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Behavioural Neuroscience > Chapter 3 > Flashcards

Chapter 3 Flashcards

1
Q

What is silver nitrate? What does it do?

A

It causes 2% of brain cells to darken in color as silver chromate crystallizes inside of them, in ever nook and cranny.

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2
Q

What is the soma?

A

The cell body - where the nucleus is located

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3
Q

What are dendrites? What are they responsible for?

A

Branched, treelike extensions from the soma. They are responsible for sensing the external environment (for collecting info relevant to the cell)

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4
Q

What are axons? What are they responsible for?

A

The one and only protrusion from a neuron’s soma. It is responsible for transmitting information to downstream cells.

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5
Q

What are axon terminals/terminal boutons responsible for?

A

They are responsible for releasing neurotransmitter when there is an action potential. They release neurotransmitter onto the downstream cells that they are in contact with.

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6
Q

How to measure the resting membrane potential?

A

With glass micro pipets - filled with solutions the conduct charge. The micro pipet is inserted through the membrane into the cell.

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7
Q

What does the voltmeter do?

A

Measures the difference in electrical change between two points, the potential difference.

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8
Q

How is the membrane potential measured?

A

On a relative scale

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9
Q

What is the resting membrane potential in nerve and muscle?

A

Between -40 and -90 mV

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10
Q

What is an ion? What is a cation vs an anion?

A

Ion: charged atom/molecule
Cation: positively charged
Anion: negatively charged

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11
Q

What’s electrostatic pressure?

A

Attractive force between molecules that are oppositely charged or repulsive force between molecules that are similar charged

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12
Q

What are ion channels?

A

Specialized protein molecules that sit in the cell membrane. They have a pore (hole) in them which specific ions can enter or leave cells.

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13
Q

What is a leak channel?

A

An ion channel protein that is in the membrane and has a pore that is always open.

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14
Q

skip

A

skip

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15
Q

What are :
Monovalent cations? Give examples.
Divalent cations? Give examples.
Negatively charged ions? Give examples.

A

Monovalent cations: 1 charge. Sodium (Na+) & Potassium (K+)
Divalent cations : 2 charges. Calcium (Ca^2+) & Magnesium (Mg2^+)
Monovalent anions : Chloride (Cl-)

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16
Q

What is intracellular fluid?

A

Fluid contained within cells

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17
Q

What is extracellular fluid?

A

Fluid located outside of cells

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18
Q

What is the charge if there is an equal amount of positively and negatively charged ions on either side of the membrane?

A

Outside of cell = 0mv
Inside of cell = 0 mv

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19
Q

What are the two proteins responsible for setting up and maintaining the resting membrane potential of neurons?

A

Sodium potassium transporter and leak potassium channels

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20
Q

What does the sodium potassium transporter need? What does it do?

A
  • Requires ATP
  • Concentrates sodium and potassium outside and inside the cell
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21
Q

What does the amount of leak potassium channels determine? How?

A

The amount of channels determine the resting membrane potential because they are always open

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22
Q

What is the sodium potassium pumps function?

A

The function of this protein is to pump Na+ atoms out of the cell and K+ atoms in.

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23
Q

What is the concentration gradient created by sodium-potassium pump? Do these gradients change ?

A

K+ : 30x more concentrated inside the cell than out
Na+: 15x more concentrated outside the cell than in
These concentration gradients don’t change, unless the cell dies

24
Q

What is the consequence of there being K+ ions being crowded inside the cell?

A

Potential energy because they will leave if they can

25
Q

What is diffusion?

A

The concept that molecules will move from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration

26
Q

What is the resting membrane potential of different neurons?

A

-40 to -90

27
Q

What happens where there is more K+ leak channels?

A

The more permeable it will be to K+ and the closer its membrane potential will be to the true electrochemical equilibrium of K+ (-90 mv)

28
Q

What is the membrane potential?

A

Electrical charge across a cell membrane: difference in electrical potential inside and outside the cell

29
Q

What is the resting potential?

A

The membrane potential of a neuron at rest

30
Q

What are receptors?

A

Proteins that act as sensors - which are sensitive to specific features of the extracellular environment

31
Q

What happens when the receptors on neuronal membranes of ion channels are activated?

A

They open a pore/hole/gate that ions can pass through

32
Q

What can ions do?

A

They can either depolarize or hyper polarize the neurons membrane potential

33
Q

What is depolarization?

A

When the membrane potential of a cell becomes less negative than it normally is at rest
(Example depolarize from -60 to -30)

34
Q

What does the abundance of leak channels ensure?

A

That the membrane potential never deviates from its resting state for very long

35
Q

What happens to K+ ions when Na+ ions enter a neuron through an ion channel?

A

The Na+ ions entering causes membrane depolarization, which causes K+ ions to leave the cell which restores membrane potential

36
Q

What are the five proteins of an action potential?

A

Setting up proteins:
1. Sodium potassium transporter
2. Leak potassium channels
The voltage gated ion channels:
3. Voltage gated sodium channel
4. Voltage gated potassium channel
5. Voltage gated calcium channel

37
Q

What happens when the membrane potential becomes less negative than -40 mv

A

The voltage gated sodium channel opens

38
Q

What are voltage gated sodium channels permeable to?

A

Only Na+

39
Q

What happens when one Na+ channel opens?

A

It causes Na+ ions to rush in (this is propelled by diffusion and electrostatic forces) The influx of Na+ depolarizes the membrane more, which causes more Na+ channels to open which creates an avalanche effect until all voltage-gated Na+ channels open, causing the membrane potential tp shoot up to +40mv

40
Q

What is the action potential? What causes it?

A

A brief electrical impulse that provides the basis of conduction of information along the axon. It is a rapid change in the membrane potential caused by the opening and closing of voltage gated ion channels.

41
Q

What is the threshold of excitation?

A

The value of membrane potential that must be reached to produce and action potential

42
Q

What drives the initial depolarization that starts an action potential?

A

The activation of a receptor that lets Na+ ions enter

43
Q

What is a leak channel that helps restore the resting membrane potential?

A

The potassium leak channel

44
Q

What does the voltage gated potassium channel do?

A

Restores the resting membrane potential back down to -60mV

45
Q

When do voltage gated potassium ion channels open?

A

When the membrane potential rises above 0Mv

46
Q

What do the outflow of K+ through channels do?

A

Drive the membrane potential back down within a milisecond

47
Q

What is the refractory period?

A

The post action potential hyperpolarization - impossible to trigger an action potential during this time

48
Q

When do voltage gated calcium channels open?

A

When the axon terminal becomes depolarized

49
Q

How concentrated is calcium in versus outside the cell?

A

it is 1000x more concentrated outside the cell than in

50
Q

What is the primary means of communication between neurons?

A

Synaptic transmission

51
Q

What is synaptic transmission?

A

Transmission of messages from one neuron to another via the presynaptic release of a chemical (a neurotransmitter) that cross the synapse and bonds to receptors located on the post synaptic membrane

52
Q

What happens when action potentials are conducted down an axon?

A

It causes voltage gated calcium channels to open

53
Q

What happens when there’s an influx of calcium?

A

It causes several synaptic vesicles to simultaneously fuse with the presynaptic membrane … when they fuse these vesicles break open and spill their contents into the synaptic cleft

54
Q

What is the movement of information along the axon referred to?

A

Conduction of the action potential

55
Q

What is the all or none law?

A

Action potential occurs or does not occur. Once triggered, will propagate down the axon without growing or diminishing in size, to the end of the axon.

56
Q

What is the rate law?

A

The strength of the stimulus is represented by the rate of the firing axon

Behavioural Neuroscience (15 decks)

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