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Neurochemistry is the study of Neurochemical, including and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience examines how neurochemicals influence the operation of , , and . Neurochemists analyze the biochemistry and molecular biology of in the nervous system, and their roles in such neural processes including cortical plasticity, neurogenesis, and neural differentiation.
Irvine Page (1901-1991) was an American psychologist that published the first major textbook focusing on neurochemistry in 1937. He had also established the first department that was solely devoted to the study of neurochemistry in 1928 at the Munich Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Psychiatry.
Back in the 1930s, neurochemistry was mostly referred to as "brain chemistry" and was mostly devoted to finding different chemical species without directly proposing their specific roles and functions in the nervous system. The first biochemical pathology test for any brain disease can be attributed to Vito Maria Buscaino (1887-1978), a neuropsychiatrist who studied schizophrenia. He found that treating her patients' urine who had schizophrenia, extrapyramidal disorders, or amentia, with 5% silver nitrate produced a black precipitate linked with an abnormal level of amines. This became known as the "Buscaino Reaction."
In the 1950s, neurochemistry became a recognized scientific research discipline. The founding of neurochemistry as a discipline traces its origins to a series of "International Neurochemical Symposia", of which the first symposium volume published in 1954 was titled Biochemistry of the Developing Nervous System. These meetings led to the formation of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry. These early gatherings discussed the tentative nature of possible neurotransmitter substances such as acetylcholine, histamine, substance P, and serotonin. By 1972, ideas were more concrete.
One of the first major successes in using chemicals to alter brain function was the L-DOPA experiment. In 1961, Walter Burkmayer injected L-DOPA into a patient with Parkinson's disease. Shortly after injection, the patient had a drastic reduction in tremors, and they were able to control their muscles in ways they hadn't been able to in a long time. The effect peaked within 2.5 hours and lasted approximately 24 hours.
The neuropeptide oxytocin, synthesized in magnocellular neurosecretory cells, plays an important role in maternal behavior and sexual reproduction, particularly before and after birth. It is a precursor protein that is processed proteolytically to activate the neuropeptide as its shorter form. It is involved in the letdown reflex when mothers breastfeed, uterine contractions, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis where oxytocin inhibits the release of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone.
Glutamate, which is the most abundant neurotransmitter, is an excitatory neurochemical, meaning that its release in the synaptic cleft causes the firing of an action potential. GABA, or Gamma-aminobutyric acid, is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. It binds to the plasma membrane in the synapses of neurons, triggering the influx of negatively charged chloride ions and the efflux of positively charged potassium ions. This exchange of ions leads to the hyperpolarization of the transmembrane potential of the neuron, which is caused by this negative change.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter with much importance in the limbic system which regulates emotional function regulation. Dopamine has many roles in the brain including cognition, sleep, mood, milk production, movement, motivation, and reward.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, sleep, and other roles of the brain. It is a peripheral signal mediator and is found in the gastrointestinal tract as well as in blood. Research also suggests that serotonin may play an important role in liver regeneration. (2025). 9780080472072 ISBN 9780080472072
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