neurophysiology Flashcards
1
Q
autonomic nervous system
A
- heartbeat
- breathing
- everything you do NOT consciously control
2
Q
somatic nervous system
A
- everything you DO consciously control
3
Q
the nervous system divisions
A
- central nervous system: spinal cord and the brain
- peripheral nervous system: somatic nervous system, autonomic nervous system; sympathetic nervous system and parasympathic nervous system
4
Q
sympathetic nervous system v. parasympathetic nervous system
A
- SNS: fight or flight (pupil dilation)
- PNS: rest and digest (pupil constriction)
5
Q
neurons
A
- each brain has around 86 billion neurons and they have specialized jobs and functions
- they receive signals and then they release chem to send signals to other neurons
6
Q
dendrites
A
- the tree-branch like structures that are attached to the cell body
- they accept chem signals from other cells and then they relay that info to the cell body
6
Q
synapse
A
- when the chemical that is released gets picked up by the other cell, the place that it happens is called the synapse
- neurons do not touch
7
Q
cell body
A
- it does all the necessary functions to keep the neurons alive
- where the nucleus is, which controls the function needed for the cell survival
- where the genetic info of each neuron is
- it is attached to the myelin sheath and the dendrites
8
Q
axon
A
- the long end of the neuron
- they take the signal from the cell body to the axon terminals
9
Q
synaptic cleft
A
- the space between axon terminals and the dendrites of another neuron
10
Q
myelin sheath
A
- on the axon
- job: make signal transmission faster
11
Q
schwann cell
A
- produces the myelin sheath
12
Q
white matter of the brain
A
- have more myelinated neurons
- more towards the middle and work thier way out
- help transmit signals quickly across the whole length and width of the brain
13
Q
grey matter of the brain
A
- the areas that have fewer myelinated neurons
14
Q
types of neurons
A
- sensory (synapse from the 5 senses to the interneurons)
- motor (interneurons synapse to the motor, brain decides how to move the muscles of the body)
- interneurons (synapse from the CNS to the different pts of the brain)
15
Q
purkinje cell of cerebellum (brain)
A
- dense neuron
- lots of dendrites
- works primarily with the cerebellum
- very involved with motor coordination
16
Q
hippocampal pyramidal cell (brain)
A
- common type of neuron
- triangular shape and a long dendrite
- found in the cerebral cortex
17
Q
bipolar neuron
A
- very specialized functions
- in the retina of the eye
- very small receptive field (dendrite)
18
Q
conduction
A
- the process of moving a signal from 1 pt of the body to the other
- an electrical signal is passed from a neuron’s dendrites, through its cell body, to its axon
19
Q
transmission
A
- when 1 neuron passes an electrical signal to another neuron
20
Q
resting potential
A
- a cell that hasnt been active yet
- electrical charge of -70mV
- neurons use ions and -‘ve charged protons in order to maintain that -‘ve resting potential
21
Q
action potential
A
- goes from -70 to +30 mV
- happens inside of the cephal
- it then drops to -90mV, then goes to the resting potential
22
Q
excitatory neurotransmitters
A
- encourage neurons to fire
23
Q
inhibitory neurotransmitters
A
- discourage neurons from firing
24
Q
where does the 1st action potential come from?
A
- sensory neurons
25
Q
how do drugs mimic neurotransmitters?
A
agonists and antagonists:
1. increase/decrease production
2. increase/decrease release
3. block reuptake
4. blocking/binding to postsynaptic receptor sites
5. blocking/binding to autoreceptors
26
Q
specialized machines can also work as agonists/antagonists
A
- deep brain stimulation (DBS) for parkinson’s disease
- transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for rare cases of depression treatment
27
Q
agonists
A
- bind to a receptor and facilitate its excitatory/inhibitory function
- exact shape
28
Q
antagonists
A
- bind to a receptor and block its excitatory/inhibitory function
- fits, but not exact and will get removed
29
Q
inverse agonist
A
- gets in the way and stops the receptors
30
Q
neurotransmitters
A
50-100 unique substances meeting most (or all) of these criteria:
* synthesized within the neuron by coexisting enzymes
* released in response to cell depolarization
* binds to receptors to alter the postsynaptic cell
* are removed or deactivated by some mechanism within the synaptic cleft
31
Q
small molecule neurotransmitters
A
- synthesized from precursor molecules with enzymes in the neuron’s cell body
- transported to axon terminal in vesicles
- released in synaptic cleft to stimulate ionotropic or metabotropic receptors
- reuptake process absorb some amount back into the neuron
32
Q
neuroactive peptides (neuropeptides; large molecules neurotransmitters)
A
- historically, they were called “hormones”, but many act as neurotransmitters
- may act over large area than small molecule neurotransmitters
- made of short chains of amino acids
- packaged into larger amino acids chains in cell body
- during transport to axon terminal, enzymes cleave chains to expose neuropeptides
- after release, deactivated by enzymes in the synaptic cleft (exocytosis)
- do not undergo reuptake
33
Q
glutamate
A
- wide spread network
- main excitatory receptor
- need for learning, motor activity, and sensitivty to pain
- 3 kinds: AMPA, NMDA, kinase A (main thing they do is open to allow an influx of sodium ions which can make a +’ve rxn)
34
Q
GABA
A
- most wide spread
- 20-30% of neurons are gaba receptors
- 2 subtypes: A and B
- A = channel that can open up, control ion channels that allow the -‘ve ions to go in and make it harder for an action potential to happen; control Cl- ion channels to allow -‘ve ions into cells
- B = g protien couplet, sythensizes the 2nd 1 and that has lots of long term effects; influences enzymes that produce cAMP
35
Q
orthosteric site
A
- where gaba will bind to its receptors
36
Q
allosteric
A
- something other than gaba will bind to a gaba receptor
37
Q
acetycholine
A
- found in a dense area
- ventral tegmental area: reward and addiction
- mesopontine tegmentum: middle of the brain by the pons; affects sleep
- basal forebrain: front of the brain but near the bottom; learning and memory, implications for Alzheimer’s
38
Q
monoamines - dopamine
A
- nigrostriatal pathway ( involved in smooth movements)
- mesolimbic pathway (addiction)
- mesocortical pathway (understanding of psychotic disorders)
- mainly about reward
39
Q
monoamines - serotonin
A
- traced backed to the brains raphe nuclei
- effect on mood
- all over the brain: thalamus, basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala
- important for antidepressants
40
Q
monoamines - norepinephrine
A
- from a midbrain region
- involved in: attention, sleep and wakefullness, eating behaviour, mood
- disfunction: adhd, add, depression
- 4 receptors: alpha 1, alpha 2, beta 1, beta 2
41
Q
oxytocin
A
- involved in: childbirth (contractions and milk release), protected against drug tolerance, interfere with the development of drug dependency, and bonding
- the drug can bond to receptors all over the brain
42
Q
endocannabinoids
A
- anandamide
- 2-AG
- bind to the same receptor as cannabis
- receptors: CB1 (found in the brain and regulate psychoactive functions) and CB2 (found outside the brain and spine and used for immune system and anti inflammatory functions)
43
Q
endogenous opioids
A
- the ones inside of us
- more than 20 molecules that are similar to morphine
- 4 receptors: orl 1, delta, capa, mew
44
Q
hindbrain
A
- makes up a big part of the brain stem
- need it all: breathing, sleeping, motor, heartbeat
- reticular formation: sleep, wakefulness, and alterness
- medulla: heart circulation and breathing
- cerebellum: fine motor skills
- pons: bridge between cerebellum and medulla
45
Q
midbrain
A
- tectum: orient (notice something, then move or attend to that thing)
- tagmentum (helps with movement and physiological browsing)
46
Q
forebrain
A
- cerebral cortex
- subcortical structures
47
Q
hippocampus
subcortical structures
A
- role in memory
48
Q
amygdala
subcortical structures
A
- role in emotion
49
Q
basal ganglia
subcortical structures
A
- helps with movement and some kinds of learning
- ‘muscle memory’
- habits and addictions
- many smaller structures contained within
50
Q
thalamus
subcortical structures
A
- ‘relay center’ for sensory info
- helps with sleep by slowing down the senses
- takes data from the senses and decides where it will go
51
Q
hypothalamus
subcortical structures
A
releases hormones to regulate:
* body temp
* hunger and thirst
* stress
* sexual functioning
52
Q
the endocrine system
subcortical structures
A
- spread out network
- uses hormones to regulate body functions
- secreted by glands
- involved in: pancreas (regulate sugars), adrenal glands (get the kidneys to start working), adrenaline (SNS), thyroid gland (regulate body temp and heart rate), ovaries/testies
53
Q
3 crucial brain areas
subcortical structures
A
- hypothalamus
- pineal gland (releases melatonin)
- pituitary gland (releasing hormones)
54
Q
occipital lobe
cortex
A
- processes raw visual info
- damage typically leads to blindness
- deals with vision
55
Q
temporal lobe
cortex
A
- processes auditory (sound) info
- helps with some visual processing
- lower side of the cortex
- understanding sound, music, identity of stuff your looking at
56
Q
parietal lobe
cortex
A
- visual info (where it is)
- physical sensations
- helps with detention
57
Q
frontal lobe
cortex
A
- planned and intentional behaviour
- execuative functioning
- primary motor cortex
