week 2- aging

Question 1

ID the steps in the Neurochemical Cascade during the Induction of LTP

Answer 1

The large Ca2+influx activates certain _protein kinase_s– enzymes that catalyze phosphorylation.

CaM kinase affects AMPA receptors:

•Phosphorylates receptors in dendritic spines

•Moves receptors from the interior of the spines into the membrane

• The activated protein kinases also trigger protein synthesis.
• Kinases phosphorylate and activate the transcription factor cAMP responsive element-binding protein(CREB)

Question 2

name the trophins involved in Growth, maintenance, survival, plasticity

Answer 2

• Neurotrophin family
• Brain-derivedneurotrophicfactor (BDNF)
• Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3)
• Nerve growth factor (NGF)
• Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)
• Galanin

Question 3

ID the impact of exercise on the brain

Answer 3

Trophic factor gene expression.

Dendritic arborization, spine densities.

Neurogenesis (hippocampus).

Question 4

ID the types of learning and memory

Answer 4

involved in consolidation process from short term memory are the following

Hippocampus and temporal (entorhinal) cortex: declarative

Basal ganglia and motor cortex:

non-declarative

Question 5

name the tasks most important in hippocampal, caudate and visual cortex, basal ganglia

Answer 5

hippocampus- spatial (episodic memory, events)

caudate nucleus of basal ganglia - response recognition (skill learning)

visual cortex- for object recognition (cortical areas in general are important for semantic memory)

Question 6

what can cause changes in grey matter

when does grey vs white matter decline

Answer 6

cell death, shrinkage, synaptic pruning, or myelination (i.e. change in proportion of white matter).

grey matter- generally declines between aldulthood and old age

white- generally increases, peaks 19-40 yrs old then plummits

Question 7

elevation in what 3 things predict Alzheimer’s-related cognitive decline

Answer 7

CSF, beta-amyloid and tau

Question 8

brain regions associated with aging

Answer 8

Locus Coeruleus (NE) in pons:

• attention, sleep architecture ( may be why sleep quality declines with age, this is also associated with stress)

Substantia Nigra, VTA (DA):

• motor control, motivation?

N. Basalis (ACh):

• cognitive functions

hippocampal shrinkage also seen

Question 9

Diminished autobiographical memory associated with decreased volumes in what lobe of the brain

Answer 9

temporal- often seen in alz, main marker. Alz PTs loose sense of self

Question 10

ID some changes that are involved with normal aging on MRI and then with functional imaging

Answer 10

Structural (primarily MRI):

• Cortical gray matter reduction (and ventricular enlargement), primarily frontal cortex .
• Decreased temporal lobe volumes (hippocampus and entorhinal cortex).
• Anterior white matter decline.

Functional (fMRI, PET, SPECT):

• Decreased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF); primarily cortex.
• Decreased sensory-evoked activation in primary sensory areas and increased activation

in prefrontal cortex (compensatory).

• General decreases in lateralization (hemispheric asymmetry reduction in old [HAROLD], a compensatory strategy).

Question 11

ID the structural andfunctional changes seen in AD

Answer 11

Structural:

Early

Decreased hippocampal volumes.

Decreased entorhinal cortical volumes

Late

General decreases in gray and white matter.

Marked cell loss in temporal lobes and basal forebrain.

Marked cerebral atrophy.

Functional:

Reduced temporal lobe metabolism in serial learning task.

Decreased hippocampal region activation, particularly on tasks of encoding.

New regions of activation not seen during the task in healthy controls

Question 12

compare and contrast normal versus AD aging

Answer 12

Question 13

ID some mechanisms by which you could increase Ca to activate CAM

and mechanisms by which you could increase transmitter release

Answer 13

CAM:

A particularly strong EPSP may occur with a salient event, such as when environmental stimuli are temporally associated or when learning a new skill, which may displace the Mg++ion and render the postsynaptic membrane more excitable.

transmitter release:

Retrograde neurotransmitters, such as nitric oxide or endocannabinoids, can modulate the release of glutamate

Question 14

deficits is what type of memory is typical for Alz versus parkinson

Answer 14

alz: spatial( declarative)

Parkinson’s: Non-declarative (implicit)