PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2.5: Critical Role, Reuptake, Mptp
Document Summary
Many drugs that affect the nervous system operate by increasing, interfering with, or mimicking the manufacture or function of neurotransmitters. Agonists drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter. Antagonists drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter. Some drugs alter a step in the production or release of the neurotransmitter, whereas others have a chemical structure so similar to a neurotransmitter that the drug is able to bind to that neuron"s receptor. If, by binding to a receptor, a drug activates the neurotransmitter, it is an agonist; if it blocks the action of the neurotransmitter, it is an antagonist. L-dopa is used to treat parkinson"s disease a movement disorder characterized by tremors and difficulty initiating movement and caused by the loss of neurons that use the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is created in neurons by a modification of a common molecule called l-dopa.
