Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

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Neurochemistry is the specific study of neurochemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules that influence the operations of neurons. Neurochemistry has its origins as a recognized scientific discipline in the 1950’s with the founding of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry.

The majority of neurochemistry focuses on neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are the brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and body. They relay signals to and from nerve cells, which are called neurons. The brain uses neurotransmitters to tell your stomach to digest, heart to beat, and lungs to fill with air; they also affect mood. Neurotransmitter levels in the brain can …show more content…
The major categories they are classified in are amino acids, gasotransmitters, monoamines, trace amines, peptides and purines. All of these types of neurotransmitters fall in the broader classification of either an inhibitory or excitatory neurotransmitter. Excitatory neurotransmitters are what stimulate the brain. Inhibitory neurons cause the brain to relax and help create balance. Inhibitory neurotransmitters are depleted when excitatory neurotransmitters are overactive. Examples of inhibitory neurotransmitters are serotonin, GABA, and dopamine, while some examples of excitatory neurotransmitters are acetylcholine, norephinephrine, and glutamate. There are around 60 different molecules that are known to be neurotransmitters, but the most well-known are acetylcholine, serotonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, aspartate, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Each of these neurotransmitters are totally unique in their composition and in how they help our body …show more content…
The greatest concentration of serotonin, about 90%, is found in cells of the gastrointestinal tract. The effects of serotonin are felt in the cardiovascular system, respiratory system and the intestines. The chemical formula of serotonin is N2OC10H12 and its molecular mass is 176.2182 g/mol, its monoisotopic mass is 176.0950 g/mol, and its composition is N (15.8970 percent), O (9.0793 percent), C (68.1598 percent), and H (6.8638 percent) (Lyroudi.2008). Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter which means that it contains one amino group that is connected to an aromatic ring by a two-carbon chain (-CH2-CH2-). Serotonin is synthesized from the amino acid L-tryptophan by a metabolic pathway consisting of two enzymes: tryptophan hydroxylase and decarboxylase. It is formed by the hydroxylation (the addition of -OH) and decarboxylation (the removal of a carboxyl group and release of CO2) of tryptophan.The synthesis occurs in the central nervous system by the serotonergic neurons and in the gastrointestinal tract by enterochromaffin cells. Serotonin made by the enterochromaffin cells then finds its way into the bloodstream. Once there, it is retrieved by blood platelets which store it. If the platelets bind to a clot, they release serotonin, where it helps to regulate hemostasis and blood clotting. Serotonin also helps some
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