PSYC 181 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Fetus, Substantia Nigra, Mptp
Document Summary
Group of patients became frozen and unable to move or speak; symptoms appeared overnight and doctors could not pinpoint cause (psychological or neurological?) One patient was able to write, said that mind was working, but body wasn"t cooperating. Found that the patients were all drug abusers who had recently taken heroin. Doctors obtained heroin sample and analyzed it: was a type of designer drug, not made from opium poppy, that had been made improperly. Symptoms resemble parkinson"s disease, but they appeared overnight, rather than gradually: tremors- shaking of extremities, slowness of movement, frigidity- stiffness, jerky, slow shuffling gait, loss of facial expression, inability to blink spontaneously. Gave patients l-dopa (usual treatment for parkinson"s: replaces dopamine, translates thoughts to actions, parkinson"s is result of dopaminergic neuron death, was successful, worked rapidly. Discovered that heroin had destroyed substantia nigra- place where dopamine is made.
