Guide to the Vertebrate Nervous System and Biological Clocks Study Guide

Systems Neurobiology Review Session

A review of structural and functional maps including the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes, brain matter, and hindbrain components.

• Structural Map
• Functional Map
• Primary motor cortex
• Frontal lobe
• Occipital lobe
• Temporal lobe
• Somatosensory cortex
• Sensory association areas
• Visual association areas
• Visual cortex
• Limbic association areas
• Auditory cortex
• Gray matter
• White matter
• Spinal reflexes
• Afferent
• Medulla oblongata
• Pons
• Cerebrum

Systems Neurobiology and Autonomic Nervous System

This material covers the limbic system, hypothalamus functions, and the physiological differences between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

• Limbic System
• Hypothalamus
• Homeostasis
• Circadian rhythms
• Suprachiasmatic nucleus
• Hippocampus
• Long term potentiation
• Sympathetic nervous system
• Parasympathetic nervous system
• Preganglionic neuron
• Postganglionic neuron
• Acetylcholine
• Norepinephrine
• Adrenergic receptors
• Dopamine

Systems Neurobiology Study Guide

A study guide covering divisions of the vertebrate nervous system, afferent and efferent pathways, and the autonomic nervous system.

• divisions of the vertebrate nervous system
• afferent and efferent pathways
• neuron, nerve, and tract
• nucleus vs. ganglion
• autonomic nervous system
• sympathetic and parasympathetic branches
• dual innervation
• antagonistic action
• spinal cord structure and function
• spinal reflex

Organization of the Vertebrate Nervous System

An examination of the major divisions of the vertebrate nervous system, including the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.

• Vertebrate central nervous system
• Vertebrate peripheral nervous system
• Brain
• Spinal cord
• Nuclei
• Tracts
• Nerves
• Ganglia
• Grey matter
• White matter
• Spinal reflexes
• Reflex arcs
• Divergence
• Afferent signals
• Ipsilateral
• Contralateral
• Medulla oblongata
• Pons

Systems Neurobiology of the Forebrain

The forebrain, or cerebrum, includes the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, and the diencephalon structures of the thalamus and hypothalamus.

• Forebrain
• Cerebrum
• Cerebral cortex
• Primary Motor Cortex
• Primary Somatosensory Cortex
• Somatosensory Association Area
• Motor Homunculus
• Sensory Homunculus
• Primary Visual Cortex
• Visual Association Areas
• Limbic system
• Hypothalamus
• Diencephalon

Sensory Systems Review Session

Review of sensory systems including encoding stimulus modality, location, intensity, and duration.

• Encoding
• Modality
• Perception
• Localization
• Receptive fields
• Acuity
• Lateral inhibition
• Intensity
• Action potential frequency
• Dynamic range
• Range fractionation
• Logarithmic encoding
• Duration
• Sensory adaptation

• Sensory Systems: Encoding Stimulus Dimensions

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Circulatory System Structure and Function

Study guide covering general structure and function of circulatory systems, blood vessel types, blood cell functions, and physics of blood flow.

• open and closed circulatory systems
• arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, veins
• blood cells
• physics of blood flow
• law of bulk flow
• Poiseuille’s equation
• blood velocity, pressure, and cross-sectional area
• mammalian heart and vessels
• cardiac cycle
• heart valves
• electrical signals conduction pathway
• electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
• cardiac output, heart rate, and stroke volume
• mean arterial pressure
• peripheral resistance
• baroreceptor reflex
• vasodilation and vasoconstriction

Skeletal Muscle Structure and Function

An examination of skeletal muscle structure, innervation by the motor division of the PNS, and the neuromuscular junction.

• Skeletal muscle structure
• Muscle fascicle
• Muscle fiber
• Myofibril
• Thick filaments
• Thin filaments
• Contractility
• Extensibility
• Elasticity
• Excitability
• Motor unit
• Muscle contraction steps
• Neuromuscular junction
• Acetylcholine
• Nicotinic ACh receptors
• Acetylcholinesterase

Sensory Systems Study Guide

A study guide covering general properties of sensory reception, signal transduction, and structures mediating chemosensation, mechanosensation, and photoreception.

• receptor potential
• generator potential
• sensory stimuli
• stimulus encoding
• lateral inhibition
• dynamic range
• discrimination
• range fractionation
• logarithmic encoding
• chemosensation
• exteroception
• interoception
• olfaction
• gustation
• signal transduction
• mechanosensation
• proprioception
• sound detection
• hair cells
• equilibrium

Skeletal Muscle Structure and Function

This study guide covers features of skeletal muscle innervation, the neuromuscular junction, and the molecular events of the cross-bridge cycle.

• skeletal muscle innervation
• neuromuscular junction
• sarcolemma
• sarcoplasm
• t-tubules
• sarcoplasmic reticulum
• terminal cisternae
• sarcomeres
• action potential
• sliding filament model
• cross-bridge cycle
• troponin and tropomyosin
• excitation-contraction coupling
• cardiac muscle
• smooth muscle

Skeletal and Cardiac Muscle Contraction Review

Review of muscle contraction steps, excitation-contraction coupling, and the sliding filament model in skeletal and cardiac muscle.

• Muscle contraction steps
• Neuromuscular junctions
• Excitation-contraction coupling
• Motor end plate
• Sarcolemma
• T-tubules
• DHPR (dihydropyridine receptor)
• Sarcoplasmic Reticulum
• Calcium release
• Troponin complex
• Tropomyosin
• Sliding filament model
• Sarcomere components
• SERCA (Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+-ATPase)

Circulation and Cardiac Muscle Physiology

Fluid flows down pressure gradients through the aorta, arteries, capillaries, veins, and vena cava involving myocardium, pericardium, and cardiac muscle.

• Law of bulk flow
• Pressure gradient
• Myocardium
• Pericardium
• Cardiac muscle
• Myogenic
• P-wave
• QRS complex
• T-wave
• Depolarization
• Depolarization of ventricles
• Repolarization
• Repolarization of ventricles
• Sympathetic nervous system
• Parasympathetic nervous system
• Heart rate modulation

Properties of Sensory Systems and Encoding

Sensory systems detect stimuli and encode stimulus modality, location, intensity, and duration through various receptor types and neural pathways.

• Generator potential
• Receptor potential
• Chemoreceptors
• Mechanoreceptors
• Photoreceptors
• Thermoreceptors
• Electroreceptors
• Magnetoreceptors
• Stimulus modality
• Receptive field
• Spatial acuity
• Lateral inhibition
• Action potential frequency
• Dynamic range
• Threshold
• Saturation
• Sensory discrimination
• Range fractionation
• Logarithmic encoding
• Tonic receptors

Fundamentals of Animal Circulatory Systems

Circulatory systems transport materials throughout the body using pumps, tubes, and fluids to facilitate bulk flow via pressure gradients.

• Circulatory system components
• Bulk flow
• Pressure gradients
• Law of Bulk Flow
• Resistance
• Viscosity
• Flow rate
• Blood velocity
• Diffusion

Hypothalamus and Autonomic Nervous System Regulation

The hypothalamus plays a key role in homeostatic regulation through the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and the HPA axis.

• Homeostatic regulation
• Sympathetic nervous system
• Parasympathetic nervous system
• Dual innervation
• Preganglionic and postganglionic neurons
• Acetylcholine
• Nicotinic and muscarinic receptors
• Norepinephrine
• Adrenergic receptors

Circadian Rhythms and Nervous System Organization

The documents examine the organization of the vertebrate nervous system, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and the molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythms.

• Vertebrate nervous system divisions
• Spinal cord organization
• Reflex behaviors
• Brain functional organization
• Autonomic division of the PNS
• Sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
• Circadian rhythms
• Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
• Hypothalamus
• Molecular negative feedback loop
• Period gene cycling
• Endocrine system regulation

Circadian Rhythms and Nervous System Organization

The documents examine the organization of the vertebrate nervous system, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and the molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythms.

• Vertebrate nervous system divisions
• Spinal cord organization
• Reflex behaviors
• Brain functional organization
• Autonomic division of the PNS
• Sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
• Circadian rhythms
• Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
• Hypothalamus
• Molecular negative feedback loop
• Period gene cycling
• Endocrine system regulation

• Organization of the Vertebrate Nervous System and Circadian Rhythms

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Sensory Systems and Photoreceptor Function

Photoreceptor cells rods and cones located at the retina undergo light induced events involving opsin and chromophore to signal light detection to the brain.

• Photoreceptor cells
• Rods and cones
• Opsin
• Chromophore
• Vitamin A
• Isomerization
• Bleaching
• G-protein signaling
• Membrane potential
• Refraction
• Cornea
• Lens
• Accommodation
• Ciliary muscle
• Fovea centralis
• Visual acuity
• Horizontal and amacrine cells

Skeletal Muscle Action Potentials and Contraction

Muscle fibers maintain ionic concentration gradients and resting membrane potentials to trigger action potentials and Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

• Muscle fiber action potentials
• Resting membrane potential
• Ionic concentration gradients
• Sarcolemma
• T-tubules
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum
• Sarcoplasm
• Ca2+ release
• Latent period
• Muscle twitch
• DHPR (dihydropyridine receptors)
• Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA)

Muscle Physiology and Circulatory System Mechanics

• actin/myosin cross-bridge cycle
• excitation-contraction coupling
• sarcoplasmic reticulum
• dihydropyridine receptors (DHPR)
• skeletal muscle contraction
• cardiac muscle action potentials
• smooth muscle contraction
• blood vessel structure
• hemodynamics
• Poiseuille’s equation
• capillary blood velocity
• sinoatrial node
• parasympathetic nervous system regulation
• olfactory receptor neurons
• sensory transduction

Eye and Sensory Systems

The eye uses the cornea, lens, and iris to focus light onto photoreceptors including rods and cones within the retina.

• cornea refraction
• lens accommodation
• pupil diameter control
• rods and cones
• photoreceptor cells
• retinal convergence
• fovea centralis
• receptive fields
• horizontal and amacrine cells
• retinal processing circuitry

Mechanisms of Cardiac Circulation and Function

The documents describe how depolarization of the pacemaker spreads via conducting cardiomyocytes to trigger the cardiac cycle, the role of heart valves, and the regulation of cardiac output by the nervous system.

• Myogenic cardiac muscle
• SA node pacemaker potential
• Funny channels
• Voltage-gated Ca2+ channels
• Cardiac cycle
• AV valves
• Semilunar valves
• Papillary muscles
• Electrocardiograms (ECG/EKG)
• P-wave
• QRS complex
• T-wave
• Parasympathetic nervous system
• Sympathetic nervous system
• β-adrenergic receptors
• Cardiac output
• Heart rate
• Stroke volume

Hippocampal Long-Term Potentiation and Synaptic Plasticity

Long-term potentiation is a form of synaptic plasticity occurring at dendritic spine synapses of hippocampal neurons that underlies learning and memory.

• Hippocampus
• Long-term potentiation
• Synaptic plasticity
• Dendritic spine synapses
• High frequency stimulation
• Spine density
• Spine morphology
• Spine function
• NMDA receptors
• CAMKIII
• AMPA receptors
• Glutamate

Review of Human Sensory Systems

This review covers mechanoreceptors, balance, hearing, olfaction, and gustation through processes like depolarization, glutamate release, and combinatorial coding.

• Retinal Processing Circuitry
• Mechanoreceptors
• Hair cell depolarization
• Glutamate release
• Linear acceleration
• Angular acceleration
• Cochlea pressure waves
• Basilar membrane
• Tectorial membrane
• Olfaction
• Odorant binding protein
• GPCRs
• Combinatorial code of odorants
• Gustation
• Taste receptor cells
• Salty, sour, sweet, bitter, or umami modalities
• ATP neurotransmitter

Muscle Contraction and Sarcomere Physiology

• Thin filaments
• Thick filaments
• Actin
• Tropomyosin
• Troponin complex
• Sarcomere
• Sliding filament model
• Motor unit recruitment
• Contractile summation
• Tetanus
• Fast twitch muscle
• Slow twitch muscle
• Aerobic respiration
• Anaerobic respiration

Structure and Function of Muscle Types

An examination of skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle properties, including filament organization, innervation, and contraction mechanisms.

• Skeletal muscle structure and function
• Cardiac muscle physiology
• Smooth muscle contraction
• Actin and myosin proteins
• Neuromuscular junction
• Sarcomere organization
• Excitation-contraction coupling
• Neurogenic and myogenic muscle
• Calcium-induced calcium release
• Intercalated disks and gap junctions
• Striated and non-striated muscle

Mechanoreception in Vertebrate Sensory Systems

• Mechanoreceptors
• Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) Channel
• Epithelial Sodium Channel (ENaC)
• Hair cells
• Stereocilia
• TMC1/2 mechanosensitive ion channels
• Endolymph
• Vestibular apparatus
• Semicircular canals
• Utricle and saccule maculae
• Organ of Corti
• Basilar membrane
• Inner and outer hair cells
• Somatic electromotility
• Sound transduction

Mechanoreception and Sensory Systems

Variations on mechanoreception in vertebrates include equilibrium, hearing, touch, proprioception, and baroreception.

• Mechanoreception
• Touch receptors
• Slow-adapting (SA) receptors
• Fast-adapting (FA) receptors
• Receptive fields
• Generator potentials
• Receptor potentials
• Polymodal receptors
• Adequate stimulus
• Nociceptors
• Proprioceptors
• Muscle spindle

Olfactory and Gustatory Sensory Systems

Chemoreceptors mediate detection of chemicals through olfactory and gustatory systems involving odorant receptor neurons and taste receptor cells.

• Chemoreceptors
• Exteroceptors
• Interoceptors
• Olfaction
• Gustatory
• Nociception
• Olfactory epithelium
• Odorant binding proteins
• Odorant receptor neurons
• G-protein coupled receptors
• Combinatorial code
• Taste buds
• Neuroepithelial taste receptor cells
• Taste modalities
• Salty and sour transduction mechanisms

Circulatory System Blood Pressure and Flow

Blood pressure differs among regions of the circulatory system and is monitored by baroreceptors signaling to the cardiovascular control center.

• Blood pressure
• Mean arterial pressure (MAP)
• Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR)
• Cardiac Output (CO)
• Baroreceptors
• Medulla oblongata
• Local flow control
• Arteriole diameter
• Pressure Gradient
• Viscosity