Because the long axons of neurons look like electrical wires, and both neurons and electrical wires conduct electricity, it is tempting to equate the two. Compare and contrast the functioning of axons and electrical wires in terms of their structure and the nature of the electrical signals they conduct. Please include references.

If you are trying to study the presynaptic activity of a neurotransmitter using outside out patch clamp, would you add the neurotransmitter into the solution bath that the setup is placed into or would the neurotransmitter be added through the micropipette of the patch clamp?

Which of the following is true about the conduction of action potentials?  a. Thicker axons are faster because there is more surface area on thicker axons. b. Myelin speeds conduction because the glial cells add voltage gated Na+ channels to the neuron. c. Diffusion of Na+ ions between the Nodes of Ranvier happens faster than the wave of opening and closing membrane proteins can travel. d. Neurons that don’t have myelin sheaths undergo saltatory conduction e. Action potentials move slowly.

Two excitatory synapses on a neuron fire at the same time as one inhibitory neuron. Each synapse comes from a different presynaptic neuron. Explain what happens at each synapse (in the post-synaptic neuron) and what determines whether this neuron will fire.

You apply a drug to a batch of neurons and record membrane potential changes in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons. You record an action potential in the presynaptic neuron and a change from -70mV to -55mV in the postsynaptic neuron. Your drug most likely allowed which ion into the postsynaptic neuron? Sodium (Na+) Glutamate Potassium (K+) GABA Chloride (Cl-)

Drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) affect the reuptake of neurotransmitter by presynaptic cells. SSRIs are used for the treatment of depression.  Serotonin normally causes an excitatory postsynaptic potential. Explain why neurotransmitter reuptake is important.  And describe what effect the SSRI would have on the response of these postsynaptic cells and why.

Which of the following is the role of axonal Calcium (Ca2+) channels in neuronal communication at the synapse? a) they inhibit the action potential causing it to stop b) Calcium channels have no role in this process c) by allowing calcium to exit the cell, they promote the propagation of action potential across the synapse by creating depolarization d) by blocking calcium entrance, they mediate the contraction of presynaptic axon to facilitate movement e) when they open, calcium enters the presynaptic terminal, promoting fusion of neurotransmitter vesicles with presynaptic membrane, and release of neurotransmitters to the synaptic cleft

READ: They key to large-scale communication in the entire nervous system is the ability to pass nerve impulses on a small scale from one neuron to the next so that signals can be transmitted throughout the entire body. The junction between two neurons is called a synapse, and is the critical space that mediates the transfer of a signal from the presynaptic neuron (the sender) to the postsynaptic neuron (the receiver) or even an effector cell (like a gland or muscle cell.) You circled a synapse in Model 1. Synapses can be electrical or chemical. Electrical synapses transmit electrical signals via gap junctions. A channel protein connects the cytoplasm of two adjacent neurons so that ions can flow directly from one cell to another to pass on the signal. However, the most common type of synapse is a chemical synapse. These utilize chemical signals, called neurotransmitters, to transmit the signal across the synaptic cleft. This is a slower process, but allows for much greater precision…

The table of neurotransmitters below is too simplistic. In reality, one neurotransmitter chemical has multiple actions in the nervous system. How is this possible?

Regardless of type, all neurons transfer signals between each other or to effectors (muscles or glands) at a synapse. The neuromuscular junction that we talked about with the muscular system is one example of a synapse. The diagram below shows the general features of a synapse Match each term or description with the appropriate letter in the diagram. You may use terms more than once. 1. Synaptic knob in axon terminal of pre-synaptic cell: 2. Synaptic cleft: 3. Neurotransmitter: 4. Dendrite of post-synaptic cell: 5. Cell body of post-synaptic cell: 6. Receptor in plasma membrane of post-synaptic cell: 7. Chemical released by neurons that stimulates or inhibits other neurons, muscles, or glands: 8. Cell that sends the signal: 9. Dendrite of cell that receives the signal: 10. Space between cells that must be crossed by neurotransmitters: 11. Structure that opens, like a "protein door", when neurotransmitters attach to it: