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PSYT 500 - PRE-MIDTERM > Plasticity > Flashcards

Plasticity Flashcards

1
Q

magnetic resonance spectroscopy

A

a little more accurate than CSF taps

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2
Q

molecular genetic techniques to engineer proteins for neurotransmitter sensors

A

ex. fluoresce when in contact with a neurotransmitter

ex. measuring calcium influx

invasive; can’t do in humans

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3
Q

changes in brain matter from age 5 to 20

A

frontal lobe develops until teenage years, pruning in other a reas

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4
Q

adult neurogenesis

A

in rodents, hippocampus and olfactory bulb have adult neurogenesis

issues with this can cause psychiatric disorders

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5
Q

evidence of adult neurogenesis in humans

A

in string players:

  • modalities for string playing aren’t necessarily used a lot in non-players
  • certain areas expand through the experience of learning string instruments
  • the representation of that brain area changes if you learn strings in childhood or even later in life (but to a lower extent) compared to controls
  • this suggests that the brain remains plastic even when you’re older (learning strings later in life)
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6
Q

chronic vs. acute stress

A
  • allostatic load happens with chronic stress
  • acute stress is needed for motivation, etc.
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7
Q

changes that occur with chronic stres

A
  • stress mediators like NE and cortisol will induce changes in the brain
  • detrimental to brain function and mental health in the long term
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8
Q

how are life events and mood disorders correlated?

A

high correlation between a negative life event in the month prior to an episode/attempt and the episode/attempt

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9
Q

levels of stress mediators in depressives vs. control

A

higher in depressives

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10
Q

effects of acute and chronic stress on hippocampal neurons (CA3)

A

chronic stress decreased the size of CA3 cell bodies a lot more than acute stress

chronic stress also decreased dendrites and arborization

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11
Q

CA3

A

A region in the hippocampus that receives input from the neurons of the dentate gyrus.

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12
Q

what showed the link between cortisol levels and shrinking neurons?

A

administering cyanoketone blocks stress hormone production and suggests a causal link between stress hormone level and hippocampal CA3 shrinkage

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13
Q

depression hippocampus phenotype in humans

A

smaller hippocampus volume

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14
Q

meta analysis of left hippocampal volume in depressed patients showed what?

A

decreased mean size in depressed patients vs. controls

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15
Q

why study hippocampal size in PTSD instead of depression?

A

depression is hard to study; it’s chronic and you usually only get diagnosed after having symptoms for a while. But PTSD is easier to study because it develops suddenly with a defined time of onset

easier to see if hippocampal size difference is a predisposition or a result of the disease

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16
Q

PTSD hippocampus twin studies results

A

hippocampal size negatively correlates with severity of PTSD symptoms

so the size and severity is def related = result of disease

but this correlation is still correlated with the size of the civilian twins = ALSO predisposition

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17
Q

stress resilient vs. stress vulnerable

A

not everyone with the predisposition will get the thing

readouts:

  • HPA axis
  • ANS
  • inflammatory mediators
  • exploration, anxiety, anhedonia
  • submissive behaviours
  • active coping
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18
Q

early life stress

A

abuses or neglect during brain development periods

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19
Q

symptoms of people who experienced ELS

A
  • internalizing symptoms (anxiety, avoidance)
  • externalizing symptoms (aggression, hyperactivity)
  • social impairment
  • psychiatric disorders
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20
Q

intersection of ELS and 5HT promoter polymorphisms

A

short allele (the predisposition version) is only correlated with mood disorders when there is severe ELS

21
Q

how is ELS measured in rats?

A

maternal care: active nurisng and licking and grooming = more resilient pups

can also stress the dam with not enough bedding

22
Q

effects of maternal care on HPA axis

A

pups with caring dams have lower corticosterone levels post-restraint than neglected pups

23
Q

effects of maternal care on GR of pups

A

higher methylation of GR gene in low-care pups = less glucocorticoid receptors = less negative feedback = heightened HPA axis response = less resilient to stress

pups of high-LG-ABN dams have better response to stress bc they have more GR

24
Q

adult neurogenesis studies in humans using BrdU

A
  • gets incorporated into new cells
  • shows new neuron formation in DG and C14 in human hippocampus
  • limitation: can only be observed post-mortem, so BrdU is given to ex. cancer patients who will die soon
25
adult neurogenesis study in humans using markers of progenitor cells
found no neurogenesis in adult human DG (no progenitor cells)
26
adult neurogenesis studies using nuclear bomb test C-14 levels
above-ground nuclear testing happened, changing the ratios of C14 in the atmosphere, so we have traceable levels of C14 in people born pre-cold war above-ground nuclear testing if there's no new neurogenesis, the level of C14 should be the same as air level depending on the years you're born-raised if there's new neurogenesis, levels of C14 will be higher than air level no new neurogenesis found in olfactory bulb, but was found in hippocampus! people born pre-nuclear testing had higher levels of C14 than the air levels around the time their brains were developing, so their hippocampus was indeed incorporating carbon into new neurons throughout their life
27
questions that remain with adult neurogenesis
- how much neurogenesis is necessary to produce functional changes? - how do we relate neurogenesis to functional changes? - it's easier to see it in rodents than primates
28
drug effects on novelty suppressed feeding
- chronic antidepressants decrease latency to feed - haloperidol does not decrease latency
29
NSF latency
more latency = more anxiety
30
chronic fluoxetine effect on BrdU uptake
increases BrdU uptake = increases neurogenesis in the DG
31
what is the SGZ
The subgranular zone (SGZ) is a brain region in the hippocampus where adult neurogenesis occurs
32
ablation of SGZ experiment
used x-rays to ablate part of the hippocampus that does adult neurogenesis. Blocked the effects of fluoxetine on adult neurogenesis = no uptake of BrdU after ablation despite SSRI administration
33
ablation of SGZ effects on behaviour
suppresses behavioural response to SSRIs—they no longer decrease NSF latency
34
what do the ablation studies suggest about SSRI's mechanism of action?
enhancing neurogenesis underlies part of their effects against anxiety
35
what can enhanced neurogenesis do for stressed animals?
- correct avoidance of intruder animals when under social stress - correct OFT avoidance when stressed
36
glutamate and synaptic plasticity
the more often glutamate can excite neurons, the more it contributes to LTP. By exciting the postsynaptic neuron, it encourages LTP and the creation of structural foundations for new memories
37
how is progesterone related to PPD?
progesterone is converted by 5a-reductase to form a steroid called allopregnanolone that enhances inhibition at GABAaR = GABAaR saturation = GABAaR internalization in response
38
what causes PPD?
pregnancy levels of progesterone/allopregnanolone are super high, which decreases GABAaR levels because of feedback. When the progesterone/allo levels suddenly drop after birth, the GABAaR don't necessarily come back to normal fast enough. This leads to a decrease in tonic inhibition bc now there's not enough receptors to catch the decreased amount of GABAaR ligands = decreased tonic inhibition = depression
39
what is BAX?
pro-apoptotic protein
40
BAX KO effect on stress
decreased BAX = decreased apoptosis in young neurons = more cells in DG = more resilience to stress
41
chronic social defeat stress
retired breeder (big mouse) vs. adult smaller mouse breed. put small mouse with new aggressor every day for 8-10 days and house them with a divider for 24hours = stress!
42
chronic social defeat model resilient vs. susceptible mice
resilient will still look at the aggressor during the social interaction test. susceptible mouse will be sad in the corner.
43
nucleus accumbens
a subcortical structure that participates in reward and addiction
44
what happens to activity markers in the hippocampus after stress?
in resilient animals: decrease in active neurons in the ventral hippocampus in susceptible animals: higher excitation of the vHIP-Nac pathway
45
ventral hippocampus x. NAc
vHIP projects glutamatergic neurons to NAc
46
long-term depression study with optogenetics
optogenetics used to block the vHIP-NAc glutamatergic pathway before the social interaction with aggressor test. Showed higher levels of interaction like resilient mice = less depression = vHIP-Nac activity important for resilience
47
vHIP-NAc axis
vHIP projects glutamatergic neurons to NAc, which excites the NAc
48
transcranial magnetic stimulation
a treatment that involves placing a powerful pulsed magnet over a person's scalp, which alters neuronal activity in the brain and can modulate some neuropathways = change phenotypes

PSYT 500 - PRE-MIDTERM (3 decks)

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