Summary: Nutrition And The Brain

Read the summary and the most important questions on Nutrition and the Brain

• 1 Lecture 1: Introduction

• 1.1.1 Menton different cell-types and functions of the brain

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• What are the corresponding PNS cells for astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the CNS glia?

  Astrocytes in the CNS correspond with satellite cells in the PNS
  Oligodendrocytes CNS correspond with Schwann cells in the PNS

• 1.1.2 Recognize the main structure of the brain (white versus grey matter)

• What is the location of grey matter in the spinal cord versus the brain?

  Grey matter is located inside the spinal cord and mostly on the outside (cortex) of the brain

• What is difference between grey and white matter in structure?

  The difference between grey matter and white matter in structure is that grey matter mainly consist of neuronal cell bodies, nuclei and white matter mainly consists of the axons
  
  Grey matter = processing (where the thinking happens)
  White matter = signal transmission (communication)

• 1.1.4 Mention neurotransmitters and their precursors

• What are the precusors of endocannibinoids?

  The precursors of endocannibinoids are arachidonic acid; DHA

• 1.2.4 Explain the main function of and the role of the key-players in neuroinflammation.

• What happens to the shape of microglia and astrocytes in neurodegeneration?

  Astrocytes become slightly bigger during neurodegeneration, whilst microglia shrink in size

• 2 Lecture 2: Brain chemistry

• 2.1 How neurotransmission is achieved in brain

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• Name 6 signs of electrical transmission

  An electrical synapse has a small (4 nm) distance between pre- and post synaptic cell. There is cytoplasmatic continuity. There are gap-junction channels. The agent of transmission is via ionic current. The synaptic delay is virtually absent and the direction of transmission is bidirectional

• Name 6 signs of chemical transmission

  A chemical synapse has a 'larger'distance between pre- and postsynaptic cell membranes (20-40 nm). There is NO cytoplasmatic continuity. The ultrastructural components are presynaptic vesicles, active zones; postsynaptic receptors. The agent of transmission is via chemical transmitter. The synaptic delay is at least 0.3 ms, usually 1-5ms. The direction of transmission is unidirectional!

• What is the mechanism behind a chemical synapse in 6 steps?

  Step 1: Action potential arrives at axon terminal
  Step 2: Voltage-gated Ca2+  channels open and Ca2+ enters the axon terminal
  Step 3: Ca2+ entry causes neurotransmitter-containing synaptic vesicles to release their contents by exocytosis
  Step 4: neurotransmitter diffuses across the synaptic cleft and binds to ligand-gated ion channels on the postsynaptic membrane  
  Step 5: binding of neurotransmitter opens ligand-gated ion channels, resulting in graded potentials
  Step 6: reuptake by the presynaptic neuron, enzymatic degradation, and diffussion reduced neurotransmitter levels, terminating the signal

• 2.2 The differences among synapse subtypes

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• What is the difference between ionotropic receptors and metabotropic receptors?

  Ionotropic receptors open ligand-gated ion channels directly for fast synaptic transmission, while metabotropic receptors activate second-messenger signaling pathways, triggering a biochemical cascade using G-proteins and second messengers,  that produce slower but longer-lasting effects.

• 2.3 Which neurotransmitters there are, how these are categorized and their main functinos

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• What are the two main categories of neurotransmitters?

  The two main categories of neurotransmitters are small-molecule transmitters and neuroactive peptides