Neurotransmitters

NEUROTRANSMITTERS
Neurotransmitter, also called

chemical transmitter or
chemical messenger, any of
a group of chemical agents
released by neurons (nerve
cells) to stimulate
neighboring neurons or
muscle or gland cells, thus
allowing impulses to be
passed from one cell to the
next throughout the nervous
system.
WHAT ARE NEURONS ??
• Neurons are nerve cells - one of
the building blocks of behavior.
• Send electrochemical messages to
the brain so that people can
respond to stimuli:
• Either from external stimuli
(environment)
• From internal changes in the body
• This transferal of messages is
known as neurotransmission.
NEUROTRANSMITTER
SIGNALING
• Neurotransmitters are synthesized by
neurons and are stored in vesicles, which
typically are located in the axon’s terminal
end, also known as the presynaptic terminal.
• The synaptic cleft, presynaptic terminal, and
receiving dendrite of the next cell together
form a junction known as the synapse.
• Chemicals, called neurotransmitters, are
released from one neuron at the presynaptic
nerve terminal. Neurotransmitters then cross
the synapse where they may be accepted by
the next neuron at a specialized site called a
receptor.
TYPES OF
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
EXCITATORY AND INHIBITORY
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
A neurotransmitter influences a
neuron in one of three
ways: excitatory, inhibitory or
modulatory.
An excitatory transmitter
promotes the generation of an
electrical signal called an action
potential in the receiving neuron,
while an inhibitory transmitter
prevents it.
AGONISTS AND ANTAGONISTS
ACETYLCHOLINE AND
MEMORY
• In the peripheral nervous system,
this neurotransmitter is a major part
of the autonomic nervous system
and works to activate muscles.
• One of the primary functions of
acetylcholine is to carry signals from
motor neurons to the body's skeletal
muscles
• Its basic functions involve the control
of skeletal muscles via activation of
the motor neurons as well as
stimulating the muscles of the body.
SUPPORTING STUDIES
Atri et al (2004)
• The aim of this study was to test the role of
acetylcholine in memory formation; particularly,
in preventing a phenomenon called proactive
interference.
• The sample was made up of 28 participants (9
men, 19 women) from a local university. All
were native English speakers
• In phase 1 of the experiment, participants were
read a list of 18 related pairs of words (robber-
jail) intermixed with 18 unrelated pairs (stereo-
fudge). There were also six pairs of words at
the beginning and the end of the list that were
not tested, but were there to prevent primacy
and recency effect. They were tested for recall
• Participants then had a delay period of 30 to 50 minutes,
during which the participants performed distractor tasks.
• They were then read a new list of word pairs.
• 18 of the pairs used the same first word as in the first list,
but changed the second word. These are called the
overlapping pairs.
• The other 18 pairs were new pairs of words, not used in
the first list. These were referred to as the
nonoverlapping pairs.
• In phase 2 of the experiment, the same procedure was
used as in phase 1, except that each participant was
randomly allocated to one of three conditions:
1 no injection,
2. a glycopyrrolate injection which excites acetylcholine
receptor sites, or a
3. scopolamine injection, which inhibits acetylcholine
receptor sites.
ALL THREE CONDITIONS HAD A LOWER SCORE ON THE
OVERLAPPING PAIRS.
HOWEVER, ONLY THE SCOPOLAMINE GROUP DID
SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE.
Antonova et al (2011)
• The researchers used a sample of twenty
healthy male adults.
• The study used a double-blind procedure
and participants were injected with either
Scopolamine or a placebo 90 minutes
before taking part in the experiment.
• The participants were then put into an
fMRI where they were scanned while
playing the "Arena task.“
• This game show needs the participant to
create spatial memory
• The goal was for the participants to
navigate around an "arena" to reach a
pole.
• After they had learned where the pole was
located, the screen went blank for 30
seconds.
• During this time, the participants were told to
actively rehearse how to get to the pole in the
arena.
• When the arena reappeared, the participant
were at a new starting point in the arena.
• The participants would have to use their spatial
memory to determine how to get to the location
of the pole.
• The participants' brain activity was measured
for six trials.
• The participants returned between 3 - 4 weeks
later and redid the test - receiving the opposite
treatment to the original study
• The researchers found that when participants
were injected with scopolamine, they
demonstrated a significant reduction in the
activation of the hippocampus compared to
when they received a placebo
DOPAMINE
• Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, one of those chemicals that is
responsible for transmitting signals in between the nerve cells
(neurons) of the brain. Very few neurons actually make
dopamine.
• When dopamine neurons become activated, they release

dopamine
. Some of its notable functions are in: movement
• memory
• pleasurable reward
• behavior and cognition
• attention
• inhibition of prolactin production
• sleep
• mood
• learning
RELATED STUDIES :-
• Fisher, Aron and Brown (2005)
conducted a study of the neural mechanisms
of romantic love.
• This study suggested the central role of

dopamine in the brain response to loved ones
• Ten men and seven women who were

currently “intensely in love” (but not with each
other) were recruited for the study by word of
mouth as well as through flyers.
• The mean age was 21 years and the mean

reported duration of being in love was 7
months.
• All participants were placed in a functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner
and engaged in a standardized procedure
involving looking at photographs while their
brains were being scanned. There were four
stages.
• 1. For 30 seconds each participant viewed a
photograph of his or her beloved person.
• 2. Participants were given a 40-second filler
activity which was to count back from a given
number.
• 3. For 30 more seconds participants viewed a
photograph of an emotionally neutral
acquaintance.
• 4. The final stage was another 20 seconds of
counting back from a number.
Results –
• showed a specific pattern of activation in the brains

of participants in response to the photographs of
their loved ones: activation was observed in
dopamine-rich neural systems, primarily the ventral
tegmental area (VTA) and caudate nucleus.
• Both these regions are rich in dopamine and form

the key part of the so-called dopaminergic pathway
—a system that generates and transmits dopamine
and increases dopamine-related activity in the brain.
• It is a reward system because dopaminergic activity

is associated with motivation and feelings of
pleasure. In this way, dopamine activity in the brain
plays a role in romantic love.
Freed et al (2001 ) studied the role of
dopamine in Parkinson’s disease.
The sample consisted of 40 patients who were
34–75 years old and had severe Parkinson’s
disease, with the mean duration of 14 years.
The sample was randomly divided into two
groups:
the experimental group received a transplant of
nerve cells and the
control group underwent sham surgery.
In the transplant group, nerve tissue
containing dopamine-producing neurons was
taken from embryos aborted 7–8 weeks after
conception and transplanted into the patients’
putamen—a structure of the limbic system
involved in movement regulation.
• All surgeries were performed with the patient awake.
• Local anesthesia was administered to the skin of the
forehead and four holes were drilled through the frontal
bone, after which the tissue was transplanted through long
needles.
• In the sham surgery group, holes were drilled in the skull
but the dura (a thick membrane that surrounds the brain)
was not penetrated. Otherwise, the procedure was
identical.
• Results - ● Irrespective of the age group, PET scans

revealed increased growth of dopamine producing cells in
the putamen.
• ● A reduction of symptoms by 28% was found in the
patients in the transplant group, but only the younger ones
(aged 60 or younger).
• No improvement was registered in the older subgroup of
patients (aged over 60). The overall conclusion was that
transplantation of dopamine-producing neurons in the
putamen of patients with severe Parkinson’s disease
results in some clinical benefit in younger but not older
patients. Less response to treatment in the older patients
despite successful growth of dopamine neurons may be
attributed to lower neuroplasticity of the brain.

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NEUROTRANSMITTERS

Neurotransmitter, also called

• When dopamine neurons become activated, they release

• This study suggested the central role of

• Ten men and seven women who were

• The mean age was 21 years and the mean

• showed a specific pattern of activation in the brains

• Both these regions are rich in dopamine and form

• It is a reward system because dopaminergic activity

• Results - ● Irrespective of the age group, PET scans

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