Intro
Agonistic Drug Effects:
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Antagonist Drug Effects:
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Part 1: Image-Mapped Tutorial
Part 2: Matching Self-Test
Part 3: Multiple-Choice Self-Test
1. One class of drugs increases the synthesis of neurotransmitter molecules. One example of this effect is the administration of precursor substances (molecules that are used in the synthesis of a neurotransmitter. L-dopa is a precursor of the catecholamine, dopamine. Increased levels of L-dopa in the nervous system will often result in an increase in dopamine activity. This drug is used to treat a movement disorder called Parkinson's Disease, which results from a depletion of dopamine neurons in a particular region of the brain. Lecithin is a precursor of acetylcholine, and is sometimes used to enhance memory capabilities in both the normal population and people with Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's involves the progressive deterioration of acetylcholine neurons in the cortex of the brain. A more complicated mechanism affecting the synthesis of a neurotransmitter involves the inhibition of autoreceptors located on a neuron's dendrites. These autoreceptors normally inhibit neurotransmitter synthesis. Inhibition of this inhibitory mechanism produces disinhibition (double inhibition), and more neurotransmitter is synthesized by the neuron.