Physiologica

l Psychology

Esin Tuna Demircioğlu,

Ph.D.
 The Cells That
Make Us Who We
Are

 Neurons are specialized cells that

convey sensory information into the
brain;

 Carry out the operations involved in

thought, feeling, and action;

 Transmit commands out into the body to

control muscles and organs
 Basic Structure

 The Motor Neuron:

 The cell body is filled with a liquid

called cytoplasm and contains a
number of organelles.

 The largest of these organelles is

the nucleus, which contains the
cell’s chromosomes. ,

 Other organelles are responsible for

converting nutrients into fuel for the
cell, constructing proteins, and
removing waste materials.
What are the parts
of the neuron?

 Dendrites are extensions that

branch out from the cell body to
receive information from other
neurons.

 Their branching structure allows

them to collect information
from many neurons.
 The axon extends like a tail from the cell
body and carries information to other
locations, sometimes across great distances.
 The myelin sheath that is shown wrapped
around the axon supports the axon and
provides other benefits that we will
consider later.
 Branches at the end of the axon culminate
in swellings called axon terminals.
 The terminals contain chemical
neurotransmitters, which the neuron
releases to communicate with a muscle, an
organ or the next neuron in a chain.
 Other Types of
Neurons
 Sensory neurons: carry information from
the body and from the outside world into the
brain and spinal cord.
 Motor and sensory neurons have the same
components, but they are configured
differently.
 A motor neuron’s axon and dendrites extend
in several directions from the cell body,
which is why it is called a multipolar
neuron.
 Sensory neurons can be either unipolar or
bipolar.
Interneurons: connect one neuron to another in the same part of the brain or
spinal cord.

 Interneurons make connections over very short distances, they do not need the
long axons.

 In the spinal cord, interneurons bridge between sensory neurons and motor
neurons to produce a reflex.

 In the brain, they connect adjacent neurons to carry out the complex
processing that the brain is noted for.
 The connection between two neurons is called a synapse.

 The neurons are not in direct physical contact at the synapse but
How Neurons are separated by a small gap called the synaptic cleft.

Communicate  The neuron that is transmitting to another is called the presynaptic

With Each Other? neuron;

 The receiving neuron is the postsynaptic neuron.

 Presynaptic axon terminals contain numerous tiny hollow spheres, called synaptic vesicles.

 Each vesicle contains molecules of a specialized chemical substance, a neurotransmitter, which the neuron
uses to communicate with postsynaptic neurons.

 In response to electrical activity in the axon, these vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane and
rupture, releasing the neurotransmitter molecules into the cleft .

 After diffusing across the cleft, the released neurotransmitter interacts with postsynaptic receptors:
specialized protein molecules that capture and react to molecules of the neurotransmitter.

 This action results in electrical changes in the postsynaptic cell. If the postsynaptic cell is a neuron, this
electrical event affects the likelihood that the postsynaptic neuron will in turn release its own
neurotransmitter.

 Molecules of neurotransmitter generally do not enter the postsynaptic neuron; they simply bind to the
receptors momentarily, and then dissociate.
Types of Synapses
The Neural Membrane and Its Potentials
  The membrane not only holds a cell together but also controls the
environment within and around the cell.

The Neural Membrane  The selective permeability contributes to the most fundamental
characteristic of neurons, polarization, which means that there is a
and Its Potentials difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the cell.

 A difference in electrical charge between two points, such as the poles of a

battery or the inside and outside of a cell, is also called a voltage.
Let’s recall
Resting Membrane
Potential

 A difference in electrical potential

across the membrane of a nerve cell
during an inactive period.
 This voltage is negative and varies
anywhere from –40 to –80 millivolts
(mV) in different neurons but is
typically around –70 mV.
 Action Potentials

 The information that a neuron

sends to its postsynaptic
targets is encoded in patterns
of these action potentials.

 The propagated electrical

message of a neuron that
travels along the axon to the
presynaptic axon terminals.
 Two concepts are central to understanding
how action potentials are triggered.
 Hyperpolarization is an increasing
negativity of the membrane potential.
 Depolarization is the reverse, referring to a
decreased polarization of the cell
membrane.
 Depolarization of a neuron brings its
membrane potential closer to zero.
 With the sodium ion channels inactivated at
the end of the action potential, the neuron
cannot generate another impulse for a
millisecond or so, a time referred to as the
absolute refractory period.
Chemical Transmission at the Synapse
 At chemical synapses, neurotransmitters are stored in the terminals in membrane-enclosed
containers called vesicles;

 When the action potential arrives at the terminals, it opens channels that allow calcium ions to
enter the terminals from the extracellular fluid.

 The calcium ions cause the vesicles clustered nearest the membrane to fuse with the membrane.
The membrane opens there, and the transmitter spills out and diffuses across the cleft in a process
called exocytosis.
 On the postsynaptic neuron, the
neurotransmitter docks with specialized protein
receptors.
 Activation of these receptors causes ion
channels in the membrane to open.
 Ionotropic receptors open the channels
directly to produce the immediate reactions
required for muscle activity and sensory
processing;
 Metabotropic receptors open channels
indirectly and slowly to produce longer-lasting
effects.
 Opening the channels is what sets off the
graded potential that initiates the action
potential.
 Terminating
Synaptic Activity
 Neurotransmitters are taken back into
the terminals by membrane proteins
called transporters in a process called
reuptake; they are repackaged in
vesicles and used again.
 At some synapses, the transmitter in
the cleft is absorbed by nearby
astrocytes.
 Other transmitters are partially broken
down through a process called
inactivation.
Regulating Synaptic Activity
 At axoaxonic synapses, a third neuron releases transmitter onto the terminals of the presynaptic
neuron.

 The result is presynaptic excitation or presynaptic inhibition, which increases or decreases,

respectively, the presynaptic neuron’s release of neurotransmitter onto the postsynaptic neuron.
Neurotransmitters
 To be considered a classic neurotransmitter, a substance should meet the following criteria:

1. The substance exists in presynaptic axon terminals.

2. The presynaptic cell contains appropriate enzymes for synthesizing the substance.

3. The substance is released in significant quantities when action potentials reach the terminals.

4. Specific receptors that recognize the released substance exist on the postsynaptic membrane.

5. Experimental application of the substance produces changes in postsynaptic cells.

6. Blocking release of the substance prevents presynaptic activity from affecting the postsynaptic
cell.
Some Synaptic Transmitters and Families of Transmitters
AMINO ACIDS Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate,
glycine, histamine
AMINES
Quaternary Acetylcholine (ACh)
amines
Monoamines Catecholamines: norepinephrine (NE),
epinephrine (adrenaline),
dopamine (DA)
Indoleamines: serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine;
5-HT), melatonin
NEUROPEPTIDES
Opioid peptides Enkephalins: met-enkephalin, leu-enkephalin
Endorphins: β-endorphin
Dynorphins: dynorphin A
Other Oxytocin, substance P, cholecystokinin (CCK),
neuropeptides vasopressin,
neuropeptide Y (NPY), hypothalamic releasing
hormones
GASES Nitric oxide, carbon monoxide
Neurotransmitter Systems Form a Complex
Array in the Brain
 Each neuron containe only one transmitter,
 Some neurons contain more than one—a phenomenon known as neurotransmitter co-
localization or co-release.
 The most excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain are glutamate and
aspartate.

 Glutamatergic transmission employs what are called AMPA, kainate, and NMDA
receptors.

 The amino acid transmitters gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and glycine
typically have an inhibitory effect.

 GABA receptors are divided into several large classes: the GABAA, GABAB, and
GABAC receptors.
 Acetylcholine
 The distribution of cholinergic (ACh-using) neurons and
their projections in the brain.

 Nicotinic (nACh) and muscarinic (mACh) receptors.

 Most nicotinic receptors are ionotropic, responding

rapidly and usually having an excitatory eff ect.

 The mACh receptors are G protein-coupled

(metabotropic) receptors , so they have slower responses
when activated, and they can be either excitatory or
inhibitory.
 Dopamine
 About a million neurons in the
human brain contain dopamine
(DA).
 Several subtypes of DA
receptors have been discovered
and have been numbered D1,
D2, D3, D4, and D5.
 The mesostriatal DA pathway
plays a crucial role in motor
control.
 The mesolimbocortical pathway
is important in reward and
reinforcement, especially via
the dopamine D2 receptor
subtype.
 Norepinephrine
 The CNS contains four subtypes
of NE receptors—a1-, a2-, b1-,
and b2-adrenoceptors—all of
which are metabotropic
receptors.
 There are noradrenergic
contributions to diverse
behavioral and physiological
processes, including mood,
overall arousal, and sexual
behavior.
 Serotonin

 Because its chemical name is 5-

hydroxytryptamine, serotonin is
abbreviated 5-HT.
 Large areas of the brain are innervated by
serotonergic fibers.
 Serotonin has been implicated in the
control of sleep states, mood, sexual
behavior, anxiety, and many other
functions.
 All 5-HT receptors (5-HT1, 5-HT2, and so
on) are metabotropic receptors. EXCEPT,
5-hydroxytryptamine 3 [5-HT3]
The Roles of Serotonin in
Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Neuropeptide Y and posttraumatic stress
disorder
See You Next Week 