Neuroscience Flashcards
What middle ear bone transmits movement of sound wave into movement of fluid, by tapping on the oval window of the cochlear?
Stapes
The basilar membrane sits above a fluid-filled compartment of the cochlear and movement of the fluid transmits to movement of the basilar membrane.
What cells attached to the basilar membrane and tectorial membrane above translate this movement into a nerve impulse?
Hair cells
What part of the cochlear is important in detecting different frequencies of sound?
Basilar membrane.
Hair cells on basilar membrane are moved by sound waves passing into fluid in the cochlear.
What does this movement cause on the hair cell membrane that helps generate a nerve impulse?
Mechanically gated K+ ion channels open.
In the central auditory pathway, what are the key steps of the route nerve impulses take from the cochlear?
“E.COLI”
Eighth cranial nerve (vestibulocochlear)
Cochlear nucleus
Olivary complex
Lateral lemniscus
Inferior colliculus
What is the first structure in the central auditory pathway where the auditory nerve (vestibulocochlear CN VIII) enters the brain stem?
Cochlear nucleus
(Remember: “E.COLI”
Eighth cranial nerve
Cochlear nucleus
Olivary complex
Lateral lemniscus
Inferior colliculus)
In neurons, where do action potentials propagate from?
Axon hillock
What are the two types of neuron synapses?
Chemical (neurotransmitters)
Electrical (ions)
Electrical neuron synapses are less abundant than chemical synapses.
Where might you find electrical synapses?
Brainstem, hypothalamus, etc.
What triggers neurotransmitter release in neuron chemical synaptic transmission?
Influx of calcium ions (which is triggered by the axon potential depolarising synaptic terminal membrane).
What is a connexon?
A protein structure that forms a gap junction in a neuron electrical synapse.
What part of the neuron structure might change as part of neural plasticity?
Dendritic spines (can change number, size, or composition).
What are glia?
Non-neuron cells in the brain, e.g. oligodendrocytes.
Give two important functions of oligodendrocytes.
Myelinating neurons (one oligodendrocyte can myelinate multiple neurons)
Provide metabolic support for axons.
