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Psychopharmacology
How drugs that act on the brain change mood, thinking and behavior — and how the body handles those drugs along the way.
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Neurotransmitters and receptors
Receptor families (fast ionotropic doors, slower metabotropic keypads), the major messengers — acetylcholine, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, glutamate, GABA — and how each is made, cleared and targeted.
- Why it matters
- Drug classes are defined by which messenger system they change. Antidepressants, antipsychotics and sedatives are all stories about these systems.
- You'll be able to
- For each major messenger: name its receptors, how its signal ends, its main pathways, and what happens when a drug blocks or boosts it.
Receptor types: autoreceptors, heteroreceptors and location
Sorts receptors by what they receive and where they sit — which decides whether a drug turns a signal up, down, or adjusts its own feedback.
- Connects to The synapse: release, binding and termination · Brain and synapse
- Unlocks Norepinephrine and serotonin — and serotonin syndrome
- Unlocks Fast doors and slow keypads: ionotropic and metabotropic receptors
These study notes were drafted from your course slides and cited research. If something here disagrees with your slides or instructor, go with the course.