Neurophysiology Flashcards
Bell-Magendie law
sensory axons enter DRG and motor exit ventral root
What are sensory Ia fibers?
Ia-Aalpha-Fast large, stimulated by muscle length and velocity of contraction. Receptor is primary spindle afferents
What are sensory Ib fibers?
Ib-Aalpha also- Fast, stimulated by muscle tension. Receptor is golgi tendon
What are sensory II fibers?
Smaller AB and Agamma. Stimulated by muscle length, touch, pressure (flower spray). Receptor is spindle, meissner, merkel, paccini, Ruffini
What are sensory III fibers?
A delta. Stimulated by temperature, light touch, stretch, sharp pain. Receptor- Free nerve endings
What are sensory IV fibers
C. Smaller. Stimulated by slow burning pain and temperature. Receptor- unmyelinated free nerve endings
What are A alpha motor fibers?
rapid, spinal alpha motor neuron efferents to extrafusal musculature
What are A gamma motor fibers?
smaller, gamma motor neurons to intrafusal muscles (spindles and golgi)
What are B motor fibers?
Preganglionic autonomic fibers
What are C motor fibers?
unmyelinated ventral root sensory axons (violate Bell-Magendie law) but cell bodies are in DRG (L5-S3). Conduct pain and temperature to pelvic viscera
What do free nerve endings mediate?
Stretch (A-d), Temperature (A-d,C), pain (A-d, C), light touch (A-d)
What is glabrous skin?
No hair and contains Meisner’s and Merkel’s
What are Meissner’s corpuscles?
Detect Touch: Small fields, rapid adaptation
What are Merkel’s disk?
Touch and Pressure: Small fields, slow adaptation
What receptors are in deep subcutaneous skin?
Pacinian and Ruffini
What are Pacinian Receptors?
Vibration: Large fields, rapid adaptation
What are Ruffini Receptors?
Heavy pressure and stretch: Large fields and slow adaptation
What makes up the neuromuscular junction?
Alpha motor neuron, muscle fiber, and surrounding Schwann cell
What is neuregulin?
Induces Ach receptor gene transcription –> nicotinic receptor synthesis at NMJ
What are sarcomeres?
Solitary contractile unit of muscle cell made up of several myofibrils. Connected to each other at Z disk.
What is desmin?
Connects myofibrils
What is dystrophin?
Anchors desmin to muscle cell sarcolemma
What is actin?
Thin filaments that radiate from Z disk toward center of sarcomere. Makes up the I band
What and where is myosin?
Thick filament b/t actin found at A Band
What is the H Zone?
Region of A band where myosin is not overlapped by actin. Centered on M line
What two regions shorten with contraction?
H zone and I Band.
What is the state of actin in the resting state?
Tropomyosin and Troponin Complex (I,C,T) bind actin. Ca release from SR (sarcoplasmic reticulum) -> Troponin C binds 4 Ca molecules -> Relieves inhibition of myosin binding site on actin
What are Red muscle fibers?
Slow twitch, Type I
What are Type IIA muscle fibers.
Fast fatigue resistant fibers (have some aerobic capacity)
What are Type IIb muscle fibers
Fast fatigable (Large stores of glycogen and are anaerobic)
Describe cardiac muscle?
striated, mononuclear, joined end to end by intercalated disc with gap junctions
Describe smooth muscle
Sheets of elongated spindle-shaped cells without myofibrils. Larger movements over longer distances.