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Chemical signaling between neurons is mediated by neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, hormones, neuromodulators, and many other types of signaling molecules. Many neurological diseases arise due to an imbalance in the brain's neurochemistry. For example, in Parkinson's Disease, there is an imbalance in the brain's level of dopamine.
Nitric oxide functions as a neurotransmitter, despite being a gas. It is not grouped with the other neurotransmitters because it is not released in the same way. Endocannabinoids act in the endocannabinoid system to control neurotransmitter release in a host of neuronal tissues, including the hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, and cerebellum.
Artistic interpretation of the major elements in chemical synaptic transmission. An electrochemical wave called an action potential travels along the axon of a neuron.When the action potential reaches the presynaptic terminal, it provokes the release of a synaptic vesicle, secreting its quanta of neurotransmitter molecules.
Monoamines are synthesized by altering a single amino acid. For example, the precursor of serotonin is the amino acid tryptophan. Peptide neurotransmitters, or neuropeptides, are protein transmitters which are larger than the classical small-molecule neurotransmitters and are often released together to elicit a modulatory effect. [4]
A neural pathway connects one part of the nervous system to another using bundles of axons called tracts. The optic tract that extends from the optic nerve is an example of a neural pathway because it connects the eye to the brain; additional pathways within the brain connect to the visual cortex.
Dopamine and serotonin pathway. One form of behavioral neuropharmacology focuses on the study of drug dependence and how drug addiction affects the human mind. Most research has shown that the major part of the brain that reinforces addiction through neurochemical reward is the nucleus accumbens. The image to the right shows how dopamine is ...
Neurotransmission is regulated by several different factors: the availability and rate-of-synthesis of the neurotransmitter, the release of that neurotransmitter, the baseline activity of the postsynaptic cell, the number of available postsynaptic receptors for the neurotransmitter to bind to, and the subsequent removal or deactivation of the ...
What is known is that the main two neurotransmitter systems implicated in schizophrenia are the dopamine and glutamate pathways. Dopamine became a candidate for research when it was clinically noticed that antipsychotic drugs which are dopamine D 2 receptor antagonists were noted to be quite successful in treating schizophrenia as well. [ 10 ]