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smilez4fun smilez4fun
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11 years ago
I was just revising for my science exam and I really don't understand the concepts on how drugs affect the neurones and neurotransmitters (especially serotonin). Thank you so much for answers, i need them really detailed if you can please, I can't find any sufficient amount of answers I can understand from recent Google searches.
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wrote...
11 years ago
The two receptors in the brain known as A1 and A2A are responsible for regulation bodily patterns and functions. Drugs such as the ones listed above and even caffeine can alter and affect these two receptors work. They act as antagonists and can block or prevent these receptors from working properly. When these two receptors don't work properly, they can't complete the functions they are generally expected to complete.
wrote...
11 years ago
Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Under normal physiological conditions, serotonin is released from a presynaptic neuron, diffuses across the synapse, and binds to receptors on the postsynaptic neuron, which generates an action potential. The presynaptic neuron then reabsorbs the serotonin that it just released so that it can be packaged and used again. SSRI's block (or rather, inhibit the kinetics of) this reuptake, so the serotonin remains in the synapse longer and has more of an effect on the postsynaptic neuron - possibly generating more action potentials.

While prozac changes the behavior of part of the presynaptic neuron, tubocurare and nicotine work on the postsynaptic neuron. Both bind to receptors that acetylcholine typically binds to, when released by a cholinergic neuron. Nicotine elicits a response from cholinergic receptors, while tubocurare does not - so nicotine mimics the behavior of endogenous neurotransmitter and tubocurare blocks the action of the endogenous neurotransmitter. Both competitively inhibit the endogenous neurotransmitter... that is, they bind to the same active site that the acetylcholine does, which reduces how often acetylcholine can bind there.

I'm not sure about alcohol. GABA and glycine - two inhibitory neurotransmitters - appear to be involved in physiological response to alcohol. When GABA and glycine bind to the postsynaptic neuron, they actually hyperpolarize it rather than depolarize it, which makes it harder to reach threshold and elicit an action potential.

Supposedly ecstasy (MDMA) has some serotinergic and hallucinatory effects that other amphetamines don't have. These aren't very clearly established to the best of my knowledge, but I can tell you how regular methamphetamine operates on dopamine. It increases the amount of dopamine released from presynaptic neurons, it inhibits reuptake, it inhibits monoamine oxidase from degrading dopamine, and it reverses the direction of flow for reuptake (it makes dopamine go out where it should go in). All cocaine does is inhibit reuptake, what a wimp!
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