Steven Crane Compiled Section Handouts. Human Behavioral Biology 2012

GABA receptors with multiple binding sites for benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and progesterone

GCs having differential effects on glutamate

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  GC decrease glutamate in hippocampus
  
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  GC increase glutamate in the amygdala
  

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  Autoregulation of receptor number. Crucial in neuro and endo.
  
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  Multiple subunits and switching subunits
  
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  Second messengers acting within the neuron in response to NT binding. Huge realm of variation and complexity.
  

What complexities do we have at the level of neurons and their connections?

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  Axo-axonic synapses and creating if-then clauses
  

^o GABA works this way. Inhibits the excitation of another neuron: neuromodulation

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  Glia with tight junctions and NTs of their own
  
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  Transaxonal signaling
  

Advanced Endocrinology

How do we go about releasing ACTH from pituitary?

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  ACTH released in response to CRH, but also in response OT, vasopressin, epi, and norepi. These are our multiple secretagogs.
  

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  The non-CRH ones usually modulate CRH's ability to cause ACTH release. Like vasopressin making CRH much more effective at triggering ACTH release, while vasopressin does almost nothing all by itself.
  

• Different release profile for different stressors, as received by the hypothalamus.

• These also modulate other hormone release from the pituitary besides ACTH depending on the stressor, like growth hormone.

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  On a cellular level: mosaic of cell types in the pituitary modulate each other
  

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  Each individual cell is specialized to release only one pituitary hormone
  
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    But each cell's neighbors modulate its release profile with paracrine signaling
    
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  Hypothalamus can shunt releasing hormones down various capillary beds
  

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  (side note: vasopressin is released from the posterior pituitary to have effects on peripheral physiology like on the kidneys. It's also released into the hypothalamic-pituitary portal system where it influences the anterior pituitary)
  

How do the adrenal glands respond to ACTH?

• More amounts of ACTH from pit eventually reach a threshold of peak amount of GC secreted from adrenals.

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  But the peak secretion amount continues for a longer time in response to more ACTH.
  

What do GCs do once released into the blood?

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