All neurotransmitters are agonists – chemicals that bind to receptor neurons and activate them to respond. They act like keys in post-synaptic receptor neuron ‘locks.’ They fit into their own receptor neuron and bind to it to produce a voltage change called an action potential. When they do this they are having an excitatory effect in the synapse. An example … Read More
Antagonists – what do they do?
Antagonists are any chemicals that fit into receptor sites on the post-synaptic neuron, inhibiting the neuron from firing. Well-known antagonists for serotonin, which we looked at in the previous blog post, are anti-psychotic drugs like Clozapine, which acts on the HT2A serotonin receptors to decrease the effects of serotonin in the brain. Many ant-psychotic drugs also act as antagonists for dopamine, … Read More
Agonists – what are they?
Biological psychology has come to the fore over the past years. The mapping of the human genome combined with improved brain-scanning techniques has meant that the biological correlation to psychological conditions is more easily identifiable, and it is clear that many mental disorders like major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia are explainable through a gene x environment interaction. This … Read More
What is a ‘key study’?
Key studies are studies that are the most useful for any Psychology course, because they provide the ‘key’ to understanding a concept or theory. For example, Maguire’s famous ‘taxi driver’ study, Loftus and Palmer’s ‘car crash’ study or Rosenhan’s research into the validity of diagnosis on admission to mental hospitals. Teachers and students can benefit by summarising these studies according … Read More