Physiology

Question 1

ACh

Answer 1

FUNCTION:
Voluntary movement
Memory and learning
Sleep-wake cycle

DISEASE: Low in Alzheimer’s and Dementia

BRAIN: Prevalent in Hippocampus

Question 2

Dopamine

Answer 2

FUNCTION: movement, mood, memory, sleep, reward system

DISEASE: schizophrenia (too much), Parkinson’s tremors & rigidity (too little), Tourette’s and tic disorders (too much)

BRAIN: Substantia Nigra, Caudate Nucleus (Tourette’s), Mesolimbic system (reward sys)

Question 3

Norepinephrine /noradrenaline

Answer 3

FUNCTION: mood, attention, dreaming, learning, autonomic functions

DISEASE: Depression (too little), Mania (too much)

BRAIN: N/A

Question 4

Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia

Answer 4

Too much DA > schizophrenia positive symptoms

**However, too little DA receptors in the prefrontal cortex causes cognitive impairments and negative symptoms

Question 5

Catecholamine hypothesis

Answer 5

Too little Norepinephrine can cause some forms of depression

Question 6

Serotonin/ 5-HT

Answer 6

FUNCTION: mood, hunger, sex, aggression, sleep, migraine headaches, temperature regulation

DISEASE: too much > Schizophrenia, anorexia, Autism, mania
Too little > depression, bulimia, aggression, suicide, PTSD, OCD

BRAIN: N/A

Question 7

GABA

Answer 7

FUNCTION: Eating, seizure, anxiety, movement, vision, sleep

DISEASE: too little > Huntington’s Disease and anxiety

BRAIN: Basal ganglia (Huntington’s)

Question 8

Excitatory vs inhibitory

Answer 8

Excitatory increases the likelihood of an action potential
ACh, NE, Glutamate

Inhibitory decreases the likelihood of an action potential
GABA, endorphins

Question 9

Glutamate

Answer 9

FUNCTION: Long term potentiation

DISEASE: too much (excitotoxicity)> seizures, brain damage, Huntington’s Disease, Alzheimer’s

BRAIN: N/A

Question 10

Afferent vs efferent

Answer 10

Afferent nerves connect to skin and carry sensory info

Efferent nerves have cell bodies in the spinal cord and connect to muscles to transfer motor info

Question 11

Quadriplegia /tetraplegia

Answer 11

Damage at the cervical level, which causes loss of sensory and motor functions of arms and legs

Question 12

Paraplegia

Answer 12

Damage at thoracic level causes sensory and voluntary functions of the legs

Question 13

Peripheral Nervous System

Answer 13

Somatic - governs voluntary movements. Skeletal muscles

Autonomic - governs involuntary movement. Smooth muscles, cardiac muscle and glands

Question 14

Autonomic Nervous System

2nd part of PNS, with somatic NS

Answer 14

Primary function is to maintain homeostasis. Controls involuntary movement.

Sympathetic - arousal and energy expenditure. Flight-or-fight, feeding, fucking

Parasympathetic - energy conservation. Active during digestion and rest

Question 15

Neuroimaging techniques

Answer 15

MRI, CT/ CAT - structural imaging

EMG, SSEP - conduction of nerve signals

fMRI, PET, SPECT- functional imaging

Question 16

Glial cells

Answer 16

Cover axons

Question 17

Paresis

Answer 17

Muscle weakness caused by incomplete severing of the spinal cord.

Question 18

Amino acids

Answer 18

GABA

Glutamate

Glycine

Question 19

Catecholamines

Answer 19

“Not Dogs”

Norepinephrine

Dopamine

Question 20

Peptides

Answer 20

Endogenous opioids

Substance P

Question 21

Endogenous opioids

Answer 21

Enkephalins

Endorphins

Both regulate pain and stress

Substance P - regulates pain

Question 22

Cerebellum

Answer 22

Balance and posture

Works with the basal ganglia and motor cortex to coordinate movement

Damage causes ataxia (slurred speech, tremors, poor balance)

Question 23

Ataxia

Answer 23

Involves slurred speech, severe tremors and loss of balance.

Caused by damage to the cerebellum.

Question 24

Reticular activating system

Answer 24

Screens sensory input and triggers the brain to be alert when important info is detected, especially during sleep.

Like an alarm system!

Question 25

Cerebral cortex

Answer 25

Least developed at birth

Divided into right and left hemispheres By corpus callosum

Divided by frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes

Question 26

Left hemisphere

Answer 26

Logic and language

Most people are left hemisphere dominant

Damage to left hemisphere can result in aphasia (language) disorder, other language problems and ataxia (motor) problems, and problems on right side of body

Question 27

Right hemisphere

Answer 27

Perceptual, Visuospatial, artistic, musical and intuitive activities

Expression of emotion

Damage here results in prosopagnosia, visual-perception problems, agnosia for music sounds

Affective abnormalities include apathy, hysteria, mania, impulsivity, abnormal sexual behaviors.

Question 28

Frontal lobes

Answer 28

Largest portion of the brain (1/3)

Devised of
Prefrontal cortex
Pre motor cortex
Motor cortex

Damage usually causes changes in personality, perseveration, inattention, Broca’s

Question 29

Premotor cortex vs motor cortex

Answer 29

Premotor is involved in planning movement

Motor cortex is involved in voluntary movement

Question 30

Parietal lobes

Answer 30

Contains the primary sensory cortex that processes somatosensory information

Allow for integration of senses and detection of heat, pain, and proprioception (sense body positioning)

Damage causes all the “ia’s”, right-left disorientation

Question 31

Gerstmann’s Syndrome

Answer 31

Caused by lesions to left parietal lobe

Results in
Agraphia
Acalculia
Right-left disorientation
Finger agnosia (can’t recognize own fingers as part of body)

Question 32

Sensory memory

Answer 32

Representation of an external stimulus after it has ended

Lasts 2-3 seconds