Initial Post (Week 1: Foundational Neuroscience)
Explain the agonist-to-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents
Psychopharmacological treatment agents vary for each impending condition, in regards t
...
Initial Post (Week 1: Foundational Neuroscience)
Explain the agonist-to-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents
Psychopharmacological treatment agents vary for each impending condition, in regards to
how they are prescribed. Hence, the treatment options for each psychopharmacological agent has
the ability to function as an agonist or an antagonist (Stahl, 2013). With so many options from
receptors, ligands, biological pathways, etc. there are many possibilities for therapeutics and
treatments for diseases and disorders to determine which treatment option is best based on the
individual. The effects that psychotropic drugs have on specific molecular sites can cause an
influence in neurotransmission (Stahl, 2013).
Psychopharmacologic agents that function as an agonist or antagonist will cause an
impact on the way neurotransmitters to function at the receptor site on a post-synaptic neuron
(Stahl, 2013). In order to determine the action of an agonist and antagonist on a
psychopharmacologic agent; we must first understand what an agonist and antagonist do. An
agonist is a molecule that mimics the effects of a neurotransmitter by binding and stimulating the
receptor site on a post-synaptic neuron to produce a response (Stahl, 2013). An antagonist, on the
other hand, opposes the effect of the agonist, by blocking the action of neurotransmission, but
once blocked, the antagonist does nothing (Stahl, 2013). An example of how a
psychopharmacologic agent works as an agonist is by imitating a normal chemical within the
body, classified as a neurotransmitter. The way that this works is that an agent may bind to a
receptor site intended for a neurotransmitter; however, with both the agent and neurotransmitter
both having similar components would lead the receptor to think it was the neurotransmitter, thus
causing the agonist to bind to the receptor and causes a similar response of firing of the neuron
and an action potential, which causes an increased effect of the neurotransmitter, this is the effect
of an agonist (Nutt & Lingford-Hughes, 2007). An example of a psychopharmacological agent
that is an agonist is the agent sertraline and the neurotransmitter serotonin; sertraline works by
boosting the neurotransmitter serotonin (Stahl, 2017). An example of how a
psychopharmacologic agent that works as an antagonist is by blocking the binding sites for a
neurotransmitter. The way that this works is that an agent binds to the receptor site and blocks
the site, subsequently, a neurotransmitter wants to bind and cause the channel to open, but it is
being blocked by the antagonist and cannot open the receptor site. However, while the
neurotransmitter is still producing effects to bind to the receptor, the agent is in place. Although
the antagonists are preventing the actions of the agonists, there is no activity of their own in the
absence of the neurotransmitter or agonist, thus being called “silent” (Nutt & Lingford-Hughes,
2007). However, it is important to not consider the antagonist as all bad, in fact, it is possible that
a full agonist can cause maximal activation, which can cause overstimulation of
neurotransmitters. In this case, the blocking effects of an antagonist on the neurotransmitter may
be desired (Stahl, 2013). An example of psychopharmacological neurotransmitters that work as
an antagonist is histamine and acetylcholine (Stahl, 2013).
The spectrum of agonist to antagonist spectrum ranges from full agonist, partial agonist,
silent antagonist, and inverse agonists (Stahl, 2013). There are various drugs that have
neurotransmitter binding effects, the first is an agonist which I have discussed above. The next is
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