Question

3. Neurotransmitters: there are more than 130 neurotransmitters, and we will only emphasize the functions of a few of them in our course. For neurotransmitters acetylcholine and endorphin, estimate your personal level and activity of the neurotransmitters and how they may be affecting your behavior at this moment. Response:

Answer 1

Neurotransmitters. may be defined as a chemical messenger that carries, boosts, & balances signals between neurons, / nerve cells, and to other cells in the body. These chemical messengers affect both physical and psychological functions including heart rate, sleep, appetite, mood, and fear.

The main Neurotransmitters are : 1) Acetycholine (Ach ) affects movement , learning , memory, REM sleep.

2) Dopamine (DA) Affects movement, attention, learning, reinforcement, pleasure.

3)Norepihephrine (NE) Affects eating, alertness, wakefullness.

4) Epinephrine. Affects metabolism of glucose, energy release during exercise.

5) Serotonin.

6) Glutamate.

7) GABA.

8)Endorphins.

Acetycholine ( Ach) is an organic chemical that functions in the brain & body as neurotransmitters ,a message is released by the nerve cells & pass signal to other cells ie to neurons,muscle cells, & the glands It causes muscle to contract , activates pain responses , regulates & regulates endocrine & REM sleep .

Acetylcholine functions in both the central nervous system (CNS) & the peripheral nervous system (PNS). In the CNS, cholinergic projections from the basal forebrain to the cerebral cortex& hippocampus support the cognitive functions of those target areas. In the PNS, acetylcholine activates muscles and is a major neurotransmitter in the autonomic nervous system.

Deficiencies in acetycholine may lead to myasthenia gravis , which is amuscle weakness.

Acetylcholine is also a neurotransmitter in the autonomic nervous system,& works in both as an internal transmitter for the sympathetic nervous system & as the final product released by the parasympathetic nervous system.

ENDORPHIN :Endorphins are the the brain cells known as neurotransmitters, which ttransmit electrical signals within the nervous system. At least 20 kinds of endorphins have been found in humans. Endorphins can be found in the pituitary gland, in other parts of the brain, or distributed throughout the nervous system.

Stress & pain are the most common factors that endorphins , they react with with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce the perceptoin pain & act in the same manner to the drugs such as morphine & codeine & in contrast the opiate drugs activate the opiate receptors by the body's endorphins which does not leed to addiction

In addition to decreased feelings of pain, secretion of endorphins leads to the feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, & enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain & fewer negative effects of stress. Endorphins are also said to be as modulators & called "runner's high" that athletes achieve with prolonged exercise. The role of endorphins & other compounds such as potential triggers ., it is also known that the body does produce endorphins in response to prolonged, continuous excercise

Affects of neurotransmitter in human behavior : Human behavior is regulated entirely by human brain . the cells communicate with each other& in the body through small molecules called neurotransmitters (NT) are released by neurons & are picked up by targeted cells through NT receptors (NTR). The role of genes in human behavior is controlling NT & NTR. Subtle changes in either of these molecules could have profound effects on behavior. Knowledge of the pathways involved in NT function has allowed development of drugs that modulate these pathways up or down. The NT glutamate & its receptor are critical in learning & memory. A drugs called SSRIs (Prozac; Zoloft) can regulate the flow of the NT serotonin throughout the brain, affecting disorders such as depression and impulsivity.