Psychiatric Disorders: Neuroanatomy & Neurotransmitters- Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering brain regions, key limbic and basal ganglia structures, major neurotransmitters and pathways, and common psychiatric conditions.

Frontal motor cortex

Planning, thinking, feeling, and decision making.

Parietal sensory cortex

Processes somatic sensory information from the body.

Temporal auditory cortex

Processes auditory (hearing) information.

Occipital cortex

Processes visual information.

Thalamus

Sensory relay to cortex; involved in consciousness/alertness and emotional response to sensory information.

Hypothalamus

Autonomic control (SNS/PNS), temperature regulation, water balance, and pituitary control.

Hippocampal formation

Learning and memory, navigation, and spatial problem solving.

Amygdala

Processing of emotions (anger, fear, pleasure) and their emotional content in memories.

Fornix

Carries signals from the hippocampus to mamillary bodies and septal nuclei.

Mamillary bodies

Involved in memory formation.

Septal nuclei

Reward and reinforcement signaling, along with nucleus accumbens.

Limbic lobe

Limbic structures (parahippocampal, cingulate, dentate gyri) involved in memory and autonomic regulation.

Caudate nucleus

Motor movement coordination, eye movement, procedural learning, motivation and reward.

Putamen

Part of the basal ganglia involved in motor movements and learning; works with caudate.

Nucleus accumbens

Motivation and reward circuitry within the ventral striatum.

Globus pallidus

Basal ganglia structure that helps regulate voluntary movement.

Substantia nigra

Dopamine-producing region important for motor control; affected in Parkinson's disease.

Subthalamic nucleus

Basal ganglia component involved in motor control.

Internal capsule

White matter tract separating lentiform nucleus from thalamus; carries ascending/descending cortical fibers.

Gray matter

Neuronal cell bodies, dendrites, glial cells; forms cortical layers and subcortical gray areas.

White matter

Myelinated axons that connect brain regions.

Nucleus

Cluster of neuron cell bodies in the CNS.

Ganglia

Cluster of neuron cell bodies in the PNS.

Tract

Axons in the CNS.

Nerve

Axons in the PNS.

Encephalon

Brain; three primary vesicles (prosencephalon, mesencephalon, rhombencephalon) and five secondary vesicles.

Prosencephalon

Forebrain; gives rise to telencephalon and diencephalon.

Mesencephalon

Midbrain.

Rhombencephalon

Hindbrain; gives rise to metencephalon and myelencephalon.

Telencephalon

Secondary brain vesicle forming the cerebrum and its cortical structures.

Diencephalon

Secondary vesicle forming the thalamus and hypothalamus.

Metencephalon

Secondary vesicle forming the pons and cerebellum.

Myelencephalon

Secondary vesicle forming the medulla oblongata.

Dopamine pathways

Major dopamine circuits: mesocortical, mesolimbic, and nigrostriatal.

Mesocortical pathway

Dopamine pathway modulating cognitive and executive function, motivation, and stress response.

Mesolimbic pathway

Dopamine pathway modulating motivation, reward, and emotion.

Nigrostriatal pathway

Dopamine pathway regulating motor control and motor learning.

Norepinephrine (NE)

Neurotransmitter produced mainly in the locus coeruleus; involved in stress response and arousal.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Cholinergic neurotransmitter produced in basal nucleus of Meynert; important in REM sleep and memory; decreased in Alzheimer's disease.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter produced in VTA and substantia nigra; multiple pathways influence mood, motivation, and movement.

Serotonin (5-HT)

Neurotransmitter produced in raphe nuclei; regulates mood, sleep, appetite; decreased in anxiety/depression; increased by SSRIs.

GABA

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter; decreases neuronal activity; implicated in anxiety and addiction; GABA receptor agonists have sedative effects.

Glutamate

Major excitatory neurotransmitter; NMDA receptor target; involved in excitotoxicity (e.g., Huntington's disease).

Serotonin syndrome

Condition from excess serotonin (e.g., with SSRIs/SNRIs/MAOIs); mental status changes, autonomic instability, neuromuscular abnormalities.

SSRIs

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; increase 5-HT levels to treat depression and anxiety.

SNRIs

Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors; increase both 5-HT and NE to treat mood disorders.

MAO inhibitors (MAOIs)

Inhibit monoamine oxidase to elevate monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin, NE, dopamine) in treatable depression.

Schizophrenia

Chronic psychiatric disorder with psychosis; symptoms categorized as positive, negative, and cognitive.

Dopamine hypothesis (Schizophrenia)

Positive symptoms linked to increased D2 activity in mesolimbic pathway; negative symptoms linked to decreased D2 in mesocortical pathway; antipsychotics block D2 receptors.

Depression (catecholamine hypothesis)

Deficiency of dopamine, NE, and serotonin linked to depression; excess may relate to mania.

Bipolar disorder I

Episodes of mania and major depression.

Bipolar disorder II

Episodes of hypomania and major depression.