Neurobiology Flashcards

1
Q

In what year was the Neuron doctrine?

A

1894

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2
Q

What 3 ways can we classify neurons by?

A
  • Morphology
  • Inner/principle neurons
  • Neurotransmitter
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3
Q

How to things get to and from axon terminals?

A
  • Anterograde transport
  • Retrograde transport
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4
Q

What is anterograde transport?

A
  • WGA + HRP labels
  • from soma to axons
  • slow (5-10 mm/day)
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5
Q

What is retrograde transport?

A
  • HRP label
  • terminals to soma
  • rapid (150-200 mm/day)
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6
Q

What is the encephalisation quotient?

A

encephalisation quotient = brain weight / body weight

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7
Q

What do glia do?

A
  • form myelin sheath
  • clean up debris
  • launch immune system
  • correct ionic environment
  • provide metabolic fuel
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8
Q

What ‘matter’ are 1) cell bodies and 2) axons?

A

1) grey matter
2) white matter

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9
Q

Name the 4 segments of the spine

A
  • cervical
  • thoracic
  • lumbar
  • sacral
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10
Q

What is the meninges?

A

It surrounds the CNS and has 3 layers (dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater)

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11
Q

What are the three cerebrospinal fluids and what do they mean?

A
  • blood: haemorrhage
  • yellow: old blood or jaundice
  • clear: all sound
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12
Q

What are the two hemispheres linked by?

A

Corpus collosum

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13
Q

What does the ventricular system do?

A
  • keeps brain buoyant
  • buffers blood pressure changes
  • removes waste products
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14
Q

What are the two ways of understanding the brain?

A
  • Bottom up (how neurons and circuits work then move up)
  • Top down (overall theory without understanding the underlying units)
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15
Q

Does Na+ concentration change resting potential?

A

No

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16
Q

What are seizures caused by?

A

A lot of K+ in the brain

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17
Q

What is the equation for driving force?

A

driving force = concentration gradient + electrical gradient

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18
Q

What depolarises neurons to open Na+ channels?

A
  • synaptic transmission
  • generator potentials
  • intrinsic properties
  • experimental
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19
Q

What does the refractory period allow?

A

Ensures the action potential travels in one direction

20
Q

What is hyperpolarisation?

A

When channels have been open for too long

21
Q

Where are action potentials generated?

A

Axon hillock

22
Q

What does a bigger diameter mean for action potentials?

A

Faster conduction

23
Q

What amount of the brain’s ATP goes to restoring Na+ gradients and synaptic transmission?

A

Na+ = 23%
transmission = 43%

24
Q

What are the properties of electrical synapses?

A
  • No delay
  • Bidirectional
  • Little plasticity
25
Q

What are the properties of chemical synapses?

A
  • Delayed (0.5ms)
  • Unidirectional
  • Plastic
26
Q

When is spine density highest?

A

At a young age

27
Q

Name the 4 types of neurotransmitters

A
  • Amino acids
  • Amines
  • Neuroactive peptides
  • Others
28
Q

What is Ca2+ dependant neurotransmitter release?

A

Blocking Ca2+ entry blocks synaptic transmission, therefore after Ca2+ entry (2-3 ions), neurotransmitter release is very rapid

29
Q

Describe the 4 steps of neurotransmitter release

A

1) Docking/ priming of protein strands which twist to lock into place
2) Ca2+ entry catalysed by vesicle fusion with presynaptic membrane
3) Vesicle fusing (exocytosis)
4) Recycling of vesicles (endocytosis)

30
Q

What 2 receptors does acetylcholine act as?

A

Nicotic and Muscarinic

31
Q

What is acetylcholine broken down to?

A

Acetylcholine = choline + acetate
The choline is recycled by a choline carrier, the reaction is catalysed by acetylcholinesterase.

32
Q

How many pairs of spinal nerves are there?

A

31 pairs

33
Q

Where does the ventral and dorsal root go?

A

Ventral goes to the front of the spinal chord and dorsal goes to the back of the spinal chord

34
Q

What neurons lie in the ventral horn?

A

Motor neurons

35
Q

What is a motor unit?

A
  • All part of one system
  • When a neuron is activated, all the muscle fibres attach
36
Q

What is the difference between fine and coarse control in motor units?

A

fine control = smaller motor units (6-10)
coarse control = large motor units (< 2000)

37
Q

What are the 2 types of skeletal muscle?

A

Type I and Type II

38
Q

What are the properties of Type I skeletal muscle?

A
  • Slow oxidative
  • Slow contraction
  • Low force
  • Small motor units
39
Q

What are the properties of Type II skeletal muscle?

A
  • Fast/ intermediate oxidative
  • Fast/ intermediate contraction
  • High/ intermediate force
  • Large/ intermediate motor units
40
Q

What is acetylcholine?

A
  • depolarises muscle fibres
  • permeable to K+, Na+, Ca2+
  • iontropic channels
  • activates nicotic receptors
  • neurotransmitter at NMJ
41
Q

What are the 2 ways of increasing the force of contraction?

A
  • Recruitment: many at once with smaller units recruited first
  • Temporal summation: over and over again
42
Q

Why does the body experience fatigue?

A
  • Not enough glycogen
  • Too much K+ so cannot repolarise
  • Too much lactate
  • Too much ADP + Pi
  • Central fatigue
43
Q

How do golgi tendon organs and muscle fibres detect muscle tension?

A

In extrafusal and intrafusal muscle fibres

44
Q

What are the 7 steps for sensory transduction?

A

1) stimulus
2) receptor
3) change in permeability of nerve ending
4) change in membrane potential of nerve ending
5) generation of action potentials
6) propagation of action potentials to CNS
7) integration of info by the CNS

45
Q

What is a flexion reflex?

A

A reflex done without any conscious control

46
Q

Describe receptive fields

A
  • a touch activates nerves which are in a receptive field
  • two objects can touch one receptive field so you feel like you are being touched by one object
47
Q

What is two point discrimination?

A

Feeling two stimuli separately