Question

What is the pathway in a reflex like grabbing a hot handle of a pan on the stove? What are the chemicals our body uses to deal with pain without medication? What neurotransmitters are involved in feeling pain? What is Parkinson’s Disease? What area of the brain is affected? Which neurons are involved? What therapies are available to treat Parkinson’s Disease? Who is Henry Molaison? What are the different types of Amnesia?

Answer 1

1.Reflex action pathway

As we grab the hot handle of pan accidently, receptors present in our skin sends the electrical nerve signal to the spinal cord of central nervous system through spinal nerve.Within the spinal cord, these signals get processed very quickly and reponses get relayed back. The interneurons in spinal cord ,the response get relayed to the motor neurons which comes out from the spinal cord and causes stimulation of effector muscle to contract.Due to contraction, we quickly snatch hands away , the complete process is known as relfex arc.

2. Endorphins and enkephalins are the two chemicals of our body to deal with pain without medication. It binds to the opioid receptor in brain and blcoks the pain related pathways.

3. Glutamate and substance P are major neurotransmitter whcih is involved in sensing the pain. Glutamate gets involved in rapid nerural transmission of acute pain e.g-mechanical stimuli,temperature stimuli where as Substance P has slow excitatory connection and it is involved in chronic pain.

4. Parkinson's is the medical condition where nerve cells in brain get damaged and causes dopamine production low. The symptom of progression can be seen as a mobility and balance defect ,tremors etc.

5.In parkinson's ,the basal gangalia in the mid brain (substantia nigra) gets damaged.It results into death of dopamine containing cells.

6. Basal ganglia are damaged in Parkinson's disease.

7.Henry Molaison was the man from america had bilateral medial temporal lobectomy and gone through surgery to resect the anterior two third of hippocampus,parahippocampal cortices,entorhinal cortices,piriform cortices and amygdalae in attempt to cure epilepsy.He was getting epileptic attack from age of 7 due to bicycle accident.

8.Amnesia is the medical condition of memory loss. It is majorly of 4 types -

a.Retrograde amnesia -In this case, loss of existing and past made memories occurs.

b.Anterograde amnesia-In this case, loss of forming new memories and it is found to be transient in most of the cases but in persistent ,it can be permanent as well.

c.Global transient amnesia-It occurs due to confusion or agitation and loss of memory of past few hours has been observed.

d.Infantile amnesia- This is the obvious childhood amnesia where any one can't remmeber their their 3 -5 years of life.