Neurotransmitters (Unit 1)

Question 1

Amino Acid NTs

Answer 1

GABA, glutamate, glycine, histamine

Question 2

Amines - Quaternary amines

Answer 2

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Question 3

Amines - Monoamines - Catecholamines

Answer 3

Norepinephrine, Adrenaline, Dopamine

Question 4

Amines - Monoamines - Indoleamines

Answer 4

Serotonin (5-HT), Melatonin

Question 5

Neuropeptides - Opioid Peptides - Enkephalins

Answer 5

Met-enkephalin, leu-enkephalin

Question 6

Neuropeptides - Opioid Peptides - Endorphins

Answer 6

Beta-endorphin

Question 7

Neuropeptides - Opioid Peptides - Dynorphins

Answer 7

Dynorphin A

Question 8

Other neuropeptides

Answer 8

Oxytocin, substance P, cholecystokinin (CCK), vasopressin, NPY, hypothalamic releasing hormones

Question 9

Gases

Answer 9

Nitric oxide, Carbon monoxide

Question 10

Glutamate:

Answer 10

• Amino Acid
• most abundant NT
• most important excitatory NT

Question 11

GABA

Answer 11

• Amino Acid
• GABA-A receptor is related to anxiety relief (benzodiazepenes)
• GABA-B receptors are metabotropic and may be helpful for treating chronic pain or mood disorders

Question 12

Dopamine (where and what)

Answer 12

Pathway: dopaminergic pathway has TWO pathways
mesolimbocortical - VTA to limbic system (nucleus accumbens) and cortex - CRUCIAL in reward; related to schizophrenia
mesostriatal - substantia nigra to basal ganglia (aka striatum) – CRUCIAL in motor control

• found throughout forebrain

Functions: complex behaviors like motor function, reward, higher cognition

Question 13

Serotonin (path and function)

Answer 13

Serotonergic Pathway: from raphe nuclei
- midbrain raphe nuclei to forebrain
- brainstem raphe nuclei to spinal cord

Functions: mood, sexual behavior, anxiety, sleep, and other functions

Question 14

Norepinephrine (path and function)

Answer 14

Noradrenergic pathway: from locus coeruleus and lateral tegmental area to cerebral cortex, limbic system, and thalamic nuclei

Functions: alertnness, mood, sexual behavior, and many more; important in sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight)

Question 15

Acetylcholine (path and function)

Answer 15

Cholinergic pathway: basal forebrain to cerebral cortex, amygdala, hippocampus

Functions: learning and memory (associated with alzheimer’s)

Question 16

opioid peptides

Answer 16

endogenous substances resembling opiates like morphine, analgesic effect

Question 17

Gas neurotransmitters

Answer 17

produced in places other than axon terminals; simply diffuse out of neuron as it is produced

no receptors in membrane of target cell are invovled (just diffuses into cell and triggers second messengers)

retrograde transmitters: can diffuse from postsynaptic back to presynaptic neuron, conveying info that physically changes synapse – may be crucial for memory formation; gas transmitters also implicated in penile erections and hair growth