Discussion Prompt: A neurotoxin is a poisonous substance that acts upon the nervous system. Many plants and animals, all over the world, on land or sea, naturally produce neurotoxins that can affect a human if contacted or ingested. The Pufferfish (Tetraodontidae) contains Tetrodotoxin. The Marine Cone Snail contains Omega Conotoxin. Curare is a plant-based toxin of the rainforest used for poison darts/arrows. All 3 of these are neurotoxins that are deadly to humans. 1. Choose a neurotoxin and answering the following questions... • What part of the neuron/nervous system is affected? • What functions can the pre- and postsynaptic cells still perform? • Where in a reflex arc will the toxins work? • Will the paralysis affect both sensory and motor nerves?
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Choose a neurotoxin: Let's choose Tetrodotoxin, which is found in Pufferfish. Show more…
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Shyam P.
Curare is a paralytic toxin once used by indigenous South American tribes to hunt game. The toxin works by blocking nicotinic receptors at the neuromuscular junction, causing paralysis and eventually death by asphyxiation (when the diaphragm becomes paralyzed). If we pretend for a moment that the year is 1596 and you are the first 'outsider' to discover curare (hopefully not the hard way), and don't know its true mechanism, what other mechanisms could allow curare to have these paralytic effects? Choose all mechanisms which could lead to skeletal muscle paralysis (an inability to initiate a muscle contraction): - Inhibiting acetylcholinesterase at the neuromuscular junction. - Blocking voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in alpha-motor neurons. - Blocking reuptake of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. - Causing the spontaneous release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. - Blocking voltage-gated Na+ channels in alpha-motor neurons.
Adi S.
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