PSY 381 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Ligand-Gated Ion Channel, Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate, Reuptake
Document Summary
Competitive ligands bind to the endogenous ligand site. Neuromodulators bind to a non-competitive site on the receptor. An agonist initiates the normal effects of a neural transmitter. The therapeutic index is the separation between the effective dose and a toxic dose. (most important) Antipsychotic drugs, also called neuroleptics, such as chlorpromazine, haloperidol, and loxapine all act as selective antagonists of dopamine d2 receptors. Benzodiazepines reduce anxiety by enhancing the activity of gaba. Barbiturates, alcohol and benzodiazepines are examples of anxiolytics or anti- depressants to combat anxiety. Barbiturates are no longer used to treat anxiety because their dose-response index is too narrow. One of the two ways amphetamines act at a synapse is by blocking reuptake and provides alternative target for the enzymes meant to inactivate them. Transmitter reuptake at a synapse saves a cell energy because less new transmitter has to be made. Transmitter reuptake or degradation is essential for rapid cycling of many kinds of synapse.
