NURS 535 Practice Exam Questions with
Verified Answers
Neurotransmission - ✔✔The electrical process where neurons send an electrical impulse from
one end of the neuron to the other, involving excitation-secretion coupling and communication
between neurons via chemical signals.
Retrograde Neurotransmission - ✔✔The process where postsynaptic neurons communicate
back to presynaptic neurons.
Volume Neurotransmission - ✔✔Neurotransmission without synapses, where chemical
messengers sent by one neuron to another can spill over to distant sites by diffusion, creating a
'chemical soup.'
Excitation-secretion coupling - ✔✔The conversion of an electrical impulse in the presynaptic
neuron into a chemical signal at the synapse, involving the opening of ion channels and the
release of chemical neurotransmitters.
Signal Transduction Cascade - ✔✔A cascade of events that occurs following stimulation of a
postsynaptic receptors by chemical neurotransmitters that involved first, second, and third
messengers along with numerous other molecules.
Neuron Cell Body - ✔✔The soma of a neuron, responsible for receiving and integrating
information.
Synaptic Connections - ✔✔The 'hard-wired' complex of the nervous system, where dysfunction
or dysregulation of neurotransmitter transmission is theorized to cause psychiatric disorders.
Synapses - ✔✔Asymmetric communication structures designed for one-way communication
between neurons, formed in the synaptic cleft but can form anywhere on the neuron.
,1. Dendrites pick up the message from the previous cell
2. Message will go to the nucleus and have an effect on the genetic component.
3. then it will send the impulse to the axon terminals.
4. Presynaptic terminal at the end of the axon is where the electrical impulse (action potential)
is converted into a chemical signal and releases a neurotransmitter.
5. Axon terminals meet up with postsynaptic terminals on the dendrites of the next cell.
6. There you will see sodium gated channels, voltage calcium gated channels, ligand gated
channels, neurotransmitter receptors. - ✔✔The direction of an electrical impulse down the cell:
Neurotransmitters - ✔✔Chemical messengers packed in the presynaptic nerve terminal and
sent to the postsynaptic neuron to target receptors.
Serotonin
Norepinephrine
Dopamine
Acetylcholine
Glutamate
GABA (y-aminobutyric acid) - ✔✔Key Neurotransmitters:
Tryptophan → 5-hydroxytryptophan →Serotonin→ Melatonin
*5HT is taken up into synaptic vesicles by a vesicular monoamine transporter
stored until use during neurotransmission.
*5HT action is terminated when it is enzymatically destroyed by Monoamine Oxidase (MAO).
,Serotonin has more than a dozen receptors, including pre and postsynaptic receptors. -
✔✔Synthesis and Metabolism of Serotonin
Sleeping
Depression
Anxiety & trauma response
Nausea
Appetite
Cognition
Bowel movements - ✔✔Serotonin Functions
Phenylalanine →L Tyrosine → L Dopa → Dopamine → Norepinephrine →Epinephrine
Also terminated by action of MAOI - ✔✔Dopamine and Norepinephrine Synthesis
amino acid glutamate--> GABA by enzyme Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase
GABA is transported into synaptic vesicles and stored until its release.
GABA action is either terminated by:
GABA reuptake pumps
Enzyme GABA transaminase - ✔✔GABA synthesis and MOA
Key neurotransmitter involved in anxiety and the anxiolytic actions of many drugs - ✔✔GABA
functions
Target of Benzos, sedatives, barbiturates, and ETOH
, Receptors are called positive allosteric modulators and enhance the frequency of opening of
inhibitory chloride channels.
There are many subtypes of GABA A receptors:
*synaptic- hypothetically mediate phasic neurotransmission
*Extra-synaptic-hypothetically mediate tonic neurotransmission
*Sensitive to benzodiazepines and and other are sensitive to them - ✔✔GABA- A: Ligand-gated
ion channel
Monoamine Transporters - ✔✔Transporters highly dependent on sodium, chloride, and
potassium, involved in binding to receptors and transporting monoamine neurotransmitters.
Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 (VMAT2) - ✔✔A transporter kept in the neuron to store
neurotransmitters until release, used by monoamines and histamine.
G-linked Receptors - ✔✔The most common receptor for psychotropic drugs, involving
specialized G-proteins with guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and guanosine diphosphate.
Agonist - ✔✔A substance that produces a conformational change in the G-protein linked
receptor, turning on the synthesis of a second messenger to the greatest extent, maximizing
every action a cell can produce.
Antagonist - ✔✔A substance that blocks the action of the natural neurotransmitter agonist,
acting as a neutral 'stoplight.'
Partial Agonist - ✔✔A substance that produces a signal transduction that is less than a full
agonist but more than an antagonist, simultaneously boosting deficient neurotransmitters
while decreasing excessive neurotransmitter activity.
Verified Answers
Neurotransmission - ✔✔The electrical process where neurons send an electrical impulse from
one end of the neuron to the other, involving excitation-secretion coupling and communication
between neurons via chemical signals.
Retrograde Neurotransmission - ✔✔The process where postsynaptic neurons communicate
back to presynaptic neurons.
Volume Neurotransmission - ✔✔Neurotransmission without synapses, where chemical
messengers sent by one neuron to another can spill over to distant sites by diffusion, creating a
'chemical soup.'
Excitation-secretion coupling - ✔✔The conversion of an electrical impulse in the presynaptic
neuron into a chemical signal at the synapse, involving the opening of ion channels and the
release of chemical neurotransmitters.
Signal Transduction Cascade - ✔✔A cascade of events that occurs following stimulation of a
postsynaptic receptors by chemical neurotransmitters that involved first, second, and third
messengers along with numerous other molecules.
Neuron Cell Body - ✔✔The soma of a neuron, responsible for receiving and integrating
information.
Synaptic Connections - ✔✔The 'hard-wired' complex of the nervous system, where dysfunction
or dysregulation of neurotransmitter transmission is theorized to cause psychiatric disorders.
Synapses - ✔✔Asymmetric communication structures designed for one-way communication
between neurons, formed in the synaptic cleft but can form anywhere on the neuron.
,1. Dendrites pick up the message from the previous cell
2. Message will go to the nucleus and have an effect on the genetic component.
3. then it will send the impulse to the axon terminals.
4. Presynaptic terminal at the end of the axon is where the electrical impulse (action potential)
is converted into a chemical signal and releases a neurotransmitter.
5. Axon terminals meet up with postsynaptic terminals on the dendrites of the next cell.
6. There you will see sodium gated channels, voltage calcium gated channels, ligand gated
channels, neurotransmitter receptors. - ✔✔The direction of an electrical impulse down the cell:
Neurotransmitters - ✔✔Chemical messengers packed in the presynaptic nerve terminal and
sent to the postsynaptic neuron to target receptors.
Serotonin
Norepinephrine
Dopamine
Acetylcholine
Glutamate
GABA (y-aminobutyric acid) - ✔✔Key Neurotransmitters:
Tryptophan → 5-hydroxytryptophan →Serotonin→ Melatonin
*5HT is taken up into synaptic vesicles by a vesicular monoamine transporter
stored until use during neurotransmission.
*5HT action is terminated when it is enzymatically destroyed by Monoamine Oxidase (MAO).
,Serotonin has more than a dozen receptors, including pre and postsynaptic receptors. -
✔✔Synthesis and Metabolism of Serotonin
Sleeping
Depression
Anxiety & trauma response
Nausea
Appetite
Cognition
Bowel movements - ✔✔Serotonin Functions
Phenylalanine →L Tyrosine → L Dopa → Dopamine → Norepinephrine →Epinephrine
Also terminated by action of MAOI - ✔✔Dopamine and Norepinephrine Synthesis
amino acid glutamate--> GABA by enzyme Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase
GABA is transported into synaptic vesicles and stored until its release.
GABA action is either terminated by:
GABA reuptake pumps
Enzyme GABA transaminase - ✔✔GABA synthesis and MOA
Key neurotransmitter involved in anxiety and the anxiolytic actions of many drugs - ✔✔GABA
functions
Target of Benzos, sedatives, barbiturates, and ETOH
, Receptors are called positive allosteric modulators and enhance the frequency of opening of
inhibitory chloride channels.
There are many subtypes of GABA A receptors:
*synaptic- hypothetically mediate phasic neurotransmission
*Extra-synaptic-hypothetically mediate tonic neurotransmission
*Sensitive to benzodiazepines and and other are sensitive to them - ✔✔GABA- A: Ligand-gated
ion channel
Monoamine Transporters - ✔✔Transporters highly dependent on sodium, chloride, and
potassium, involved in binding to receptors and transporting monoamine neurotransmitters.
Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 (VMAT2) - ✔✔A transporter kept in the neuron to store
neurotransmitters until release, used by monoamines and histamine.
G-linked Receptors - ✔✔The most common receptor for psychotropic drugs, involving
specialized G-proteins with guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and guanosine diphosphate.
Agonist - ✔✔A substance that produces a conformational change in the G-protein linked
receptor, turning on the synthesis of a second messenger to the greatest extent, maximizing
every action a cell can produce.
Antagonist - ✔✔A substance that blocks the action of the natural neurotransmitter agonist,
acting as a neutral 'stoplight.'
Partial Agonist - ✔✔A substance that produces a signal transduction that is less than a full
agonist but more than an antagonist, simultaneously boosting deficient neurotransmitters
while decreasing excessive neurotransmitter activity.
