Lectures 2 Flashcards
(381 cards)
Acetylcholine is one of the main NT where?
In the periphery
Which other NT balances out ACh?
Epinephrine
What is parasympathetic overdrive?
When your parasympathetic system kicks in too strongly and you get negative effects fainting, dizziness)
When you are stressed, what NT goes up to compensate for the rising levels of epinephrine?
ACh
Which NT rises faster: epinephrine or ACh?
Epinephrine
What other major function does ACh do?
plays a role in muscle movement
What drugs block ACh?
Anticholinergic drugs
ACh has been used as war gasses. What are its effects?
Irreversibly increases the concentration of ACh in the body and results in a slow death
What are two main anticholinergic drugs?
Atropine and scopolamine
Which drug is better, atropine of scopolamine? Why?
Atropine
The difference between its LD50 and LD50 are higher so there is more room for error
What is an unintended side effect of atropine?
It greatly reduces inhibitions
What is another word for neurotrophins?
Growth factors
What do growth factors continue to do throughout life?
- Create myelin
- Grow dendrites and synapses
The brain works on a “use it or lose it” principal. What cell prunes unused synapses?
Macrophages (microglia)
What is the main role of BDNF?
Promote growth and synaptic plasticity, and maintaining synapses over time
Learning and levels of BDNF
Need to have BDNF in order to form the new synapses that are the neural basis of learning /memory
BDNF is particularly responsive to what types of events? What does that mean?
Stressful
It makes the events more memorable
Are all memories kept forever? Why?
No
If you had all memories it would be confusing for your mind
What is a disease that is related to not forgetting?
PTSD
In what situations does BDNF crash? What does this mean for making happy memories?
During chronic stress
You have no more BDNF so you will not remember the happy event (will continue to be sad)
FGF 22 is similar to what other molecule?
BDNF
Why do we need both FGF 22 and BDNF?
- Because it makes a redundant system (a back up)
- They work synergistically and symbiotically
- They kick in at different times
Can decreasing the amount of BDNF take away a memory?
No, the memory is already formed
What is EPO (Erythropoietin)
It is a drug that increases oxygen supply in the blood
–> Helps cells grow