Chapter 4 (from the slides) Flashcards
What is an agonist?
- drug that facilitates the effect of NT on the postsynaptic membrane
What is an antagonist?
- drug that opposes, or interferes with the effect of a neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic membrane
what is a partial agonist?
- drug whose action depends on neurotransmitter concentrations
- depends on the NT
What is affinity?
- the speed.readiness with which a drug binds to its target
what is tolerance?
- decrease in drug effectiveness with repeated administration likely due to compensatory mechanisms
- due to the fact that our body develops compensatory mechanisms that work against the drug
What is withdrawal?
- unopposed compensatory mechanisms after drug discontinuation
What is the function of the autoreceptors?
- receive neurotransmitters released by the terminal button they are on; they regulate (usually inhibit) synthesis and release of neurotransmitter
Axonic synapse?
- it can be effected by drugs
- the effect of the stimulation depends on what they do
- the heteroreceptor will open the channels and release the neurotransmiters
What is the function of the dendritic autoreceptors?
- have a regulatory effect of preventing the neurons from becoming too active.
- the drugs binding to these autoreceptors are antagonist whereas drugs blocking them are agonists
What is an antagonist action?
- drugs that activate presynaptic autoreceptors and reduce the amount of neuroransmitters released
What is an antagonist action?
- drugs inactivate presynaptic autoreceptors and increase the amount of neurotransmitters released
heteroreceptors at axonic synaptes?
HRs at ASs are sensitve to neurotransmitters elease by another neuron, can be inhibitory or facilitory
What would a drug be though of as if a drug activates a heteroreceptor that produces presynaptic inhibition (closes the calcium channel)?
- an antagonist
Direct antagonist and angonist binding site?
- binds directly to the neurotransmitter binding cite
- when a drug bind there, then there is competition for the binding sites
Inirect antagonist and angonist binding site?
- drug does not bind to the same site as the neurotransmitters
- no competition for the binding sites