Brain Function, Sleep, and Antiepileptic Pharmacology Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering brain anatomy, neurotransmitters, sleep physiology, sleep disorders, seizure types, and antiepileptic pharmacology based on lecture notes.

Drug Absorption

The transfer of a medication from its site of entry into the systemic circulation.

Neuron

A cellular component of the brain that responds to stimuli, conducts electrical impulses, and releases chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters.

Synapse

The functional junction between a presynaptic neuron and a postsynaptic neuron across which neurotransmitters travel to transfer signals.

Reuptake

The reabsorption of neurotransmitters back into the presynaptic neuron terminal by specific transporters for reuse or breakdown.

Brain Stem

The region of the brain responsible for regulating internal organs, vital functions, cranial nerves, and the reticular activating system.

Hypothalamus

A brain structure involved in thermoregulation, basic biological drives such as hunger, thirst, and sex drive, and serving as the primary link between the nervous and endocrine systems.

Cerebellum

The part of the brain that regulates skeletal muscle coordination and contraction, maintains equilibrium, and assists with motor learning.

Cerebrum

The largest portion of the brain, constituting 85% of its total weight, responsible for conscious thought, memory, emotion, planning, language, and voluntary movement.

Frontal Lobe

The cerebral lobe responsible for higher thought processes, goal selection, planning, decision-making, insight, motivation, social judgment, and voluntary motor control.

Parietal Lobe

The cerebral lobe involved in processing sensory and motor information, proprioception, body awareness, concept formation, reading, and mathematics.

Temporal Lobe

The cerebral lobe responsible for auditory processing, language comprehension, storing sounds into memory, and connecting with the limbic system to express emotions.

Occipital Lobe

The cerebral lobe responsible for visual perception, interpreting visual images, visual association, visual memories, and language formation.

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that calms nerve firing, improves focus, and contributes to motor control and vision.

Glutamate

The most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, critical for learning, memory, and nerve contact formation.

Sleep

A complex, essential behavioral state during which an individual lacks conscious awareness of environmental surroundings but remains capable of being aroused.

REM Sleep

A sleep stage constituting 20–25% of total sleep time, characterized by high-frequency brain activity resembling wakefulness, vivid dreaming, and skeletal muscle inhibition.

Acute Insomnia

Sleep disturbance occurring at least 3 nights per week over a 2-week period.

Chronic Insomnia

Sleep disturbance occurring at least 3 nights per week that persists for 3 months or longer.

Sedatives

Drugs that exert an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system to reduce nervousness, excitability, and irritability in a dose-dependent manner.

Hypnotics

Central nervous system depressants specifically intended to produce sleep, possessing a stronger effect than sedatives.

Benzodiazepines

A class of CNS depressant drugs ending in '-pam' that enhance GABA activity to exert calming, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, and muscle-relaxing effects.

Flumazenil

A competitive benzodiazepine antagonist used as an antidote to reverse oral overdose or intravenous over-sedation.

Narcolepsy

A chronic neurological disorder caused by a loss of hypothalamic neurons that produce orexin, leading to an inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles properly.

Cataplexy

A brief, sudden loss of skeletal muscle tone or weakness often triggered by strong emotion, commonly occurring in narcolepsy.

Orexin

A hypothalamic neurotransmitter responsible for regulating arousal, wakefulness, and appetite.

CNS Stimulants

Sympathomimetic drugs that stimulate specific regions of the brain or spinal cord by activating excitatory neurotransmitters to increase alertness and capacity for work.

Methylphenidate

An amphetamine derivative CNS stimulant (Ritalin) prescribed as a first-line treatment for ADHD and narcolepsy.

Modafinil

A non-amphetamine CNS stimulant and dopamine reuptake inhibitor indicated to improve wakefulness in patients with narcolepsy.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

A condition characterized by recurring partial or complete upper airway obstruction during sleep lasting 10–90 seconds, leading to hypoxemia and hypercapnia.

Seizure

A transient, uncontrolled electrical discharge of neurons in the brain that interrupts normal neurological function.

Epilepsy

A neurological condition characterized by spontaneously recurring seizures (at least 2 spontaneous episodes >24 hours apart) not caused by an acute reversible illness.

Gliosis

Scar tissue formed in brain areas where epileptic activity originates, which alters the local microenvironment and predisposes neurons to abnormal firing.

Prodromal Phase

An early phase occurring hours or days before a seizure, presenting with non-specific signs such as mood changes, anxiety, or lightheadedness.

Aural Phase

A sensory warning occurring immediately before a seizure, featuring manifestations like déjà vu, unusual smells or tastes, pins and needles, or fear.

Ictal Phase

The period of active full seizure activity featuring physical, autonomic, sensory, or motor manifestations.

Postictal Phase

The recovery period following a seizure characterized by deep sleep, drowsiness, confusion, headache, malaise, and muscle soreness.

Generalized Seizures

Seizures featuring bilateral, synchronous electrical discharges involving the entire brain from onset, resulting in immediate loss of consciousness.

Tonic-Clonic Seizure

A generalized seizure involving initial body stiffening (~20 seconds) followed by rhythmic jerking of the extremities (~40 seconds).

Typical Absence Seizure

A generalized seizure common in children characterized by a brief staring spell lasting a few seconds with immediate loss and recovery of consciousness.

Atonic Seizure

A generalized seizure also known as a 'drop attack' involving a sudden loss of consciousness and muscle tone, resulting in immediate falls and high risk of head injury.

Myoclonic Seizure

A seizure type characterized by a sudden, brief, excessive jerking motion of a specific muscle or muscle group.

Focal Seizures

Seizures originating in a specific localized area of one cerebral hemisphere, producing unilateral motor, sensory, or cognitive manifestations.

Status Epilepticus

A life-threatening neurological emergency characterized by continuous seizure activity lasting 5 minutes or longer, or rapid recurrent seizures without recovery of consciousness between episodes.

Phenytoin

A first-line hydantoin antiepileptic drug (Dilantin) that inhibits glutamate receptors to stabilize nerve cell membranes during long-term therapy.

Gingival Hyperplasia

An overgrowth of gum tissue around the teeth that represents a common adverse effect associated with long-term phenytoin administration.

Carbamazepine

A second-line antiepileptic drug (Tegretol) that enhances GABA activity to reduce neuronal excitability, whose toxicity is heightened by grapefruit juice.

Phenobarbital

A long-acting barbiturate and sodium channel blocker used to treat status epilepticus, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and febrile convulsions.

Valproic Acid

An antiepileptic medication (Epival) used for generalized seizures that is highly bound to plasma proteins and carries a high risk of hepatotoxicity.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

A severe, toxic skin rash and immune reaction that can occur as an adverse effect of certain antiepileptic drugs, requiring immediate cessation of treatment.