Final answer:
The incorrect statements about neurotransmitter functions is A. GABA; motor control, vision, and anxiety - Excitatory. GABA is known to have inhibitory effects, not excitatory.
Step-by-step explanation:
Identifying the Incorrect Statement About Neurotransmitter Functions
The neurotransmitter with the incorrectly attributed basic function and postsynaptic effect is A. GABA; motor control, vision, and anxiety - Excitatory. GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Its basic function includes creating inhibitory postsynaptic potentials, which result in the hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic neuron, making it less likely to fire an action potential. This is the opposite effect of excitatory postsynaptic potentials, which would depolarize the neuron and make it more likely to fire. GABA is crucial for modulating neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. It plays an important role in reducing neuronal excitability in various areas of the brain, assisting in functions ranging from motor control to reducing anxiety.
GABA's inhibitory effects can be understood by its action on specific receptors. GABA receptors are classified into three types: GABAA, GABAB, and GABAC, with the GABAA type being an ionotropic receptor that allows for the influx of chloride ions upon activation. This chloride flow results in the hyperpolarization of the neuron's membrane potential. Despite GABA being synthesized from glutamate, it functions in a manner that is contrasting to glutamate, which is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, associated with crucial functions like learning and memory, and indeed causes excitatory postsynaptic potentials by depolarizing the neuron.
Glutamate, dopamine, acetylcholine, and glycine are correctly paired with their primary effects and nature. Glutamate is associated with learning and memory and is excitatory; dopamine is linked to voluntary movement and motivation and is also excitatory; acetylcholine is involved in muscle contraction, wakefulness, and aggression, and it exerts excitatory effects; glycine is associated with spinal reflexes and motor control and has an inhibitory action on the postsynaptic neuron.