Autonomic Nervous System
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen The autonomic nervous system plays a central role in maintaining homeostasis and regulates almost every organ system in the body. The major functional divisions are…
Widely Projecting Systems: Monoamines, Acetylcholine, and Orexin
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen The monoamine neurotransmitters (dopamine [DA], norepinephrine [NE], epinephrine, serotonin, and histamine), the related small molecule neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh), and the neuropeptides, orexin A and B,…
Cellular Basis of Communication
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen Neurons are the principal cells in the brain that process information. There is a great diversity of neuronal cell types based on morphology, chemistry, location,…
Neuroinflammation
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen Immune mechanisms, both intrinsic to the brain and spinal cord and derived from the periphery, are important in fighting central nervous system infections and mediating…
Excitatory and Inhibitory Amino Acids
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen The major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain is glutamate; the major inhibitory neurotransmitter is γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Glutamate receptors comprise two large families, ligand-gated ion…
Atypical Neurotransmitters
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen The common designation of a group of neurotransmitters as purines is a misnomer; what are called purinergic signaling molecules are the nucleoside and nucleotide derivatives…
Synaptic Transmission
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen Synaptic transmission is a signal transduction process that begins with the action potential–dependent release of a neurotransmitter from a presynaptic terminal. The neurotransmitter then binds…
Basic Principles of Neuropharmacology
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen An understanding of drug action in the brain must integrate knowledge of the molecular and cellular actions of a drug with their effects on brain…
Neuropeptides
KEY CONCEPTS Print Section Listen Neuropeptides are small proteins or polypeptides that serve as neurotransmitters in the nervous system generally acting via G protein–coupled receptors. Other signaling peptides such as…
