Topic 1 - Intro and cells of the nervous system Flashcards
What does the peripheral nervous sytem split into?
the somatic and autonomic nervous system
What are the key areas of the brain?
- Forebrain (CTH - cerebral hemispere, thalamus and hypothalamus)
- Midbrain
- Hindbrain (pons, cerebellum and medulla)
What is in the ventricular system?
- cavity and cerebrospinal fluid –> provides protection, maintaines ion levels and removes waste
In nervous system tissue, what is the difference between white and grey matter?
white matter = neuronal axons wrapped in myelin
grey matter = neuronal cell bodies and unmyelinated neurons and glia.
What are the divisons of the spinal cord?
DAVE
Doral, afferent, ventral, efferent
What is a ganglion?
A cluster of cell bodies
What are neurons?
Excitable cells that conduct impulses – enable messages to be sent.
What stain can be used to distinguish between neurons and glia?
Nissl stain differs between neurons and glia (cresyl violet, cytoarchitecture)
- stains nucleolus of all cells
- neurons have nissl bodies
- glia = stain as dot
- neuron = nissl body is stained around nuclei
What stain uses silver chromate?
Golgi (camillo) stain
- silver chromate, highlights some neurons, neuron doctrine
What is the soma?
- Nucleus
- organelles for protein synthesis
- mitochondria
What are the features of axons?
○ No rough ER or free ribosomes (?)
○ Membrane composition different
○ <1 mm to >1 m in length
○ 1 µm - 25 µm diameter
What is Immunochemistry?
uses specific primary antibodies made to bind to protein of interest, fluorescent secondary antibodies to then localise protein.
- fixed tissue, antibodies, fluorescent microscope.
What is anterograde or retrograde labelling?
Retrograde tracers - Inject HRP, 2 days later after retrograde transport shows HRP labelled neurons.
HRP - find cell body location
What are dendrites?
and what are the 2 types of dendritic geometry?
convergence - increasing the strength of connectivity and activity in neuronal networks.
pyrimidal and stellate shaped.
To visualise neurons how is live imaging of flurorescent dye and electron microscope used?
fluorescent dye can be genetic or injected.
Electron microscope can show synpases and organelles.
What are the 3 types of neurons/
- unipolar e.g dorsal root ganglion
- biploar e.g retinal bipolar cells
- multipolar
What are glia?
the ‘glue’ - supporting cells to maintain homeostasis
What are astrocytes?
- have a unique marker - GFAP
- They control the environment of surrounding neurons.
- glycogen stores of the brain.
What is the tripartite synapse?
- Terminates neurotransmitter activity
- Recycles neurotransmitteras to presynaptic terminals.
What is myelination?
What forms myelin of CNS axons and which forms PNS myelin?
Myelination is insulating and creates nodes of ranvier enabling saltatory conduction.
Oligodendrocytes form myelin sheaths of CNS axons:
- Can provide multiple myelinated sheaths
Schwann cells:
- form myelin sheaths of the PNS (peripheral)
