Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Key Terms
neurons neuroglia neurotransmitter
sensory neurons myelin nerve net
interneurons resting potential ganglion
motor neurons action potential nerves
axon threshold potential central nervous system
dendrite chemical synapse peripheral nervous system
Lecture Outline
24.1 In Pursuit of Ecstasy
A. Ecstasy is MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
1. Psychoactive drug that alters brain function.
2. Releases an excess of serotonin.
a. Produces feelings of euphoria, energy, and empathy.
b. Homeostatic mechanisms spiral out of control.
B. Continued use alters structure of serotonin-secreting neurons.
1. Short-term use may be reversible.
2. Some ecstasy users have died.
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d. The membrane now has a net negative charge outside of the cell.
e. Gated potassium channels then open and allow potassium to diffuse outward and
restore the net negative charge outside of the plasma membrane.
f. Some of the sodium that diffused into the cell moves to an adjacent area along the
axon, moving the action potential along the axon.
g. Sodium gates swing open in response, moving the action potential along without
weakening.
h. The action potential moves in only one direction along the axon.
D. How messages flow from cell to cell.
1. Action potentials cannot jump from the end of an axon to the next cells dendrite.
2. A chemical synapse exists as a communication point between neurons.
a. Vesicles in the axon end contain neurotransmitters (chemical signals).
b. Action potentials cause the vesicles to release the neurotransmitter by fusing their
membrane with the plasma membrane.
c. The post-synaptic cell has receptors for the neurotransmitter.
d. Neurotransmitters may stimulate or inhibit the post-synaptic cell.
3. Acetylcholine (ACh) is a common neurotransmitter.
a. ACh stimulates skeletal muscles but inhibits the heart.
b. Different receptors enable different reactions to the same neurotransmitter.
c. Neurotransmitters must be broken down quickly after exerting their effects.
d. The enzyme acetylcholinesterase breaks down ACh.
E. Disrupted signaling.
1. Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases both disrupt signaling.
a. Alzheimers disease is caused by low ACh levels.
b. Parkinsons disease is caused by death or impairment of dopamine-secreting neurons.
2. Mood disorder drugs act at synapses in the brain.
3. Addictive drugs stimulate the release of dopamine.
4. Stimulants make users feel alert, but anxious.
5. Depressants slow responses but also produce euphoria followed by depression.
6. Narcotic analgesics mimic the bodys natural pain-killers and produce euphoria.
a. They are highly addictive.
7. Hallucinogens distort perception.
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a. Frontal lobotomy was practiced in the 1950s to treat mental illness.
2. Primary motor cortex is at the rear of the frontal lobe controls skeletal muscles.
3. Brocas area is in the left frontal lobe involves translation of speech and controls the
muscles involved in speaking.
4. Primary somatosensory cortex is in the parietal lobe receiving area for sensory input
from the skin and joints.
5. Occipital lobe contains the primary visual cortex.
6. Perception of sound and odors is controlled in the primary sensory area of the temporal
lobe.
E. Brain tumors.
1. Nervous tissue does not often divide, but cancer can arise in neurons or neuroglia.
2. Tumors can also arise from epithelial cells in the meninges or endocrine glands of the
brain, such as the pituitary.
3. In addition, brain tumors can result when cancerous cells arrive from elsewhere in the
body.
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F. At the retina.
1. The retina consists of several cell layers.
a. Rods and cones (photoreceptors) lie underneath several layers of interneurons that
process visual signals.
b. Rods detect dim light, and cones detect color.
c. Cones react to specific colors (red, blue, or green).
d. Color blindness results from lack of one or more type of cone.
2. The fovea contains the highest concentration of photoreceptors in the retina.
3. Light signals flow from the rods and cones to the ganglion cells.
a. Ganglion cells are bundled into what becomes the optic nerve.
b. The bundled ganglions form an area without photoreceptors called the blind spot.
G. Hearing.
1. Compressed air forms sound waves, the type of energy that stimulates mechanoreceptors
in the ear.
a. Sound wave intensity is measured in decibels.
b. Some common decibel levels are:
i. Normal conversation 60 dB.
ii. Chain saw 100 dB.
iii. Rock concert 120 dB.
2. Ear anatomy.
a. The outer ear consists of the skin-covered flap of cartilage called the pinna and the
auditory canal that leads to the middle ear.
b. The inner ear consists of the thin, membranous eardrum and the three middle ear
bones: malleus, incus, and stapes.
c. The inner ear consists of the oval window membrane, the vestibular apparatus (for
balance), and the cochlea, which contains the organ of Corti.
d. Hair cells in the organ of Corti are displaced when fluid in the cochlea moves in
response to air waves conducted from the inner ear.
e. Hair cell movement generates action potentials that send auditory stimuli to the brain.
f. Pitch and volume of sound are determined by the location within the cochlea where
hair cells bend and the extent to which they bend.
H. Sense of balance.
1. In humans, the vestibular apparatus provides information about balance and acceleration.
a. Fluid inside the vestibular apparatus shifts and bends receptors that convey
information about head position and acceleration.
b. Receptors in muscles and skin, and visual input combine with mechanoreceptor
information from the vestibular apparatus to provide information about balance.