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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Briefly define Gap junction.
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allow current (ions) to flow between pre- and postsynaptic cells; direct electrical communication between cells
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Define Electrical synapse.
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Pre- and postsynaptic membranes in direct contact; Permeable to molecule, including Na, K, Ca, and Cl
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Define Synaptic vesicle.
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store the various neurotransmitters that are released during calcium-regulated exocytosis at the presynaptic terminal into the synaptic cleft of a synapse.
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Define Active zone.
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a dense patch of synaptic vesicles
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Define Postsynaptic density.
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a cytoskeleton specialization at neuronal synapses; usually comprised of L-glutamate neurotransmitter receptors
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Define Synaptic cleft
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specialized junctions through which the cells of the nervous system signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands; allow chemical intermediate (neurotransmitter) to pass from cell to cell
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Define EPP.
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End plate potential; EPSP of neuromuscular junction
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Define MEPP.
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Miniature end plate potentials; subunits from which an EPP is made up
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Define Exocytosis.
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process by which a cell directs secretory vesicles out of the cell membrane; method by which neurotransmitters are released by the presynaptic membrane
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Define Endocytosis.
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process where cells absorb material, such as during reuptake
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What are two advantages of electrical synapses compared to chemical ones?
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Quicker such that do not have to wait for transduction; use less energy
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What are two advantages of chemical synapses compared to electrical ones?
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Multiple types of chemicals; integration and modulation of signal
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What key piece of evidence proved that most synapses use chemical rather than electrical transmission?
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Electron microscopy
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What were the main contributions of Bernard Katz to neuroscience?
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proposed the quantal, vesicle, and calcium hypothesis, thereby setting the stage for the SNARE hypothesis, which is the molecular basis of the other three
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What is the quantal hypothesis of neurotransmission and what key pieces of evidence support it?
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neurotransmitter is released in multimolecular “packets” of a fixed size
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What is the vesicle hypothesis of neurotransmission and what key pieces of evidence support it?
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synaptic vesicles are structural basis of quanta
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What is the SNARE hypothesis and what is the difference between vSNAREs and tSNARES?
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interactions between SNARE proteins on the vesicle and on the presynaptic membrane, modulated by calcium, lead to vesicle fusion; Vesicle fusion catalyzed by interaction of vesicle associated SNARE proteins (v-SNARES) with other SNARE proteins on the membrane with which fusion can occur (target SNARES or t-SNARES)
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What is the calcium hypothesis of neurotransmission?
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voltage-dependent calcium entry couples stimulation (the action potential) to secretion
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What is the Poisson distribution and how does it help synaptic physiologists?
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gives PNumber of events as f (n,p), when n is high, p is low, and each event is independent of the others
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How does botulinum toxin lead to respiratory failure?
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cleave and thereby inactive SNARE proteins; paralyze you by preventing neurotransmitter release
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