Robert Sapolsky Rocks
  • Welcome
    • Around the Web
    • About Us
  • Hum-Bio
    • Intro to Human Behavioral Biology
    • Behavioral Evolution
    • Behavioral Evolution II
    • Molecular Genetics
    • Molecular Genetics II
    • Behavioral Genetics
    • Behavioral Genetics II
    • Recognizing Relatives
    • Ethology
    • Advanced Neurology and Endocrinology
    • Limbic System
    • Aggression
    • Aggression II
    • Aggression III
    • Aggression IV
    • Chaos and Reductionism
    • Emergence and Complexity
    • Language
    • Schizophrenia
    • Depression
    • Individual Differences
    • Toxoplasmosis
    • Are Humans Just Another Primate?
  • Mini Med School
    • The 3 Rs of DNA: Molecules to Medicine
    • Stem Cells & Tissue Regeneration
    • The World Within Us: Microbes that Help and Harm
    • The World Outside: A Changing Environment and How it Affects Us
    • Global Health Challenges in the 21st Century
    • How Technology Gives Inight Into Human Anatomy and Disease
  • Reading Materials
    • Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers >
      • Chapter 1: Why Don’t Zebras Get Ulcers?
      • Chapter 2: Glands, Gooseflesh, and Hormones
Neurons don't touch each other; there's a synapse between them. The electrical current can't jump the synapse. Instead chemical messengers, neurotransmitters, are dumped into the synapse. The messengers then float across the synapse and have an effect (binding like a lock and key) on the next neuron's dendritic spine.

Neurotransmitters are like letters in the alphabet. Multiple forms and meanings in different contexts.

There are neurons that excite and neurons that inhibit.

They are made of plentiful amino acids so the body can easily manufacture what you need.

People differ in their manufacture and receptivity toward neurotransmitters.

Drugs mimic the activity of real neurotransmitters. For example, hallucinogens, such as LSD and psilocybin, mimic serotonin's shape and structure. So when the brain feels these, it hears and sees things that aren't really there because its neurons are being told there's something there.

On the other hand, neurotransmitters can block activity by gumming up the receiving neuron's receptors. The neurotransmitter binds to them and has an inhibitory effect, preventing other neurotransmitters from binding and sending out an excitatory message. Haldol and thorazine,which block excessive dopamine firing in schizophrenics, are listed as examples.

Drugs can also block the reuptake of neurons released from vesicles (SSRI's - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are a common example. This boosts the signalling because the neurotransmitter remains in the synapse and is likely to hit the receiving neuron more.

Parkinson's, L-dopa, degeneration of dopamine production in a key brain area. Give the person a precursor of dopamine. Give them too much and they begin to show psychotic behavior. Meanwhile in the schizophrenic we see tardive dyskenisia, which is a trembling associated with (long term) use of antipsychotics.







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  • Welcome
    • Around the Web
    • About Us
  • Hum-Bio
    • Intro to Human Behavioral Biology
    • Behavioral Evolution
    • Behavioral Evolution II
    • Molecular Genetics
    • Molecular Genetics II
    • Behavioral Genetics
    • Behavioral Genetics II
    • Recognizing Relatives
    • Ethology
    • Advanced Neurology and Endocrinology
    • Limbic System
    • Aggression
    • Aggression II
    • Aggression III
    • Aggression IV
    • Chaos and Reductionism
    • Emergence and Complexity
    • Language
    • Schizophrenia
    • Depression
    • Individual Differences
    • Toxoplasmosis
    • Are Humans Just Another Primate?
  • Mini Med School
    • The 3 Rs of DNA: Molecules to Medicine
    • Stem Cells & Tissue Regeneration
    • The World Within Us: Microbes that Help and Harm
    • The World Outside: A Changing Environment and How it Affects Us
    • Global Health Challenges in the 21st Century
    • How Technology Gives Inight Into Human Anatomy and Disease
  • Reading Materials
    • Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers >
      • Chapter 1: Why Don’t Zebras Get Ulcers?
      • Chapter 2: Glands, Gooseflesh, and Hormones