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Project Self-Discovery A step-by-step journey through the parts of our bodies that govern our actions, pain, pleasures, thoughts, and emotions You will learn what makes you tick at the following levels within your human body: Cellular Systems Brain Central Nervous and Peripheral Nervous Systems exterior view of right hemisphere A neuron neural network Interior view of right hemisphere Endocrine system Neurons (AKA nerve cells) The cells that make you what and who you are! – Function: • to send and receive electrical pulses between skin, muscles, organs, glands, spine & brain • these pulses govern our every thought, emotion, and movement!! – Facts: • Human body has 100s of billions; most are in the brain and spine • Second most neuron rich place is your gut (which is called the second brain by some!) • 1 sand grain-sized piece of brain can have 100,000 neurons and 1 MILLION synapses (small space between neurons across which messages are sent) • Types Different kinds for different messages and functions • motor (efferent)—send outgoing messages from brain to move muscles • sensory (afferent)—receive incoming messages and send to brain • inter—neurons of brain and spine that receive messages from sensory neurons and send messages to motor neurons • mirror--only in frontal lobe of brain, these neurons in the brain that “act out” and help us imitate the actions of others without conscious thought on our parts! Anatomy of a neuron Draw and label a neuron on your notes including cell body (soma) axon dendrites axon terminals Schwann’s cells myelin sheath Node of Ranvier Label the functions of the parts Axon: sends messages Dendrites: receive messages Neural network: cluster of neurons in brain 1. Networks grow more and stronger synaptic connections as we learn, think, do because of LTP! Neurons generate more dendrites to “speak” with axons of neighboring neurons Neural pruning: The brain destroys connections that aren’t being used because they are wasting valuable resources!! 2. Connections weaken when not used because of neural pruning They can also be damaged by drugs, alcohol, disease, surgery, TBI (traumatic brain injury) Neural impulse • Energy that travels up to 200 mph through your body from one neuron to the next (in contrast, electricity travels 3 million times faster in a wire!) • The energy carries a message to the brain and other cells in body from external stimuli (heat, pressure, light, sound) OR a message generated within the body • Impulse is processed and “translated” into image, sound, emotion, pain, etc. in brain • Brain can send out response impulses to muscles and skin Synaptic communication Neurons “fire” when they are stimulated to the point of having an action potential Neurons exist at resting potential and when stimulated have an action potential Video of neural communication NO narration Neurotransmitters: The chemical language of the body • Neural impulse (energy messages) are transmitted between neurons across synaptic gap (small space between neurons) by neurotransmitters • Neurons are specialized to send and receive specific neurotransmitters like keys to a door Excitatory vs. inhibitory neurotransmitters Inhibitory slow down neural 1. Read and highlight the handout according to the impulses, calm the brain, following color codes: bring mood back to homeostasis after highly a) one color for function(s) of the neurotransmitter stimulating event by opening b) another color for effects of too much up K+ gates and c) another color for effects of a deficit of this hyperpolarizing neuron so neurotransmitter that it can’t have an action 2. Make a tree map that states the definition of excitatory potential and inhibitory neurotransmitters and lists the 6 that are described in the reading in the right category. 3. On your map, identify the functions of each Excitatory speed up neurotransmitter AND what happens as levels neural impulses, fluctuate. stimulate the brain by allowing Na+ gates to open and begin an action potential Neurotransmitters released by axon across synaptic gap (cleft) to neighboring neuron’s dendrite Video snippet: Neural communication Time for a field trip & to act it out!! 1. To the men’s urinal we go! Quick write: How is a men’s urinal a metaphor for action potential? Be sure to include the following terms in your description: • • • • • • • • • • resting potential • flush “detector” (or handle) threshold • water flowing from top to basin neural impulse • urinal body all-or-nothing principle • urinal basin direction of flow of impulse • soap thing at bottom of basin dendrites • drain synaptic vesicles 2. Act it out! neurotransmitters Stand up axon terminals You are now a neuron—Let’s do the neuron dance!! refractory period Go find another neuron to send an impulse to Reuptake & reuptake inhibitors Things that can make our neural communication dysfunctional A. Reuptake: Natural neural process— a) Sending neuron has reuptake sites that “suck” up the neurotransmitter from the synapse after an action potential has occurred. b) Neuron repackages the neurotransmitter into new synaptic vesicles to use again B. Reuptake inhibitors: Molecules that bind to the reuptake sites on the axons preventing reuptake of neurotransmitters So what? If sending neuron can’t “mop up” the neurotransmitters from the synapse, they will continue to link to receptor sites on other neuron’s dendrites causing continuous action potentials!! This can be a good thing or a bad thing! a) Reuptake inhibitors are good if we are treating someone who has a deficit of a particular neurotransmitter (see using SSRIs to treat depression) b) Reuptake inhibitors are bad if they cause someone to get used to the high levels of a particular neurotransmitter (see cocaine) Reuptake inhibitor up close: Cocaine! Why does cocaine make us feel so good and keep us wanting more?? Video snippet a) They don’t call it “dope” for nothin’! b) Cocaine is a reuptake inhibitor for dopamine c) What does that mean? Quick write what the video taught you about how cocaine interacts with our brains at the neural level Serotonin and depression: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are main pharmaceutical treatment for depression Video animation of SSRI After video quick write: How do SSRIs work to treat depression? Agonists and antagonists Things that can make our neural communication dysfunctional A. Agonists: Molecules that are similar enough to a neurotransmitter to allow an action potential OR block reuptake – Opiates: drug that cause euphoria (extreme happiness) in order to minimize pain (or get high!) • heroine, codeine, morphine, opium • agonists for endorphins – Barbiturates: drugs that cause sedation (extreme relaxation) in order to minimize pain and anxiety • Barbiturates are agonists for GABA (Video snippet) – Black widow spider venom is agonist for ACh leads to violent muscle contractions, PAIN! B. Antagonists: Molecules that are similar enough to a neurotransmitter to lock into receptor sites on dendrites or blocking the terminal buttons on axons thereby STOPPING/PREVENTING action potentials Botox, botulin: Block ACh release causing paralysis Curare poison blocks ACh receptor sites causing paralysis Quick look at Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease: a degenerative disease that causes person to lose ability to transfer short-term to long-term memory and eventually disrupts ability to retrieve long-term memory as well as lose functions of speech, comprehension, and movement How does it work? Alzheimer’s disease attacks the brain’s neurons by disrupting the normal work of proteins at the neural level Alzheimer’s seems to attack neurons that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) •ACh is linked with memory recall AND speed of processing information Neural death due to plaques and tangles and shrinking brain cause the symptoms of the disease Practical Applications? • If we know thoughts are energy (neural impulses), how can we use this knowledge? – Electrodes can deliver energy pulse to areas of the brain to find out what that part does – People who are paralyzed can have tiny transmitters implanted in their brains that communicate their thoughts with computers – Use electroconvulsive therapy to over-stimulate areas of brain – Cut or create lesions on parts of brain to stop energy transmission when there is too much (e.g. epileptic seizures) Practical Applications? • If we know how to replicate neurotransmitters in the chemistry lab, how can that help people who don’t have enough of one? – Make drugs to replace/mimic the missing neurotransmitter!! – Make drugs that increase or decrease flow of neurotransmitters (e.g. Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) • Why isn’t injecting someone with a missing neurotransmitter always the answer? – Blood-brain barrier (special blood vessels in brain that are impermeable to most molecules) prevents many injected chemicals from entering brain