--In today's episode, Dr. O'Leary explores agonists, inverse agonists, partial agonists, and antagonists. These terms describe how molecules bind to receptors and either increase, decrease, or prevent changes in receptor signaling. Agonists increase receptor activity, with full agonists like dopamine and serotonin raising activity to its maximum. Partial agonists can increase activity in the absence of full agonists but decrease it in their presence. Inverse agonists reduce the baseline activity of receptors. Antagonists block receptor activity without changing the baseline rate. We also discussed the complex interactions between these molecules and how their effects can vary depending on the presence of other molecules and the specific receptors involved.

Below are a couple of helpful references:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2804881/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00023210-199605050-00007 

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