Question

 

Agonists and Antagonists can alter neurotransmitter activity. Agonists excite and create an action potential; antagonists inhibit an action potential from occurring.   Explain specifically how these molecules affect and alter or interfere with neurotransmitter activity, citing several key components in neural communication in each response.

  a.  Agonists:Response:

b.  Antagonists: Response:

Answer 1

Neural communication can be describes as the way in which the two neurons communicate. There are two prerequisites before the start of neural communication. First, the generation of an action potential which is produced by the incoming strong signal leading to the depolarisation of the resting electric potential. This wave of depolarisation travels from the dendritic branches to the axon terminals. Second, the neurotransmitter should be synthesised in advance and stored in the synaptic vesicles, so that they are ready to be passed on to the next neuron by arrival of action potential.

The steps of neural transmission can be described as under:

• Action potential arrives at the terminal and on arrival, it is followed by subsequent and efficient release of neurotransmitters from the axon terminals of pre synaptic neuron into the synaptic cleft.
• This is followed by the recognition of the neurotransmitter by the specific receptor on the post synaptic cell so that the signal can be passed onto the neuron.
• After the recognition of the signal, the neurotransmittershould be inactivated or degraded so as tomake space for another incoming action potential and so that it does not occupy the recptor site continously.