Social skills activities for children and teens: Evidence-based ideas to help kids communicate, connect, empathize, and read minds. Â© 2015 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved. We want our children to succeed in the social world--to learn how to cooperate, make friends, and negotiate conflicts.
Ligand. Definition. noun, plural: ligands. (1) A molecule, ion or atom bonded to the central metal atom of a coordination compound. (2) Any substance (e.g. hormone, drug, functional group, etc .) that binds specifically and reversibly to another chemical entity to form a larger complex.Supplement. A ligand may function as agonist or antagonist.1) A molecule, ion or atom bonded to the central metal atom of a coordination compound. (2) Any substance (e.g. hormone, drug, functional group, etc .) that binds specifically and reversibly to another chemical entity to form a larger complex.
A receptor is basically a protein in a cell (usually in a cell membrane, but doesn't have to be (eg. NO and steroid receptors). When a ligand (an agonist) meets the receptor, the protein changes its physical conformation, making it more or less likely to do something else, eg. catalyze something, open an ion channel. Antagonists bind to receptors like agonists, but without doing anything, effectively blocking them.