As a psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner,
As a psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner, before you can recommend potential pharmacotherapeutics to address a patient’s condition or disorder, you must understand the basic function and structure of the neuron and central nervous system. For this Assignment, you will review and apply your understanding of neuroanatomy by addressing a set of short answer prompts.
2. Answer the following (listing is acceptable for these questions):
o What are the major components that make up the subcortical structures?
o Which component plays a role in learning, memory, and addiction?
o What are the two key neurotransmitters located in the nigra striatal region of the brain that play a major role in motor control?
3. In 3 or 4 sentences, explain how glia cells function in the central nervous system. Be specific and provide examples.
4. The synapse is an area between two neurons that allows for chemical communication. In 3 or 4 sentences, explain what part of the neurons are communicating with each other and in which direction does this communication occur? Be specific.
5. In 3–5 sentences, explain the concept of “neuroplasticity.” Be specific and provide examples.
Sample Solution
1. The major components that make up the subcortical structures are the thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and limbic system. The limbic system plays a role in learning, memory, and addiction. The two key neurotransmitters located in the nigra striatal region of the brain that play a major role in motor control are dopamine and acetylcholine.
2. Glia cells function to provide structural support for neurons; they act as insulation for communication between neurons by forming myelin sheaths on axons; they also help regulate extracellular concentrations of ions; finally glial cells can phagocytose debris from damaged or dead neurons and secrete neurotrophic factors which promote neuron survival and growth.
3. In the synapse, chemical messengers called neurotransmitters flow from an axon terminal of one neuron (the presynaptic neuron) across the synaptic cleft to receptors on another neuron (the postsynaptic neuron). This allows for communication between neurons through electrical signals being converted into chemical ones and then back again into electrical signals when received by other neurons.
4. Neuroplasticity is a term used to describe how our brains change overtime due to either experience or injury. It refers to changes within neural pathways caused by learning new information or skills over time or reorganizing existing cognitive processes due to trauma or disease damage. For example, after a stroke some people can learn new ways of movement using different parts of their body than before due to rewiring in their brain’s neural pathways as part of neuroplasticity