Topic Test 2 Flashcards
how does research get disseminated?
- published as journal articles
- published in peer-reviewed scientific journals
how is research disseminated when published as journal articles
describe background, methods, results, and conclusions
how is research disseminated when published in peer-reviewed scientific journals
- reviewed for technical and scientific quality by peers who are experts in the field
- goal is to reject articles that are based on flawed premises, poor study design, biased analysis or interpretations
- but the best journals reject a lot
top-tier journals reject a lot - how much do they reject?
- > 90%
- research not bad, just not ground-breaking
lower-end research journals are more accepting - what do they accept?
more incremental research
which process is the most important in research dissemination?
peer-review process
how do we get access to articles?
many require a subscription
- generally paid for by universities for students and researchers
Ongoing push for “open access” publications
- authors pay a fee so the articles are free to the public
why is open-access publication sometimes an issue?
some journals might forego quality control over money
how do we find articles?
databases and search engines
list the common structure of a journal article
abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion
describe the abstract
brief summary of the journal article
describe the introduction
what is the question?
describe the methods
how did you try to answer the question?
describe the results
what did you find?
describe the discussion
what does it mean?
describe the conclusion
take home message
what are the 6 questions you should ask when reading a scientific paper (ruel 3 of 10 smpl rules for reading a scientific paper)
1) what do they want to know?
2) What did they do?
3) Why did they do it that way?
4) What did the results show?
5) How did they interpret them?
6) What next?
list the reading tips (for papers) given in class
Will likely have to read it more than once
- give it a skim first (purpose, topic sentences, figures, conclusion)
Read critically
Be kind
list the components of reading critically (reading tips)
- remain open minded to the fact that your preciously held ideas may be wrong
- do not make the mistake of thinking that authors are always right
- keep in mind that writers of academic articles are trying to persuade you to agree with their ideas
treat critical reasing as a skill to develop through practice, think of:
- marking and looking up all vocab and oncepts that you’re unfamiliar with
- taking notes of the text’s main ideas and adding your own responsive comments
- talking to others about what you have read
- relating ideas from class
- thinking of summarizing/explaining what it means to a non-specialist - explain to friends/parents etc,
being able to succinctly summarize is key to showing you understand
the brain is the _ in the body
most complex organ
*it builds our entire worldly experience
what are the 2 types of cells in the nervous system
glia and neurons
describe glia
- greek for “glue
- insulate, support, and nourish neurons
- may even influence processing
*aka the cookie dough part of cookie
describe neurons
- process information
- sense environmental changes
- communicate changes to other neurons
- command body response
aka. chocolate in cookie
what are the 2 basic parts of a neuron?
soma and neurites
what is the soma? What does the soma consist of?
- greek for “body”
- aka cell body/perikaryon
- contains nucleus and many organelles
what do the neurites consist of?
dendrites: receive info
axons : send info
*anything thaat comes off the soma
name the difference between a neuron and nerve
neuron: cells that sends and receives electrical signals
nerve: a group of fibers that carry information (bundle of axons)
list the components of the soma
cytosol, organelles cytoplasm
describe the cytosol
watery fluid inside the cell, separated from outside by neuronal membrane
describe the organelles
- membrane enclosed structures within the soma
- nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochonria, etc.
describe the cytoplasm
- everything contained within the cell membrane
cytoplasm = cytosol+organelles-nucleus
name the other components in the neuron
neuronal membrane, cytoskeleton
describe the neuronal membrane
barrier that encloses cytoplasm and regulates membrane potential
- embedded with proteins that grant access and regulate concentrations
- structure of membrane varies based on neuron regions
describe the cytoskeleton
- bones of the neuron
- not static - continually remodeling and in motion
- 3 structures (microfilaments, neurofilaments, microtubules)
name the 3 stages of Alzheimer’s disease
- preclinical alzheimer’s
- mild cognitive impairment
- dementia
what has been the dominant theory on the cause of alzheimer’s disease?
amyloid plaques, proteins not cleared as they should be and they build up
- disrupt signalling/flow of info
- issues with how brain can manage protein breakdown
what solution did researchers come up with for alzheimers based on the amyloid hypothesis? What did they find?
- FDA approved drug that helps break down the plaque
- no noticeable symptomatic/clinical meaningful results even though plaque decreases
- others have since received more complete FDA approval
*none have received approval in Canada yet, but under review
what is the second major theory about the cause of Alzheimer’s?
- tau hypothesis
- structure of axon (itself that is breaking down)
- tangling of microtubules may precede plaque formation
- variety of clinical trials with limited success
Given the 2 theories on Alzheimer’s, which is a possible cause? What also plays a role?
- synergistic, amyloid and neurons/tau (not competing, working together to progress the disease)
- both occur together in patients
- inflammation (in CNS) and vascular dysfunction (bf less efficient) may initiate or accelerate the process
axons transfer information over distances - what is the range?
1mm to over 1m (sciatic nerve)
the axon has 3 areas - name them
axon hillock (beginning)
axon proper (middle)
axon terminal (end/transitioning between cell body and axon proper)
What is the point of contact between axon and another neuron?
synapse
axons don’t always have a direct path - what can we have instead?
axon collaterals
- 1 neuron won’t connect to another in 1-1 path
- millions of neurons connected in super complex ways
why does size matter in axons?
- the thicker the axons, the faster the signal travels
*humans have 1-25 hm in diameter (aka. length of your fingernail in a second)
How does the axon terminal differ from the rest of the axon?
- no microtubules in terminal
- has synaptic vesicles
- abundance of membrane proteins
- large number of mitochondria
what is the axon synapse?
- provides the contact site for transmission of signal (eg. electric-chemical-electric)
- presynaptic (sends signal) vs postsynaptic (receives signal)
*junction between the 2
what does “dendrites” mean in greek?
tree
describe dendrites
- dendritic tree (all) with dendritic branches (individual)
- the “antennae” of neurons and covered in thousands of receptors
- receptors to receive neurotransmitters
*all connections set up complex transmission of signals
how are neurons classified?
1) number of neurites
2) dendritic and somatic morphology
3) connections within the CNS
4) axonal length
how do we classify neurons based on the number of neurites?
- number of axons/dendrites branching off
- unipolar
- pseudounipolar
- bipolar
- multipolar
*based on number of neurites coming out from soma
what classifies a neuron as unipolar?
only 1 structure that extends from the soma
what classifies a neuron as bipolar?
one axon and one dendrite extending from soma