Unit 4: Ch 12 (Nervous Tissue) Flashcards
1
Q
Action potential conduction types
A
- Continuous
- Saltatory
2
Q
Action potentials
- Characteristics
- Effects
A
-
Characteristics
- All or none: occurs at the same intensity. Occurs or does not occur
- Irreversible: goes to completion once it begins
- Nondecremental: signal maintains same strength regardless of distance
-
Effects
- Depolarization
- Repolarization
- Hyperpolarization
3
Q
Anatomical classes of neurons
A
-
Unipolar neurons
- Have only a single process leading away from the soma
- Examples: carry signals to the spinal cord for touch and pain
-
Bipolar neurons (related to the head)
- 1 axon and 1 dendrite
- Examples: cells of nose, eyes, & ear
-
Multipolar neurons (most common)
- 1 axon and multiple dendrites
- Examples: most neurons of the brain and spinal cord
-
Anaxonic neurons (rare)
- Multiple dendrites but no axon
- Communicate locally through their dendrites and do NOT produce action potentials
- Examples: brain, retina, and adrenal medulla
4
Q
Anatomical subdivisions of the NS
A
-
Central Nervous System (CNS)
- Brain & spinal cord
-
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- Cranial & spinal nerves
- Sends & receives information to/from the CNS
5
Q
CNS-specific components
A
- Astrocytes: maintain the chemical environment of neurons
- Ependymal cells: secrete and circulate cerebrospinal fluid; line cavities of brain and spinal cord
- Microglia: phagocytize and destroy foreign matter; helps with immunity
- Nucleus
- Oligodendrocytes: form myelin
- Tract: axon
6
Q
Continuous conduction
A
- Second way of nerve impulse transmission
- Occurs in unmyelinated axons
- Action potential is generated along the entire length of the axon. Hence, it takes time to generate and transmit action potential
7
Q
Depolarization
A
- Any voltage shift to a less negative value
8
Q
Excitatory adrenergic synapse
- Description
- Steps
A
-
Description
- Neurotransmitter is norepinephrine (NE) & monoamines, and neuropeptides
- Acts through second-messenger systems
- Receptor is associated with a G protein on the inner face of the membrane
-
Steps
- Unstimulated NE receptor is bound to a G protein
- Binding of NE to the receptor causes the G protein to dissociate from it
- G protein binds to adenylate cyclase, converting ATP to cAMP
9
Q
Excitatory cholinergic synapse
- Description
- Steps
A
-
Description
- Ligand specific
- Neurotransmitter is ACh
-
Steps
- Voltage-gated Ca channels open with nerve signal
- Ca enters the terminal and triggers exocytosis of the synaptic vesicles, releasing ACh
- Empty vesicles drop back into the cytoplasm to be refilled with ACh, while synaptic vesicles in the reserve pool move to the active sites and release their ACh
- ACh diffuses across the synaptic cleft and binds to ligand-gated channels on the postsynaptic neuron
- As Na enters, it spreads out along the inside of the plasma membrane and depolarizes it, producing a local voltage shift called the post-synaptic potential
10
Q
Key structures of a neuron
A
-
Axon
- Axon hillock: A mound on one side of the neurosoma
- Axoplasm: cytoplasm
- Axolemma: phospholipid bilayer (membrane)
- 2 forms
- Myelin sheath
- Synaptic knobs
-
Dendrites
- Primary site for receiving signals from neurons
-
Soma/cell center/neurosoma/perikayron/cell body
- Central nucleus with large nucleolus
- Cytoplasm: mitochondria, lysosomes, Golgi complex, inclusions, rER, & cytoskeleton
- Cytoskeleton: microtubules & neurofibrils
- Lacks centrioles
11
Q
Local potentials
- Characteristics
- Effects
A
-
Characteristics
- Graded: proportional to stimulus strength
- Decremental: signal grows weaker with distance
- Reversible: returns to RMP if stimulation ceases before the threshold is reached
-
Effects
- Excitation: cause a more positive or less negative change in charge on the cell membrane (depolarizing)
- Inhibition: cause a more negative voltage change (hyperpolarizing)
12
Q
Myelin description
A
- Segmented (discontinuous)
- Myelin-covered segments from each node to the next are internodal segments
- Each gap between segments is a myelin sheath gap or node of Ranvier
- Myelin is found in the internodes
- Myelination is the production of the myelin sheath
13
Q
Nerve fibers conduction speed
- Description
- Factors impacting speed
- Fiber classifications
A
-
Description
- The speed at which a nerve signal travels along a nerve fiber
-
Factors
- Diameter of nerve fiber (larger is faster)
- Presence or absence of myelin
- Temperature
-
Classification system
- A fibers: fastest, largest diameter, myelinated
- B fibers: intermediate, myelinated
- C fibers: slowest, smallest diameter, unmyelinated
14
Q
Neural circuits
- Description
- Intensity variables
- Types
A
- Neural circuits interconnect to one another to form large-scale brain networks
- Intensity variables
- Population
- Frequency
- Types
- Converging circuit: many neurons condensed into 1 output
- Diverging circuit: 1 neuron provides instruction to multiple neurons
- Parallel after-discharge circuit: neurons run in parallel. They do not synapse with each other
- Reverberating circuit: allows for the signal to multiple neurons that returns a signal to the original neuron
- Simple circuit: contains presynaptic neuron that provides to 1 postsynaptic neuron
- Notes
- Important for regulation of the heart and regions of the respiratory system
15
Q
Neuroglia
A
- Helps to maintain homeostasis of the NS
- Unable to create instructions