NURS 2004 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1,2,4: Neuropharmacology, Peripheral Nervous System, Axon Terminal
28 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Neuropharmacology: the study of drugs that alter processes controlled by the nervous system. Neuropharmacologic drugs produce effects equivalent to those produced by excitation or suppression of neuronal activity. Broken into two groups: (1) peripheral nervous system (pns) drugs (2) central nervous system (cns) drugs. There are two basic steps: axonal conduction and synaptic transmission. (processes by which the neuron influences the behaviour of the postsynaptic cell). Axonal conduction: the process of conducting an action potential down the axon of a neuron. Synaptic transmission: the process by which information is carried across the gap between the neuron and the postsynaptic cell. Requires the release of neurotransmitter molecules from the axon terminal followed by binding of these molecules to receptors on the postsynaptic cell. The postsynaptic cell is another neuron: it can increase or decrease firing rate, if the cell is part of a muscle it can contract or relax, and if the cell is glandular, it may increase or decrease secretion.
