neuroscience & psychology :) Flashcards
what are the two types of cells in the nervous system?
neurons and glia
what do glial cells do?
support neurons
what is the central nervous system (cns)?
the integral part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and the spinal cord
what is the peripheral nervous system (pns)?
the neurons outside of the cns; sensory and motor neurons which, respectively, bring signals into the brain and carry signals out of the brain
how are pns neurons that are located in the cns still able to transfer signals?
neurons have axons (long extensions) that connect to the muscles
what is innervating?
connecting neurons with a certain part of the body; supplying an organ or other body part with nerves
what are nerves?
the axons of multiple peripheral neurons that follow a common route
what are sensory neurons?
neurons that send information to the cns about what’s going on inside and outside of your body so that your brain can process it
what are motor neurons?
neurons that get information from other neurons to control your muscles, organs, and glands
what are interneurons?
neurons that are found only in the cns and connect one neuron to the other, sending the same signals to different places to control both reflexes and complex reactions
what is the difference between dendrites and axons?
they are both processes (extensions of neurons) but dendrites are shorter, tend to taper down (i.e. decrease in diameter), have bumps called spines, and have no myelin sheath.
how do neurons receive signals?
through their dendritic trees. those signals then get conducted down the axon
what are synapses?
connections between dendrites of different neurons to transmit information from one (the presynaptic neuron) to another (the postsynaptic neuron)
how is information transmitted through synapses?
neurotransmitters bind to membrane receptors on the postsynaptic neuron to convey a signal
what are Purkinje cells?
cells in the cerebellum with an extremely large dendritic tree that can receive thousands of signals and inputs
what happens when sensory neurons connect with motor neurons?
the signal from the sensory input will be sent to the motor neuron and cause a certain movement
what glial cells are in the cns?
astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia
what glial cells are in the pns?
Schwann cells
what do astrocytes do?
regulate blood flow in the brain, maintain fluid that surrounds neurons, regulate synaptic communication between neurons, help with transportation of neurons, and establish a blood-brain barrier to prevent toxins from the blood from entering the brain
what do microglia do?
clean up debris and dead cells in the brain
what do oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells do?
generate myelin for the axonal myelin sheath
what do satellite glial cells do?
cover the cell bodies of pns ganglia, possibly as a protective barrier
what do ependymal glial cells do?
promote circulation of cerebrospinal fluid
what are ganglia?
clusters of neurons
what is permeability?
the ability of a membrane to be crossed, or permeated, through diffusion
how do neurons transmit electrical signals?
through brief changes in the permeability of the neuron which allows ions to enter
what is membrane potential?
the difference in electric potential on the inside and outside of a cell
what is the resting membrane potential of neurons?
around -30 to -90 thousandths of a volt
what is a depolarized membrane potential?
membrane potential that is more positive than the resting membrane potential
what is a hyperpolarized membrane potential?
membrane potential that is more negative than the resting membrane potential
what electrical signals do neurons use to communicate?
hyperpolarizations or depolarizations of the resting membrane potential
what are cations?
positively charged neurons
what are anions?
negatively charged neurons
what are the most common ions in neurons?
sodium, potassium, organic anions, and chloride
how is resting potential determined?
by either concentration gradients of ions across the membrane or by membrane permeability to each type of ion
why is the resting membrane potential similar to the equilibrium potential of potassium?
because the membrane is more permeable to potassium than to sodium
what do channels in the membrane allow?
the movement of sodium and potassium ions and the development of constant membrane potential
what does constant membrane potential result in?
an equilibrium: the charges entering the cell must equal the charges leaving
what does the sodium-potassium pump do?
maintain concentration despite the leakage of ions
what are synapses?
junctions where neurons are connected and can transmit messages from one neuron to the other; the points of communication between neurons
what are chemical synapses?
synapses that communicate with chemical messengers
what are electrical synapses?
when ions flow directly between cells
what happens at a chemical synapse?
an action potential causes the presynaptic neuron to release neurotransmitters
what can a neuron do?
maintain resting potential, fire nerve impulses/action potential, and sustain itself
what type of synapses involves neurotransmitters?
chemical synapses
where are synapses formed?
between the axons on one cell and the body/dendrites of another cell
what is in the axon terminal of all presynaptic neurons?
spheres filled with neurotransmitter molecules,
what is an excitatory postsynaptic potential?
when a neurotransmitter causes an ion channel to open or close, and then makes the target cell more likely to fire its own action potential
what is an inhibitory postsynaptic potential
when a neurotransmitter causes an ion channel to open or close, and then makes the target cell less likely to fire its own action potential
what happens when a postsynaptic neuron receives these multiple inputs?
the neuron receives IPSPs and EPSPs and then computes whether to fire an action potential
what is spatial summation?
the integration of postsynaptic potentials in different locations at the same time
what is temporal summation?
the integration of postsynaptic potentials in similar locations at different times
how can synaptic signals be turned off?
the synaptic cleft must be cleared of neurotransmitters by using enzymes to break them down, being sucked back into the presynaptic neuron, or diffusing away.
what is synaptic plasticity?
presynaptic neurons can adjust (dial up or down) the amount of neurotransmitter it releases, and the postsynaptic neuron can adjust the amount of neurotransmitter it receives. this plasticity is involved in addiction, learning, and memory
what happens when something interferes with whatever turns off a synaptic signal?
it can have extreme physiological effects; for example insecticides interfere with this process to kill insects
what is the difference between chemical and electrical synapses?
at electrical synapses, there is a direct physical connection between the neurons, and signals are transmitted faster than in chemical synapses. however, they are less flexible
where are neurotransmitters stored?
in synaptic vesticles
when do neurotransmitters get released?
when calcium ions enter the axon terminal
how do neurotransmitters act?
by binding to receptors on the membrane of the postsynaptic cell
what are the two types of conventional neurotransmitters?
small molecule neurotransmitters and neuropeptides
what are examples of small molecule neurotransmitters (small organic molecules)?
amino acids (glutamate, GABA, glycine), biogenic amines (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, histamine), purigenic neurotransmitters (ATP, adenosine), and acetylcholine
what are examples of neuropeptides? (made of 3 or more amino acids)
endorphins and enkephalins (inhibit pain), Substance P (carries pain signals), and Neuropeptide Y (stimulates eating, may prevent seizures)
what are the types of neurotransmitter receptors?
ligand-activated ion channels and metabotropic ion channels
what happens to ligand-activated ion channels/ionotropic receptors when neurotransmitters bind to them?
this causes the channel to open and can result in either an excitatory or inhibitory effect depending on which ions enter the opened channel
what are the two types of unconventional neurotransmitters?
endocannabinoids and gasotransmitters
what makes unconventional neurotransmitters unconventional?
they are not stored in synaptic vesicles, can carry messages from the postsynaptic to the presynaptic neuron, and cross the cell membrane to act directly on neurons inside the cell
what is an electrotonic spread?
a spread of an electrotonic potential, when there is a high concentration of certain ions that spreads through a neuron and dissipares
what is an action potential?
the boosting of the voltage/signal in a neuron after it spreads and triggers a channel to boost the signal
when would positive ions flow into a neuron?
when a channel opens so that the positive ions can cause an equilibrium with the neuron that contains mainly a negative charge/ions
why does the myelin sheath (or group of Schwann cells) cover axons?
to insulate the transmission of signals (similar to insulation of wires)
why are there gaps in the myelin sheath?
the gaps allow the membrane to interface with the outside where there are voltage-gated channels that release action potentials to boost the signal
what are the gaps in the myelin sheath called?
nodes of Ranvier
What is saltatory conduction?
the signal traveling across the axon dissipates and then gets boosted at each node of Ranvier
what is the synaptic cleft?
the space between the axon terminal and dendrite of two neurons
sequence of neuronal synapses
when the presynaptic neuron gets excited from action potential calcium floods in and makes the vesicles dump their contents into the synaptic cleft. this causes sodium channels to open up and excite the postsynaptic neuron, or it will cause potassium channels to open up and inhibit the postsynaptic neuron.
about how many synapses are in the cerebral cortex?
100 to 500 trillion
what parts of the brain are contained in the cerebellum?
the cerebral cortex, the hippocampus, the olfactory bulb, and the basal ganglia
what is the cerebral cortex?
the outer, wrinkly portion of the brain
why is the cerebral cortex wrinkly?
to allow it to have more mass and contain more neurons
what are the four hemispheres of the cerebral cortex?
the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, and the occipital lobe
what are the regions of the frontal lobe?
the motor cortex and prefrontal cortex
what does the motor cortex do?
controls body movements when stimulated
what does the prefrontal cortex control?
overseeing all other functions of the brain, and executive functions: thinking and problem-solving
what is Broca’s area?
the part of the frontal cortex that controls speech production
what are the regions of the parietal lobe?
somatosensory cortex, spacial processing
what is the somatosensory cortex?
the part of the brain that is associated with feelings from the five senses as well as temperature and pressure
what is spacial processing?
the parietal cortex helping you orient yourself in three-dimensional space and understand the space around us more generally
what is the occipital lobe?
the part of the brain that controls vision
what is the temporal cortex?
the part of the brain that is responsible for audio processing
what is Wernicke’s area?
the part of the temporal lobe that is responsible for language reception and comprehension
what is asserted based on Gestalt psychology?
that the mind processes the whole rather than the sum of its parts
what is the Gestalt principle of similarity?
when things appear to be similar, people group them together
what is signal detection theory?
A way to make decisions when faced with uncertainty
what is binocular disparity?
the difference in how an object looks from your left eye vs your right eye, based on the fact that your two eyes are separated from each other
what is motion parallax?
the fact that an object traveling at a certain distance appears to have traveled faster when it is closer, and at a slower when it is far away
what is interposition?
a signal that one object is closer than another because it is in front of/obscuring part of the object that is further away
what is convergence?
coordinated focusing of the eyes at a short range
what is top-down processing?
processing information and perceiving the world based on info/experience that you already have and things that you already know
what is bottom-up processing?
drawing from the stimuli/information itself to shape your ideas
the law of pragnanz states that
we reduce reality to its simplest form
what are monocular cues?
whatever helps you perceive the depth, form, and position of objects with only one eye (e.g. interposition, relative size, etc.)
what is constancy?
knowing that our brain can perceive objects as different shapes, sizes, or colors while still knowing that the object hasn’t actually changed