Psychology 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Neurotransmitter Receptor, Drug Tolerance, Drug Withdrawal

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Mike Atkinson

Document Summary

Drugs alter consciousness by modifying brain chemistry, but drug effects are also influenced by psychological, environmental and cultural factors. Dugs enter the bloodstream and are carried throughout the brain by capillaries, which contain a. How drugs facilitate synaptic transmission: enhancing the production, storage or release of a neurotransmitter, activating the postsynaptic receptor, preventing the neurotransmitter from being deactivated. Ex: opiates are pain relievers due to their binding to and activating receptors that normally receive endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that play a major role in pain relief. Antagonist drugs inhibit or decrease the actions of a neurotransmitter by reducing its synthesis, storage or release: preventing the neurotransmitter from binding to its receptors on the postsynaptic neuron. Depressants decrease nervous system activity in moderate doses, they can reduce feelings of tension and anxiety, and produce a state of euphoria in extremely high doses, depressants can slow down vital life processes to the point of death.