Posted by Larry Hoover on September 3, 2008, at 8:28:05
In reply to Inhibitor vs Antagonist - definition?, posted by ricker on September 2, 2008, at 12:48:00
> Inhibitor - prevents the cell from releasing chemical, therefore there is an increase in volume/production.
In the context of reuptake, an inhibitor of a neurotransmitter pump increases the exposure time of receptors in a synapse (the gap between neurons where receptors are most abundant). That can increase the magnitude of the effect of the neurotransmitter (amplifying it). That can have two consequences: a) enhanced immediate response; b) reduced long-term response. The latter can occur because of two mechanisms: a) down-regulation of downstream receptors because the signal was greater than the pre-existing average signal; b) down-regulation of neurotransmitter production via pre-synaptic receptor response.
The bottom line is things are very complicated, with all sorts of feed-back regulation. What effect will dominate, i.e. what we'll actually see happen, can differ substantially from what we hope to have happen.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:849895
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080903/msgs/850045.html