PSYC 280 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Kainite, Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential, Schizophrenia
4 Apr 2016
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Exogenous: animal, vegetable, and mineral compounds from external sources. People have tasted, sipped, chewed or swallowed all kinds of exogenous substances to change the functioning of their bodies and brain. Drugs affect the nervous system by altering brain chemistry and synaptic transmission. Neurochemistry: the branch of neuroscience concerned with the fundamental chemical composition and processes of the nervous system. Neuropharmacology: the scientific field concerned with the discovery and study of compounds that selectively affect the functioning of the nervous system. Most drugs that affect behavior do so by altering chemical communication processes at synapses. To be considered a neurotransmitter, a substance should meet the criteria: o. Amine neurotransmitters: based on modifications of a single amino acid nucleus: acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine. Amino acid neurotransmitters: a neurotransmitter that is itself an amino acid: gaba, glucine, glutamate. Peptide neurotransmitters or neuropeptides: a neurotransmitter consisting of a short chain of amino acids.
