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Sympathomimetic drugs are used to treat cardiac arrest and low blood pressure, or even delay premature labor, among other things. These drugs can act through several mechanisms, such as directly activating postsynaptic receptors, blocking breakdown and reuptake of certain neurotransmitters, or stimulating production and release of catecholamines.
Such mimics are called parasympathomimetic drugs or cholinomimetic drugs. A receptor is cholinergic if it uses acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter. [2] A synapse is cholinergic if it uses acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter.
Another example is morphine, which mimics the actions of endorphins at μ-opioid receptors throughout the central nervous system. However, a drug can act as a full agonist in some tissues and as a partial agonist in other tissues, depending upon the relative numbers of receptors and differences in receptor coupling. [medical citation needed]
A false neurotransmitter is a chemical compound which closely imitates the action of a neurotransmitter in the nervous system. Examples include 5-MeO-αMT (mimicking serotonin) and α-methyldopa. Another compound that has been discussed as a possible false neurotransmitter is octopamine. [1] [2]
A parasympathomimetic drug, sometimes called a cholinomimetic drug [1] or cholinergic receptor stimulating agent, [2] is a substance that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). [ 3 ] [ 2 ] These chemicals are also called cholinergic drugs because acetylcholine (ACh) is the neurotransmitter used by the PSNS.
A GABA receptor agonist is a drug that is an agonist for one or more of the GABA receptors, producing typically sedative effects, and may also cause other effects such as anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, and muscle relaxant effects. [1] There are three receptors of the gamma-aminobutyric acid. The two receptors GABA-α and GABA-ρ are ion channels ...
Other drugs act by binding to a receptor and mimicking the normal neurotransmitter. Such drugs are called receptor agonists. An example of a receptor agonist is morphine, an opiate that mimics effects of the endogenous neurotransmitter β-endorphin to relieve pain. Other drugs interfere with the deactivation of a neurotransmitter after it has ...
Agonist vs. antagonist. In pharmacology the term agonist-antagonist or mixed agonist/antagonist is used to refer to a drug which under some conditions behaves as an agonist (a substance that fully activates the receptor that it binds to) while under other conditions, behaves as an antagonist (a substance that binds to a receptor but does not activate and can block the activity of other agonists).