International A Level Biology / The nervous system and neurones

How drugs affect nerve transmission

Edexcel International A Level Biology (YBI11), chapter 23: The nervous system and neurones, specification point 8.7. Part of the full course.

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Drugs can change nerve transmission by acting at different points, from the axon membrane to synaptic receptors and transporter proteins. Trace where each drug acts and what it changes to explain whether transmission increases or decreases.

More lessons in The nervous system and neurones

• Sensory, relay and motor neurones
• From stimulus to response
• The spinal reflex arc
• The resting potential
• The action potential
• How an impulse travels: local circuits and saltatory conduction
• How a synapse works
• How the pupil dilates and contracts
• How rods detect light
• Habituation