Deck · MCAT
Psychology
Biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, consciousness, learning and memory, cognition, emotion and motivation, identity and personality, development, and psychological disorders for the MCAT.
279 cards · audited · SM-2 spaced repetition
Included with the full MCAT program — 8 decks, 1,519 cards.
Sample cards
What are the three functional types of neurons and what does each do?
Sensory (afferent) neurons carry information from receptors to the CNS; motor (efferent) neurons carry commands from the CNS to muscles/glands; interneurons connect neurons within the CNS and process information.
What is the resting membrane potential of a typical neuron and what maintains it?
About -70 mV inside relative to outside. It is maintained by the Na+/K+ pump (3 Na+ out, 2 K+ in) and by the membrane's higher resting permeability to K+, which leaks out down its gradient.
What is the all-or-none principle of the action potential?
Once the membrane reaches threshold (about -55 mV), an action potential fires at full amplitude; a stronger stimulus does not produce a larger spike. Stimulus intensity is coded by firing frequency, not spike size.
What ion movements produce the depolarization and repolarization phases of an action potential?
Depolarization: voltage-gated Na+ channels open and Na+ rushes in. Repolarization: Na+ channels inactivate and voltage-gated K+ channels open, letting K+ flow out. K+ efflux briefly overshoots, causing hyperpolarization.
What is saltatory conduction and what enables it?
The action potential 'jumps' between Nodes of Ranvier rather than propagating continuously, greatly speeding conduction. It is enabled by the myelin sheath, which insulates the axon between nodes.
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