Psych C61 Midterm 2 Study Guide

Morphine

Friedrich Wilhelm Serturner; isolated this from opium

PSP

Paralytic shellfish poisoning; the medical condition resulting from STX poisoning causes numbness muscle weakness and paralysis with death if it occurs from respiratory paralysis and the resulting suffocation

Psilocybin mushrooms

Psilocybin and Psilocin "magic mushrooms"

Pharmacology

scientific study of drugs their origins, compositions and effects on the body

Ramachandran

scientist who is known for the mirrored box experiment

Most severe side effects from sedative hypnotic withdrawal

seizure

Opioids

substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine like effects

Neural development

symphony of neurogenesis, gliogenesis, migration and synaptogenesis

Neuroplasticity

synapses that are used become stabilized and strengthened

Neuroplasticity

the ability of neural circuitry to alter its properties; neuronal synapses are strengthened if they are used or weakened if not

Blood-Brain Barrier

the blood vessels are constructed within the CNS so that the passage of materials from the blood into the brain is regulated; only hydrophobic substances, oxygen, glucose and essential amino acids can pass

Sensation

the collection of information from the environment via sensory receptors

Anadamide

the first endocannabinoid discovered

Saxitoxin

a molecule found in several species of dinoflagellates also blocks Na channels in a similar way to TTX and similarly interferes with nervous system function

Isomerization

a term used to describe when a cis retinal becomes a trans retinal

Cell differentiation

as cells differentiate they move around to occupy specific locations

Cell migration

as they differentiate, cells move around to occupy specific locations

Transcription factors regulate gene expression by

binding to DNA along with RNA polymerase and regulating the activation or deactivation of gene transcription

Nicotine

binds to an agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; relaxation, alertness and focused attention experienced by users of tobacco

Effects of cocaine at synapses and autonomic

blocking of reuptake transporters for norepinephrine and dopamine; CNS stimulant

Axon and dendrite branching

developing neurons grow out of their dendrites and axons and differentiate so as to use one another particular molecule for neurotransmitter signaling

Atropa belladonna

highly poisonous plant used for its deadly effects to poison enemies and in lower doses for its medicinal effects

Sedative-hypnotic drugs

in low doses they produce sedative or relaxing effects and in higher doses they produce a hypnotic or sleep inducing effect

Anosmia

inability to smell something

Sedative hypnotic drugs

increase the flow of GABA mediated Cl ions which inhibits CNS

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)

plant native to the Americas (named after Jean Nicot)

Adenosine

molecularly similar to caffeine; caffeine acts at adenosine receptors as an antagonist

THeobromine

molecule similar to caffeine found in cacao

Theophylline

molecule similar to caffeine found in tea

By this month brain growth begins

month 3

Apraxia

motor disorder that refers to loss of ability to generate coordinated actions not due to loss of muscle control

Chemoaffinity Hypothesis

nerve cells use specific chemical signals to guide their wiring during development and during neural regeneration

Chemoaffinity hypothesis

nerve cells use specific chemical signals to guide their wiring during development and during neural regeneration

Pruning

neurons may be eliminated during early development

Wilder Penfield

neurosurgeon that discovered somatosensory cells in humans

Embryonic and adult neurogenesis

occurs in the hippocampus

TTX

one of the most poisonous substances; produced in puffer fish, made by bacteria living symbiotically within the animal species found to possess it (sticks to the outside surface of the voltage gated Na channel in such a way that it blocks the pore through which sodium ions pass when the channel opens; doesn't cross the BBB

Local anesthesia

"loss of sensation"; chemicals that produce a loss of sensation locally (only in the region of the body where they have been applied)

Fentanyl

100x more potent than morphine

Paracelsus

16th century Swiss physician and alchemist; taught that all substances are poison and that whether something acts as a poison or a medicine depends on the dose

Range of visible light in nanometers

400 to 700

size of the human genome

46 chromosomes

Heroin

Bayer introduced this as an analgesic and cough medicine

Marian Diamond

Berkeley professor who experimented on rats

Ayahuasca

DMT brew

Maria Sabina

Mazatec healer from a small mountain village in southern Mexico who shared her knowledge of the ritual uses of the mushrooms to outsiders

Mirror neurons

active during movement and observation of movement

Endorphins

agonists at opioid receptors "endogenous morphine"

top 5 psychoactive drugs

caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sedative-hypnotic drugs, opium

Amphetamine effects at synapses

causes norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake transporters to become leaky so that after release neurotransmitter continuously leaks out of the axon terminal into the synaptic cleft; this causes overstimulation of neural circuits using norepinephrine and dopamine

TTX resistance

changing a single amino acid can dramatically reduce its sensitivity to being blocked by TTX; animals harboring TTX producing bacteria have variants of the voltage gated Na channels that are less affected by TTX

Drug

chemical that in small amounts has a significant effect on bodily function

Semi-synthetic opioids

chemicals having opium like effects in the body (Oxycodone, Dilaudin, Vicodin)

Cytoskeleton

composed of microfilaments (polymers of actin) and microtubules (polymers of tubules)

Anopia

defect in the visual field

LSD

derived from ergotamine produced by a fungus called ergot; molecularly similar to serotonin

nerve growth and guidance factors

direct contact between one protein anchored to one cell and another protein anchored to another; binding can cause growth away from the direction of contact or in other circumstances can cause growth away from the direction of contact

Albert Hoffman

discovered LSD

Albert Hofmann

discovered LSD and its effects on the mind

Muscarine

does not cross the BBB; led to the discovery of ACh

Neural progenitor cells

embryonic stem cells in the developing nervous system differentiate into neural progenitor cells which are on track to become various types of neurons or glia

Endocannabinoids

endogenous cannabinoids; endogenous agonists to the CV receptor

What binds to opioid receptors

endorphins

Cocaine

first local anesthetic; purified from the coca plant

Neurotrophins

first nerve growth factor to be discovered; promote the growth or survival of neurons

Mescaline

first psychedelic substance chemically identified

Atropine

found in the parasympathetic neural connections with target organs as well as in the brain; GPCR

Opium

from Papaver somniferum; psychoactive effects of relaxation, pain relief and euphoria, treatment of diarrhea

Benzodiazepines

group of synthetic sedative hypnotic drugs

General anesthetics

induce loss of sensation; interfere with voltage gated Na channels; potent sedative hypnotics administered during surgery; induce loss of consciousness and lack of awareness of any sensory experience

Psychedelics; hallucinogens

influenced by set and setting

Batrachotoxins

interact with voltage gated sodium channels; rather than blocking the pore to the channel and preventing sodium ions from passing through BTX's interact with the channel protein and prevent it from closing; action potentials cannot be generated

Roger Sperry

investigated the process by which neurons make connections; studied the regrowth of a frog's optic nerve

Alcohol, ethyl alcohol

least poisonous to the human body; formed by the metabolic action of yeast on sugars coming from various plant materials

% trascribed

less than 3%

% translated

less than 85%

Synthetic opioids

made in the lab, not naturally occuring, 332

THC

major psychoactive chemical constituent of cannabis; very hydrophobic

Adenosine receptors

mediate a slowing of heart rate; decreases neuronal excitability; GPCR

DMT

powerful psychedelic that looks similar to serotonin; can be readily synthesized by enzymes present in many organisms (tryptophan)

Caffeine

powerful stimulant drug, acting on the CNS to increase wakefulness and alertness, stimulant effects on the cardiovascular system increasing heart rate and blood pressure; chemical strucutre similar to adenine or guanine

Cocaine

produced from the coca plant, local anesthetic effects and stimulant effects

Growth cone

progresses via the extension of fingerlike structures called filopodia; Romon y Cajol

Transcription factors

proteins bind to regulatory regions of DNA and modulate the readout of genese; the enzyme RNA polymerase catalyzes the synthesis of RNA transcripts using DNA as the template

Muscarinic AChRs

receptors activated by muscarine are antagonized by the molecule

Bipolar cells

these are the cells that light hits right after hitting the photoreceptor cells

Stem cells

these cells have the capacity to continue dividing and to differentiate into any type of cell in the body

Pheromones

these chemicals carry signal information related to social communications between members of the same species

Nicotinic AChRs

this binding molecule activates AChR; neurotransmitter receptor at the muscular junction

Psychosis

too much cocaine can cause a discombobulation of the perception of what we call reality, characterized by delusions and hallucinations

Barbiturates

treats anxiety and insomnia

Cephalopods

type of animals that do not have blind spots

Mechanoreceptors

type of cells that respond to pressure

Peyote cactus

used for its potent psychoactive properties by native people of the Americans; consumed under the guidance of shamans

Cannabis

used for psychactive and medicinal purposes (muscle relaxant, analgesic, appetite stimulant, change of consciousness); reacts with a cannabinoid receptor

Retrograde signaling

when molecules carry signal information in the direction opposite from the way neural signals were generally thought to move

Split brain

when the corpus collosum is severed

Synaptogenesis

when the neurons mature they begin to wire together and form synapses

Amputation of this led to the notion of neuroplasticity

whiskers

Neural tube

within 3 weeks of conception in a developing human embryo a group of cells begins to fold and form a structure called the neural tube; the CNS will develop from this folded piece of tissue as it grows and differentiates