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Cognitive Psychology > Synapses > Flashcards

Synapses Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a synapse?

A

Communication between neurons

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2
Q

What is the sending neuron called?

A

Pre-synaptic neuron

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3
Q

What is the receiving neuron called?

A

Post-synpatic neuron

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4
Q

What are the two types of synapses?

A

Chemical - slower but more prices, more common

Electrical - fast transmission

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5
Q

Where is the pre-synpatic membrane found?

A

Membrane of terminal button

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6
Q

Where is the postsynaptic membrane?

A

Membrane of receiving neuron

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7
Q

What is the synaptic cleft?

A

The gap of extracellular fluid between the sending and receiving neuron

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8
Q

What are synaptic vesicles?

A

These are spherical inside the terminal button and contain neurotransmitters

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9
Q

Is communication between neurons chemical or electrical?

A

Chemical

It goes across the synaptic cleft to produce a postsynaptic potential - a brief change in polarisation and this may trigger an action potential in the receiving neuron

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10
Q

What is an axodendritic synapse?

A

Most common - Axon (terminal buttons) to dendrites (from sending axon to dendrites of receiving neuron)

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11
Q

What is an axosomatic synpase?

A

Axon terminal buttons to soma (from sending axon to soma of receiving neuron)

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12
Q

What is an dendrodentritic synapse?

A

Dendrite to dendrite transmission

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13
Q

What is an axoaxonic synpase?

A

when neuron A synpases on the terminal button of neuron B. This increases/decreases the effects of neuron B on another neuron C. and is called pre-synaptic facilitation/inhibition.

The advantage of presynaptic facilitation and inhibition is that they selectively influence single synapses rather than the entire neuron.

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14
Q

What substances are released and allow communication between neurons?

A
  1. neurotransmitters
  2. neuromodulators (proteins)
  3. Hormones
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15
Q

What are neurotransmitters?

A

Released by terminal buttons across the synapse to receptors (travel short distance)

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16
Q

What are neuromodulators?

A

Peptides released by terminal buttons to receptors

Released in large amount and travel further

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17
Q

What are Hormones?

A

Travel in blood to TARGET cells

Produced and released by endocrine glands

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18
Q

Once synthesized in the terminal button, what do neurotransmitters travel in when they are in the terminal button?

A

Packaged vesicles called quanta

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19
Q

Neuromodultaros (large peptides) and assembled in the cell body, packaged in vesicles and transported to the axon terminal. What is axoplasmic transport?

A

The active process by which vesicles and transported from the soma to terminal buttons along microtubule

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20
Q

What is a fusion pore?

A

The first stage of release of transmitter substance

When some synaptic vesicles ‘dock’ against the presynaptic membrane, groups of protein molecules in the vesivle attached to protein molecules in the membrane, forming a FUSION PORE.

21
Q

What is exocytosis?

A

The membrane of the vesicle fuses with the membrane of the pre-synaptic membrane and the contents of the vesicle move into the synpatic cleft. This is called exocytosis

22
Q

What happens after exocytosis?

A

Transmitters diffuse across synaptic cleft to postsynaptic membrane, and look for specific receptors to interact with.

23
Q

During exocystosis, what stimulates transmitter release from the vesicles?

A

When the action potentital reaches the terminal button, it depolarises the votage dependant membrane, causing the Calcium channels to open

Calcium ions (Ca2+) are higher OUTSIDE the cell, so they flood INTO the cell, by diffusion and electrostatic pressure

Ca2+ bind to proteins on the surface of the vesicles and activate these proteins. These proteins docks with other proteins on the surface of the presynatpic membrane. This creates the fusion pore and changes the shape of the protein, making the pore open.

24
Q

What does Calcium allow?

A
  1. Produce movement of the vesicles
  2. Docking of vesicles
  3. Opening of the vesicles when the vesicle and membrane fuse together
25
Q

What makes the fusion pore open?

A

Calcium and protein binding together

26
Q

What is pinocytosis?

A

When buds of membrane pinch off at junction between axon an terminal button.

These buds fuse with cisternae and they form new vesicles form, fill with neurotransmitter, and migrate to the release zone.

This is what happens wo the membrane of vesicle that uses with presynaptic membrane.

27
Q

What do neurotransmitters attach to on the post-synaptic neuron?

A

Postsynaptic receptors (these are proteins)

Specific receptors for specific molecules

28
Q

Name some types of neurotransmitters?

A

Sertotonin, dopamine, adrenaline, endorphines, GABA

29
Q

What are excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters do?

A

Excitatory neurotransmitters encourage a target cell to take action.

Inhibitory neurotransmitters decrease the chances of the target cell taking action. In some cases, these neurotransmitters have a relaxation-like effect.

Modulatory neurotransmitters can send messages to many neurons at the same time. They also communicate with other neurotransmitters.

30
Q

2 types of receptor on the post-synaptic neuron, what are these

A

ionotropic receptor

metabotropic receptor

31
Q

What are ionotropic receptors?

A

The interaction between the neurotransmitter and the receptor opens the ion channel gate and allows the movement of ions from the cleft thereby altering the flow of ions in or out of the neuron.

32
Q

What are metabotropic receptors

A

Some neurotransmitter molecules bind to receptors on membrane signal proteins, which are linked to G proteins. When a neurotransmitter molecule binds to a metrabotropic receptor, a subunit of the G protein breaks off into the neuron and either binds to an ion channel, or stimulates the synthesis of a second messenger.

33
Q

What is the result of ionotropic receptors opening?

A

Ions go in or out of the cell.

This creates a depolarising - excitory - effect - Excitory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP)
influx of positive ions, inside becomes more positive (Na+, Ca+)

or

This creates a hyperpolarising - inhibitory - effect - inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP)
inside becomes more negative, either through efflux of K+ ions or influx of Cl- once -60mV hits.
The type depends on which ion channels are opened by the neurotransmitter

34
Q

What causes post-synpatic receptors to open?

A

Neurotransmitters - these allow ions to flow in/out

35
Q

When will an excitory postsynaptic potential occur?

A

Depolarisation of the cell (cell becomes more positive, influx of Na+ and Ca+)

36
Q

When will an inhibitory postsynaptic potential occur?

A

Hyperpolatisation of the cell (cell becomes more negative..efflux of K+.

Cl- will only enter the cell if already slightly positive at -60mV. Nothing happens with Cl- at resting potential)

37
Q

The excitory and inhibitory synpases are all brought together in the neuron at different times/places and the receiving neuron then integrates all these synapses. What is this called?

A

Semation

38
Q

How many EPSP’s are needed to generate an action potential?

A

50-100

39
Q

What controls the rate of firing of an axon?

A

The relative activity of excitatory and inhibitory synpases

40
Q

What is reuptake?

A

The rapid removal of neurotrasmitter from the post synaptic cleft into the cytoplasm of terminal bud.

41
Q

What is enzymatic deactivation?

A

The neurotransmitter in the cleft is destroyed by enzymes. This happens at junctions that allow movements and active on muscle fibres

42
Q

What are the two ways neurotransmitters are removed from the cleft?

A

Reuptake

Enzymatic deactivation

43
Q

What are autoreceptors?

A

Receptors on the terminal buttons, stop transmission of neurotransmitters to regulate number going into the synaptic cleft

Self regulated

44
Q

Electrical synapses and gap junctions - what are they?

A

Electrical, found in invertebrates mainly

physical continuity of signals between cells thanks to Gap Junctions.

45
Q

Where are electrical synpases found in humans?

A

Glial cells, allows communcations between different layers of myelin.

Demyelination causes nerve diseases and this is linked to a single mutation in the gene that codes for the connexin (which makes gap junction)

46
Q

What are gap junctions made of

A

Connexin

47
Q

Many drugs try to alter neurotransmitter activity, What are agonist drugs?

A

Increase or facilitate activity.

In Parkinsons, Dopamine (neurotransmitter) decreases the generation of dopamine neuron in base of ganglia. Therapy for this would be to administer drugs to mimic the action of dopamine neurotransmitter, causing an increase.

48
Q

Many drugs try to alter neurotransmitter activity, What are antagonist drugs?

A

Decrease or inhibit activity

In schizophrenia, there is over activity of dopamine neurotransmitters so drugs are administered to stop release of dopamine

49
Q

Where does chemical communication take place?

A

Synapses

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