Chemical Signaling by Neurotransmitters and Hormones

 

Chemical Signaling between Nerve Cells

Neurotransmitter Synthesis, Release, and Inactivation

Neurotransmitters encompass several different kinds of chemical substances

Box 3.1 Clinical Applications Orexin-Based Medications: New Approaches to the Treatment of Sleep Disorders

Neuropeptides are synthesized by a different mechanism than other transmitters

Neuromodulators are chemicals that don’t act like typical neurotransmitters

Classical transmitter release involves exocytosis and recycling of synaptic vesicles

Lipid and gaseous transmitters are not released from synaptic vesicles

Several mechanisms control the rate of neurotransmitter release by nerve cells

Neurotransmitters are inactivated by reuptake and by enzymatic breakdown

Neurotransmitter Receptors and Second-Messenger Systems

There are two major families of neurotransmitter receptors

Second messengers work by activating specific protein kinases within a cell

Tyrosine kinase receptors mediate the effects of neurotrophic factors

Pharmacology of Synaptic Transmission

Synaptic Plasticity

The Endocrine System

Endocrine glands can secrete multiple hormones

Mechanisms of hormone action vary

Why is the endocrine system important to pharmacologists?

Box 3.2 Pharmacology in Action Sex Hormones and Drug Abuse