Review 10 Flashcards
Prolactin vs. Oxytocin
Prolactin - is released by the anterior pituitary shortly after childbirth (when levels of estrogen and progesterone drop and release the inhibition on prolactin), and again each time the infant nurses. Its function is to stimulate the production of breastmilk.
Oxytocin - Oxytocin is the primary hormone functioning during childbirth; it stimulates the strong uterine contractions necessary to expel the baby from the uterus. It also stimulates the contraction of other reproduction smooth muscle, such as the milk ducts in the mammary glands; this facilitates milk ejection. Oxytocin is released along with prolactin each time the baby nurses.
DNA Topoisomerase Note
It breaks super coils.
Note about steric hindrance
Steric issues are generally only taken into account with bulky ligands on metals; such as large organic entities.
Solvation Energy
The energy of solvation is the amount of energy associated with dissolving a solute in a solvent. If it is a positive number, the dissolving process is endothermic; if it is negative, it’s exothermic
Alpha decay
Lose of Helium Nucleus
-4 from mass and -2 from the atomic number
Beta Decay
Neutron becomes a proton, electron emitted or positron absorbed
No change in mass and +1 to atomic number
Electron Capture
Also a form of beta decay. Proton becomes a neutron, an electron is absorbed.
No change in mass and -1 to atomic number
Positron Emission
Also a form of beta decay. Proton becomes a neutron, a positron is emitted.
No change to the mass number and -1 to atomic number.
Gamma Decay
Emit high energy gamma-ray (neutron becomes proton and electron)
No change in both mass number and atomic number.
Rates Equation
Decreased Rates is a Kinetic property and NOT a thermodynamic property.
Pairs of Cranial and Spinal Nerves
12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves
Parts of the brain named for development
Prosencephalon - Forebrain
Mesencephalon - Midbrain
Rhombencephalon - Hindbrain
6 Important functions of the Nervous System
Basic - (Sensory, Motor, and Automatic)
Higher - (Consciousness, emotion, and thinking)
Motor Unit
This is the lower motor neurons and the skeletal muscle they are associated with
Neuromuscular junction
This is the synapse between the motor neuron and the muscles it is in control of
Size of the motor units of fast vs. slow muscles
Fast will have smaller motor unit and slow will have larger motor units
Main characteristic(s) of motor unit Abnormalities
Weakness and Lower Motor neurons signs
Lower motor neuron signs
- Hypotonia
- Fasciculations
- Hyporeflexia (Decreased muscle stretch reflexes)
- Atrophy (decreased size)
5 Peripheral Somatosensation
- Position
- Vibration
- Touch
- Temperature
- Pain
Receptors Types
- Mechanoreceptors - Position, vibration, and touch
- Nociceptors - Pain, and touch
- Thermoreceptors - Temperature and some touch
Nerve Endings
Some nerves can be covered and others have bare endings
Difference between receptors
Mechanoreceptors:
- Fast action potential
- Thick myelin
- Large diameter of axon
Nociceptors and Thermoreceptors
- Slower action potential
- Smaller axon
- Thin myelination of unmyelinated
Types of touch
- Fine touch - Faster receptors
2. Gross - Slow receptors
Explain how the sensory and motor neurons functioning muscle stretch reflex
- Top thigh muscle is contracting from the sensory neuron transmitting information and the motor neuron relaying information
- Lower thigh muscle is relaxing because while the sensory neuron is exciting, other neuron-like inhibitory neurons are also excited to cause the muscle not to contract but relax.
Explanation for reflexes and hypoflexia
- Hypoflexia can be explained as deficiency of the sensory and efferent muscles.
- Reflex can be explained as due to the higher functions not being connected to this connection and so much making sense of it when they happen only after they happen.
Effects of Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System
Look at the Kaplan books
Autonomic Nervous system
- Functional division of nervous system
- Efferent neurons in the autonomic nervous system that do specific things.
Efferent neurons
a. Smooth muscle (digestive system blood flow)
b. Cardiac muscle
c. Gland cells (saliva, sweat, etc)
Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic
Sympathetic Nervous System:
a. Location: middle of the spinal cord
b. Short then long axon to cell
c. Fight or flight response
Parasympathetic Nervous System:
a. Location: Top of the spinal cord or bottom of brain and bottom of the spinal cord
b. Long axon then short axon
c. Rest and digest response.
Gray matter vs. White matter definition
Gray matter is darker with mostly soma of neurons, while white matter is mostly myelinated axons
Gray matter and White matter in spinal cord
Gray matter is in the middle of the spinal cord, while white matter is on the outer part
Gray matter and white matter in brain
Gray is the outer part called cortex and also in the cerebellum. White matter is in the middle part of the brain.
Note that there are some gray matter pieces embedded in the white matter and they are called nucleus or nuclei
Tract
Collection of axons from one central nervous system to another.
How are upper motor neuron and lower motor neurons related?
The upper motor neuron has their soma in the gray matter of the cerebral cortex. They control the action of the lower motor neuron.
Corticospinal tract
This is the arrangement of the collection of axons from the upper motor neuron cerebral cortex where they start at the cortex and go down the brain stem on the right side and cross over to the left side and control the lower motor neuron on that side.
Corticobulbar tract
This is the arrangement of the collection of axons from the upper motor neuron cerebral cortex where they start at the cortex and go down the brain stem on the right side and remain on this right side and control the lower motor neuron on that side.
Problems of the Upper Motor neuron and Lower motor neuron
Upper motor neuron involved in the corticospinal tract with lower motor neuron usually cause problems with the left side but those involved in the corticobulbar tract usually cause problems on the right side.
Abnormalities of Upper Motor Neurons Signs
- Hyperreflexia - Increase in muscle stretch reflexia and this is likely caused by supersensitivity of the lower motor neuron because they lack periodic control of the upper motor neuron.
- Clonnis:
a. Rhythmic contraction of antagonist muscle
b. Possibly caused by hyperreflexia.
c. Think knee-jerk - Hypertonia
- Extension Plantar response - Normal response is flex and abnormal response is extension.
What are somatosensory tracts? Why is injury on one side (right) side affecting left side
Stimulus from either of the senses - position, vibration, fine touch, pain, temperature, and gross touch can start on the right side through their associated somatosensory tracts and then cross over to the left side where they collect in the same spot in the cerebellum where they are then transferred to the left part of the cerebral cortex to make sense of these stimuli.
If there is an injury on this left side, it can affect the function on the right side. because of this functioning.
Cerebellum division, main function and how it accomplishes it
- Left and right cerebellar hemisphere.
- Uses:
a. The motor plan from cerebrum and its axons
b. Position sense compares the position to see if it is accurate
c. Feeback modification: After all the information, it can modify of so.
Functions of Cerebellum
- Middle of the cerebellum - middle part of the body like trunk
- Left cerebellum - left limbs
- Some other functions:
a. Speech - tongue, lips
b. Eye movement
Brainstem and most of its functions
- It connects all of the nervous system together: brain, spinal cord, and cranial nerves
Medulla and Spinal cord
There are some similarities between these two because of the proximity and seen in the similarity of the gray and white matter.
Reticular formation
Scattering of soma gray matter in the “white matter” (usually would be white matter in the brain) and they function to:
a. Autonomic like:
1. Circulation
2. Respiration
3. Digestion
b. Higher brain function
Long tracts and relevance in brainstem
- Connections of long axons from the cerebrum down to the spinal cord and their bulk pass through the brainstem
Categories:
a. Upper motor neurons (motor function)
b. Somatosensory tracts
Brainstem and cranial nerves
- Attaches most of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves
- Cranial nerve functions:
a. Sensory function
b. Motor functions
c. Automatic functions like reflex - They are related to a lot of the gray matter nuclei in the brain because they carry information from/away/to them
Other functions of the cranial nerves
- Function of head and neck.
- Some function in trunk and limbs
c. Sensation of face, eye, throat, etc.
Subcortical cerebrum
- Deep structures, connections, and parts of the cerebrum.
- Made up of white matter structures (like corpus callosum and internal capsule) and subcortical nuclei
- Examples: Basal ganglia, thalamus, and hypothalamus
Basal Ganglia
Some subcortical nuclei function as a unit collectively and known as basal ganglia.
Functions:
a. Motor
b. Cognition
c. Emotion
Thalamus
Other subcortical nuclei in the cerebrum called diencephalon as the structure it grows from.
Functions:
a. Sensory functions
b. Higher functions due to connections to other areas.
Hypothalamus
Named this because it is below the thalamus
Functions:
a. Connected to the pituitary, so links, connect, and controls endocrine system.
b. Like the thalamus, it does higher functions because it is connected to other areas.
