PSY 322 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 1, Monoamine Oxidase A, Clonidine
Document Summary
Chapter 4: methods of research in psychopharmacology: 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography (2-dg): based on the assumption that when nerve cell firing increases, the metabolic rate also increases. It is a modified form of the glucose molecule that is taken up by active nerve cells but is not processed in the same manner as glucose and remains trapped in the cell. Provides important info on the location of drug action within the cns. Can potentially predict treatment response: electroencephalography (eeg): electrodes are taped to the scalp and the electrical activity that is recorded reflects the sum of electrical events of populations of neurons. These animals allow the identification of the importance of the protein in specific drug effects: knockin mice: the inserted gene is modified so that it produces a slightly different protein for that found in wild-type mice. Chapter 5: catecholamines: catecholamines: dopamine (da), norephinephrine (ne), and epinephrine (epi) make up a small but important group of neurotransmitters and hormones.
