Neurons Flashcards
What is the main signaling unit in the nervous system?
Neurons
What are the 2 main cell types in the nervous system?
Neurons and glial cells
T/F: Neurons have the same organelles as other cells
True
What does it mean for a neuron to be postmitotic?
It can no longer divide once it is differentiated
What are the different parts of a neuron?
Dendrite, Cell Body, Axon, Presynaptic Terminal
What does the cell body of a neuron do?
It stores DNA in the nucleus and synthesis proteins in the ER, Golgi
What does the dendrite of a neuron do?
It receives information
What does the axon of a neuron do?
It conducts information
What does the presynaptic terminal of a neuron do?
It converts electrical signal into a chemical signal
Who is the “father of modern neuroscience”
Ramon y Cajal
What did Ramon y Cajal’s silver staining show?
He used Gogli’s silver staining technique to show that neurons are single cells that do not form a syncytium
What are Cajal’s major contributions to neuroscience?
- Neuron doctrine 2. Principle of polarization 3. Principle of connectional specificity 4. Neurons have distinct shapes
What are the different shapes of neurons?
Unipolar, Bipolar, Pseudo-unipolar, Multipolar
T/F: The more elaborate the dendritic branches, the more complex functions are mediated by the neuron
True
What techniques are used for identifying neurons and connections?
Golgi silver staining, Injection of fluorescent markers, Green fluorescent cent protein (GFP) expression, Labeling specific neurons using immunocytochemistry
What are the different classification of neurons based on how information is transmitted?
Sensory neurons, motor neurons, interneurons
What are the 4 signaling components of neurons
Input component, trigger component, conductive component, output component
Sensory Neuron
receive information from periphery
Motor Neurons
sends information to the periphrey
What determines the frequency of action potentials?
Stimulus intensity
What determines the number of action potentials?
Duration of stimulus
What are the principles of electrical signaling?
- Neurons use both electrical and chemical signals. 2. Electrical signals are changes in membrane potential 3. Universality 4. Information specificity
What are local graded potentials?
They are electrical signals that are produced by stimuli opening a gated channel. They are local, have small amplitude changes, graded, variable duration, and passive propagation.
What are action potentials?
They are electrical signals that have large amplitude changes in a short amount of time. They travel long distances and undergo active propagation.
