Intro + Anatomy
The central nervous system consists of ____
Brain and spinal cord
What occurs at the peak of the action potential (+40 mv)?
sodium channels close
The enzyme responsible for breaking down dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin is
monoamine oxidase
What neurological conditions results from neurons having too many neural connections?
Autism
In our video in class, the little girl who suddenly stopped waving her flags had what kind of seizures?
absence
Who wrote 'The Sacred Disease'?
Hippocrates
the most common type of neuron in the brain are
interneuron
If the resting potential changes from -70 mV to -90 mV this is a(n) ___; this occurs as part of an ___.
Curare is a drug that selectively blocks receptors for
Acetylcholine
The interior of the neural tube eventually develops into the _____ system.
Ventricular
14 yo Vietnamese girl at school had a seizure, and on arrival in ER could not move her right arm or see to her left. On exam, she was quite short and thin, and hard of hearing. A month later she was back in ER, this time unable to move her left arm, and her hearing was worse. What was her diagnosis (dx)? Also describe what it is.
MELAS Syndrome
A 10-year-old boy accidentally swallowed a neurotoxin known to be a curare agonist: he had neuromuscular blockade, partial respiratory failure, and paralysis. To which receptor does this toxin bind?
Nicotinic
What view shows brain structures from the front?
Coronal
The change in a neuron's membrane potential caused by binding of neurotransmitter is called
post-synaptic potential
Cocaine and amphetamine both potently affect ____ of catecholamine neurotransmitters.
reuptake
Spinal cord cells are induced to develop as motor neurons under the influence of a hormone produced by the
notochord
Tre, the little boy who died from mild head trauma, maybe could have been saved with a drug that
blocked apoptosis (programmed cell death)
If both eyes are deprived of light after an animal'ssensitive period, which occurs?
A) A loss of dendritic spines in visual cortex.
B) Nothing much.
C) Profound structural and functional changes in the visual cortex.
D) Inability of eyes to respond to light in adulthood.
Nothing much.
gray matter refers to
unmyelinated cell bodies
_____ detect the amount of neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft.
autoreceptors
Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam and other anxiolytics, modulate action of the neurotransmitter
GABAA
In development, our skin arises from the _____ embryonic layer; our brain arises from the ___ layer.
ectoderm x2
15-month-old boy admitted for continual screaming, vomiting, enlarging head. He deteriorated and died 3 weeks later. What was his diagnosis (dx)?
Alexander Disease (Astrocytes fill w/ GFAP and fail)
Neurogenesis is
the neuron doctrine was proposed by who?
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
When an action potential reaches an axon terminal, ___ now enters the cell and triggers the release of neurotransmitter.
Calcium
Matt's first cigarette at age 14 caused mild nausea. When he tried his second cigarette a month later, he had worse nausea. This is the phenomenon of
sensitization
Developing spinal cord cells are induced to differentiate into motor neurons instead of sensory neurons by
Sonic Hedgehog
Sheila fell in her English garden, cutting her leg. She was taken to local ER where the wound was cleaned and stitched. But she had to return to ER 3 days later when her face began to ache and she had difficulty opening her mouth. She looked unwell and complained of diffuse pain. Her condition worsened; 24 hours later she developed jaw stiffness, and severe back and limb spasms. She was transferred to ICU. What was her condition?
Tetanus (Tetanospasmin = neurotoxin that inhibits release of glycine (main inhibitory NT of spine)) This blocks inhibitory neurotransmitter release, leading to prolonged rigidity, muscle contractions and spasms.
The neurotransmitter acetylcholine acts on ______ receptors.
nicotinic and muscarinic
physiological activity of the brain can be visualized using a ___
PET Scan
What type of seizures last only a minute or so?
Focal impaired awareness seizures
A middle-aged man is brought to hospital after displaying uncontrollable movements of his upper limbs. He is diagnosed with a disorder affecting dopamine synthesis in brainstem neurons, which fail to make the immediate precursor of dopamine, called
L-Dopa
IAP proteins protect neurons from apoptosis by
Esme had seemingly normal development for ~12 months followed by loss of purposeful hand use and spoken language, as well as development of: gait abnormalities and hand posturing. What was her condition?
Esme has Rett Syndrome (X-linked progressive autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability that affects girls in early childhood.)
The presence of benzodiazepine receptors in the brain implies that the brain must
produce an endogenous substance that binds to these receptors