Foundational Neuroscience Discussion Essay
Hi,
Your post has influenced my understanding of foundational neuroscience concepts. Specifically, I gained useful insights into the agonist-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents. Agonists produce conformational change g-receptor, which in turn trigger the full agonist action. On the contrary, antagonists block the agonist spectrum (Berg & Clarke, 2018).From your post, I have understood that the agonist spectrum of action has four classes; full agonists, partial agonists, antagonists, and reverse agonists. The functionality of inverse and partial agonists significantly influences the efficiency of psychopharmacologic treatments. In psychopharmacology, agonists imitate the action of the transmitter while the antagonists block this action. Foundational Neuroscience Discussion Essay
Concerning the actions of g couple proteins and ion gated channels, I want to add that the two center’s main differences in postsynaptic responses. While g couple proteins slow postsynaptic responses, ion-gated channels facilitate rapid responses, ultimately resulting in the cell membrane’s hyperpolarization. Ultimately, this slows the contraction of the heart. I want to note that Psychopharmacologic drugs act on ion gated channels to produce a therapeutic effect.
You have explicitly described the role of epigenetics in pharmacologic action. As the study of heritable gene expression changes that do not affect the underlying DNA sequence, epigenetics affect pharmacology by focusing on the drug-metabolizing enzyme genes. You have stated that epigenetics also function as diagnostic biomarkers. After further research, I realized that besides their role as pathogenic factors, epigenetics linked to specific illnesses are perceived as emerging biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of response to treatment and prognosis in several diseases. Overall, the insight gained from your post and the broader course will inform my drug prescription practices. The information will be utilized to understand how drugs affect receptor sites. Foundational Neuroscience Discussion Essay
Reference
Berg, K. A., & Clarke, W. P. (2018). Making sense of pharmacology: inverse agonism and functional selectivity. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 21(10), 962-977.
Bode Alabi
Bode, your post has been exceptionally helpful in explaining the class concepts. I find your answers detailed enough to provide valuable insight. You have started by comparing the actions of G-couple proteins and ion gated channels. From your post, I have learned that as a transmembrane, G-couple receptors that undergo a conformational change to bind to neurotransmitters. Drugs bind with these transmitters at either allosteric or other binding sites. This binding leads to the modification of receptor actions by mimicking or blocking the neurotransmitter. I want to add that the ion channels are key targets of psychopharmacological drug action. Ion channels play a fundamental role in synaptic neurotransmission, which are, in turn, linked with the therapeutic action of psychotropic drugs.
