Neuropharmacology studies drugs that affect the nervous system, aiming to treat neurological disorders and addiction. It has two branches: behavioral and molecular. Neurons communicate through neurotransmitters, which can be disrupted in four ways. “Blockers” can combat addiction and depression by filling receptors and preventing reuptake.
Neuropharmacology is a branch of neuroscience concerned with the study of drugs that alter the nervous system and its functioning, particularly within the brain. The goal of neuropharmacology in general is to understand the basic functioning of impulses and signals within the brain in order to discover ways in which drugs can be used to treat neurological disorders and drug addiction. There are two branches of neuropharmacology: behavioral and molecular.
Behavioral neuropharmacology focuses on drug addiction and the ways in which addictive drugs affect the human mind. Molecular neuropharmacology involves the study of neurons, neurotransmitters and neuronal receptors with the aim of developing new drugs that will treat neurological disorders such as depression, psychosis and schizophrenia. To understand the potential medical advances that neuropharmacology can bring, it is important to understand how thought impulses are transferred from neuron to neuron and how drugs can alter the chemical basis of these processes.
Neurons exchange messages through the use of different brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Each neuron has a receptor that accepts messages. Messages, however, can be disrupted in one of four ways as they travel between neurons.
First, the neurotransmitter can drift away so the message is never transmitted. This is called diffusion. The neurotransmitter can also undergo enzymatic degradation, or deactivation, in which a specific enzyme changes the neurotransmitter so that the accepting neuron no longer recognizes the neurotransmitter and does not accept it.
The third problem that can occur occurs when glial cells, which feed neurons, remove neurotransmitters before the message can be accepted by the next neuron. Finally, reuptake can occur. In this process, the transmitter neuron is returned to the neuron that released it.
An advance in neuropharmacology that has exploited the way neurotransmitters work is the use of “blockers.” These are drugs that artificially fill a neuron receptor so that it cannot accept an unwanted signal from another neuron. In this way, drugs have been developed to combat drug addiction by satisfying the neuron’s craving for a particular chemical without delivering the actual drug to the neurons.
This same method has been used to treat depression by preventing the reuptake of neurotransmitters such as serotonin that promote feelings of well-being. By blocking the receptor in serotonin-emitting cells, the cell cannot reabsorb the chemical. This allows the neurotransmitter to go ahead and transmit signals as it would in a normal, healthy brain.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
