Lecture 1

Question 1

process of how drugs work

Answer 1

• drugs bind to receptors and change their activity
• drugs that affect the brain bind to receptors in the brain
• change in receptor activity = change in neuron activity = change in brain funciton

Question 2

what is a receptor

Answer 2

all cells have sensors (receptors), for a specific thing (ligand, lipids, or neurotransmitter)

Question 2

a drug is (in terms of charge)

Answer 2

a 3D object with a positive and negative charge, it will fit into its receptor because it has the right 3D shape and its charges align with those of the receptor

Question 3

three step process for finding drugs to treat brain diseases

Answer 3

1. start with a natural product and isolate the psychoactive chemical
2. find the receptors for that chemical
3. change the chemical structure to make an even better drug (adding an atom here or there will change the shape, and it could change how well it fits and how it changes the receptors function)

Question 4

modern methods for drug discovery (three steps)

Answer 4

1. start with a drug target, like a neurotransmitter receptor or an enzyme
2. test thousands of compounds to find the one that binds to your target and changes its activity
3. probably change the chemical structure to make an even better drug

Question 5

when a neuron becomes more excitable

Answer 5

excitatory neurotransmitter

Question 6

when a neuron becomes less excitable

Answer 6

inhibitory neuron

Question 7

where are receptors located

Answer 7

surface of the cell

Question 8

receptors signal to the cell by

Answer 8

changing shape when they bind to their ligand or drug

Question 9

when the neurotransmitter or drug binds to the ion channel

Answer 9

it opens up a pore to allow ions to flow in or out of the cell

Question 10

drug binding to a receptor is usually

Answer 10

transient (reversible)

Question 11

once a drug becomes unbound from a receptor

Answer 11

it can bind to another receptor or it can be eliminated from the body

Question 12

some drugs bind

Answer 12

irreversibly and the only way to stop their action is to make a new receptor (usually takes several hours)

Question 13

if a drug is present continuously

Answer 13

the cell will adapt to the presence of the drug, receptors are sometimes upregulated when the drug is an antagonist. receptors are sometimes downgraded when the drug is an agonist
- this is the reason for tolerance and physical dependence

Question 14

what does upregulate mean

Answer 14

receptors make more protein

Question 15

tolerance definition

Answer 15

needing more of the same drug to get the same effect

Question 16

what is the brain

Answer 16

the organ that senses important aspects of the environment and the boy and coordinates the appropriate response

Question 16

basic functional unit of the brain is the

Answer 16

neuron

Question 17

sodium / calcium channels

Answer 17

positive charge and are excitatory

Question 18

chloride channels

Answer 18

negative charge and are inhibitory

Question 19

When the neurotransmitter or drug binds the channel, it opens up a pore to allow ions to flow in or out of the cell it is called a

Answer 19

ligand gated channel

Question 19

voltage gated means that

Answer 19

they open a channel in response to an electric current

Question 20

voltage gated sodium channels help to transmit

Answer 20

the excitatory signal - makes a local excitation travel down the neuron to axon hillock and the axon terminal

Question 21

voltage gated calcium channels are important

Answer 21

at the axon terminal when the action potential reaches the end, it opens up the voltage gated calcium channela

Question 22

when a neuron fires an action potential

Answer 22

the electricity causes the neurotransmitter to be released

Question 23

dopamine is always

Answer 23

inhibited

Question 23

when you need a dopamine surge

Answer 23

it fires like crazy

Question 24

neurons receive input (neurotransmitters) at their

Answer 24

dendrites

Question 25

the sum of all the inputs at any given time is what

Answer 25

determines whether a neuron will fire

Question 26

what is the action potential

Answer 26

the electrical current that flows through the axon

Question 27

when the action potential reaches the end of the axon terminal then

Answer 27

the electrical current triggers the release of neurotransmitters

Question 28

neurotransmitter is released from the terminal into the

Answer 28

synapse and binds to the receptors on the dendrite of the downstream neuron