Unit 1 Review

Control of Psychological Functions

  • Pathophysiology → study of disordered body function.

  • Homeostasis → maintenance of relatively constant internal environment in face of changing external environment.

    • Hippocrates and Walter cannon noted body has a dynamic equilibrium

    • Set point → Ideal normal value of a variable

  • Nervous system → Uses fast electrical transmission to communication between neurons.

  • Endocrine system → Uses a whole body transmission through chemical messengers binding to specific receptors, allowing for longer-lasting effects on target organs and systems.

  • Feedback systems → Regulatory mechanisms that maintain homeostasis by three components:

    • Sensor mechanism (nerve cell/endocrine gland) → integration center (brain) → effector organ.

    • Negative feedback → promotes stability; homeostasis

      • built in brakes to prevent over-compensation

    • Positive feedback → promotes change in one direction.

      • Rare; psychological change continues until external brake interferes.

      • Can result in disease if no external brake occurs.

  • Feedback Gain = Correct / Error

Movement Through Cell Membranes

  • Plasma membrane → Oily film of phospholipids with diverse proteins embedded inside it.

    • Controls interactions, boundaries, and passage.

    • 90-99% of plasma membrane is composed of phospholipids.

      • 75% make up the the phospholipid bilayer.

        • Hydrophilic heads (phosphate).

        • Hydrophobic tails in center.

      • 20% of lipids consist of Cholesterol, which affects membrane fluidity.

      • 5% of lipids consist of Glycolipids, which play a crucial role in cell recognition and signaling.

  • Membrane proteins → consist bout 2% of molecules found in plasma membrane

    • Although consist of 50% of the weight of the plasma membrane.

    • Integral (transmembrane) proteins → completely pass through the plasma membrane.

      • Hydrophobic phosopholipid regions and hydrophilic intra, and extracellular bits.

      • Most are glycoproteins, conjugated with carbohydrates for signalling.

    • Peripheral proteins → adhere to intracellular surface to provide anchoring for integral cytoskeletal proteins.

    • Channel proteins → Integral proteins that form pores (channels) for passage into/out of cell.

      • Some channels remain open, while some are gated— opening and closing depending on specific circumstances:

        • Ligand-regulated gates → binding of ligand results in change.

        • Voltage-regulated gates → potential changes across plasma membrane cause change.

        • Mechanically regulated gates → physical stress results in activation.

      • Carrier channels that consume ATP are called Pumps.

  • Fluid Mosaic Model → Modern concept of plasma membrane structure.

    • Bilayer of phospholipids with embedded proteins.

    • Proteins are “icebergs” floating on a sea of “lipids”

    • Plasma membrane is highly flexible, and constantly changing shape.

    • Singer and Nicholson.

  • Processes of Movement through Cell Membranes

    • Simple Diffusion → directly through lipid bilayer

      • Passive (without ATP) movement by gradient.

    • Facilitated Diffusion → through protein channels or carriers

    • Active Transport → against concentration gradient using energy (ATP)


    • Endocytosis/exocytosis → Vesicles transport materials into (endocytosis) or out of (exocytosis) the cell, allowing for the bulk movement of substances.

  • Ion Channels → integral membrane which facilitate ionic movement:

    • ungated → determined by size, shape, and charge of the ions, allowing for passive diffusion across the membrane.

      • Always open and responsible for permeability

      • Specific for one type of ion, although not absolute.

    • gated → open or close in response to voltage, or to a chemical.

  • Membrane permeability:

    • thickness of membrane → increased thickness, decrease rate.

    • molecular weight → higher mw, lower rate.

    • number of protein channels → higher pc, higher rate

    • temperature → higher temperature, increased kinetic energy, higher rate.

    • concentration gradient → greater difference, increased rate.

    • viscocity → lower viscosity, easier movement, higher rate of diffusion.

    • electrical potential → higher electrical potential, greater force on charged particles, increased rate of movement.

      • Nernst potential → the electric potential difference across a membrane that exactly balances the concentration gradient for an ion, thereby influencing ion movement and cellular excitability.

    • pressure difference → greater pressure difference, enhanced force driving movement, leading to increased rate of diffusion.

  • Osmosis → Diffusion of water across selectively permeable membrane

    • From area of more concentration to area of less concentration.

    • Aquaporins → specialized water channels that facilitate the rapid transport of water molecules across cell membranes, significantly increasing the rate of osmosis.

    • Osmotic pressure → pressure required to prevent the flow of water across a selectively permeable membrane, often driven by solute concentration gradients.

      • Isosmotic → no net movement of water across a semipermeable membrane.

      • Hyperosmotic → solution with higher solute concentration compared to another solution, leading to water moving out of a cell, which can result in cell shrinkage.

      • Hypoosmotic → solution with lower solute concentration, causing water to move into a cell, potentially resulting in cell swelling or lysis.

  • Tonicity → term used to describe solution’s effect on cell placed in it.

    • Hypotonic → low concentration of nonpermeating solutes; high water.

      • lyse → when a cell swells excessively due to water influx and ultimately bursts.

    • Isotonic → solution with equal solute concentration, leading to no net movement of water into or out of the cell, maintaining cell shape.

    • Hypertonic → solution with higher solute concentration; low water.

      • crenation → the process by which red blood cells lose water in a hypertonic solution, resulting in the cells shriveling and becoming irregularly shaped.

  • Osmotic refers to solution conc., while tonic refers to tendency to shrink or swell.

  • Filtration → movement of particle through selectively permeable membrane by hydrostatic pressure.

    • Particles move down hydrostatic pressure gradient.

    • In capillaries, BP forces water, salts, nutrients, and solutes into tissue blood.

  • Mediated Transport Mechanisms → movement of particles down a concentration gradient with the aid of specific transport proteins in the cell membrane.

    • Characteristics:

      • Specificity → specific solute binds to receptor site

      • Competition → similar molecules compete to bind to same receptor site

        • affinity

      • Saturation → rate of transport (Vmax) limited by # of carrier molecules or sites.

    • Facilitated diffusion → the process by which molecules move across a cell membrane via protein channels down it’s concentration gradient without energy.

      • solute binds → shape change → solute transported

      • no mediator or carrier.

    • Active Transport → the movement of molecules across a cell membrane against their concentration gradient, requiring energy in the form of ATP.

      • Secondary active transport: the process that utilizes the energy from the primary active transport of one molecule to drive the transport of another molecule against its gradientt.

        • One solute (typically Na+) is transported “downhill” to provide energy for the “uphill” transport of other solutes.

        • Cotransport (symport) → solutes move in same direction across membrane.

        • Countertransport (antiport, exchange) → solutes move in opposite directions across membrane.

      • Energy needed, and involves a carrier.

  • Vesicular Transport → bulk transport of large particles or fluids droplets across membrane using a vesicle, also requiring ATP.

    • Endocytosis → process by which cells engulf substances from their external environment, forming an internal vesicle to transport materials into the cell.

      • Phagocytosis → a type of endocytosis where cells ingest large particles, such as bacteria or dead cells, by enclosing them in a vesicle.

      • Pinocytosis → the process of cellular "drinking," where cells take in small droplets of extracellular fluid and dissolved solutes by engulfing them in vesicles.

      • Receptor mediated → a specialized form of endocytosis where cells internalize specific molecules by binding them to receptors on the cell surface, leading to the formation of vesicles.

    • Trancytosis → uses receptor mediated endocytosis to move a substance into a cell, and exocytosis to move out the substance to the opposite side of the cell, allowing for efficient transport across cellular barriers.

  • Sodium-Potassium ATPase (pump)

    • most common, using 25% of all energy expended by the body.

    • Na+ binds to carrier, carrier hydrolyzes ATP, changing it’s shape, allowing Na+ in and K+ out.

    • Regulation of cell volume (anions attract cations which cause osmosis)

    • Heat production (regulated by thyroid hormone)

    • Maintenance of resting cell membrane potential.

    • Secondary active transport → Na+ brings in second solute (e.g., glucose or amino acids) against its concentration gradient, utilizing the energy from the sodium gradient established by the Na+/K+ ATPase pump.

      • SGLT (sodium-glucose transport) moves both down same gradient.

  • Calcium (Ca2+) ATPase (Pump)

    • Present on cell membrane and sarcoplasmic reticulum.

    • Maintains a low cystolic Ca2+ concentration

  • Potassium-Hydrogen (K+-H+) ATPase (Pump)

    • Found in parietal cells of gastric glands (HCI secrection)

    • Intercalated cells of renal tubules (controls blood pH)

    • Concentrates H+ ions up to 1-million fold.