Week 3 - Neurotransmitters and Neuroplasticity

Neurotransmitters

• Are them substances that are signals from one neuron to another

• Stores in vesicles inside the terminal button

Presynaptic membrane vs postsynaptic membrane

• Presynaptic membrane: the membrane of the neuron sending the signal

• Postsynaptic membrane: membrane of the neuron that is receiving the signal

• The synaptic gap: the gap between the presynaptic and postsynaptic

• Neuaortransmittors are not random, must have a particular type of receptor to be able to receive those signals

  • Vesicles are recycled and reused

Important Neurotransmitters

1. Glutamate: a primary excitatory neurotransmittor

2. GABA: Primary inhibitory neurotransmittor: decreases activity in the neuron system

3. Serotonin: mood, impulse, hunger sleep

4. Dopamine: reward and motivations, voluntary movement

5. Acetylcholine: movement: memory, cognition, sleep

6. Epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline): stress response

How do drugs work? (2 ways it can work, name, definition, how do they do it?, some examples)

• Agonists: a chemical agent binds to a particular receptor to mimic the effect of an endogenous neurotransmitter

  • Endogenous: the natural making of neurotransmitter by the brain

  • Either increase the release of neurotransmittors or blocks the re-uptake of neurotransmitters

  • e.g. morphine, cocaine

• Antagonists → inhibit the action of an endogenous neurotransmitter

  • Block the release

  • Destroy the neurotransmitters

  • Mimic a neurotransmitter to block the actual neurotransmitter

  • e.g. beta-blockers (for heart attacks), botulinum toxin (paralyses the wrinkles)