Question

"The drug naloxone can be used to counter the effects" of a heroin overdose by binding to opioid receptors and preventing heroin from binding to them. In this example, naloxone is an ___________________ at opioid receptors and heroin is an _______________________ at opioid receptors.

Answer 1

Answer:

Naloxone is an antagonist at opioid receptors and heroin is an agonist at opioid receptors

Explanation:

An agonist is a substance that binds to a receptor and causes a biological reaction. In this case, heroine binds to opioid receptors. An antagonist blocks the reaction from the agonist, impeding the receptor's activation. Agonists and antagonists work for specific receptors, and for an antagonist to block an agonist they must bind to the same receptor, like naloxone does with heroin. Giving an antagonist that binds to one receptor and and agonist that binds to a different one means that the antagonist will have no effect.