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BMS 360 - Neuro
neuro chapters
56
Anatomy
Undergraduate 3
02/02/2014

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Term
homeostasis
Definition
relatively stable conditions of the internal environment that result from compensating regulatory responses
Term
steady state
Definition
a system in which a particular variable is not changing but energy must be continuously added to maintain this constant
Term
negative feedback
Definition
a system in which an increase or decrease in a variable being regulated brings about responses that tend to move the variable in the direction opposite to the direction of a change
Term
positive feedback
Definition
a system in which an initial disturbance sets off a train of events that increase the disturbance even further
Term
feedforward
Definition
regulation that anticipates changes in a regulated variable and improves the speed of the body's homeostatic responses and minimizes fluctuations
Term
stimulus
Definition
a detectable change in the internal or external environment
Term
receptor
Definition
a detector of an environmental change
Term
afferent pathway
Definition
pathway traveled by the signal between the receptor and the integrating center
Term
integrating center
Definition
central point which receives signals from many receptors (through afferent pathways)
Term
effector
Definition
a device whose change in activity constitutes the overall response of the system
Term
efferent pathway
Definition
pathway traveled by the signal between the integrating center and the effector
Term
paracrine agents
Definition
chemical messengers involved in local communication between cells
Term
autocrine agents
Definition
chemical messengers that act upon the cell that secreted them
Term
specificity
Definition
ability of a receptor to bind to only one type or a limited number of structurally related types of chemical messengers
Term
saturation
Definition
the degree to which receptors are occupied by a messenger
Term
affinity
Definition
strength with which a chemical binds to its receptor
Term
competition
Definition
ability of different molecules with similar structures to combine with the same receptor
Term
antagonist
Definition
a molecule that competes for a receptor with a chemical messenger normally present in the body; binds without triggering a response
Term
agonist
Definition
a chemical messenger that binds to a receptor and triggers a cell's response
Term
down-regulation
Definition
a decrease in the total number of target-cell receptors for a given messenger in response to chronic high extracellular concentration of the messenger
Term
up-regulation
Definition
an increase in the total number of target-cell receptors for a given messenger in response to a chronic low extracellular concentration of the messenger
Term
neuron
Definition
basic unit of nervous tissue; serve as integrators
Term
neurotransmitter
Definition
chemical messengers that pass from neuron to targets
Term
dendrites
Definition
highly branched outgrowths from cell body which receive information and input
Term
axon (nerve fiber)
Definition
a single long process that extends from the cell body to its target cells
Term
axon hillock (initial segment)
Definition
portion of axon closest to the cell body where the axon is joined
Term
varicosities
Definition
bulging areas along axons where some neurons release their chemical messengers
Term
afferent neurons
Definition
convey information from tissues and organs into the central nervous system
Term
efferent neurons
Definition
convey information from the central nervous system to tissues and organs
Term
synapse
Definition
specialized junction between two neurons where one neuron alters the activity of another
Term
glial cells (neuroglia)
Definition
non-neuron cells in the central nervous system; metabolically and physically support neurons
Term
astriglia
Definition
regulate composition of extracellular fluid in the central nervous system by removing K+ ions and neurotransmitters around synapses
Term
microglia
Definition
serve as immune cells of the central nervous system
Term
resting membrane potential
Definition
a potential difference across the plasma membrane of cells and the extracellular fluid
Term
depolarization
Definition
occurs when the potential is less negative than the resting level
Term
repolarization
Definition
occurs when a depolarized membrane potential returns toward the resting level
Term
graded potential
Definition
a potential change of variable amplitude and duration that is conducted decrementally; no threshold or refractory period
Term
action potential
Definition
a brief all-or-none depolarization of the membrane; has a threshold and refractory period and is conducted without decrement
Term
synaptic potential
Definition
a graded potential change produced in the postsynaptic neuron in response to release of a neurotransmitter by a presynaptic terminal; may be depolarizing or hyperpolarizing
Term
receptor potential
Definition
a graded potential produced at the peripheral endings of afferent neurons in response to a stimulus
Term
pacemaker potential
Definition
a spontaneously occurring graded potential change that occurs in certain specialized cells
Term
subthreshold potentials
Definition
weak depolarization in which an action potential does not occur
Term
saltatory conduction
Definition
using nodes of Ranvier, action potentials jump from one node to the next as they propagate along a myelinated fiber
Term
synaptic cleft
Definition
extracellular space between the axon of a presynaptic cell and the postsynaptic cell
Term
excitatory post synaptic potential (EPSP)
Definition
a graded potential that spreads decrementally away from the synapse by local current and brings the membrane potential of the post synaptic neuron closer to threshold
Term
inhibitory post synaptic potential (IPSP)
Definition
uses various mechanisms (such as graded positive potentials) to move the membrane potential away from depolarization
Term
temporal summation
Definition
multiple stimuli, one after another, that increase or decrease each other
Term
spatial summation
Definition
multiple stimuli from multiple sources that increase or decrease each other
Term
cholinergic fibers
Definition
fibers that release acetylcholine (ACh)
Term
catecholamines
Definition
dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine
Term
adrenergic
Definition
releasing epinephrine or norepinephrine
Term
seratonin
Definition
molecule that is generally excitatory for muscle control pathways and inhibitory for sensing pathways
Term
glutamate
Definition
widely used molecule in body for excitatory responses
Term
GABA
Definition
widely used molecule in body for inhibitory responses
Term
ganglia
Definition
groups of neuron cell bodies in the PNS
Term
nuclei
Definition
groups of neuron cell bodies in the CNS
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