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LC INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOBIOLOGY > Neuronal Communication > Flashcards

Neuronal Communication Flashcards

(98 cards)

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1
Q

what are neurones?

A

the building blocks of the nervous system, and the connections between these are important for memory

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2
Q

why are neurones important for memory?

A

information must flow between neurones

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3
Q

transmission within neurones is an _______ process

A

electrical

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4
Q

transmission between neurones is an _______ process

A

chemical

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5
Q

what is resting membrane potential?

A

an example of electrical excitability

it underpins the ability of neurones to communicate and generate signals

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6
Q

how is action potential generated?

A

by using energy to maintain the unstable resting membrane potential

upon a trigger, the stored-up energy is released. this becomes a signal and generates electricity

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7
Q

what is the cell membrane of a neurone?

A

lipid bilayer, which consists of two layers of fatty molecules

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8
Q

what is the function of a sodium-potassium exchange transporter?

A

moves sodium ions outside of the cell in exchange to move potassium ions inside

more sodium is moved out than potassium in, accumulating in positively charged ions outside the cell

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9
Q

cation

A

+ve charge

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10
Q

anion

A

-ve charge

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11
Q

what is the resting membrane potential difference?

A

-70mV

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12
Q

what are the three different forces that control the movement of ions?

A
  • electrostatic pressure
  • transporter
  • diffusion
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13
Q

what is electrostatic pressure?

A

similarly charged ions repel each other and opposite charged ions attract each other

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14
Q

what are transporters?

A

use energy to move specific ions in order to maintain resting potential

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15
Q

what is diffusion?

A

ions want to move from areas of high concentration to low concentration

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16
Q

what do semi-permeable membranes allow?

A

molecules and ions to pass through

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17
Q

moving down a concentration gradient

A

move from areas of high concentration to low concentration

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18
Q

moving against a concentration gradient

A

move from areas of low to high concentration

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19
Q

are cells positive on the outside or inside?

A

positive on the outside and negative on the inside

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20
Q

membrane potential

A

the difference between the electrical potential inside and outside the cell

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21
Q

what is membrane potential altered by?

A

ions moving in and out of the cell

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22
Q

action potential

A

the sudden change of the resting membrane potential

a rapid change in the polarisation (electrical charge) of the neurone to send a signal

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23
Q

K+

A

at rest, more K+ is inside the cell than outside.

diffusion- K+ ions want to move outside the cell

electrostatic pressure- K+ are attracted to the negative inside of the cell

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24
Q

Cl-

A

at rest, more Cl- is outside the cell than inside

diffusion- Cl- ions want to move into the cell

electrostatic pressure- Cl- are repelled by the negative inside of the cell

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25
Na+
at rest, more Na+ is outside the cell than inside diffusion- Na+ ions want to move into the cell electrostatic pressure- Na+ are attracted to the negative inside of the cell
26
what is necessary to generate an action potential?
the resting membrane potential for this signal to be sent, the neurone must gain enough action potential to reach the threshold of excitation- an all or nothing process
27
depolarisation
making the membrane less negative
28
repolarisation
returning the membrane to its negative state
29
what does depolarisation do?
brings the membrane closer to the threshold of excitation, and makes it more likely to fire an action potential depolarisation is caused by opening the voltage-gated sodium channels
30
activation
the minimum energy required for a reaction to occur
31
1. what happens at -55Mv?
the sodium and potassium channels open at the same time
32
2. what happens after the channels open?
sodium cations flood into the cell (due to diffusion and electrostatic pressure)
33
3a. what happens to the membrane potential?
it becomes positive (membrane depolarisation as the outside is no longer more positive than the inside)
34
3b. once membrane depolarisation occurs, what can now leave the cell?
potassium cations, as they are no longer stopped by electrostatic pressure keeping them inside
35
3c. what happens when the membrane potential reaches 40Mv?
the sodium channel closes
36
4. what remains open?
the potassium channels, and potassium cations continue to leave the cell (membrane repolarisation)
37
5. when do the potassium channels close?
potassium cations continue to leave the cell until the membrane potential goes beyond 70Mv (this is when the potassium channels close)
38
where does the concentration change occur?
close to the membrane
39
what does action potential act as?
the basic code for information in the brain
40
what does the 'all-or-nothing' law explain about the rate of action potentials?
because the size and shape of action potentials do not change, it is the frequency (rate) of action potentials that are important in coding information
41
what does breaching the threshold of excitation lead to?
a release of energy
42
reasons that membrane depolarisation can occur
- action potential occurs in a close vicinity to the membrane, and localised movement around the area is enough to 'breach the threshold of excitation' - sensory receptors responding to stimulation, which creates a graded response - chemical transmission between neurones
43
why is communication within the neurone fast?
it is facilitated by the myelin sheath action potential jumps between nodes, meaning it only needs to regenerate energy at the nodes instead of the entire length of the axon
44
what is a synapse?
the junction between two neurones, where they communicate through a chemical process
45
what is the name of the small gap between the synapse and the membrane?
synaptic cleft
46
how does information travel between neurones?
it travels across synapse A, across the synaptic cleft, and into the receptors on neurone B
47
where are neurotransmitters made and stored?
made in the soma of the cell stored in the vesicles
48
what is the role of neurotransmitters?
they bind to the receptor's binding site on the postsynaptic cell these binding sites contain ion channels
49
what is the role of ion channels?
these let ions in or out of the postsynaptic cell
50
how is a postsynaptic potential created?
by ions moving into and out of the cell
51
what is needed for electrical signals to pass?
the postsynaptic neurone needs to be depolarised
52
1. the presynaptic neurone brings new information to the synapse. what is found at the end of the axon?
there is an axonal terminal which contains vesicles (inside these are neurotransmitters)
53
1b. how does the presynaptic neurone release neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft?
it 'fuses the membrane of the vesicle to the external cell membrane of the axon'
54
1c. what does this allow?
the contents of the vesicle (neurotransmitters) to diffuse into the synaptic cleft
55
2a. where does the postsynaptic neurone recieve the information?
at the synapse, and the neurotransmitters bind to receptors
56
2b. what are these receptors?
ion channels this means that the ion channel opens once the neurotransmitter binds to the receptor
57
3. what happens when the ion channel opens?
certain ions are able to flow through, which changes the voltage of the postsynaptic neurone this creates a postsynaptic potential
58
what do neurotransmitters provide the basis for understanding?
how drugs work within the brain
59
what are the two types of postsynaptic potentials?
EPSP and IPSP
60
excitatory postsynaptic potential
the receiving neurone cell is encouraged to fire, and sends messages to other neurones
61
inhibitory postsynaptic potential
the receiving neurone cell is discouraged from firing and sending on the message
62
sodium (Na+) postsynaptic potential
can only move into the postsynaptic cell and not out if a lot moves in, EPSP occurs the cell will become depolarised
63
potassium (K+) postsynaptic potential
can only move out of the postsynaptic cell if a lot moves out, IPSP is created the cell will become hyperpolarised
64
chloride (Cl-) postsynaptic potential
can only move into the postsynaptic potential if a lot moves in, IPSP occurs the cell will become hyperpolarised
65
why does EPSP occur?
because of hyperpolarisation it brings the membrane closer to the threshold of excitation, and more likely to fire an action potential
66
how is EPSP achieved?
opening cation channels
67
why does IPSP occur?
due to the opening of anion channels, which make it less likely to fire an action potential
68
what are two types of receptors?
ionotropic and metabotropic
69
process of ionotropic receptors
the ion channel on the ionotropic receptor will only open when a neurotransmitter binds to their particular binding site can be said that 'the receptor is an ion channel'
70
what are ionotropic receptors good for?
for quick, direct updates, e.g., sight and hearing
71
process of metabotropic receptors
the indirect method of transmission between neurones
72
chain reaction of metabotropic receptors
the ligand binds to the ion channel changes the 3D receptor shape activates the G-protein activates an enzyme which produces second messengers opens the ion channel
73
what are metabotropic receptors good for?
more useful for things that need to last a while, e.g., taste, smell, pain
74
what is the difference between ionotropic and metabotropic receptors?
unlike ionotropic receptors, metabotropic receptors do not directly produce postsynaptic potentials instead, chemical reactions occur within the neurone
75
what might be explained by these different types of receptors?
why certain neurotransmitters have different functions
76
why can receptors sometimes be found on the presynaptic neurone?
this allows for signals to go in the opposite direction towards the presynaptic neurone this might happen due to a negative feedback loop- if the neurotransmitter release does not need to happen, it binds to presynaptic receptors to turn off unnecessary signals and avoid future release
77
what are postsynaptic receptors?
proteins embedded within the membrane of the postsynaptic neurone
78
what is ligand?
any molecule or chemical that interacts with a receptor
79
what is a binding site?
the area on the receptor where the ligand interacts
80
what is the function of receptors being 3D structures?
ligands can fit in one particular area of the structure, and receptors will only interact with molecules of a certain shape
81
what are also ligands?
drugs this explains the chemical effect of binding to bodily receptors
82
what is conformational selectivity?
ligands and receptors have particular 3D shapes, meaning that only specific ligands will fit in a particular binding site
83
what is affinity?
how well a ligand binds to a receptorq
84
what is meant by high affinity?
receptors are saturated (bound) by very dilute solutions of ligand this means that less ligand is needed to produce the maximum effect
85
what can determine the effect of the ligand to receptors?
selectivity and affinity
86
where are neurotransmitters clustered?
in the axonal terminal, and they are found in the synaptic vesicle
87
how are neurotransmitters released?
into the synaptic cleft via fusion of the vesicle to the postsynaptic membrane
88
process of neurotransmitter release
1. nerve signal reaches the end of the axon 2. this causes vesicles to merge with the cell surface membrane and eject the neurotransmitter 3. neurotransmitter binds to the postsynaptic receptor to cause an effect
89
what are two types of neurotransmitters?
glutamate and GABA
90
what is glutamate?
derived from glutamic acid
91
what type of neurotransmitter is glutamate?
the most abundant neurotransmitter excitatory
92
what receptors does glutamate bind to?
both ionotropic and metabotropic receptors
93
what is glutamate important for?
learning and memory
94
what is GABA?
made from glutamate gamma-aminobutyric acid
95
what type of neurotransmitter is GABA?
the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter
96
what receptors does GABA bind to?
ionotropic and metabotropic GABA receptors, and it reduces the likelihood of neurones firing
97
what is glycine?
a co-agonist at NMDA receptors
98
what are monoamines?
a different type of neurotransmitter that mostly bind to metabotropic receptors, e.g., serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline

LC INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOBIOLOGY (8 decks)

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