WEEK ONE OF MEDICAL
NEUROSCIENCE BY COURSERA Q&A
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-Form myelin in the CNS and are found, therefore,
primarily in white
matter (a different cell type, the Schwann cell, makes myelin in
peripheral nerves)
Glial stem cells - Answer-Subset of astrocytes located near the ventricles, often
adjacent to blood vessels
Ependymal cell - Answer-are called "ependymocytes", which are a modified type
of glial cell that forms a columnar, epithelial-like lining of the ventricular
system in the CNS, including the central canal of the spinal cord
Blood-Brain barrier - Answer-formed by tight junctions between capillary endothelial
cells, which are surrounded by "end-feet" processes of astrocytes (forming a "glia
limitans", or limiting glial border)
Astrocytes - Answer-help maintain ionic balance of extracellular fluids
Astrocytes - Answer-remove and process neurotransmitters from synaptic clefts
Astrocytes - Answer-assist in the formation of new synapses ("synaptogenesis")
Astrocytes - Answer-contribute to formation of blood-brain barrier and brain-
ependymal
(ventricular) barrier
Astrocytes - Answer-contribute to the formation of scars that fill-in small spaces that
have
been cleared of necrotic neural tissue following injury
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-myelin aids in the propagation of neural signals along
myelinated axons
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-insulate by generating layers of membrane that wrap
around a
segment of an axon; this decreases the ionic (electrical)
"leakiness" of the axonal membrane
ii. gaps between myelin segments, called "nodes of Ranvier
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-allows for the economical concentration of ion channels
and ion
pumps that are necessary for electrical signaling in axons (fewer
channels are needed to propagate electrical signals than would
be needed without myelin)
NEUROSCIENCE BY COURSERA Q&A
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-Form myelin in the CNS and are found, therefore,
primarily in white
matter (a different cell type, the Schwann cell, makes myelin in
peripheral nerves)
Glial stem cells - Answer-Subset of astrocytes located near the ventricles, often
adjacent to blood vessels
Ependymal cell - Answer-are called "ependymocytes", which are a modified type
of glial cell that forms a columnar, epithelial-like lining of the ventricular
system in the CNS, including the central canal of the spinal cord
Blood-Brain barrier - Answer-formed by tight junctions between capillary endothelial
cells, which are surrounded by "end-feet" processes of astrocytes (forming a "glia
limitans", or limiting glial border)
Astrocytes - Answer-help maintain ionic balance of extracellular fluids
Astrocytes - Answer-remove and process neurotransmitters from synaptic clefts
Astrocytes - Answer-assist in the formation of new synapses ("synaptogenesis")
Astrocytes - Answer-contribute to formation of blood-brain barrier and brain-
ependymal
(ventricular) barrier
Astrocytes - Answer-contribute to the formation of scars that fill-in small spaces that
have
been cleared of necrotic neural tissue following injury
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-myelin aids in the propagation of neural signals along
myelinated axons
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-insulate by generating layers of membrane that wrap
around a
segment of an axon; this decreases the ionic (electrical)
"leakiness" of the axonal membrane
ii. gaps between myelin segments, called "nodes of Ranvier
Oligodendrocyte - Answer-allows for the economical concentration of ion channels
and ion
pumps that are necessary for electrical signaling in axons (fewer
channels are needed to propagate electrical signals than would
be needed without myelin)
