Synaptic Mechanisms

Question 1

botulinin toxin works by

Answer 1

• inhibiting the release of acetylcholine into the synapse

Question 2

Lambert-Eaton Myesthenia syndrome

Answer 2

• is a rare autoimmune disorder that is characterized by muscle weakness of the limbs. It is the result of an autoimmune reaction in which antibodies are formed against presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels, and likely other nerve terminal proteins, in the neuromuscular junction (the connection between nerves and the muscle that they supply). The prevalence is 3.4 cases per million. Around 60% of those with LEMS have an underlying malignancy, most commonly small cell lung cancer; it is therefore regarded as a paraneoplastic syndrome (a condition that arises as a result of cancer elsewhere in the body).

Question 3

synapsin

Answer 3

The protein that is thought to cross-link vesicles to actin to form a reserve vesicle

Question 4

distinction between the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) branches of the ANS

Answer 4

The SNS postganglionic cell bodies are largely present in a chain alongside the spinal cord, whereas the PNS ganglia are more peripherally distributed and close to target tissues.
- think “sympathetic chain”