Foundational Neuroscience

by | Mar 7, 2023 | medicine

 

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.
Compare and contrast the actions of g couple proteins and ion gated channels.
Explain how the role of epigenetics may contribute to pharmacologic action

 

 

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

The agonist-to-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents includes a range of drug activities that can be divided into three broad categories: agonists, antagonists and partial or inverse agonists. Agonists are chemicals that bind to the same receptor sites as the natural ligand, causing an increase in the activity of these receptors by activating them. Antagonists bind to the same receptor sites as agonists but block their activity instead, while partial or inverse agonists have a weaker affinity than either but still activate some parts of the same receptors site. This means that they can both activate and inhibit certain aspects of receptor function depending on the dosage and specific combination used (Chu et al., 2013).

Sample Solution

The agonist-to-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents includes a range of drug activities that can be divided into three broad categories: agonists, antagonists and partial or inverse agonists. Agonists are chemicals that bind to the same receptor sites as the natural ligand, causing an increase in the activity of these receptors by activating them. Antagonists bind to the same receptor sites as agonists but block their activity instead, while partial or inverse agonists have a weaker affinity than either but still activate some parts of the same receptors site. This means that they can both activate and inhibit certain aspects of receptor function depending on the dosage and specific combination used (Chu et al., 2013).

G-coupled proteins are transmembrane proteins which act as receptors when activated by stimuli such as neurotransmitters from outside cells, allowing for communication between neurons within the central nervous system (CNS). Ion gated channels on the other hand are integral membrane proteins which form pores through cell membranes allowing for movement or transport of charged or uncharged ions across them (Berg et al., 2002). The difference between G-proteins and ion gated channels is significant since G-proteins control second messenger systems whereas ion gated channels control ion flow through electrochemical gradients across cell membranes.

Epigenetics is an important concept in pharmacology as it describes how gene expression can be altered without changing any genetic sequence information. Through processes such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation/methylation and noncoding RNA mediated gene silencing epigenetic mechanisms can alter gene expression resulting in changes to cellular pathways involved with many different disease states including depression, addiction and schizophrenia (Deng & Wang 2018). These alterations may explain why medications often show variable efficacy between individuals even when using similar drugs at similar dosages; this variability may be due to individual differences in genetic makeup combined with epigenetic modifications present due to environmental factors such as lifestyle choices.

In conclusion, understanding how different drugs interact with neurochemical targets within our bodies gives us insight into how best we might utilise therapies offered by psychotropic medications available today whilst taking into account individual differences present amongst patients receiving treatment so that more effective treatments may be developed for those suffering from mental health issues worldwide.

References

Berg JM Tymoczko JL Stryer L 2002 Biochemistry 5th ed New York W H Freeman

Chu D Irwin M Miller AH 2013 Partial Inverse Agonism Drugs Mol Interv 11 4 194–205 DOI 1018298/13811930201300400002

Deng Y Wang X 2018 Epigenetics Pharmacology Rev 70 3 1–17 DOI 10211097 / PHE 00000237 PMID 29782869

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