Synaptic Transmission Consists of 5 Basic Steps. 

What are they?

1.  Transmitter synthesis

2.  Transmitter storage

3.  Transmitter release

4.  Binding to receptor sites

5. Termination  of action by dissociation of transmitter from recepter followed by transmitter reuptake or degradation.

Drugs can only do one of two things to receptor function.

What are they?

1.  Increase receptor activity

2.  Decrease receptor activity

Agonists Drugs do what to receptors?

...increase receptor activation

Antagonists drugs do what?

....decrease receptor activation.

The presence of multiple receptor types allows what?

selective drug effect.

How do local anesthetics act differently from other neuropharmacological drugs?

Suppress axonal condution rather than

altering synaptic transmission; also, not very selective

What are the 2 steps to neurons

regulating physiologic processes?

1.  Axonal conduction - AP down the axon of neuron

2.  Synaptic transmission - information is carried across gap between neuron and postsynaptic cell

What are the 3 sites of action in a neuron?

1.  Axon - not selective

2.  Synapse - very selective so many uses

3. Receptor  - must be able to alter receptor activity on target cell to influence behavior

How do neuropharmacologic agents effect the neuron?

they interfere with the synaptic transmission process at 1 of the 5 steps.

What are the 3 effects that drugs have

on transmitter synthesis

1.  Increase T synthesis

2.  Decrease T synthesis

3.  Cause synthesis of T molecules that are more effective than natural transmitter itself.  aka "super" T.

What do drugs that interfere with T storage do?

decrease receptor activation because less T to be released.

What are the 2 ways drugs can impact T release?

1.  Promote - increase activitation

2.  Inhibit - decrease acitivation

What are the 3 effects of receptor binding?

1.  bind to receptors - activation

2.  bind to receptors - block activation

3.  bind to receptor componetns - enhance activation by natural T.

What is the most important neuropharmacological group of drugs?

Direct acting agonists & antagonists

What are the 2 ways drugs interfere with termination of T action?

1.  Blockade of T reuptake

2.  Inhibition of T degradation

How does having various receptors impact selectivity?

Allows for drug selectivity

What are the 3 things you  need to know about any PNS drug?

1.  type of receptor through which drug acts.

2.  normal response to activation of those receptors

3.  what the drug in question does to receptor function