Agonist vs Antagonist (not talking about muscles)

[onedirection]

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What's the different between an agonist/an antagonist for something like a medication/receptor whatnot

 

[monkeyvokes]

What's the different between an agonist/an antagonist for something like a medication/receptor whatnot

agonists imitate a receptor's normal ligand. for instance, a beta adrenergic receptor agonist would work similar to epinephine binding to the receptor.

antagonists bind to a receptor and inhibit functioning.

 

[tdod]

Monkeyvoke's answer is a more strict pharmacological definition of an agonist/antagonist. In general:

Agonists increase the effect of a neurotransmitter on the synapse; this can be by directly activating the post-synaptic receptor or by indirectly increasing the effect of the neurotransmitter (i.e. increasing the production of the neurotransmitter).

Agonists inhibit the effect of the neurotransmitter on the synapse. This can also be direct (i.e. competitive inhibition of the post-synaptic receptor) or indirect (i.e. inhibitting release of the neurotransmitter).

 

[gettheleadout]

What's the different between an agonist/an antagonist for something like a medication/receptor whatnot

Honestly...

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=medication+receptor+agonist

 

[texan2414]

Monkeyvoke's answer is a more strict pharmacological definition of an agonist/antagonist. In general:

Agonists increase the effect of a neurotransmitter on the synapse; this can be by directly activating the post-synaptic receptor or by indirectly increasing the effect of the neurotransmitter (i.e. increasing the production of the neurotransmitter).

Agonists inhibit the effect of the neurotransmitter on the synapse. This can also be direct (i.e. competitive inhibition of the post-synaptic receptor) or indirect (i.e. inhibitting release of the neurotransmitter).

I think this is the best definition out there!!! 👍

There are many ligands that are "agonists" for inhibitory G proteins.