week 4 Flashcards
(28 cards)
Four different types of neurotransmitters?
- Acetlycholine
- Monoamines
- Amino acids
- Neuroactive peptides
Where is acetyl choline (Ach) found
Widespread in PNS In the CNS: - Recticular formation - Basal forebrain - Basal ganglia - Anterior spinal roots
Roles of acetyle choline (Ach)
- Cognition
- Memory
- Consciousness
- Motor control
Low levels of achetl cholie lead to
Huntintons disease and dementia such as alzhimers disease
What are monamines?
- Noradrenaline
- Adrenaline
- Dopamine
- Serotonin
Role of monamines
- Arousal
- Cardiorespiratory control
- Reward
- Affect
- Motor control
Examplles of conditions if monamines are implicated
Schizophrenia and depression
What are examples of excitatory amino acids
glutamate
What are examples of inhibitory amino acids
GABA
Glycine
Whats examples of conditions when theres too much excitatory neurotranmitiers (excitotoxicity)
- MSG
- Hungtintons disease
- Plant toxins
Examples of neuropeptides
- B endorphin
Behavioural effects of neuropeptides:
- Hunger
- Sleep/wake cycle
- Temperature regulation
- Pain modulation
- Reward circits
Whats an agonist
Bind to receptors and have the same effects as the nueotransmitter
Whats an antagonist
Interfere with the binding of the neurotransmitter to the receptor, reduces the effector of nueortransmitter
Drugs that deactivate the neurotransmitter
- Increase amount in synapse: Potentiate seffect
- –Reuptake inhibitors, e.g. SSRIs
- – Inhibitors of deactivation enzymes, e.g. MAOIs, Anticholinesterases
Drug therapy in mental illness
Antidepressants • MAOIs -
• Tricyclic Antidepressants
• SSRIs
– Mood stabilizers
• Lithium, Valproate – Anxiolytics
• Benzodiazepines
• Hypnotics/sedatives – Zopiclone, Zolpidem, Busipirone, Barbiturates, Antihistamines
– Antipsychotics
• “Typical” antipsychotics – Flupenthixol, Haloperidol
• “Atypical” antipsychotics – Risperidone, Olanzapine – Amphetamines
Where are most changes in the brain seen with ageing
Hippocampus (memory) and pre frontal cortex
Functional changes in the brain with ageing:
- Some reduction in mental agility or processing speed
- Some decline in naming abilty
- Decrease in speed of learning
What is Dementia
Umbrella term describing a syndrome associated with different disease. Impairment in language, memory, perception, personality and cognitive skills.
Dementia vs age associated cognitive decline?
- Dementia the deficits are more severe and affect the ability to function at work or socially. The person does not have the knowledge that they have the disease especially towards later stages. Goes across many cognitive funcitons (memory, language, problem solving, behaviour)
- Age associated cognitive decline is when the person is aware of decline. Normally remains to one area of cognition (memory)
Types of dementia:
- Vascular dementia (problems with blood flow to brain)
- Dementia with lewy bodies
Causes of dementia
- Neurodegeneration eg alzhimers disease, lewy body dementia
- Vascular disease eg occlusion of cerebral vessels
- Non degenerative metabolic or endocrine disease, chemical toxicity eg liverfailure, alchol, head tramua, infections, oxygen deprivation
pharmacological treatment for dementia (not curable)
- decrease in choloingeric activity
- acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
- enhances memory
(effective in early stage of disease)
other treatments: - oestrogen
- antifamatory agents
- herbal memory boster
*exercise interventions
exercise interventions for dementia
exercise improves life of dementia sufferers
