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Caffeine keeps you awake by blocking adenosine receptors. Each type of adenosine receptor has different functions, although with some overlap. [3] For instance, both A 1 receptors and A 2A play roles in the heart, regulating myocardial oxygen consumption and coronary blood flow, while the A 2A receptor also has broader anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body. [4]
In the brain, serotonin is a neurotransmitter and regulates arousal, behavior, sleep, and mood, among other things. [9] During prolonged exercise where central nervous system fatigue is present, serotonin levels in the brain are higher than normal physiological conditions; these higher levels can increase perceptions of effort and peripheral muscle fatigue. [9]
This makes adenosine a useful medication for treating and diagnosing tachyarrhythmias, or excessively fast heart rates. This effect on the A 1 receptor also explains why there is a brief moment of cardiac standstill when adenosine is administered as a rapid IV push during cardiac resuscitation.
Adenosine is a key factor in regulating the body's sleep-wake cycle. [40] Adenosine levels rise during periods of wakefulness and lowers during sleep. Higher adenosine levels correlate with a stronger feeling of sleepiness, also known as sleep drive or sleep pressure. [41]
It also causes a negative dromotropic effect through the inhibition of AV-nodal conduction. [20] From the 1980s onwards, these effects of adenosine have been used in the treatment of patients with supraventricular tachycardia. [21] The regulation of vascular tone in the endothelium of blood vessels is mediated by purinergic signalling.
The adenosine A2A receptor has also been shown to play a regulatory role in the adaptive immune system. In this role, it functions similarly to programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic t-lymphocyte associated protein-4 ( CTLA-4 ) receptors, namely to suppress immunologic response and prevent associated tissue damage.
Neurons expressing certain types of neurotransmitters sometimes form distinct systems, where activation of the system affects large volumes of the brain, called volume transmission. Major neurotransmitter systems include the noradrenaline (norepinephrine) system, the dopamine system, the serotonin system, and the cholinergic system, among others.
The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina.The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all parts of the bodies of bilaterally symmetric and triploblastic animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and diploblasts.