NURS 6003 Foundational Neuroscience

NURS 6003 Foundational Neuroscience

NURS 6003 Foundational Neuroscience

Agonist-to-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents

The four ligands that bind to a cell surface receptor are agonists, antagonists, partial agonists, and inverse agonists. An agonist is a drug that binds to the receptor to produce a similar response to the anticipated chemical and receptor. An antagonist binds to the receptor on the primary or another site, blocking the receptor from eliciting a response (Weir, 2020). Partial agonists affect the efficacy of psychopharmacologic treatments since they do not elicit the maximal response that the tissue can. Inverse agonists also affect the efficacy of treatments since they bind to a receptor and elicit a pharmacological response that conflicts with the corresponding agonist.

Compare and contrast the actions of g couple proteins and ion-gated channels.

G- couple proteins and Ion-gated channels are transmembrane proteins that take part in the exchange of ions and molecules via the plasma membrane of the postsynaptic neuron. They bind to neurotransmitters at the synaptic cleft (David et al., 2022). Ion-gated channels play a role in the direct opening of ion channels after binding of a neurotransmitter. G-couple proteins play a role in the indirect binding of ion channels through metabolic activation of G-protein.

Explain how the role of epigenetics may contribute to pharmacologic action.

Epigenetics are increasingly being studied in healthcare due to their relationship with protein production, gene function, and human health and disease. Epigenetics contributes to pharmacologic action as it helps discover drugs, especially for cancer (Marinova, 2020).

Explain how this information may impact the way you prescribe medications to patients.

The information on the agonist-to-antagonist spectrum will influence how I prescribe medications since I must be well-versed with drugs that produce a full response, partial response, no action, or the opposite of the desired action. For example, when prescribing benzodiazepines to patients with anxiety disorders, I will need to know that medications acting at benzodiazepine receptors have two types of pharmacological profiles (McDonald & Lambert, 2022). Benzodiazepine agonists are anxiolytic, sedative, and anticonvulsant, while benzodiazepine inverse agonists result in anxiety and convulsions.

References

David, D., Bentulila, Z., Tauber, M., & Ben-Chaim, Y. (2022). G protein-coupled receptors regulated by membrane potential. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(22), 13988. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232213988

Marinova, Z. (2020). Why ‘epidrugs’ will be the next major focus for precision medicine. Pharm J.

McDonald, J., & Lambert, D. G. (2022). Drug-receptor interactions in anesthesia. BJA Education, 22(1), 20–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjae.2021.07.009

Weir, C. J. (2020). Ion channels, receptors, agonists, and antagonists. Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, 21(1), 62–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpaic.2019.10.022

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Foundational Neuroscience

As a psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner, it is essential for you to have a strong background in foundational neuroscience. In order to diagnose and treat patients, you must not only understand the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders but also how medications for these disorders impact the central nervous system. These concepts of foundational neuroscience can be challenging to understand. Therefore, this Discussion is designed to encourage you to think through these concepts, develop a rationale for your thinking, and deepen your understanding by interacting with your colleagues.

For this Discussion, review the Learning Resources and reflect on the concepts of foundational neuroscience as they might apply to your role as the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in prescribing medications for patients.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

Learning Resources

Required Readings

• Stahl, S. M. (2021). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (5th Ed.) Cambridge University Press.
  • Chapter 2, “Transporters, Receptors, and Enzymes as Targets of Psychopharmacological Drug Action” (pp. 29-50)
  • Chapter 3, “Ion Channels as Targets of Psychopharmacological Drug Action) (pp. 51-76)

Required Media

• The University of British Columbia. (n. d.). Neuroanatomy videos

• Links to an external site.. http://neuroanatomy.ca/videos.html

  Note: Please review all of the media under the neuroanatomy series.

• Mental Health TV. (2022, Oct 7).  Psychopharmacology-Module four

• Links to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Ioy6SSta4&t=89s
• Mental Health TV. (2022, Oct 7).  Psychopharmacology-Module five [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ynTQB59KW0&t=16s

Optional Resources

• Pathopharmacology: Disorders of the Nervous System: Exploring the Human Brain

  Dr. Norbert Myslinski reviews the structure and function of the human brain. Using human brains, he examines and illustrates the development of the brain and areas impacted by disorders associated with the brain. (15m)

• Introduction to Advanced Pharmacology

  In this media presentation, Dr. Terry Buttaro, associate professor of practice at Simmons School of Nursing and Health Sciences, discusses the importance of pharmacology for the advanced practice nurse. (6m)

By Day 3 of Week 2

Post a response to each of the following:

1. Explain the agonist-to-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents, including how partial and inverse agonist functionality may impact the efficacy of psychopharmacologic treatments.
2. Compare and contrast the actions of g couple proteins and ion gated channels.
3. Explain how the role of epigenetics may contribute to pharmacologic action.
4. Explain how this information may impact the way you prescribe medications to patients. Include a specific example of a situation or case with a patient in which the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner must be aware of the medication’s action.

Upload a copy of your discussion writing to the draft Turnitin for plagiarism check.  Your faculty holds the academic freedom to not accept your work and grade at a zero if your work is not uploaded as a draft submission to Turnitin as instructed.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 2

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days in one of the following ways:

• If your colleagues’ posts influenced your understanding of these concepts, be sure to share how and why. Include additional insights you gained.
• If you think your colleagues might have misunderstood these concepts, offer your alternative perspective and be sure to provide an explanation for them. Include resources to support your perspective.

Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the Reply button to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Post Reply, you cannot delete or edit your own posts and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Post Reply!

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