kohman exam 2 psych 256 uncw

lesion/ablation

destroy part of the brain for experimental purposes

Different ways to cause lesions

Radio frequency, excitotoxic lesions, sham lesions

electrolytic lesion/radio frequency

lesion caused by electrode dropped on the brain. burns everything that electrode touches.

excitotoxic lesions

use chemicals to cause lesion, can be more specific on what part/ which neurons is destroyed

ex:kainic acid>binds to glutamate and causes neuron to overexcite and die.

Sham lesion

control group. animal has everything else done to them except for the actual lesion.

stereotaxic surgery

how they put a tip of an electrode to a precise location.

stereotaxic apparatus

what is used to steady head and position electrode of stereotaxic surgery. halo is an example for this.

bregma

when the coronal and sagittal fontanelle fuses... this becomes 0 on the stereotaxic atlas. where they base all of the movements from

fixation

process of preserving brain tissue

formalin

most commonly used fixative, halts autolysis (rotting)

cryostat

meat slicer within a fridge.

microtome

meat slicer

nissil stain

stains cell bodies.

antigen

forgein object that antibodies bind to

antibody variable region

top of y... also called antigen binding site

light chain

top half of Y antibody

heavy chain

bottom half of Y antibody

amplification of signal

secondary antibody attaches to heavy chain of first to tag another anti-antibody

immunofluorescence

antibodies with fluorescence properties (tags) co label things

Computer axial tomography(CAT or CT)

x-rays. have to do several to get several angles and low resolution

MRI (Magnetic Resonance imaging)

uses extremely strong magnetic field to disrupt protons. measures radio waves and has better resolution than CAT

Diffusion tensor Imaging (DTI)

monitors hydrogen atoms (water) movement because those detects white matter tracts. can tract axons coming from particular part of brain

microelectrodes

used to record neural activity of individual neurons.

macroelectrodes

records neural activity of bigger area of neurons. used in EEGs

EEGs

record of electrical activity on paper from macroelectrodes

positron emission tomography (PET)

injection of radioactive deoxyglucose, emit positrons, areas that use most glucose emit most signal. expensive

functional MRI (fMRI)

detects oxygen levels in blood. more blood flow in a region of brain=more activity. can assess neural activity during event... works by light sensitive neuron channels

optogenetics

taking gene from light sensitive algae... put it into neuron... now you can activate neuron with a certain light.

transgenic

add gene from another species to animal; ex: amyloid beta is something mice don't have aka no alzheimers

knock out animals

delete a gene and see effects

conditional knock out

delete gene at specific: organ, age, or cell type

psychopharmacology

study of the effects of drugs on nervous system and behavior

drug

chemical or compound that is taken in to the body and has potential to produce some effect

site of action

pt where molecules of drugs interact with molecules located on or in cell

pharmacokinetics

process in which drugs are absorbed, distributed within the body, metabolized, and excreted

ligand

the drug/neurotransmitter

cognate receptor

what ligand binds to

endogenous

ligand that the body makes like neurotransmitters

exogenous

ligand that is synthetically made ex:alcohol

dose response curve

best way to determine effectiveness of drug. increasingly stronger dose of drug produce larger effects until max effect reached. after that the risk of adverse effects increases

therapeutic index

used to measure margin of safe doses for drugs. most desirable drug has high affinity for sites of action that produces therapeutic effects and low affinity for sites of action that produces toxic effects

tolerance

reduced effect of drug after repeated admin.

physiological tolerance

body becomes more efficient in metabolizing drug

behavioral tolerance

learning how to run drunk

placebo effect

control group; no physiological effect; sugar pills

antagonist

block or inhibit postsynaptic effect

agonist

facilitate postsynaptic effect

direct agonist

drug attaches to postsynaptic receptor directly and mimics same potential

direct antagonist

drug attaches to postsynaptic receptor directly and does not open ion channel

indirect antagonist

drug attaches to a site on receptor and does not open ion channel

indirect agonist

drug attaches to a site on receptor and ion channel opens

Otto Loewi

experiment where one pig heart stimulated and the fluid made the other heart stimulate.

vagusstoff

acetylcholine in solution that caused second heart to beat.

neurotransmitter criteria

1. presynaptic(synthesis and storage)

2. action potential

3. postsynaptic receptors

4. change in postsynaptic cell

Dales law

every neuron uses one neuron receptor... NOT TRUE

glutamate

amino acid neurotransmitter

precursor: glutamine

learning and memory

EXCITATORY

NMDA

inotropic GLU receptor... blocks Mg to depolarize dendrite. eventually causes influx of Ca

AMPA

Na channel... GLU receptor

GABA

Inhibitory NT

precursor:glutamate

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Amine NT

synthesis: acetate and choline

muscles: NMJ

memory: alzheimer's disease

ACh distribution

projection neurons-basal forebrain

interneurons

Serotonin

mood, eating, sleeping, arousal, pain regulation. emotional behavior

precursor: tryptophan

serotonin distribution

Raphe nucleus

Dopamine

movement, emotional responses, and reward/pleasure.

precursor:tyrosine>L-DOPA

Dopamine distribution

ventral tegmental area

substantia nigra

ventral tegmental area

area of brain that is associated with addiction

Norepinephrine

ADHD

stimulate

precursor: dopamine

converts to epinephrine/adrenaline...

Norepinephrine distribution pathway

locus coeruleus

Monoamine oxidase (MAO)

degrades dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin

inactivation of neurotransmitters

1. diffusion

2. degradation by enzyme,

3. reuptake

4. removed by astrocyte

Cocaine

stimulant

behavioral effects: euphoria, elevated mood, alertness, sense of well-being

Circulatory:BP, heart rate and cardiac arrest

cocaine mechanism

antagonist to dopamine, NE, and serotonin transporters.

amphetamine

behavior: alertness

appetite suppressant (tolerance)

addiction, cardiovascular problems, psychosis

amphetamine mechanism

1. reverses transporters> no reuptake of dopamine

2. inhibits vesicular storage

3. inhibits MAO> dopamine keeps on attaching

amphetamine-induced psychosis

schizophrenia-like

hallucinations

tactile-feeling sensations like bugs on skin

paranoid delusions

stereotyped motor behavior(rocking, hand ringing)

antipsychotic meds help

alcohol

NMDA antagonist

GABA receptor> depressant

alcohol effects

low dose--- stimulant

high dose---- depressant

metabolism of alcohol

converts to acetaldehyde> needs ALDH to convert to acetic acid or

PUKE.

Asians ancestry

more than 50% lack ALDH gene

fetal alcohol syndrome

defects caused by lack of vitamin A... alcohol is a competitor for it.

Neuron communication within

electrical signal from action potential

neuron communication between

chemical signals from neurotransmitters

sodium potassium pump

3 sodium out cell

2 potassium in

resting potential is critical for neuron survival

multiple sclerosis

demyelinating autoimmune disease

Tetrodotoxin (TTX)

blocks Na channels

shuts down action potential

axodendrite

synapse on dendrite

axosomatic

terminal button on somatic membrane

axoaxonic

presynaptic terminal button on top of postsynaptic terminal button. can block neurotransmitter

exocytosis

transport neurotransmitters out of cell with help of voltage gated Calcium channels

inotropic receptor

ligand gated ion channel, when neurotransmitter attaches to it, it opens.

metabotropic receptor

neurotransmitter causes g protein on receptor to activate enzyme to stimulate second messenger. the second messenger goes into cytoplasm and opens ion channels

Excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)

depolarization

sodium channels influx

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)

hyper polarization

Chloride influx

potassium efflux