LIFESCI 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Depressant, Paroxetine, Fluoxetine
Document Summary
We don"t want to process all external stimulation, filters out some of the noise. At the synapse, an action potential is converted to a chemical signal, releasing neurotransmitters to stimulate tissue or another neuron. There are pleasure centers in animal brains. 1954- james olds put electrodes in mesolimbic area of rat"s brains. Rats loved a stimulated sensation and would do anything to get it (was more motivated in performing tasks like learning complex mazes, etc. ) Would self-stimulate more to the point of death from starvation, more than 700 times/hour. One of several pleasure centers in the brain, called do-it-again centers. To link behaviors that increase fitness with pleasure (eating, sex, etc. ) What is going on in the pleasure centers: neuron is stimulated (in response to behavior, dopamine is released into synapse, receptors on adjacent cell and dopamine and fire, happiness ensues. Cocaine binds to reuptake receptors and blocks them. Pleasure is intensified because dopamine is reabsorbed several times.
