Pharmacology II Quiz 4

The main excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter is GABA and the main inhibitory neurotransmitter is glutamate.

The main biogenic amines in the CNS include acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, and epinephrine.

Dendro-dendritic transmission of serotonin occurs in the Raphe nuclei.

NMDA is a co-incident receptor, meaning it requires a stimulus from an outside source in order for the channel to become permeable to calcium.  If no outside stimulus occurs, the channel is blocked by sodium and calcium cannot flow through.

Ketamine is a non-competitive antagonist of NMDA receptors and prevents someone from retaining new memories.

NMDA is a G-protein coupled receptor.

Benzodiazepines increase frequency of channel opening at the GABAa receptor whereas barbiturates prolong duration of channel opening at the GABAa receptor.

Benzodiazepines and barbituates bind to the same site of the GABA receptor.

Diazepam and flumazenil bind to the same site of the GABA receptor.

5-hydroxytryptamine is another name for serotonin.

Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin and in humans must be obtained from our diet.

All serotonergic cell bodies are packed in the brainstem in a region called the Raphe nuclei.

5-HT4 is the only serotonin receptor that is not a G-protein coupled receptor.  It is the target for anti-emetics like ondansetron.

The time course of down-regulation of the 5-HT1a autoreceptors at the serotonergic cell bodies corresponds to the time frame of therapeutic response to antidepressants.