Small Molecule Neurotransmitters (Monoamines)
That’s right. Small molecule transmitters. Yes, there are large molecule transmitters but those are (Neuro)peptides.
There are four main types of small molecule neurotransmitters: Amino acides, monoamines, soluble gases and acetylcholine.
Monoamines have two categories: catecholamines and indoleamines
Catecholamines are your epinephrine and norepniphrine, and dopamines.
(Nor)Epinephrine is the exact same thing as (nor)andrenalin. Apparently some asshole decided it would be a good idea to patent andrenalin which is why we all call it epinephrine now. But yeah, same fuckin thing. And there really isn't much of a difference between norepinephrine and epinephrine either. Scientist who found them were pretty much like: yeah, it's kind of like epinephrine, let's call it not-exactly-epinephrine. Hense: norepinephrine.
Dopamine is an NT that synapses around the substantia nigra and basal ganglia and helps initiation of voluntary movements. Defective dopamine transmission causes various problems like Parkinson's or schizophrenia. It's also a huge reward center in your brain, so it plays a huge role in addiction.
If there’s too much norepinephrin floating around in the cell then an enzyme (Monoamine oxidase [MAO]) comes by to break it down. When you hear a commercial for anti-depressants, you'll hear them talk about MAOIs, which are monoamine oxidase inhibitors. It inhibits MAOs from destroying your nice catecholamines and it'll make you happier.
Indolamines are you serotonin and melatonin. You'll probably hear serotonin called 5-HT i think there was also a porn blog called 5-HT.Serotonin necessary in sleep. It's made from tryptophan which can be found in warm milk, so yeah dudes, warm milk before bed had actual scientific evidence backing that shit up. who knew. It's also found in turkey, so now you know why the after dinner coma in front of the football game on tv is a thing. Can't fuckin wait for Thanksgiving. bring on the food and booze. Melatonin has similar functions when it comes to sleep. You can get prescribed melatonin for some sleep disorders. But Serotonin also plays an important for in depression. Rather, the lack of serotonin. SSRIs, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, inhibit the reuptake of serotonin, allowing more serotonergic transmissions.
