picrotoxin

n. a CNS stimulant derived from the berries of a southeast Asian shrub, Anamirta cocculus. Originally used as a fish poison, picrotoxin was introduced in the 1930s as a therapy for barbiturate overdose. It is a convulsant agent and acts as a GABA antagonist by binding to a specific site on the GABA_A receptor complex, blocking the effects of GABA agonists (e.g., the benzodiazepines). Picrotoxin has no modern clinical applications but may be used to induce seizures in nonhuman animals for research purposes.

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Psychology term of the day

October 18th 2024

social representation

a system, model, or code for unambiguously naming and organizing values, ideas, and conduct, which enables communication and social exchange (i.e., at the levels of language and behavior) among members of a particular group or community. [term coined and theory elaborated by Romanian-born French psychologist Serge Moscovici (1925– )]