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Everything You Need to Know About Neurotransmitters

By Sasha de Beausset Aparicio, MSc

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Everything You Need to Know About Neurotransmitters

Take a moment to imagine an email inbox, constantly flooded with ingoing and outgoing e-mails (a sight for sore eyes for all you business folk). If you do this, then you’re getting a pretty accurate picture of the role and function of neurotransmitters.

These neurotransmitters are chemical messaging systems, and they have the ability to communicate with all of the various cells in the brain and work with them on doing what your body needs. If you’re one who enjoys using instant messaging, then you can appreciate the appeal of immediate actions and reactions, and your neurotransmitters do this for the brain.

Neurotransmitters Affecting Mood and Anxiety

But what do all these little pings and messages from neurotransmitters actually do you for your body? More than you may think. Neurotransmitters have their way into almost every body function:

  • affecting your mood;
  • anxiety levels;
  • sleep deprivation;
  • loss or gain in appetite;
  • increased or decreased heart rate;
  • a drop in your normal temperature;
  • your likelihood to become aggressive;
  • and even your level of fear on a day to day basis;

Talk about a really difficult managerial position. And don’t think you can so easily clump together all of the neurotransmitters, as there are three categories that function in the human brain:

  • biogenic amine transmitters;
  • peptide transmitters;
  • amino acid transmitters;

Biogenic Amine Transmitters

By far the biogenic neurotransmitters are the oldest and most studied in the entire grouping of neurotransmitters. These biogenic ones can be broken down even further, and this is a way to better explain what each one does, and the role it plays in the body:

  • Serotonin, a very well-known chemical in the brain is a great modulation, doing this to modulate mood, sleeping patterns, anxiety levels and even one’s sexuality;
  • Norepinephrine will have a major influence on your sleep quality and level of alertness you maintain, actually being very close to the fight or flight ideas;
  • Epinephrine is a stress management neurotransmitter that is managed by adrenaline and acts in the brain;
  • Dopamine is the mover and shaker, controlling body movement and can cause addictive behavior in people with certain personality types;
  • Histamine is the neurotransmitter that focuses on getting attention, learning information and sexual arousal. Typically, the histamine is released during an allergic reaction, and is often harnessed for allergy medicines;
  • The last of the bunch is acetylcholine, which works with learning, as well as the important role of memory and remembering.

Peptide Transmitters

The next category of neurotransmitters is the peptides, which are linked with:

  • experiencing pain;
  • your appetite;
  • regulating your moods;
  • along with many other functions.

Cholecystokinin is a peptide transmitter that is fairly new on the scientific radar, which has the capacity to increase the ability to relax and deal with the effects of panic or anxiety attacks.

Amino Acid Transmitters

The last category are amino acid transmitters, which basically run the show when it comes to neurotransmission.

This may sound surprising, but the neurotransmitters in your body are actually killed off and depleted normally during the course of the day. During this period, your brain actually replenishes the transmitters that are killed off during the course of the day, but there can be issues with this. For some people who experience high levels of stress, there is an internal struggle with the neurotransmitters and this leads to a lack of absorption and reproduction of these neurotransmitters. Certain drugs and illegal substances also can cause depletion or slow down as well. What happens when stress decreases the number of neurotransmitters being produced? It means that chances are you’ll feel poorly and in a bad mood until the neurotransmitters have enough time to catch up and rebuild themselves.

Eating Foods Increase Neurotransmission Functions

Are you wondering what you can do to make sure that your neurotransmitters are plentiful and in good working order? If so, then the answer is by eating certain foods that increase neurotransmission functions, and the right brain supplement can help with this. These two could have you feeling great each and every day. So, what food should you eat to replenish these transmitters? There are many foods to do this including:

  • shellfish;
  • beef;
  • soy products;
  • sesame seeds;
  • and fowl.

If you feel that you don’t have the time or desire to modify your diet to increase the production of neurotransmitters, then you need to seriously consider finding and taking the right brain supplement for a more vital and healthy lifestyle.