Suboxone: Neuron and Post-synaptic Potentials

Addiction psychology has made a great impact on the field of biological psychology, especially when it comes to subjects such as psycho-pharmacology. The abuse of prescription pain medicine has risen to an estimated 9 million in America alone who take the medication for non-medical reasons. The psychology field has had a new revolution in addiction control called Suboxone. In order for psychiatric doctors or other doctors to prescribe this medicine they are required to complete a training course on the substance.

Rapidly replacing Methadone, a more traditional detox and maintenance drug used for many years, Suboxone seems to have many treatment advantages over it. Buprenophine, the chemical compound found in Suboxone has stated that it is suitable for people who still have social ties to their families and employers whereas. Methadone is suited best for those who need additional structure in their treatment with more supervision.

While it is nearly impossible to overdose on Suboxone due to its ceiling effect, Methadone is easily abused as it is a full-agonist opiate. Another advantage that Suboxone has over Methadone is it readability. Where patients must go to Methadone clinics for dosing, doctors can prescribe Suboxone for a month at a time, allowing patients to detox and maintain their treatment. Buprenophine is available in two pill forms, one without Naloxone-called Subutex, or one with Naloxone-called Suboxone.

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Naloxone is a well known opiate antagonist, that when injected, causes instant withdraw in the patient. Putting this ingredient as an additive with Buprenophine keeps the drug from being abused. Buprenophine is usually prescribed for just a few weeks, but some patients may need maintenance doses depending on their opiate usage and/or dependency. In order to better understand the way Suboxone and other opiates work within the central nervous system individuals should understand post-synaptic potentials, synaptic ransmission, the receptors that produce and regulate behavior (including abusing opiates), as well as understanding and knowing the primary neurotransmitters and their role in brain function and behavior.

Excitatory and Inhibitory Post-synaptic Potentials

The role of excitatory and inhibitory post-synaptic potentials is summed up by NCBI Bookshelf (n. d. ;  “Postsynaptic conductance changes and the potential changes that accompany them alter the probability that an action potential will be produced in the postsynaptic cell. Post-synaptic Potentials decrease the probability that the post synaptic cell will generate an action potential. PSPs are called excitatory (or EPSPs) if they increase the likelihood of a postsynaptic action potential occurring, and inhibitory (or IPSPs) if they decrease this likelihood.

Given that most neurons receive inputs from both excitatory and inhibitory synapses, it is important to understand more precisely the mechanisms that determine whether a particular synapse excites or inhibits its postsynaptic partner. “

Synaptic Transmission and Receptors Producing and Regulating Behavior

Neurons communicate through synaptic transmission. The synapse can be found as a tiny gap found in the middle of the axon terminal and the neuron next to it. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that are located in synaptic vesicles are responsible for delivering messages across the synapse and bind to the receptor sites. When a molecule of a neurotransmitter binds to the receptor it then continues to activate or inhibit the neuron until the deactivation occurs. A method of deactivation is called re-uptake, allowing the neurotransmitter molecules to be delivered back to| |the presynaptic neuron. Various drugs, including opiates such as hydrocodone or methadone function as agonists because they increase the activity of the neurotransmitter while others such as Naloxone act as antagonists decreasing the activity of the neurotransmitter.

Primary Neurotransmitters

The three major neurons located in the nervous system are the sensory, motor, and inter-neurons. Sensory neurons are responsible to input messages from the sense organs to the spinal cord and brain. Motor neurons carry impulses from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and organs. Interneurons perform connective or associative functions within the nervous system. The brain and spinal cord are called the central nervous system while all neurons that connect the CNS to the muscles, glands, and sensory receptors are located in the peripheral nervous system.

In this regard, the PNS is divided into two systems:the somatic nervous system that includes sensory and motor neurons, and the autonomic nervous system required to| |regulate glands as well as other involuntary functions such as circulation, breathing, and digestion. The autonomic nervous system consists of two branches as well. The sympathetic branch activates or arouses bodily organs while the parasympathetic branch does the complete opposite. Most nerves enter and leave the CNS via the spinal cord.

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