Psychology

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that permit the signal transmission from a neuron across a synapse. The neurotransmitters can also be found in the axon endings of the motor neurons and they stimulate the effects of the fibers of the muscles. There are also certain neurotransmitters that are produced by glands, such as the adrenal and the pituitary glands. The neurotransmitters are stored in the bulbous end of the nerve cell which is also called the axon and when an electric impulse that is traveling along those nerves gets to the axon, the neurotransmitter is released making it to travel across synapse and in the process, it may prompt or inhibit the continuation of electrical impulses along the nerves. Their main work is to transmit information within the brain and from it to all the body parts. This paper will look at the effects of drugs on neurotransmitters and it will look at scholarly articles in science journals and the way they have tackled the topic.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that permit the signal transmission from a neuron across a synapse. The neurotransmitters can also be found in the axon endings of the motor neurons and they stimulate the effects of the fibers of the muscles. There are also some that are produced by glands like the adrenal and the pituitary glands. The neurotransmitters are stored in the bulbous end of the nerve cell which is also called the axon, and when an electric impulse that is traveling along those nerves gets to the axon, the neurotransmitter is released making it to travel across synapse and in the process, it may prompt or inhibit the continuation of electrical impulses along the nerves. Their main work is to transmit information within the brain and from it to all the body parts. There are almost three hundred neurotransmitters in the human body. The first neurotransmitter to be discovered was the acetylcholine which is responsible for muscle stimulation, especially, in the gastrointestinal system. It is also found in the neurons whose work is to sense and the autonomic nervous system. It plays a part in the sleep and dreaming. 

The other major neurotransmitter is the Norepinephrine that is commonly known as noradrenalin and is very much associated with alertness of the nervous system. It is commonly found in the sympathetic nervous system and it normally increases the heart rate and the blood pressure. It is also an important part of the formation of memory. Related to the aforementioned neurotransmitters is the dopamine which is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. It works by finding its way to the neuroreceptor and blocks the firing tendencies of the neurons. The other common neurotransmitter is the GABA (Gamma Amino butyric Acid) which is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter acting like a brake to the excited neurotransmitters that cause anxiety. The most common neurotransmitter in the CNS is called glutamate and it is of great importance to the memory functions of the brain. It is somehow toxic to neurons and when it is in excess proportions, it tends to kill them. The most important inhibitory neurotransmitter is the serotonin and it is involved in various emotions like mood and aggression. The last of the chief neurotransmitters in the body is the endorphin which has the structure of drugs like opium, morphine and heroine and its inhibitory functions involve reduction of pain and creation of pleasure.  It is also the neurotransmitter that allows animals to hibernate by slowing the heart rate, respiration and metabolism rates. 

Article 1

Drug and neurotransmitter receptors in the brain by SH Snyder 

(in the Science magazine copyrighted by Association for the Advancement of Science

Identification of the Topic in the article)

This article is about the biochemical investigation of the neurotransmitters and the use of drugs and the impact on the brain which has been one of the most studied arenas of the molecular neuroscience in the last ten years. The article looks at how the binding of the neurotransmitters to their receptors is affected by the use of drugs which in most cases inhibits or excites the firing of neurons or changes the process of cellular metabolism. In the article, there is an emphasis on how each category or type of drugs affects a particular neurotransmitter and the health effects that are accompanied by the impacts of the drugs on the performance of the neurotransmitters. Finally, the article looks at the process of measuring receptors in a way that distinguishes between the antagonists and agonists which the article proposes that it can be used to provide useful probes that can be placed on the programs for drug discovery. 

Findings of the article

The article is focused on the impact of drugs on the selected neurotransmitters and on health. To start with, drugs that are absorbed by human beings from plants, which are normally referred to as plan poisons block the functions of the acetylcholine site receptors of the muscle cells and this is one of the major causes of paralysis (Snyder, 2009). One of the drug poisons is called botulin which prevents the axon vesicles endings from discharging the acetylcholine which makes people to become paralyzed. Related to botulin is a derivative called botox that is a drug used by people to eliminate wrinkles. This leads to massive loss of this neurotransmitter in the nervous system and this loss of acetylcholine is the major cause of the Alzheimers disease and hence, senility. 

The second finding documented by the article is the role of dopamine and the reward mechanism in the brain and it was found out that drugs like alcohol, cocaine, opium and heroin increases the levels of dopamine in the brain creating a feel good complex. The continued use of these drugs increases the production of dopamine whose extremely excess levels in the body causes schizophrenia especially when the dopamine is concentrated in the frontal lobes. Schizophrenics are treated with medical drugs that block the production of dopamine but on the flipside, the over consumption of this drugs can lead to severe reduction of dopamine and this will lead to Parkinsons disease.  The third finding that the article made is that alcohol and the drugs that fall under barbiturates influence the neurotransmitter called GABA by blocking its production. Little amounts of GABA in the brain leads to anxiety disorders because GABA is an inhibitor that breaks the action of the excitatory neurotransmitters that influence anxiety. Consumption of drugs like valium may affect the production of glutamate and this can cause stroke. Valium influences the glutamate receptors which cause brain damage due to the death of brain cells and this is one of the major causes of stroke. Other drugs that are responsible for influencing or inhibiting the production of glutamate include nicotine, alcohol and opium. On the other hand, over consumption of medical drugs that are supposed to help in the production of glutamate may cause excessive glutamate production in the body which on the flipside may cause the Lou Gehrigs disease and many other diseases that affect the CNS. 

There are many drugs that affect the production of serotonin. If there is too little serotonin in the body, a person may become emotionally unstable leading to depressions, temperament, aggression, ADHD, obsession compulsive disorders and even suicide. According to the article, lack of serotonin or too little of it leads to increases craving for carbohydrates and this causes emotional disorders, migraines, irritability of the bowel and a deadly condition called fibromyalgia. Alcohol, heroin and nicotine are some of the drugs that cause low secretion of serotonin while Prozac and caffeine increase the level of serotonin. Interestingly, milk especially when warm also increases levels of serotonin and that is why milk has been used even in the past to cool down people with emotional disorders. According to the article, serotonin is a derivative of one component of milk called tryotophan. Hallucinogens such as ecstasy, LSD, psilocybin and mescaline attach serotonin to sites of reception and may block perceptual pathways transmissions because serotonin also plays a big role in perception in animals.

Knowledge, Insights and Skills gained from the article

There are many things that were gained from this article, especially, about the consumption of drugs and their effects on neurotransmitters. One insight is that consumption of alcohol affects almost all of the chief neurotransmitters in the brain in an adverse way meaning that alcohol can be one of the major causes of the diseases that affect the central nervous system. This is because it either inhibits the work of neurotransmitters or excites others whose excess quantities may be disastrous. The other skill gained is that neurotransmitters work when they are in moderate quantities. Low production of neurotransmitters due to inhibition by drugs can cause serious diseases and the same applies to overproduction. This means that consumption of drugs may lead to overproduction of neurotransmitters and to bring the levels of those neurotransmitters down, one has to take medical drugs, which if they are consumed can bring the levels down to dangerous proportions.

Article 2

Effect of nicotine on behavior mediated via monoamine neurotransmitters and Modulation of neurotransmitters in mice brains by an anticonvulsant principle from cuttle bone from the Indian journal of pharmacology.

Description of the article

This article is a research report after a study was conducted to determine the effect of nicotine on mannerisms on behavior that was mediated through a monoamine neurotransmitter and the modulation of neurotransmitters in brains where mice were used as subjects. This followed an anticonvulsant principle from the bone of the cuttle. The research method used studied the effects of nicotine after intraperitoneal administration was conducted.

There was an observation of the effect of dopamine on the mediated behavior and also the effect of the amphetamine on stereotyped behavior and the sensitivity of alcohol withdrawn subject to some inhibitory compounds that induce catalepsy. The effect of lithium that was induced on the subjects was also studied together with the effect on the noradrenalin. In the second part of the research article, there was the investigation of the effect of acetone and petroleum extracts on memory, behavior and anxiety.

Findings of the article

The article reported that symptoms of alcohol withdrawal are a result of the effects of the alcohol on a variety of neurotransmitters after the research on both chronic and acute administration in rats. The induction of lithium leads to the diminishing of the noradrenalin neurotransmitters and this led to the reduction of mediated and stereotypical behavior. The other finding is that nicotine would potentate the ability of amitriptyline in its antidepressant activity.

Knowledge and insights gained from the article

One of the insights gained from this article is that most drugs affect the nootorpic activity of the monoamine neurotransmitters and they have a potential for causing an imbalance in the nootorpic principle. This is after the observation of the mice that had been induced with the soluble fraction of acetone and the ether that was induced in the head twitches of the rodents to ascertain the effects of drugs on neurotransmitters, where in this case, noradrenalin was used. This research was just a representative of a wide scope of the effects of drugs on the neurotransmitters and the skills employed in the research can be transferred to the investigation of the impacts of many other drugs in human beings. Just as the drugs would control behavioral reaction in the rodents, the pattern is similar in human beings the only problem is that there is no way human being could have been used as subject in such a study due to ethical considerations. For example, drugs such as cocaine affect the production and the storage of dopamine in the brain and initially they produce feelings of power and confidence due to its antidepressant activity. 

However, extreme or continuous intake of the drug often leads to a crash where the opposite of the initial feelings creeps in. Similar to the effect of the acetone on rodents, drugs such as opium and opiates have the tendency of mimicking peptides that occur naturally in the brain by creating an opiate activity that affect the endorphins. The real endorphins of the brain act as painkillers, causes pleasure sensations and the rush experience especially in athletes but these endorphins that mimic the real ones produce that effect for a short time before they backfire. One of the drugs that cause this scenario is alcohol which is believed to counteract the action of the GABA receptor, causing reduced muscle control and delayed time for reaction.

Response to the articles

The two articles were much related to the topic at hand which is the effects of the drugs on the neurotransmitters. The first article offered an above average description of the particular drugs to certain neurotransmitter and the disease that accompanies that effect, while the second article is more of research studies that use subjects in a way that will help generalize the effects of the drugs on neurotransmitters. The first article gives comprehensive, undiluted first hand information though it tends to look at the effects of drugs on just a few of the chief neurotransmitters meaning that a lot of information has been left out on all the other hundreds of neurotransmitters. 

All in all, the articles are professionally written with a careful analysis of the subject done and the reader is left satisfied because of the simplicity of the delivery of the topic and the tackling of each neurotransmitter on its own. The first article opens a new area of  learning  because in the process of reading and analyzing it, a new dimension comes out that some drugs may not be as harmful as the article portrays because some of them can be used to boost the production of the neurotransmitters especially where there is a shortage and vice versa. This means that if alcohol inhibits the production of serotonin, then it can be used to counter overproduction of the same.