PSYC235 > Chapter 1,2,3 > Flashcards

Chapter 1,2,3 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are neurons?

A

Cells specialized for communication across the body.

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2
Q

What are Glial Cells?

A

Cells that provide protection and support to neurons.

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3
Q

What are the four zones of the Neuron?

A

Input Zone, Integration Zone, Conduction Zone, Output Zone.

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4
Q

What is the Dendrites purpose?

A

Receive information for the cell body.

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5
Q

What is the Nucleus?

A

DNA of the cell

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6
Q

What is the Cell Body (Soma)?

A

Contains the Nucleus

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7
Q

What is the Axon?

A

A single extension from the neuron cell body that carries messages

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8
Q

What is the Axon Hillock?

A

enlargement; cone
shaped at cell body
edge.

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9
Q

What are the Axon Collaterals?

A

Branches of the axon

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10
Q

What are the Axon Terminals?

A

end of the axon Forms synapses with
other neurons

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11
Q

What are the two ways neurons can be classified?

A

Type and Shape

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12
Q

What is a sensory neuron?

A

Connects a sensory organ to the nervous system

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13
Q

What is a motor neuron?

A

Connects a muscle/gland to the nervous system.

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14
Q

What is an interneuron?

A

Connects one neuron to another.

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15
Q

What are Synapses?

A

The point of communication between cells.

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16
Q

What is the Synaptic Cleft/Synaptic Gap?

A

The space between the presynaptic and postsynaptic cells at a synapse.

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17
Q

What is the Presynaptic Cell?

A

The transmitting side of a synapse

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18
Q

What is the Postsynaptic Cell?

A

The receiving side of a synapse

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19
Q

What are the Synaptic Vesicles?

A

A small, spherical structure that contains molecules of neurotransmitter.

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20
Q

What are receptors, and where are they found?

A

A specialized protein that reacts to a neurotransmitter, located in the cell membrane.

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21
Q

What are spines, and where are they found?

A

Small projections from the surface of the dendrite that create space for synapses.

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22
Q

What Glial cells are present in the Brain and Spinal cord?

A

Oligodendrocytes

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23
Q

What Glial cells are present in the Peripheral Nerves?

A

Schwann cells

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24
Q

What is Myelin?

A

Fatty insulation around a neuron

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25
What are Astrocytes?
A star shaped cell that regulates the chemical environment
26
What are the divisions of the Nervous System?
Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System
27
What are the divisions of the Peripheral Nervous System?
Autonomic Nervous System and Somatic Nervous System
28
What are the divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System?
Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic Nervous System
29
What does the Central Nervous System do?
contains the brain and spinal cord
30
What does the Peripheral Nervous System do?
contains all nerves outside the brain and spinal cord
31
What does the Autonomic Nervous System do?
Provides main neural connection to the internal organs
32
What does the Somatic Nervous System?
Provides main neural connection to the skeletal muscles and sensory systems
33
What does the Sympathetic Nervous System do?
Fight or Flight; Prepares the body for action
34
What does the Parasympathetic Nervous System do?
Rest and Digest; Prepares the body to relax
35
What are the divisions of the brain?
Forebrain, Midbrain, Hindbrain
36
What structures are part of the Forebrain?
Basal Ganglia, Hippocampus, Amygdala, Cingulate gyrus, Thalamus, Hypothalamus
37
What structures are part of the Midbrain?
Tectum (Roof)
38
What structures are part of the Hindbrain?
Cerebellum, Pons, Medulla
39
What are ventricles? What is found inside them and what is their function?
Cavities and channels filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to protect the brain
40
What are the four lobes of the cortex?
Frontal, Temporal, Parietal, Occipital
41
What is the major function of the Frontal lobe?
movement planning and high-level cognition
42
What is the major function of the Temporal lobe?
auditory inputs, language and memory functions
43
What is the main function of the Parietal Lobe?
sensory information from the body, spatial cognition
44
What is the main function of the Occipital Lobe?
Vision
45
What is the corpus callosum?
Connect the left brain and right brain
46
What is the main purpose of the blood-brain barrier?
To keep toxins in the blood out of the brain
47
What does it mean to say that neurons are “polarized”?
The is a difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the neuron
48
What is meant by a neuron’s membrane potential? What causes it to change?
The is a difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the neuron
49
What are ion channels? What is their purpose/function?
Pore forming proteins that allow specific ions to pass through
50
What is the resting membrane potential of a neuron, and what determines it?
The difference in electrical potential across the membrane of a cell at rest.
51
What is the distribution of ions at resting potential.
K+(inside), Na+(outside), Ca2+(outside), Cl-(outside)
52
What are the two ion gradients, and how do they affect each specific ion?
Diffusion (High to low), Electrostatic Pressure (opposites attract)
53
What is meant by selective permeability?
The property of a membrane that allows some substances to pass through, but not others.
54
How does the sodium/potassium pump work generally?
The energetically expensive mechanism that pushes sodium ions out of a cell, and potassium ions in.
55
What is hyperpolarization?
Increase in membrane potential
56
What is depolarization?
Decrease in membrane potential
57
What initiates the first action potential (AP) in a neuron? How does a neuron reach threshold?
Electrical stimulation brings membrane potential to threshold potential. sodium and potassium ions
58
What are the stages of the AP, and what causes each stage?
Resting potential, Threshold, Absolute refractory period, Relative refractory period, Afterpotential, Return to resting potential
59
Since APs are all or none, how does a neuron encode the strength of a signal(s)?
the speed of an action potential decides the strength of a signal
60
Relative refractory periods and its cause
A period of reduced sensitivity during which only strong stimulation produces an action potential. k+ ions are still flowing out
61
Absolute Refractory Period and its cause
A brief period of complete insensitivity to stimuli. Inactive Voltage-gated Na+ channels
62
What is meant by the “all-or-none” property of the AP?
The condition that the size (amplitude) of the action potential is independent of the size of the stimulus.
63
How is the AP propagated down the axon?
Saltatory Conduction
64
What is meant by “saltatory conduction”?
The form of conduction that is characteristic of myelinated axons, in which the action potential jumps from one node of Ranvier to the next.
65
What is found at the nodes of Ranvier and how does this contribute to AP propagation?
Voltage Gated Na+ channels. Sodium enters the axon at the nodes and recreates the action potential at the new node.
66
How are neurotransmitters released from the axon terminals?
Exocytosis
67
What is a binding site, and where is it located?
A region on a protein where other neurotransmitters and proteins can attach.
68
When a neurotransmitter binds to a receptor, how is postsynaptic ion flow affected?
It becomes either excitatory or inhibitory
69
How can neurotransmitters be removed from the synapse?
Reuptake
70
Where and how are postsynaptic potentials produced?
Changes in dendrite (or soma) membrane potential
71
What is the difference between an EPSP and an IPSP? What specific ion movements (which ion and which direction) could cause each?
EPSP (Depolarization) Na+ or Ca2+ enter, IPSP (Hyperpolarization) K+ ions exit or Cl- ions enter
72
How are postsynaptic potentials and action potentials different?
Postsynaptic Potentials occur in the dendrites, AP occur along the axon
73
How can postsynaptic potentials be summated? What are the two types of summation?
Temporal Summation and Spatial Summation
74
What is the end result of this summation?
Action potential reaching threshold
75
What is acetylcholine?
Cognition
76
What is glutamate?
Major excitatory neurotransmitter
77
What is GABA?
Major inhibitory neurotransmitter
78
What is dopamine?
Reward, Mesolimbic Pathway
79
What is serotonin?
Mood, Sleep
80
What is norepinephrine?
Mood, eating, vigilance
81
What is the difference between agonists and antagonists?
Agonists facilitate effect of the NT, Antagonists inhibit effects of the NT
PSYC235
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