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Drugs that selectively block the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine effectively treat depression and are better tolerated than TCAs. TCAs have comprehensive effects on various neurotransmitters receptors, which leads to lack of tolerability and increased risk of toxicity. [2]
Drugs targeting the neurotransmitter of major systems affect the whole system, which can explain the complexity of action of some drugs. Cocaine , for example, blocks the re-uptake of dopamine back into the presynaptic neuron, leaving the neurotransmitter molecules in the synaptic gap for an extended period of time.
Psychoactive drugs operate by temporarily affecting a person's neurochemistry, which in turn causes changes in a person's mood, cognition, perception and behavior. There are many ways in which psychoactive drugs can affect the brain. Each drug has a specific action on one or more neurotransmitter or neuroreceptor in the brain.
Once the neurotransmitter is released into the synapse, it can either bind to receptors on the post-synaptic cell, the pre-synaptic cell can re-uptake it and save it for later transmission, or it can be broken down by enzymes in the synapse specific to that certain neurotransmitter. These three different actions are major areas where drug ...
These drugs inhibit the uptake of the neurotransmitter 5-HT by blocking the SERT, thus increasing its synaptic concentration, and have shown to be efficacious in the treatment of depression, however sexual dysfunction and weight gain are two very common side-effects that result in discontinuation of treatment.
Anxiety Medications: An Overview. Anxiety disorders are very common, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. An estimated 31.1 percent of all American adults will experience some ...
Dopamine receptors are a class of G protein-coupled receptors that are prominent in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) and are implicated in many neurological processes, including motivational and incentive salience, cognition, memory, learning, and fine motor control, as well as modulation of neuroendocrine signaling.
These are drugs whose primary effects are thought to be mediated by different neurotransmitter systems (dopamine for stimulants, serotonin for antidepressants), but many also increase levels of norepinephrine in the brain. [52] Amphetamine, for example, is a stimulant that increases release of norepinephrine as well as dopamine. [53]