Biopsych Test 2 Studytips

Know:
What the ion difference between the inside and the outside of the neuron is, why it exists and what purpose it serves
Know the related vocabulary (selective permeability, Na+/K+ pump, polarization, depolarization, hyperpolarization, resting potential, ion channels)
Know what happens in the axon if a neuron receives sufficient excitatory input to its dendrites
Know the related vocabulary (voltage-activated Na+ channels, threshold, axon hillock, action potential(AP), K+ channels, propagation of the AP down the axon, all or none law, absolute and relative refractory periods)
Know the difference between APs  being carried in naked neurons versus those carried in myelinated axons; saltatory conduction, nodes of Ranvier
Know what happens when the action potential reaches the axon terminals ( and related vocabulary - exocytosis, Ca++ channels)

Know what happens when neurotransmitter activates either ionotropic or metabotropic receptors on dendrites
Know the related vocaulary (EPSP, IPSP, chemically-activated ion channels, Cl- channels, K+ channels, spatial and temporal summation, threshold;
G-protein, second messenger, various metabolic actions)

Know about the initial discovery of chemical transmission at synapses and the various types of neurotransmitters we discussed
small molecule transmitters (ACh, catecholamines (DA, NE, E), serotonin (5HT), amino acid transmitters, soluable gases
large molecule neuropeptides
Know the various steps necessary in normal chemical transmission (synthesis, transport of large molecule neurotransmitters, storage, release, binding to receptors,enzymatic inactivation  or reuptake via presynaptic transporters, feedback to the presynaptic neuron via autoreceptors)
Know how the common categories of psychoactive drugs affect chemical transmission, agonists, antagonists, receptor blockers
know some of the new discoveries about neural messages
Know the symptoms and proposed causes of Parkinson's disease, what changes in the nervous system, how it is treated,  the research that is necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new treatment, how PD is an example of a neurotransmitter related disease