ESSAY: Foundational neuroscience

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

ANSWER

Foundational Neuroscience

Neuroscience is a branch of biology that deals with the scientific study of the nervous system. It combines psychology, anatomy, mathematical modeling and developmental biology to understand the properties of neurons and their circuits. Psychopharmacological agents have scientifically researched drugs employed to treat mental and psychological diseases such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. An agonist in neuroscience is a chemical that binds to a nerve receptor and activates it to reduce a biological response. On the other hand, an antagonist works towards blocking the same physiological reaction (Koroshetz and Landis, 2014). Therefore, agonist to antagonist spectrum of action is the process of using a pharmacological agent or drug that prevents the biological activities of the nervous systems.

G proteins are a family of proteins involved with transmitting signals from several stimuli outside the cell to the interior. They are activated by g protein coupled receptors and deactivated by the regulators of g protein signaling. G proteins regulate metabolic ion channels, control transcription, and secretion. Ion gated channels are groups of protein that open up to allow ions such as potassium and calcium to pass through the cell membrane to bind chemical messengers like a neurotransmitter. Epigenetic is very important in the scientific research of pharmacological treatment methods (Niven, 2017). It is defined as the study of phenotype changes that do not involve alterations of DNA sequences. Epigenetic assists medical scientists by providing leads of the causes of illnesses.             Medical practitioners manage to identify a foundation and a starting point of the relevant pharmacological medication research process. Epigenetic change the whole process of diagnosis and prescription of medication to patients. It puts in mind that not all health conditions depend on the gene sequence and…