Chapter 5 Flashcards
(47 cards)
Who discovered epinephrine?
- Lowei identified the chemical that carries the message to speed up heart rate as epinephrine in FROGS
- Same substance as adrenaline
- Produced by adrenal glands located on top of kidneys
- The chemical that accelerates heart rate in HUMANS is norepinephrine
- Closely related to epinephrine
- The chemical that inhibits heart rate in HUMANS is acetylcholine
- The vagus nerve influences heart rate
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemical messengers released by a neuron to a target to cause an excitatory or inhibitory response
What are hormones?
- Chemicals outside of the CNS that circulate in the bloodstream
- Released by the pituitary gland under the control of the hypothalamus
- Organs in the ANS & Enteric NS get excited/inhibited as a result
- Actions of hormones is slower than CNS neurotransmitters because they must travel to distant targets
What are some characteristics of Parkinson disease? Who discovered it?
- Jean Charcot
- Lean forward, walk on balls of feet
- Difficulty eating/swallowing/drooling
- Slowing of bowel movements
- Loss of muscular control & disruptive tremors
- Due to dopamine levels in basal ganglia falling to less than 10%—> degeneration of substantia nigra
- Loss has been linked to the flu virus, toxic drugs, insecticides & herbicides
-If you inject 6-hydroxydopamine (neurotoxin) into rats it destroys the neurons containing dopamine & rats get Parkinson symptoms
What are the different parts of a chemical synapse?
Presynaptic membrane–> contains transmitter molecules transmitting chemical messages
Postsynaptic membrane–> contains receptor molecules receiving chemical messages
Postsynaptic receptor–> site to which a neurotransmitter molecule binds
Synaptic cleft–> space separating presynaptic terminal & postsynaptic dendritic spine
Microtubule–> pathway for transporting substances to the axon terminal
Mitochondrion–> organelle providing the cell with energy
Storage granule–> large compartment holding synaptic vesicles containing neurotransmitters that travel to the presynaptic membrane in preparation for release–> expelled into the synaptic cleft by exocytosis & binds to receptors on the postsynaptic membrane
What are dark patches on axon terminal vs on dendrite
Dark patches on axon terminal–> proteins serving as channels to signal the release of transmitters or as pumps to recapture the transmitter after it’s been released
Dark patches on dendrite–> receptor molecules made out of proteins that receive chemical messages
How do astrocytes surrounding the synapse contribute to chemical neurotransmission?
1) Supplying building blocks for neurotransmitter synthesis
2) Confining the movement of neurotransmitters to the synapse
3) Mopping up excess neurotransmitter molecules
What is a tripartite synapse?
the integration of pres & postsynaptic membrane & their association with surrounding astrocytes
What is a chemical synapse?
The junction where messenger molecules are released from one neuron to interact with the next neuron
- Here, the presynaptic membrane forms the axon terminal
- The postsynaptic membrane forms the dendritic spine
- Space between the two is the cleft
Describe anterograde synaptic transmission
1) Synthesis–> neurotransmitters are transported from cell nucleus to terminal button while others made from building blocks are packaged into vesicles there
2) Release–> in response to an action potential, the transmitter is released across the membrane by exocytosis
3) Receptor action–> transmitter crosses the synaptic cleft & binds to a receptor
4) Inactivation–> the transmitter is either taken back into the terminal or inactivated in the synaptic cleft
(Think “Anti sleeping, relaxing, resting individual”)
Describe the first and second step of anterograde transmission in detail
Transporters–> protein molecules that move substances across cell membranes & are powered by mitochondria
The 4 classes of transmitters:
1) Peptide–> synthesized in cell body according to neuron’s DNA instructions & are packaged in Golgi bodies
2) Lipid–>can not be packaged/stored in vesicles but are synthesized on demand when an action potential reaches axon terminal
3) Gaseous–> generated within cells by enzymes & are able to permeate cell membranes so they are not stored in the cell
4) Ion–> not biochemically synthesized but are made in the hearts of dying stars. Can still be packaged & stored in vesicles & released to the synaptic cleft
5) Small-molecule–>quick acting & synthesized from dietary nutrients & packed ready for use in axon terminals
- Can be replaced at the presynaptic membrane
- Diet can influence their abundance & activity
Regardless of origin, neurotransmitters packaged into vesicles can be found on granules, attached to microfilaments in the terminal, or attached to the presynaptic membrane
Describe the third step of anterograde transmission in detail
1) The release process begins with voltage changes in the membrane after an action potential reaches the presynaptic membrane
2) The presynaptic membrane is rich in calcium channels while the extracellular fluid is rich in calcium–>will rush into axon terminal after-action potential opens the channels
3) Synaptic vesicles that are loaded with neurotransmitters must dock near release sites on the presynaptic membrane
4) Vesicles quickly fuse with the presynaptic membrane & empty their contents into the cleft by exocytosis
5) The vesicles from storage granules & filaments will replace the vesicles that just emptied their contents
Describe the fourth step of anterograde transmission in detail
-The neurotransmitter that has just been released from vesicles diffuses across the synaptic cleft–>binds to specialized protein molecules embedded in the postsynaptic membrane (transmitter-activated receptors)
Ionotropic receptors–> have a pore that opens & allows ions to pass through the membrane & change membrane voltage in 2 ways:
1) May allow sodium to enter the neuron & depolarize the postsynaptic membrane (excitation)
2) May allow potassium to leave the neuron, or chlorine to enter the neuron & hyperpolarize the postsynaptic membrane (inhibition)
Metabotropic receptor–> initiate intracellular messenger systems–> opens an ion channel causing excitation/inhibition
Neurotransmitters could also interact with receptors on the presynaptic membrane by influencing the cell that just released it–> have it recieve messages from their own axon terminal (autoreceptors)
Who is Bernard Katz?
- Discovered the quantum–> smallest postsynaptic potential is produced by the release of the contents of just one synaptic vesicle
- While producing a postsynaptic potential that can initiate a postsynaptic action potential requires the simultaneous release of many quanta
- The number of quanta released from presynaptic membrane depends on:
1) amount of Calcium entering the axon terminal in response to the action potential
2) the number of vesicles docked at the membrane waiting to be released
Describe the fifth step of anterograde transmission in detail
-If a neurotransmitter lingered within the synaptic cleft–> the postsynaptic cell could not respond to other messages sent by the presynaptic neuron
- Inactivation of neurotransmitters is accomplished in 4 ways:A
1) Diffusion–>Some of the neurotransmitter diffuses away from the synaptic cleft & is no longer available
2) Degradation–>enzymes in the synaptic cleft break down the transmitter
3) Reuptake–> transporters bring transmitter back to presynaptic axon terminal for reuse
4) Astrocyte uptake–> transmitter is taken up by neighbouring astrocytes for storage & re-exportation
An active axon terminal increases the amount of neurotransmitter made & stored, while a less-often-used terminal breaks down excess transmitters using enzymes
Name 7 types of synapses
Dendrodendritic–> dendrites sending messages to other dendrites
Axodendritic–> axon terminal synapses with dendritic spine
Axoextracellular–>Terminal secretes transmitter into the extracellular fluid (can modulate the function of tissue or even body)
Axosomatic–> Terminal ends on the cell body
Axosynaptic–> Terminal ends on another terminal (can exert control over another neuron’s input into the cell)
Axoaxonic–> terminal ends on another axon
Axosecretory–> Terminal ends on tiny blood vessel & secretes transmitter directly into the blood (can modulate the function of tissue or even body)
What are electrical synapses?
- 2 neurons’ intracellular fluids can come into direct contact–> influence each other directly through a gap junction (electrical synapse)
- Proteins in one cell membrane make a hemichannel that connects to the hemichannel of an adjacent cell membrane–> ions pass through them in both directions through a regulated gate that can either be open/closed.
- Electrical transmission is faster than chemical transmission which is 5 milliseconds per synapse
- Gap junctions allow groups of neurons to synchronize their firing, allow for substance exchange between glial cells & neurons
- Large biomolecules (i.e nucleic acids & proteins) cannot fit through gap junctions
Mixed synapses–> gap junctions at axon terminals synapsing on dendrites & cell bodies which allow for dual chem/electrical synaptic transmission
-Unlike chemical synapses, gap junctions are not plastic & are built for speed & efficient communication, not signal altering
Describe neurotransmitter excitation & inhibition
- Despite the variety of synapses, they all convey messages that are either inhibitory or excitatory
- The ion channel associated with the receptor decides which type, not the neurotransmitters themselves
Excitatory synapses :
- Are on the spines of dendrites
- Have round vesicles
- Denser material on pre & postsynaptic membrane
- Wider synaptic cleft
- Larger active zone
Inhibitory synapses:
- Are on the cell body
- Have flat vesicles
- Less dense material on pre & postsynaptic membrane
- Smaller synaptic cleft
- Smaller active zone
What are the two models of excitatory-inhibitory interaction?
1) Inhibition blocks excitation by using a “cut them off” strategy:
- If the message is to be stopped, it will be by inhibiting the cell body close to the initial segment
2) Inhibition blocks excitation by using an “open the gates” strategy:
- The message is like a racehorse ready to run down the track, but first, the inhibitory starting gate must be removed
Describe the evolution of complex neurotransmission systems
The exocytosis mechanism for digestion in a single-cell organism (secreting juices onto bacteria to immobilize & prepare them for digestion)–> parallel to release of a neurotransmitter for communication in complex creatures
Describe the multitude of varieties in neurotransmitters
1) Some are excitatory in one location/ inhibitory at another
2) two or more may team up in a single synapse; one making the other more potent
3) Interact with several receptors with different functions
4) No single neurotransmitter can cause a single behaviour
What are the 4 criteria for identifying neurotransmitters?
1) Must be synthesized or present in the neuron
2) When released, the transmitter must produce a response in the target cell
3) The same response must be obtained when transmitter is experimentally placed on the receptor
4) Must be a mechanism for removal after transmitter’s work is done
Identifying chemical transmitters in the CNS is not easy–> must use saline baths, staining, stimulating & collecting to identify them
Putative (supposed) transmitter–>Doesn’t meet all the criteria for being a neurotransmitter
Describe acetylcholine
-First identified CNS neurotransmitter
Renshaw loop–>
- All motor neuron axons leaving the spinal cord use it as a transmitter
- Each motor neuron has an axon collateral in the spinal cord that synapses on a nearby CNS interneuron
- The interneuron, in turn, synapses on the motor neuron’s cell body
- This loop made by the axon collateral & interneuron in the spinal cord–> forms feedback circuit enabling motor neuron to inhibit itself from overexcitation
- Toxin strychnine can block the loop–> neurons become overactive causing convulsions, chocking & death
Name some well studied small-molecule neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine Dopamine Norepinephrine/Epinephrine Serotonin Glutamate GABA Glycine Histamine Adenosine/Adenosine Triphosphate
(Think “AH triple G, Sands)