Drugs that affect the reuptake of neurotransmitters are in widespread use for th

Question

Drugs that affect the reuptake of neurotransmitters are in widespread use for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and clinical depression. In molecular terms, explain what effect(s) such reuptake inhibitors have on postsynaptic neurons if the neurotransmitter in question is excitatory for that postsynaptic neuron. In your answer include what would happen to the postsynaptic neuron with and without the reuptake inhibitors. Also, include the concept of summation (and be specific as to what type of summation would happen in the presence of the reuptake inhibitors).

Explanation / Answer

Reuptake inhibitors block the reuptake of neurotransmitters back into the presynaptic membrane thereby increasing the concentration of the neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft. If this neurotransmitter is excitatory, it acts on the list synaptic membrane to cause excitatory post synaptic potential. In the absence of reuptake inhibitors, these excitatory post synaptic potentials are not generated. The type of summation seen in post synaptic neuron in the presence of reuptake inhibitors is temporal summation.

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