike ionotropic receptors, metabotropic receptors do not directly produce postsynaptic potentials

instead, chemical reactions occur within the neurone

75
Q

what might be explained by these different types of receptors?

A

why certain neurotransmitters have different functions

76
Q

why can receptors sometimes be found on the presynaptic neurone?

A

this allows for signals to go in the opposite direction towards the presynaptic neurone

this might happen due to a negative feedback loop- if the neurotransmitter release does not need to happen, it binds to presynaptic receptors to turn off unnecessary signals and avoid future release

77
Q

what are postsynaptic receptors?

A

proteins embedded within the membrane of the postsynaptic neurone

78
Q

what is ligand?

A

any molecule or chemical that interacts with a receptor

79
Q

what is a binding site?

A

the area on the receptor where the ligand interacts

80
Q

what is the function of receptors being 3D structures?

A

ligands can fit in one particular area of the structure, and receptors will only interact with molecules of a certain shape

81
Q

what are also ligands?

A

drugs

this explains the chemical effect of binding to bodily receptors

82
Q

what is conformational selectivity?

A

ligands and receptors have particular 3D shapes, meaning that only specific ligands will fit in a particular binding site

83
Q

what is affinity?

A

how well a ligand binds to a receptorq

84
Q

what is meant by high affinity?

A

receptors are saturated (bound) by very dilute solutions of ligand

this means that less ligand is needed to produce the maximum effect

85
Q

what can determine the effect of the ligand to receptors?

A

selectivity and affinity

86
Q

where are neurotransmitters clustered?

A

in the axonal terminal, and they are found in the synaptic vesicle

87
Q

how are neurotransmitters released?

A

into the synaptic cleft via fusion of the vesicle to the postsynaptic membrane

88
Q

process of neurotransmitter release

A
  1. nerve signal reaches the end of the axon
  2. this causes vesicles to merge with the cell surface membrane and eject the neurotransmitter
  3. neurotransmitter binds to the postsynaptic receptor to cause an effect
89
Q

what are two types of neurotransmitters?

A

glutamate and GABA

90
Q

what is glutamate?

A

derived from glutamic acid

91
Q

what type of neurotransmitter is glutamate?

A

the most abundant neurotransmitter

excitatory

92
Q

what receptors does glutamate bind to?

A

both ionotropic and metabotropic receptors

93
Q

what is glutamate important for?

A

learning and memory

94
Q

what is GABA?

A

made from glutamate

gamma-aminobutyric acid

95
Q

what type of neurotransmitter is GABA?

A

the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter

96
Q

what receptors does GABA bind to?

A

ionotropic and metabotropic GABA receptors, and it reduces the likelihood of neurones firing

97
Q

what is glycine?

A

a co-agonist at NMDA receptors

98
Q

what are monoamines?

A

a different type of neurotransmitter that mostly bind to metabotropic receptors, e.g., serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline

LC INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOBIOLOGY (8 decks)

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