Some Very Important Brain Chemicals....Called Neurotransmitters

I believe that in this day and age, with so many people taking antidepressants, it's very important to do a little research about what you are putting into your body. I'm sure many people look up a drug they are going to take before they take it (I hope at least), to make a mental note of the side effects they might experience, but they might not really understand how it works. It is not necessary to understand exactly how every drug works, but I think most people would benefit from a general understanding. First, people must have a general understanding of how brain chemicals work. There are 8 major brain chemicals called neurotransmitters:
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Glutamate ( GLU)
Dopamine (DA)
Serotonin (5-HT)
Norepinephrine (NE)
Substance P
Endorphins

ACh - is usually excitatory and plays a role in muscle movement as well as regulating heart beat
GABA - is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps with anxiety, insomnia and epilepsy
Glutamate - is a major excitatory neurotransmitter helpful for learning and memory
Dopamine - Usually excitatory, effects movement, cognition and motivation/reward (addiction)
Serotonin - important for sleep/wake cycle, depression, anger, OCD, appetite and eating disorders
NE - excitatory neurotransmitter used for alertness/wakefulness, stress and depression
Substance P - Most importantly involved with sensation of pain, but has other functions as well
Endorphins - Body's natural pain killers

It is important to note that all of these neurotransmitters are very complex, have many different roles (many of which I have not mentioned) and work collaboratively to achieve a balanced state of mind. It is when things become unbalanced, perhaps by too much of one excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitter that one often feels ill effects. I encourage you to research these in further depth, and hopefully you will become as interested in them as I have!


A special thanks to my neuroscience book for the above information!

Gutman, S. A. (2008). Quick Reference Neuroscience. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated.