Pharmacology Of The Nervous System

Question 1

What is pharmacology?

Answer 1

The study of how chemical agents can influence the function of living systems
Or
A chemical substance that interacts with a specific target within a biological system to produce a physiological effect

Question 2

How do individual drugs produce their effects?

Answer 2

Look at:
The target for the drug
Where the effect produced
What the response produced is after interaction with the target

Eg Heroin
Target - Opioid receptors
Where Effect is Produced - ventral regimental area/peri-aqueduct grey region/solitary nucleus (all in brain)
Response Produced - euphoria/analgesia(pain relief)/cough suppression

Question 3

Meaning of side effects

Answer 3

Can be produced by drug action on:
Other targets in the same tissue or other tissues
On the same target in other tissues
Dependent on the dose of drug administered

Question 4

What would class as the ‘safest’ drug?

Answer 4

Those where there is a large difference between the dose required to induce the desired effect and the dose required to induce side effects

Question 5

Name the 4 main classes of drug targets

Answer 5

Receptors
Enzymes
Transport proteins
Ion channels

Question 6

Drugs can either…..

Answer 6

Enhance activation or prevent activation

Question 7

Drug selectivity

Answer 7

To be an effective therapeutic agent a drug must show a high degree of selectively for a particular drug target
(Like lock and key hypothesis)

Question 8

Meaning of adverse effects

Answer 8

Side effect that has negative health consequences