Neuronal communication Flashcards
What is the brain area damaged in Alzheimer’s
Hippocampus
What is the site of damage in Parkinson’s
Substantia nigra
What connects the two halves of the brain
Corpus callosum
What can removal of the prefrontal lobe cause
Unawareness of danger
What can removal of the frontal lobe cause
Aggression
What can removal of the thalamus cause
Amnesia
What is the role of SNARE complex
Links vesicle to plasma membrane for release of neurotransmitter into synaptic cleft
What are they proteins involved in the SNARE complex
Synapotbrevin - vSNARE on vesicle binds tSNARE and SNAP-25
Syntaxin - plasma membrane of neuron
SNAP-25 - 3 proteins keeping vesicle close to membrane but preventing fusion
What fully activates the SNARE complex
Ca2+ binding to synaptotagmin
What are the two neurotransmitter types
Classical and Non-classical
Name examples for each type of classical neurotransmitter
Inhibitory: GABA hyperpolarising
Excitatory: Glu in brain, Ach for motor neurons
Catecholamine: serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline, noradrenaline
Name non-classical neurotransmitters
NO, growth factors
What protein is responsible for vesicle recycling
Clathrin endocytosis `
What are the 4 types of vesicles
Small synaptic
Large Dense Core Vesicles
Releasable pool
Reserve pool
Which phases of vesicle movement require vesicle transport
Docking
Priming
Exocytosis
Endocytosis and recycling
What are the 3 types of plasma membrane Ca2+ channels
VGCC
Ligand-operated e.g. NMDAR
ORAI, activated when ER Ca2+ depletes
2 Glu operated calcium channels
NMDAR and AMPAR
Store operated Ca2+ channel example
ORAI allows Ca2+ into ER
What is the role of microdomains in neurons
Changing Ca2+ levels are kept very local
Allow Ca2+ to have multiple highly specialised functions within different synapses
How are microdomains maintained
Ca2+ binding proteins buffer background Ca2+ concentrations
What is the most abundant Ca2+ binding protein
Calmodulin
What is the role of Ca2+ as a second messenger
Bind to protein targets to influence their action
Difference between ionotropic and metabotropic receptors
Ionotropic: simple, binding allows cations in
Metabotropic: G-protein dependent, slower action, second messengers
Roles of Ca2+ as second messenger to calmodulin
Neurotransmission
Exocytosis
Gene expression: CREB
Cytoskeleton motility
Apoptosis regulation
