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PCOM Specific > Physio > Flashcards

Physio Flashcards

1
Q

2 kinds of cells in nervous system

A

neurons and glia

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2
Q

neurons contain

A

membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum

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3
Q

motor neuron

A

soma is in spinal cord, received excitation from other neurons, conducts impulses along its axon to a muscle

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4
Q

sensory neuron

A

specialized at one end to be highly sensitive to a particular type of stimulation

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5
Q

components of all neurons

A

dendrites, soma/cell body, axon, presynaptic terminals

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6
Q

afferent axon

A

refers to bringing information into a structure

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7
Q

Efferent axon

A

refers to carrying information away from a structure

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8
Q

interneurons

A

those who dendrites and axons are completely contained within a single structure

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9
Q

Blood-brain barrier

A

mechanisms that surrounds the brain and blocks most chemicals from entering

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10
Q

active transport

A

protein-mediated process that expends energy to pump chemicals from the blood into the brain

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11
Q

nerve impulse

A

electrical message that is transmitted down the axon of a neuron

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12
Q

resting potential of the neuron

A

○ Refers to state of neuron prior to sending of a nerve impulse
○ Messages in a neuron develop from disturbances of the resting potential
○ At rest, the membrane maintains an electrical gradient known as polarization (difference in electrical charge inside and outside of cell)

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13
Q

membrane at rest

A

sodium channels are closed and potassium channels are partially closed

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14
Q

sodium-potassium pump

A

○ Pumps 3 sodium ions out of cells while drawing 2 potassium ions into cell
○ Helps to maintain the electrical gradient

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15
Q

electrical gradient

A

tends to pull potassium ions into cells (slowly leak out carrying positive charge)

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16
Q

action potential

A

○ Resting potential remains stable until neuron is stimulated
○ Hyperpolarization - increasing the polarization (or difference between electrical charge of 2 places)
○ Depolarization - decreasing the polarization towards zero
○ Threshold of excitation - level above which any stimulation produces a massive depolarization, triggers a nerve impulse or action potential
○ After action potential occurs, sodium channels are quickly closed → neuron returned to resting state by opening of potassium channels → sodium pump later restores the original distribution of ions → after action potential, neuron has a refractory period (neuron resists production of another action potential): absolute refractory period = first part where membrane cannot produce action potential; relative refractory period = second part where it takes stronger than usual stimulus to trigger an action potential

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17
Q

saltatory conduction

A

“jumping” of action potential from node to node (conserves energy)
○ MS - myelin sheath destroyed

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18
Q

important rules about reflexes

A

○ Reflexes slower than conduction along an axon
○ Several weak stimuli present at slightly different times/locations produce a stronger reflex than single stimulus
○ As one set of muscles become excited, another set relaxes

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19
Q

temporal summation

A

repeated stimuli can have a cumulative effect and can produce a nerve impulse when single stimuli too weak

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20
Q

spatial summation

A

synaptic input from several locations can have cumulative effect and trigger a nerve impulse

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21
Q

epsp

A

graded potential that decays over time and space
○ Presynaptic neuron - neuron that delivers synaptic transmission
○ Postsynaptic neuron - neuron that receives the message

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22
Q

isps

A

○ Temporary hyperpolarization of a membrane

○ Serves as active “brake” that suppresses excitation

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23
Q

ionotropic effects

A

occurs when neurotransmitter attaches to receptors and immediately opens ion channels (most occur quickly and short lasting, rely on glutamate or GABA)

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24
Q

metabotropic effects

A

occur when neurotransmitters attach to a receptor and initiate a sequence of slower and longer lasting metabolic reactions (use many neurotransmitters) - taste, smell, pain

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25
reuptake
presynaptic neuron takes up most of the neurotransmitter molecules intact and reuses them
26
CNS
brain and spinal cord
27
spinal cord
Spinal cord - communicates with sense organs and muscles, except those of the head
28
2 types of matter
grey and white
29
PNS
connect brain and spinal cord to rest of body | - somatic and autonomic nervous
30
Autonomic nervous system
sympathetic and parasympathetic
31
sympathetic
network of nerves that prepares organs for rigorous activity (mostly uses norepinephrine)
32
parasympathetic
facilitates vegetative and non emergency responses (mostly release acetylcholine)
33
forebrain parts
limbic system, thalamus, basal ganglia, pituitary gland
34
hypothalamus
assoc. w/ motivated behaviors - eating, drinking sex
35
hippocampus
storing certain types of memory such as individual events
36
cerebral cortex
outer surface
37
amygdala
processing of emotions
38
thalamus
relay station from sensory organs, most sensory info goes here first, processes it, and sends output to cerebral cortex
39
basal ganglia
planning of motor movement, aspects of memory & emotional expression, attention, language, planning, & other cognitive functions
40
pituitary gland
in response to message from hypothalamus, it synthesizes hormones that blood carries to organs throughout the body
41
midbrain parts
Tectum, tegmentum, superior colliculus, inferior colliculus, substantia nigra
42
hindbrain parts
medulla, pons, cerebellum
43
medulla
vital reflexes (breathing, HR)
44
pons
bridge
45
cerebellum
regulates motor movement, balance, & coordination
46
four lobes of cerebral cortex
occipital, parietal, temporal, frontal
47
occipital lobe
primary visual cortex
48
parietal lobe
■ Responsible for processing and integrating information about eye, head, and body positions from information sent from muscles and joints) ■ Essential for spatial information and numerical information
49
temporal lobe
target for auditory information and essential for processing spoken language Also responsible for complex aspects of vision, including movement and some emotional and motivational behaviors
50
frontal lobe
``` prefrontal cortex (integration center for all sensory information) and precentral gyrus (primary motor cortex - control of fine motor movement) ■ Prefrontal cortex - higher functions (abstract thinking and planning, working memory) ```
51
mutation
heritable change in DNA molecule
52
Microduplication/microdeletion
part of chromosome that might appear once might appear twice or not at all
53
epigenetics
field that is concerned with changes in gene expression without the modification of the DNA sequence
54
heritability
refers to how much characteristics depend on genetic differences (strong environmental influences may cause genetic influences to have less of an effect)
55
genes affect behavior
○ Do not directly produce behaviors but produce proteins that increase probability that a behavior will develop under certain circumstances
56
evolution
change in frequency of various genes in a population over generations
57
evolutionary psychology
functional and evolutionary explanations of how behaviors evolved ● Development of neurons in the brain involves the following processes
58
proliferation
production of new cells/neurons in the brain primarily occurring early in life
59
mitigation
movement of newly formed neurons and glia to their eventual locations
60
differentiation
forming of the axon and dendrites that gives the neuron its distinctive shape
61
myelination
process by which glia produce the fatty sheath that covers the axons of some neurons
62
synaptogenesis
final stage, formation of synapses between neurons (occurs throughout life as neurons are constantly forming new connections and discarding old ones, but this slows later in life)
63
neurotropins
chemicals that promote survival and activity of neurons
64
apoptosis
preprogrammed mechanism of cell death that happens to axons not exposed to neurotropins
65
phantom limb (continuation of sensation of an amputated body part)
○ Cortex reorganized itself after the amputation of a body part by becoming responsive to other part of the body
66
amplitude
refers to intensity of sound wave
67
frequency
number of compressions per second and is measured in hertz (related to pitch)
68
timbre
tone/quality complexity
69
outer ear
■ Responsible for altering the reflection of sound waves into the middle ear from outer ear ■ Helping us to locate source of a sound
70
middle ear
■ Ear drum connects to tiny bones that transform waves into stronger waves that transmits waves through the viscous fluid of the inner ear
71
inner ear
■ Hair cells are auditory receptors that when displaced by vibrations in fluid of cochlea, excite cells of auditory nerve
72
place theory
each area along basilar membrane has hair cells sensitive to only one specific frequency of sound wave
73
frequency theory
basilar membrane vibrates in synchrony with sound and causes auditory nerve axons to produce action potentials at same frequency
74
primary auditory cortex
destination for most information from auditory system ○ Not necessary for hearing but for processing the information ○ Provides a tonotopic map - cells are more responsive to preferred tones
75
hearing loss
○ Conductive or middle ear deafness | ○ Nerve deafness or inner ear deafness
76
vestibular sense
system that detects position and movement of head - directs compensatory movement of the eye and help maintain balance (vestibular organ is in the ear)
77
somatosensation
sensation of the body and its movements
78
somatosensory cortex
various areas of somatosensory thalamus send impulses to different areas of the somatosensory cortex located in the parietal lobe
79
pain
prefrontal cortex responds to pain as long as the pain lasts (begins with the least specialized of all receptors, bare nerve endings)
80
gate theory
○ Proposes that the spinal cord areas that receive messages from pain receptors also receive input from touch receptors and from axons descending from the brain ■ These other areas that provide input can close the “gates” by releasing endorphins and decrease pain perception ■ Non-pain stimuli around it can modify the intensity of the pain
81
adaptation
reduced perception of a stimuli due to the fatigue of receptors
82
cross-adaptation
reduced response to one stimuli after exposure to another
83
olfaction
○ Detection and recognition of chemicals that contact the membranes inside the nose ○ Axons from olfactory receptors (replaced approx. every month) carry information to the olfactory bulb - coding in the brain is determined by which part of olfactory bulb is excited (olfactory bulb sends axons to cerebral cortex where messages are coded by location)
84
synesthesia
experience of one sense in response to stimulation of a different sense (seeing a number or letter as a specific color)
85
smooth muscles
control digestive system and other organs
86
skeletal muscles/striated muscles
control movement of body in relation to environment
87
fast twitch
fibers produce fast contractions but fatigue rapidly
88
slow twitch
fibers produce less vigorous contraction without fatigue
89
cardiac muscles
heart muscles that have properties of skeletal and smooth muscles
90
antagonistic muscles
movement requires the alternating contraction of opposing sets of muscles
91
posterior parietal cortex
keeps track of position of body relative to the world
92
premotor cortex
active during preparation for movement
93
supplementary motor cortex
organizes rapid sequence of movements in a specific order
94
mirror neurons
active during both preparation of a movement and while watching someone else perform the same or similar movement
95
cerebellum
structure in brain often associated with balance and coordination, important for establishment of new motor programs, critical for certain aspects of attention such as shifting attention and attend to visual stimuli
96
basal ganglia
responsible for initiating an action not guided by a stimulus learning new motor skills, organizing sequences of movement, new habits, and automatic behaviors
97
Parkinsons
characterized by muscle tremors, rigidity, slow movements, and difficulty initiating physical and mental activity ○ Symptoms also include depression, memory and reasoning deficits, loss of olfaction, and other cognitive deficits ○ L-dopa is primary treatment
98
Huntington's
neurological disease characterized by various motor symptoms ○ Initial motor symptoms - arm jerks and facial twitches → progress to tremors that affect walking, speech, and other voluntary movements ○ Also psychological disorders - depression, memory impairment, poor judgment, drug abuse, hallucination/delusions
99
Circadian rhythm
○ Keeps our internal workings in phase with outside world ○ Human circadian clock generates a rhythm slightly longer than 24 hours when it has no external cue to set it ○ Sometimes necessary to reset it ○ Zeitgeber “time giver” - stimulus that resets circadian rhythm (sunlight, tides, exercise, meals, temperature of environment)
100
mechanisms of biological clock
○ The suprachiasmatic nucleus - main control center of circadian rhythms of sleep and temperature ○ Genes that produce certain proteins ○ Melatonin levels
101
sleep stages
○ 1-4 → after an hour you cycle back through stages from 4, 3, 2, & REM → sequence repeats with each cycle lasting approx. 90 minutes ○ Stages 3 & 4 predominate early (length decreases) ○ REM sleep is predominate later (length increases) ○ During REM sleep: activity increases in pons and limbic system and decreases in primary visual cortex, motor cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
102
brain function in REM
○ Cells in pons sends messages to spinal cord which inhibits motor neurons that control body’s large muscles (prevents motor movement during REM sleep) ○ REM also regulated by serotonin and acetylcholine
103
functions of sleep
○ Resting muscles ○ Decreasing metabolism ○ Performing cellular maintenance in neurons ○ Reorganizing synapses ○ Strengthening memories (patterns of activity in hippocampus during learning were similar to those shown during sleep) ■ During REM - brain may discard useless connections and learned motor skills may be consolidated
104
activation-synthesis hypothesis
suggests that dreams begin with spontaneous activity in pons, which activates many parts of the cortex
105
clinico-anatomical hypothesis
dreams begin with arousing stimuli that are generated within the brain (stimulation is combined with recent memories and information from the senses) - brain is processing information it had all day but just in a less organized way ■ Activity is high in the hypothalamus and amygdala - accounts for the emotional and motivational content of dreams
106
drug agonists
○ Attach to receptor sites - produce EPSPs or IPSPs ○ Attach to receptor sites - increase effect of neurotransmitters ○ Block enzymatic degradation or reuptake ○ Enhance release of neurotransmitter ○ Increase amount of neurotransmitters stored in vesicles (synthesis increased; reuptake degrading enzymes can be destroyed) ○ Prevent inhibition of continued neurotransmitter release by binding to autoreceptors
107
drug antagonists
○ Block activity of neurotransmitter ■ False transmitters can attach to receptor sites without having effect of neurotransmitter ■ Decrease synthesis ■ Produce loss of neurotransmitter from vesicles ■ Inhibit release of neurotransmitter

PCOM Specific (11 decks)

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