Foundational Neuroscience Discussion

An agonist to antagonist to inverse agonist spectrum

Psychoactive medications vary in how they affect activity at the synapse.  Agonists increase the neurotransmitter effect while antagonists block the neurotransmitter effect (Barron, 2018). There are gradients of how medications act creating a spectrum of influence on receptors.  Agonists can occur naturally as neurotransmitters that stimulate receptors.  Some medications also act as agonists to stimulate receptors, but medications can stimulate receptors to varying degrees (Stahl, 2013).  Foundational Neuroscience Discussion Papers.