It plays a major role in the peripheral nervous system, where it is released by motor neurons and neurons of the autonomic nervous system.
It also plays an important role in the central nervous system in maintaining cognitive function. Damage to the cholinergic neurons of the CNS is associated with Alzheimer disease. Glutamate is the primary excitatory transmitter in the central nervous system.
Many neuromodulators, such as dopamine , are monoamines. There are several dopamine pathways in the brain, and this neurotransmitter is involved in many functions, including motor control, reward and reinforcement, and motivation.
Noradrenaline or norepinephrine is another monoamine, and is the primary neurotransmitter in the sympathetic nervous system where it works on the activity of various organs in the body to control blood pressure, heart rate, liver function and many other functions. Neurons that use serotonin another monoamine project to various parts of the nervous system. As a result, serotonin is involved in functions such as sleep, memory , appetite, mood and others.
It is also produced in the gastrointestinal tract in response to food. Histamine , the last of the major monoamines, plays a role in metabolism, temperature control, regulating various hormones, and controlling the sleep-wake cycle, amongst other functions.
QBI newsletters Subscribe. When an electrical signal reaches the end of a neuron, it triggers the release of tiny sacs that had been inside the cells. As it moves through a nerve cell, an electrical signal will stimulate these sacs. From there, they spill their chemicals into the synapse.
Those freed neurotransmitters then float across the gap and over to a neighboring cell. That new cell has receptors pointing toward the synapse.
These receptors contain pockets, where the neurotransmitter needs to fit. A neurotransmitter docks into the proper receptor like a key into a lock. This change can open a channel in the cell, allowing charged particles to enter or exit. The shape change can trigger other actions inside the cell as well.
If the chemical messenger binds to a certain type of receptor, electrical signals will flow down the length of its cell. This moves the signal along the neuron. Usually, if you look closely, you will also find these individuals are also fatigued, have trouble keeping their blood sugar stable, suffer aches and pains, headaches, insomnia, loss of sex drive, hormone imbalances, allergies, and the list goes on and on. So, what then is the common link to all these seemingly unrelated observations?
Brain Chemistry! Yes, your feel-good neurotransmitters are either out of balance, depleted, or even fully collapsed.
There are two main categories of neurotransmitters, those that stimulate and those that inhibit. It is this delicate balance between the two that largely determines your conscious experience of the world around you, the sensations coming from your body, or the extent to which you emotionally engage, react, or interpret the various events in your day to day life.
Your brain is made up of literally thousands of miles of microscopic wiring. The number of times these wires connect with themselves in a regulatory way is in the quadrillions comparable to the same number of sand granules spanning miles of white sandy beach. This is an area of the human mystery that will always remain somewhat out of the reach of scientific inquiry.
It is just too complex. But as it turns out, at each one of these junctions a chemical neurotransmitter crosses to illicit a signal simply stated a stop, go, slow down, or speed up. They have a big role!
Of these neurotransmitters, there are about important ones, and of these , there are 12 we would consider cardinally important.
These 4 can further be divided into inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. While medications can be very helpful on a short-term basis to break the cycle and give mood and emotional reprieve where indicated, these medications have never been studied over the course of multiple years and often times have uncomfortable side effects.
At Natural Balance, we understand that these symptoms can be debilitating and can negatively affect your quality of life. Neurotransmitter testing can help identify your specific biochemical imbalances and allow for a tailor-made approach to optimally treat you for the best lasting results. At Natural Balance, we use a comprehensive approach that includes dietary, lifestyle, and biomedical interventions.
We lay the foundation of successful treatment with first correcting nutritional deficiencies, optimizing mitochondria, GI, and adrenal function if needed prior to correcting any neurotransmitter imbalances. Therefore, our approach takes time but ultimately leads to long term success. Based on your lab work, genetics, and clinical presentation, we put together a tailor-made plan for you. A sample approach for neurotransmitter rehabilitation looks like this:. Each phase of the neurotransmitter rehabilitation process is several steps, so it does take about one year to complete the full process.
We do meet every few weeks initially while you are working through the various steps. This is to allow for accurate clinical observations and for your safety. In special cases, if your neurotransmitter collapse is not as apparent, we can adjust the priming time and go straight into dedicated neurotransmitter rehabilitation. We like to work with you to figure out what option is best and safe for you.
If you are already on medications for the symptoms you have been struggling with, please do not let that deter you from working with us. We have helped numerous patients while on medications slowly wean their dosages while we successfully rehabilitate their neurotransmitters.
We work closely with you and your prescribing physician to safely come off of medications. Please do not abruptly stop any medication prior to or while working with us without physician consent. If neurotransmitter rehabilitation is something you are considering, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
To schedule your appointment, please contact our office at , extension 11 for new patients! We look forward to working with you! Call our office to schedule a minute meet and greet consultation with one of our doctors.
The purpose of this meeting is hear your story initially and briefly tell you how we approach mood and memory problems and neurochemical rehab from a functional medicine perspective.
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