Neurophysiology of Synapses: Postsynaptic Potentials, Ion Channels, and Neurotransmitters , Study notes of Physiology

Download Neurophysiology of Synapses: Postsynaptic Potentials, Ion Channels, and Neurotransmitters and more Study notes Physiology in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 6c: Synapses In what way does the postsynaptic membrane potential change at an excitatory synapse? In what way does the postsynaptic membrane potential change at an inhibitory synapse? In neurophysiology, what is meant by convergence? In neurophysiology, what is meant by divergence? What are the differences between electrical and chemical synapses? Which is faster? Which is bi- directional? which is more common in the nervous system? In what form are neurontransmitters (NT) stored in the presynaptic terminal? What triggers the release of NT? How is calcium involved in the release of NT? What types of ion channels are found in the postsynaptic membrane? What are the various fates of NT in the synaptic cleft that prevents the NT from affecting the postsynaptic receptors over and over and over? What determines whether a chemical synapse is excitatory or inhibitory: the NT or the nature of the receptors in the postsynaptic membrane? What ions move in which directions through the postsynaptic membrane at a typical excitatory synapse? Explain why an ion channel that is permeable to both Na+ and K+ causes a depolarization in the postsynaptic membrane. What is an EPSP? Some IPSPs are not accompanied by a change in membrane potential in the postsynaptic cell. Why is this still considered an IPSP? How is Cl- involved in IPSPs at some synapses? What is the equilibrium potential for Cl-? What cations (positively charged ions) is moving in which direction through the postsynaptic membrane is responsible for an IPSP? What is the amplitude (in millivolts) of a typical EPSP? Why doesn’t a single EPSP lead to an action potential? How can temporal summation lead to an action potential? How can spatial summation lead to an action potential? Which region of a neuron has the lowest threshold for producing an action potential? How is the proximity of an excitatory synapse to the axon hillock related to that synapse’s likelihood of