Biologial Psychology B05

The brain’s signalling system

Cathrine Baastrup,
Cand.Pharm, ph.d
Sektionsleder og kvalitetsansvarlig
Diagnostisk Strålingsfysik
Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhus
Göteborg
Our amazing
brain!
Weight 1,4 kg
100 billions brain cells
1015 synaptic connections
Site of our consciousness
Our personality?
20% of energy consumption

2
 Agenda
• Summary • Chemical transmission
• Neurotransmision – Synapses
– Receptors
• Electric transmission
– Transmitters
– The resting potential
• Summary
– EPSP and IPSP
– Firing threshold • Lunch
– Actions potentials

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Why stupid people think they are smart!

The Dunning-Kruger effect

4
Neuro-
architecture

5
Brain cell = nerve cell = Neurons are linked in
neuron networks

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Connections between neurons

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8
Pre-synapse

Synaptic cleft

Post-synapse

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The brains connections

• Which part of the brain do what!

• Gigantic complax network
• 1 cell is connected to multiple
others in different areas
• Connects different areas of the
brain to each other
• Transmite and modulates signals
and information
• No central control unit

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 A thought

Cue

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An (other) thought

Cue

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Overview - neurotransmission

• Neuron
• Electric signal
• Synaps
• Chemical signal
• Neurotransmitter
• Receptor
• 2nd neuron

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Face recognition

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Significant point of the day
• Our brain function is dependent on different areas ability to communicate
• Discrete brain areas communicate via brain cells transmission of signals
– Strength of transmission
– Speed of transmission
– Formation of connections
– Effectiveness of adaption (the above)
• The basic of thinking
• You have the ability to change:
• Exercise your brain
• Challenge your brain

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NEUROPHYSIOLOGY:
THE GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, AND
INTERGRATION OG NEURAL SIGNALS
Kapitel 3 Behavioural Neuroscience
Communication between 2 brain cells

• Electric signal

• Chemical signal

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The resting cell
• What a cell does – when it
does nothing
• Cell resting potential -65 mV
• Electrostatic pressure:
– More negative on the inside
than the outside
• Concentration gradient: Protein-
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– Na+ and Cl- highest on the out
side - - - - -
– K+ and protein highest on the
inside

• Maintenance
– Selective permeability
– Active pump mechanism
(Jens Christian Skou 1957/1997) -65 mV

+
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All rights reserved.

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?
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 The start of a signal :
Generation of a Post Synaptic Potential (PSP)
• When a cell is stimulated
by another cell
• Channals open alowing
influx of specific ioner
– Na+ à Depolarising
(less negative <-65 mV)
à EPSP
– Cl- à Hyperpolarising
(more negativ >-65 mV)
à IPSP
• PSP is small changes of
the membran-potential

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More than one is needed:
Summation of EPSP (og IPSP)

– Spatial summation – Temporal summation

(flere samtidig) (gentagne EPSP)

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Becoming and actionpotential:
Firing threshold and phases of the action potential

• Firing threshold -
40 mV à
Actionpotential
• ALL OR NOTHING
– Massive
opening of ion
channels
(depolarization)
– Travels along
the axon

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Transport of a AP along the unmyelinized neuron

• Adjasent ion-
channels open
• Unidirectional
• Same size start
to end (non-
decremental)
• …. as domino tiles

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Action potential rekonstruction

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Transport af AP langs myeliniseret neuron

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Transport of an AP along the myelinized neuron

• Myelinising
increase
speed of AP
• Passive
transport
during
sections with
myelin
• Re-start of AP
in nodes of
Ranvier

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?
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Communication between neurons

• Electric signal

• Chemical signal

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Chemical signal-transmission

• AP results in opening
of Ca++ channels
• Influx af Ca++
• Exocytosis of
transmitter

• Presynaps
• Synaptic cleft
• Postsyaps
• Binding of transmitter
to receptor
• Generation of a new
AP

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Types of receptors
Ionotropic:
• Fast effect
• Binds directly to
ionkanal
• Opens ionkanal
Metabotropic:
• Slower effect
• Binds to receptor
• Activates g-protein
• G-protein acts as 2nd
messenger and
opens other/several
ionkanaler or
change genetic
transcription

gens

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 Billedet kan ikke vises. Computeren har muligvis ikke hukommelse nok til at åbne billedet, eller billedet er muligvis blevet beskadiget. Genstart computeren, og åbn derefter filen igen. Hvis det røde x stadig vises, skal du muligvis
slette billedet og indsætte det igen.

Receptors

• Postsynaptic – effect
• Key/Lock: Transmitter is the key – receptor is the lock
• A specific receptor can only be activated by a specific transmitter
• Receptors are often named after the transmitter that activates them
• Many subtypes of the same receptor can exist (D1,D2, etc)
• A neuron/synapse may have more than on type of receptors (fx NMDA og
AMPA)
• A neuron can be activated by more than on type of transmitters

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Auto-receptors

• Pre- and postsynaptic

• Protective feed back mechanism,
regulation the over-all activity
• ”Thermostat” – decreases or
increases the possibility for
transmitter release, and thus
generation of an AP

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?
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Neurotransmitters
• Small molekyles that travels the syapse (transmitte the signal)
• Released from the presynapse in response to a actionspotentiale
• Substans is synthetised and stored in the presynapse
• Binds to a receptor

• A neurotransmitter may
activate several types of
receptors
(Glutamat: AMPA, NMDA)

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Transmitter Receptor Subtyper
Billedet kan ikke vises. Computeren har muligvis ikke hukommelse nok til at åbne billedet, eller billedet er muligvis blevet beskadiget. Genstart computeren, og åbn derefter filen igen. Hvis det røde x stadig vises, skal du muligvis slette billedet og indsætte det igen.

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Dopamin
• Motor control
– Loss of dopaminergic neurons
probable cause of Parkinson
• Reward, reinforcement and
learning
– Abnormalities is associated with
Schizophrenia and psychosis

• 5 Receptor subtypes in CNS – all

metabotropic

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Noradrenalin
• Modulation of mood
– Imbalance I depression?
• Arousal and sexual behavior

• 4 receptor subtypes in CNS – all

metabotropic

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Serotonin
• Sleep
• Mood
– Imbalance in depression?
• Anxiety
• Sexual behavior

• Min. 7 receptor subtypes in CNS

and PNS
– Ionotropic (5-HT3)
– Metabotropic (the rest)

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Transmitter networks in the hjernen
• Cholinergic • Dopaminergic

• Noradrenergic • Serotonergic

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Termination of a signal
Reuptake Degradation

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved.

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 • Presynapse
• Synaptic cleft
• Postsyapse

Kemisk signaltransmission 41
?
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Overview – Your turn!
• Explain to the group how the brains network comminicate – use the video

Electric signal (person 1)

– Resting potentiale
– PSP and firing threshold
– Voltage gated Na+ channels
– Actionspotentiale
– Unidirectional
– Myelination

Chemical signal (person 2)

– Presynapse
– Voltagegated Ca++ channels
– Release of neurotransmitter
– Synaptic cleft and postsynapse
– Receptor and ion channels
– PSP and next neuron
– Degradering and reuptake

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?
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How does it work? – an exampel
• An event/a thought
comprise
– The specifik areas of the
brain activated
– The sequence of activation
– The intensity of the
activation

• A unique pattern of
neurons that defines the
event

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The football player – an exampel of pain
• Nociceptors in the foot: Type of
stimulation
• Eye to visual cortex
• Ear to auditory cortex
• Foot – spinal cord – thalamus
• Sensoric cortex: Touch, location
• Amygdala and insula: Emotional response
• Hypothalamus: stress response, arousal
• Cingulate gyrus: attention
• Hippocampus and different areas of
cortex: Recall previous experience
• Prefrontale cortex: Cognitive evaluation
and planning of response

Insula: Interoception, beslutning 46

Sensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortex
• Sensory cortex:
Sensorisk Motorisk
Location of
stimulation
• Motor cortex:
Perform voulantary
movements

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?
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What can go wrong?
• Large normallity spectrum!
• Traumatic events
• Deceases
• … more about this in the
afternoon

What is wrong when the brain i sick?

• Patological disturbance of the neurons communicationen

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Traumatic injury Permanent

• Pressure affect function (fluid, blood, tumor)

• Neurogenesis
• New brain cells is generated consequetively
• Brain cells that die isn’t replaced
• Damaged brain cells are hard to repair (poor
regeneration)
• The brain is plastic
– so that functional rehabilitation
may be possible!!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08gtNIk0L6c

Temporary? 50
Summary 1
• Signal transmissionen er opdelt i elektrisk og kemisk transmission
• Elektrisk:
– Generation af aktionspotentiale når fyringstærsklen er nået
– Aktionspotentialet transporteres langs axonet (passivt og aktivt)
• Kemisk:
– Synapsen består af pre-synapsen, synapse spalten og post synapsen
– Transmitter frigives fra pre-synapsen over synapsespalten og aktiveret
receptorer på post-synapsen
• Vigtige transmittere er: Noradrenalin, Serotonin, Dopamin, GABA,
Glutamat
• 2 typer af receptorer (metabotrope og ionotrope)
• Mange variationer af receptorer for hver transmitter (subtyper)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90cj4NX87Yk

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Summary 2
• Signaltransmissionen er den biokemiske basis for adfærd
og kognition
• Hjernens sygdomme/lidelser er forbundet med ubalance
i signal transmissionen
• Synapse transmission kan moduleres ad mange veje (bla.
presynaptisk, postsynaptisk, genoptage, syntese)
• 8 presynaptiske mekanismer
• 4 post synaptiske
• Hjernen er plastisk – forandres med adfærd og
påvirkning

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 • Presynapse
• Synapsespalten
• Postsyapse

Kemisk signaltransmission 53
?
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