Mood Neurotransmitters

Posted 01/09/11 • Last updated 06/27/11 • 308 views • 2 comments

A place to collect all those little tidbits about the various mood neurotransmitters, and which ones do what. Very VERY much a work in progress! Sources linked at the bottom

not summarized yet:

http://www.teachhealth.com/chemmess.html

Norepinephrine and dopamine and concentration/focus

http://www.integrativepsychiatry.net/neurotransmitter.html

Serotonin

inhibitory neurotransmitter
regulates many other processes such as carbohydrate cravings, sleep cycle, pain control and appropriate digestion.
decreased immune system function
mood to anxiety to sleep to sexual response to food craving and (in)digestion
happiness, satisfaction and relaxation
Low serotonin levels may lead to depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and panic disorders.
regulates dopamine release (high serotonin-low dopamine)
low mood, compulsions, anxiousness, and headaches.

Dopamine

both excitatory and inhibitory
main focus neurotransmitter. When dopamine is either elevated or low – we can have focus issues such as not remembering where we put our keys, forgetting what a paragraph said when we just finished reading it or simply daydreaming and not being able to stay on task.
motivation
pleasure as well as delusions, psychosis, and drug abuse
Dopamine in the caudate nucleus facilitates posture, whereas dopamine in the nucleus accumbens is associated with an animal's speed (and pleasure).
blink rate
motivates to desire pleasurable activities like eating, kissing, novel experiences, movement control, memory, problem solving, attention
love, pleasure, drive
helps control movement, emotions, and the ability to focus attention on a task
A relative deficit in dopamine maturity would be concordant with an increased impulsivity and increased reward threshold seen in ADHD
pleasure/reward pathway (addiction and thrills), memory, and motor control
low dopamine levels are loss of motor control, addictions, cravings, compulsions, and loss of satisfaction
stride length and posture

GABA

Valium-like
regulate excitability and anxiety, panic, and stress
Depressed individuals have decreased GABA in their cerebral spinal fluid and plasma
GABA levels rise when the citric acid cycle activity is low (ie, when cell energy usage is low)
helps regulate relaxation and sleep
thought to have a role in bipolar disorder
prevent overstimulation

Glutamate

One of the damaging effects of mercury poisoning is swelling of astrocytes, which are rendered unable to soak-up glutamine from synapses (contributing to excitotoxicity).

Acetylcholine

Direct innervation of skeletal muscles is due to acetylcholine, as is the innervation of smooth muscles of the parasympathetic nervous system.
learning, memory, dreaming

Norepinephrine

can cause ANXIETY at elevated excretion levels as well as some “MOOD DAMPENING” effects. Low levels of norepinephrine are associated with LOW ENERGY, DECREASED FOCUS ability and sleep cycle problems.
believed to play a role in cognition, mood, emotions, movement, and blood pressure. Difficulty concentrating, fatigue, apathy, and depression are some of the things that can result from norepinephrine going AWOL.
focus, drive
normally involved in vigilance and wakefulness; however, high levels of norepinephrine can reduce the rate of information processing and reduce attentiveness
enhance memory formation
modulates neuron voltage potentials to favor glutamate activity and neurotransmitter firing