Post on 08-Jan-2018
description
Neurotransmitters Are Your Friends
Some Basics on Neurotransmission
• Neurotransmitters either excite or inhibit other neurons– Agonists bind to receptor cells and cause the cell
to respond, while antagonists inhibit the cell from responding.
• Can affect mood, memory decision making, problem solving and long term health
Serotonin
• CNS: regulation of mood• Obsessions and compulsions• Motivation/emotional responses• Anti-depressants are designed to selectively
block the re-uptake of serotonin in the brain
Dopamine
• CNS:basal ganglia motor loop• Memory, attention, problem solving• Released w/food and sex, pleasure and reward– Cocaine blocks the re-uptake of Dopamine
• Also released when we are anticipating or making predictions about what might occur in the future and adjusting expectations when we are right/wrong
Norepinephrine
• CNS: involved in hypothalamus with Hunger, also interacts with dopamine and Serotonin
• Alertness and Attention• Concentration and Energy• Anti-depressants will also target
Norepinephrine
Epinephrine
• CNS: readies body or fight/fight – increase HR, BP, Blood to skeletal muscles– Adrenaline acts as a neurotransmitter in the
central nervous system and as a hormone in the blood circulation.
Acetylcholine
• CNS/PNS: muscle contraction, sweating, fight/flight response back to normal (sympathetic/parasympathetic)
• Acts to help return to Homeostasis• Acts as an inhibitor to cardiac tissue• Is excitatory in skeletal muscles• Nicotine mimics acetylcholine, it fits into the
same chemical locks
GABA
• CNS: decrease neural activity• Acts as a depressant at the neural level• Decrease inhibitions/anxiety/tension• Alcohol mimics GABA
Glutamate
• CNS: Excitatory, long term memory and learning
• Essential for Long Term Potentiation (LTP) and encoding memory
• A precursor for the synthesis of GABA which helps explain the impaired cognitive functioning when drunk