Psy 312 Test 2

Front 1

When do neurons fire?

Back 1

When the degree of polarization at the axon hillock is great enough to reach threshold

Front 2

What do neurotransmitters bind to?

Back 2

Postsynaptic receptors

Front 3

Saltatory Conduction

Back 3

Myelin speeds up the velocity of the action potential (like like a firecracker)

Front 4

Who would study optimism and flu symptoms?

Back 4

Psychoneuroimmunologist

Front 5

What happens after catecholamine NTs bind to postsynaptic receptors?

Back 5

the NTs detach and are taken back to presynaptic endings

Front 6

Hyperpolarization

Back 6

move to a more negative charge

Front 7

Dorsal root neurons

Back 7

sensory

Front 8

Glutamate

Back 8

most prevalent excitatory NT in CNS

Front 9

MRI

Back 9

gives 3D view of the brain

Front 10

PET

Back 10

shows brain function

Front 11

Sensory Transduction

Back 11

conversion of physical energy from environment into changes in electrical potential; applies to every sense

Front 12

Sensory Coding

Back 12

making sense of input (interpret)

Front 13

Compound/Young-Helmholz Theory

Back 13

-still in use
-color vision occurs at the level of the cones; 3 different cones are more sensitive to different wavelengths (colors)
-explains major type of color blindness; deficits in certain types of cones

Front 14

Trichromatic Theory for Color Vision

Back 14

-works great @ level of cones but has a negative afterimage; can't explain, a phenomenon that occurs as a result of overactivity or inhibition of neurons

Front 15

Opponent Process Theory

Back 15

-occurs at level of bipolar cells (cells that synapse on rods and cones)
-one color excited bipolar cell, other inhibits (black/white, red/green, yellow/blue)
-short wavelength cones respond best to blue, medium to green and yellow, long to red and yellow

Front 16

Neurotransmitters in pain

Back 16

substance P and endogenous opioids

Front 17

Substance P

Back 17

-most pain is a result of substances released by damaged tissues (also released by jalapenos--spicy foods)
-is a large peptide & synthesis can take time, so release of large amounts takes time to remake (so "pain free" for a while)

Front 18

Endogenous Opioids

Back 18

-make these yourself
-oxycodine binds to this
-endorphins-endogenous morphine-like substances; may explain acupuncture, placebo effects

Front 19

Ways to alleviate chronic pain

Back 19

-drugs (morphine derivatives like Oxycontin)
-ESB (electrical stimulation of brain-PAG)
-acupuncture
-pain management clinics

Front 20

Rods

Back 20

the visual receptors in the retina that mediate achromatic, low-acuity vision under dim light

Front 21

Cones

Back 21

the visual receptors in the retina that mediate high-acuity color vision in good lighting

Front 22

What is the general pathway of sensory information to the brain?

Back 22

sensory neurons->spinal tracts->thalamus->primary sensory cortex->secondary sensory cortex->higher association cortex

Front 23

Adaptation

Back 23

make sense out of nonsense

Front 24

Phantom Limb Pain

Back 24

the vivid perception that an amputated limb still exists

Front 25

Iris

Back 25

muscle that expands/contracts pupils in response to light; phenotypically unique (like snowflakes--iris scan)

Front 26

Sclera

Back 26

tough opaque tissue

Front 27

Pupil

Back 27

used to determine neurological function; should constrict to block light

Front 28

What does the eye see?

Back 28

light waves along the visual spectrum

Front 29

Retina

Back 29

important for transduction; contains neurons, glial cells

Front 30

Why is it important for sensory perceptors to adapt?

Back 30

You need to get used to some things (rings, wathces, lights) so that you can focus on other things and notice changes (light blinks, take ring off)

Front 31

Transduction

Back 31

the conversion of one form of energy to another

Front 32

Visual transduction

Back 32

conversion of light to neural signals by the visual receptors

Front 33

Dorsal stream

Back 33

conducts info; flows from the primary visual cortex to the dorsal prestriate cortex to the posterior parietal cortex

perception of "where"

Front 34

Ventral stream

Back 34

flows from the primary visual cortex to the ventral prestriate cortex to the inferotemporal cortex

perception of "what"

Front 35

Scotoma

Back 35

an area of blindness (damage)

Front 36

Blindsight

Back 36

the ability of such patients to respond to visual stimuli in their scotomas even though they have no conscious awareness of the stimuli

Front 37

Primary Sensory Cortex

Back 37

the area of the sensory cortex that receives most of its input directly from the thalamic relay nuclei of that system

Front 38

Secondary Sensory Cortex

Back 38

areas of the sensory cortex that receive most of their unput from the primary sensory cortex

Front 39

Association Cortex

Back 39

any area of cortex that receives input from more than one sensory system

Front 40

3 Systems that provide somatosensory info

Back 40

1. Exteroceptive (stimuli applied to skin)
2. Interoceptive (internal)
3. Proprioceptive (kinesthesia)

Front 41

Exteroceptive

Back 41

stimuli applied to skin:
mechanical=touch
thermal=temp
nociceptive=pain

Front 42

Interoceptive

Back 42

internal; temp, blood pressure; "organic senses"--usually originate around organs

Front 43

Proprioceptive

Back 43

senses positions of body parts

Front 44

PAG

Back 44

found in hindbrain (cerebral aqueduct); contains opiate receptors

Front 45

3 discoveries that made descending pain control possible

Back 45

1. Electrical stimulation of the PAG has analgesic (pain blocking) effects
2. PAG & other brain areas have large amounts of opiate receptors
3. Existence of endogenous opiates (natural pain relievers) a.k.a. endorphins

Front 46

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

Back 46

extremely rare; inability to thermoregulate (through skin) or feel pain

Front 47

Chronic Pain

Back 47

cancers, debilitating arthritis, back pain, undiagnosed, migraine

Front 48

Treatments for chronic pain

Back 48

1. Drugs--morphine derivatives (oxycontin)
2. ESB (electrical stimulation of the brain)-->PAG
3. Acupuncture
4. Pain management clinics

Front 49

Possible causes of phantom limb

Back 49

-circuits are still there and something is causing them to fire
-circuits in brain are still firing
-nerve endings of the limb are still there

Front 50

Treatments for phantom limb

Back 50

1. Drugs--antidepressants, antiseizure (anticonvulsive) meds
2. Cutting dorsal roots to reduce sensory info to brain
3. Anesthetizing stump--allows nerve endings to no longer fire to the brain

Front 51

Apoptosis

Back 51

active (programmed) cell death

Front 52

Stroke

Back 52

sudden onset cerebrovascular accident (CVA) that causes brain damage

Front 53

Cerebral Hemorrhage

Back 53

bleeding in the brain that damages neural tissue; most frequently caused by high blood pressure (neurons don't receive necessary blood/oxygen/energy & flooded with chemicals normally contained in blood vessels which causes imbalances)

Front 54

Cerebral Ischemia

Back 54

disruption of blood supply to an area of the brain (caused by blockade/obstruction of blood flow)--neurons don't receive necessary blood/oxygen/energy

Front 55

Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)

Back 55

stroke-like symptoms, but goes away quickly

Front 56

NMDA R antagonists

Back 56

try to save neurons; glutamate receptor blockers, but not much enhanced recovery in humans; modulated moderate activity without completely shutting it down

Front 57

Bacterial Encephalitis

Back 57

CNS infection; swelling of the brain (can be treated)

Front 58

Bacterial Meningitis

Back 58

swelling of the meninges (part that protects the brain)

Front 59

Neurosyphilis

Back 59

infection; can do major damage to brain tissue

Front 60

Lyme Disease

Back 60

tic bite; chronic fatigue, long-term pain

Front 61

Rabies

Back 61

particular affinity for the nervous system

Front 62

HIV Dementia

Back 62

virus infects glia and other cells (probably not neurons--but causes neuronal damage); impaired concentration and mild memory loss

Front 63

HIV cocktails and the blood brain barrier

Back 63

don't cross barrier, so the viruses in the brain are not as well controlled

Front 64

Prion Diseases

Back 64

mutated protein; transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

Front 65

transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

Back 65

once disease is apparent, demise is quick; parts of the brain begin developing holes that look like a sponge

mad cow disease, kuru, scrapies

Front 66

Prions

Back 66

abnormal protein that appear to destroy normal proteins and cause them to fold onto themselves in the CNS

Front 67

Classic CJD

Back 67

prion protein gene; very rare: sporadic CJD is most common but still rare (occurs occasionally with no known cause)
familial CJD is inherited

Front 68

Variant CJD

Back 68

caused by an unconventional transmissible agent; exposed to prions (meat); don't know how to screen for it...occurs in younger people than classic does

Front 69

Neurodegenerative disorders

Back 69

neurons begin to die (unclear cause); none of the treatments stop the progression of the disease

Front 70

Alzheimer's Disease

Back 70

most common form of dementia; person can live with disease (althugh experiencing significant personality changes and ability to function) for many years; characterized by slow decline--most recent info is lost first; characterized by tangles and plaques in nerve cells

Front 71

Parkinson's Disease

Back 71

typical onset over 60; difficulty initiating movement, cogwheel rigidity (arm jerks), resting tremor and postural instability (fall easily); progressive degeneration of dopamine neurons in the midbrain (substantia nigra) that project to basal ganglia

Front 72

Basal Ganglia

Back 72

group of subcortical neclei that are important components of the motor system

Front 73

Major NT released by most neurons in the substantia nigra

Back 73

dopamine (Parkinson's lacks this)

Front 74

Treatment for Parkinson's

Back 74

injections of l-dopa (make more dopamine--DA); other drugs that slow own the breakdown of DA or act as DA agonists

Front 75

2 levels of communication within neural cells of the eye

Back 75

1. rods and cones--bipolar cells--ganglion cells (axons make up the optic nerve) to CNS
2. across a singular layer (rods & cones communicate w/ each other)

Front 76

optic nerves

Back 76

make blind spot in each eye (has to leave space for axons to leave retina)

Front 77

Discriminative touch

Back 77

perception of pressure, vibration, & texture; relies on 4 diff receptors in skin (2=rapidly adapting, 2=slowly adapting); pain & temp system don't have specialized receptor organs but rather use free nerve endings in skin, muscle, bone, & connective tissue

Front 78

Teratogen

Back 78

alcohol; substance capable of interfering with fetal development

Front 79

Teratology

Back 79

biological study of birth defects

Front 80

Behavioral Teratology

Back 80

study of how agents can affect behavior (so affects brain)