Neuroscience of Mental Health: Huntington's Disease and Parkinson's Disease

0.0(0)
studied byStudied by 0 people
learnLearn
examPractice Test
spaced repetitionSpaced Repetition
heart puzzleMatch
flashcardsFlashcards
Card Sorting

1/59

flashcard set

Earn XP

Description and Tags

Vocabulary flashcards for Huntington's Disease and Parkinson's Disease lecture.

Study Analytics
Name
Mastery
Learn
Test
Matching
Spaced

No study sessions yet.

60 Terms

1
New cards

Neurodegeneration

Progressive damage or death of neurons leading to a gradual deterioration of bodily functions controlled by the affected part of the nervous system.

2
New cards

Hypokinesia

A symptom of brain damage that involves lack of movement.

3
New cards

Hyperkinesia

A symptom of brain damage that involves involuntary excessive movements.

4
New cards

Huntington's Disease (HD)

Inherited neurodegenerative disorder affecting 5-10 people per 100,000, usually fatal after 20 years.

5
New cards

Chorea

Involuntary and irregular movements associated with Huntington's Disease.

6
New cards

Brain changes in HD

Profound, progressive destruction of the basal ganglia, especially the caudate nucleus and putamen, with massive neuronal loss of GABA output from the corpus striatum.

7
New cards

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

Inhibitory neurotransmitter contributing to motor control; decreased in Huntington's Disease.

8
New cards

Excitotoxicity

Abnormally high concentrations of glutamate leading to over excitation of nerve cells.

9
New cards

Huntingtin

Protein found in cytoplasm; defective form contains elongated stretch of glutamine in Huntington's Disease.

10
New cards

Caspase

'Killer enzyme', triggers apoptosis.

11
New cards

Transgenic mice

Mice with expanded CAG repeat introduced into Huntington's gene.

12
New cards

Synaptic plasticity

Underlies higher cognitive functions (learning, memory).

13
New cards

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)

Biological marker that may be impaired in transgenic mice.

14
New cards

Parkinson's Disease (PD)

2nd most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease (AD).

15
New cards

Primary Motor Symptoms of PD

Tremor (pill rolling), rigidity, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), postural instability.

16
New cards

Bradykinesia

Slowness of movement.

17
New cards

PD pathology

Loss of dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra that project to the striatum.

18
New cards

Lewy bodies

Aggregations of mis-folded α -synuclein forming the core.

19
New cards

Neuromelanin

Pigment found abundantly in the substantia nigra.

20
New cards

Dopamine

Inactivated by monoamine oxidase (MAO).

21
New cards

Synthetic L-DOPA

Crosses blood brain barrier (bbb).

22
New cards

Basal Ganglia

Groups of cerebral nuclei that play a role in the control and production of movement.

23
New cards

Dopamine and Basal Ganglia

Dopamine input from substantia nigra is excitatory via direct pathway (D1 receptors) and inhibitory via indirect pathway (D2 receptors).

24
New cards

Neurodegeneration

Progressive damage or death of neurons leading to a gradual deterioration of bodily functions controlled by the affected part of the nervous system.

25
New cards

Hypokinesia

A symptom of brain damage that involves lack of movement.

26
New cards

Hyperkinesia

A symptom of brain damage that involves involuntary excessive movements.

27
New cards

Huntington's Disease (HD)

Inherited neurodegenerative disorder affecting 5-10 people per 100,000, usually fatal after 20 years.

28
New cards

Chorea

Involuntary and irregular movements associated with Huntington's Disease.

29
New cards

Brain changes in HD

Profound, progressive destruction of the basal ganglia, especially the caudate nucleus and putamen, with massive neuronal loss of GABA output from the corpus striatum.

30
New cards

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

Inhibitory neurotransmitter contributing to motor control; decreased in Huntington's Disease.

31
New cards

Excitotoxicity

Abnormally high concentrations of glutamate leading to over excitation of nerve cells.

32
New cards

Huntingtin

Protein found in cytoplasm; defective form contains elongated stretch of glutamine in Huntington's Disease.

33
New cards

Caspase

'Killer enzyme', triggers apoptosis.

34
New cards

Transgenic mice

Mice with expanded CAG repeat introduced into Huntington's gene.

35
New cards

Synaptic plasticity

Underlies higher cognitive functions (learning, memory).

36
New cards

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)

Biological marker that may be impaired in transgenic mice.

37
New cards

Parkinson's Disease (PD)

2nd most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease (AD).

38
New cards

Primary Motor Symptoms of PD

Tremor (pill rolling), rigidity, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), postural instability.

39
New cards

Bradykinesia

Slowness of movement.

40
New cards

PD pathology

Loss of dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra that project to the striatum.

41
New cards

Lewy bodies

Aggregations of mis-folded α -synuclein forming the core.

42
New cards

Neuromelanin

Pigment found abundantly in the substantia nigra.

43
New cards

Dopamine

Inactivated by monoamine oxidase (MAO).

44
New cards

Synthetic L-DOPA

Crosses blood brain barrier (bbb).

45
New cards

Basal Ganglia

Groups of cerebral nuclei that play a role in the control and production of movement.

46
New cards

Dopamine and Basal Ganglia

Dopamine input from substantia nigra is excitatory via direct pathway (D1 receptors) and inhibitory via indirect pathway (D2 receptors).

47
New cards

Alzheimer's Disease (AD)

Results from a triad of increasing amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuronal loss.

48
New cards

APP

β-amyloid precursor protein; the precursor to amyloid plaques.

49
New cards

γ-secretase

Secretase enzyme, when combined with β-secretase, cleaves APP to yield amyloid β plaques.

50
New cards

Presenilin

Mutations in presenilin genes increases γ-secretase activity.

51
New cards

ApoE4

Apolipoprotein; plays a role in cholesterol transport and strongly implicated in AD.

52
New cards

Neurofibrillary tangles

Fibrous inclusions in cytoplasm of neocortical neurons, correlate with cognitive deficits.

53
New cards

Tau

Main component of neurofibrillary tangles.

54
New cards

AD pathology

Loss of cholinergic neurons in basal forebrain.

55
New cards

AChE inhibitors

Blocks acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, increasing the availability of ACh at the synapse.

56
New cards

The neurochemical cause of parkinson's

A progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons, causes a loss of motor control.

57
New cards

What are lewy bodies made of?

Alpha-synuclein, parkin, ubiquitin, and several other proteins.

58
New cards

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

A selective and progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.

59
New cards

What casuses ALS?

10% of patients have a genetic cause for this, which may involve mutations to superoxide dismutase.

60
New cards

What are some mechanisms involved in ALS?

Impaired glutamate transport, oxidative stress, protein aggregation, and mitochondrial dysfunction.