Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Transmitters

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Neuroscience for Psychologists

  • 1376 Accesses

Abstract

Synaptic transmission is both, an essential process in the functioning of our brain and the most important site for plastic changes, at least in the short and medium term.

There are many endogenous substances that act at (chemical) synapses. Quantitatively, by far the most important ones are the transmitters glutamate, GABA, and acetylcholine. Together with glycine, some agonists at purinergic, TRP-like receptors and one type of monoamine transmitter receptor, they are in charge of rapid, precise, and localized transmission via ionotropic receptors. The transmitters mentioned and all others act on metabotropic receptors generating slower, but long-lasting, versatile, and amplified responses. Further, there are substances that influence synaptic transmission, but are not stored in synaptic vesicles, such as retrograde messengers.

Neuropharmacology, to a large part, is the science of interaction between ligands and transmitter receptors. The majority of mental pathologies have to do with imbalances and/or malfunctioning of transmitter systems.

It is worthwhile, therefore, for professionals interested in neuroscience to have a thorough knowledge of the principal transmitter systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    The British scientist Sir Henry H. Dale stated in 1936 that a neuron can be either cholinergic or adrenergic but does never release both transmitters.

  2. 2.

    Derived from the Greek (F)εργον (“vergon” = work; the “F” is an ancient letter that later got omitted resulting in “εργον”)

  3. 3.

    There are about 5 times more glutamatergic than GABAergic neurons at least in the neocortex of mice (Sahara et al. 2012).

  4. 4.

    Other tissues or organ systems are also plastic (e.g., your heart is trained by exercise).

  5. 5.

    Contrary to a widespread confusion, “memory” itself is not a process, but rather is defined by processes (such as storing and retrieving data).

  6. 6.

    Steroid receptors are situated in the cell plasma, rather than inserted in the cellular membrane. When activated they bind to nuclear DNA and interfere with gene expression.

  7. 7.

    Therapeutic window is the range of doses used clinically that have a therapeutic effect without too many undesired collateral effects.

  8. 8.

    “coeruleus (Latin) means “heavenly blue.”

  9. 9.

    Dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline are called catecholamines, because chemically they can be considered as derived from catechol (a benzene ring with two OH-groups attached in position “ortho” = next to each other.

  10. 10.

    The term “cytokines” refers to signaling peptides released mainly by immunoactive cells.

  11. 11.

    Firmly established since 2013 and recognized by IUPHAR (International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology).

  12. 12.

    T-cells are part of the immune system.

  13. 13.

    “Hemopoietic” means “blood-making” and refers to tissue inside the bones.

References

  • Abraham WC, Bear MF (1996) Metaplasticity: the plasticity of synaptic plasticity. Trends Neurosci 19:126–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer D, Gupta D, Harotunian V, Meador-Woodruff JH, McCullumsmith RE (2008) Abnormal expression of glutamate transporter and transporter interacting molecules in prefrontal cortex in elderly patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 104:108–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2008.06.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boué-Grabot E, Blum D, Ceruti S (2020) Editorial: purinergic signaling in health and disease. Front Cell Neurosci 14:15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2020.00015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bracha HS, Garcia-Rill E, Mrak RE, Skinner R (2005) Postmortem locus coeruleus neuron count in three American veterans with probable or possible war-related PTSD. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 17:503–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnstock G, Krügel U, Abbracchio MP, Illes P (2011) Purinergic signalling: from normal behaviour to pathological brain function. Prog Neurobiol 95:229–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pneurobio.2011.08.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi DW (1987) Ionic dependence of glutamate neurotoxicity. J Neurosci 7:369–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Citri A, Malenka RC (2008) Synaptic plasticity: multiple forms, functions, and mechanisms. Neuropsychopharmacology 33:18–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cline MA, Mathews DS (2008) Anoretic effects of neuropeptide FF are mediated via central mu and kappa subtypes of opioid receptors and receptor ligands. Gen Comp Endocrinol 159:125–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2008.09.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crupi R, Impellizzeri D, Cuzzocrea S (2019) Role of metabotropic glutamate receptors in neurological disorders. Front Mol Neurosci 08. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2019.00020

  • Damasio H, Grabowski T, Frank R, Galaburda AM, Damasio AR (1994) The return of Phineas gage: clues about the brain from the skull of a famous patient. Science, New Series 264:1102–1105

    Google Scholar 

  • Deisz RA, Prince DA (1989) Frequency-dependent depression of inhibition in Guinea-pig neocortex in vitro by GABAB receptor feed-back on GABA release. J Physiol 412:513–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Del Boca C, Lutz PE, Le Merrer J, Koebel P, Kieffer BL (2012) Cholecystokinin knock-down in the basolateral amygdala has anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects in mice. Neuroscience 218:185–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.05.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsman J, Masterman T, Ahlner J, Isacsson G, Hedström AK (2019) Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and the risk of violent suicide: a nationwide postmortem study. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 75:393–400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-018-2586-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frotscher M, Misgeld U (1989) Characterization of input synapses on intracellularly stained neurons in hippocampal slices: an HRP/EM study. Exp Brain Res 75:327–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen N, Manahan-Vaughan D (2015) Locus Coeruleus stimulation facilitates long-term depression in the dentate gyrus that requires activation of β-adrenergic receptors. Cereb Cortex 25:1889–1896

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harmar AJ (2003) An essential role for peptidergic signalling in the control of circadian rhythms in the suprachiasmatic nuclei. J Neuroendocrinol:335–338

    Google Scholar 

  • Haas HL, Sergeeva OA, Selbach O. (2008) Histamine in the nervous system. Physiol Rev. 88(3):1183–1241. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00043.2007

  • Hebb DO (1949) The organization of behavior. Wiley and Sons, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Iversen L, Iversen S, Floyd E, Bloom FE, Roth RH (2009) Introduction to neuropsychopharmacology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang B, Huang ZJ, Morales B, Kirkwood A (2005) Maturation of GABAergic transmission and the timing of plasticity in visual cortex. Brain Res Brain Res Rev 50:126–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaila K, Voipio J, Paalasmaa P, Pasternack M, Deisz RA (1993) The role of bicarbonate in GABAA receptor-mediated IPSPs of rat neocortical neurones. J Physiol 464:273–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khakh BS, North RA (2006) P2X receptors as cell-surface ATP sensors in health and disease. Nature 442:527–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuo LE, Kitlinska JB, Tilan JU, Li L, Baker SB, Johnson MD, Lee EW, Burnett MS, Fricke ST, Kvetnansky R, Herzog H, Zukowska Z (2007) Neuropeptide Y acts directly in the periphery on fat tissue and mediates stress-induced obesity and metabolic syndrome. Nat Med 13:803–811

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lahlou H, Guillermet J, Hortala M, Vernejoul F, Pyronnet S, Bousquet C, Susini C (2004) Molecular signaling of somatostatin receptors. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1014:121–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Libet B (1985) Unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action. Behav Brain Sci 8:529–566. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x00044903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy DA, Rotzinger S, Barsyte‐Lovejoy D (2009) Evolution of Complementary Peptide Systems: Teneurin C‐terminal‐associated Peptides and Corticotropin-releasing Factor Superfamilies. Trends in Comparative Endocrinology and Neurobiology 1163:215–220 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2008.03629.x

  • Mika J, Obara I, Przewlocka B (2011) The role of nociception and dynorphin in chronic pain: implications of neuro-glial interaction. Neuropeptides 45:247–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npep.2011.03.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nestler EJ, Hyman SE, Malenka RC, Holtzmann DM (2015) Molecular neuropharmacology: a foundation for clinical neuroscience, 3rd edn. McGraw Hill, Columbus. ISBN 0071827706, 9780071827706

    Google Scholar 

  • Panksepp J (2011) Cross-species affective neuroscience decoding of the primal affective experiences of humans and related animals. PLoS ONE 6(9):e21236. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Picciotto MR, Higley MJ, Mineur YS (2012) Acetylcholine as a neuromodulator: cholinergic signaling shapes nervous system function and behavior. Neuron 76:116–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu C, Zeyda T, Johnson B, Hochgeschwender U, de Lecea L, Tallent MK (2008) Somatostatin receptor subtype 4 couples to the M-current to regulate seizures. J Neurosci 28:3567–3576. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4679-07.2008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahara S, Yanagawa Y, O’Leary DDM, Stevens CF (2012) The fraction of cortical GABAergic neurons is constant from near the start of cortical neurogenesis to adulthood. J Neurosci 32:4755–4761. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6412-11.2012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shannon CE, Weaver W (1949). A Mathematical Theory of Communication. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-72548-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanton PK, Sarvey JM (1987) Norepinephrine regulates long-term potentiation of both the population spike and dendritic EPSP in hippocampal dentate gyrus. Brain Res Bull 18:115–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teichgräber LA, Lehmann TN, Meencke HJ, Weiss T, Nitsch R, Deisz RA (2009) Impaired function of GABA(B) receptors in tissues from pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients. Epilepsia 50:1697–1716. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1528-1167.2009.02094.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teschemacher A, Zeise ML, Holsboer F, Zieglgänsberger W (1995) The neuroactive steroid 5a-Tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone increases GABAergic postsynaptic inhibition in rat neocortical neurons in vitro. J Neuroendocrinol 7:233–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Villette V, Poindessous-Jazat F, Bellessort B, Roullot E, Peterschmitt Y, Epelbaum J, Stéphan A, Dutar P (2012) A new neuronal target for β-amyloid peptide in the rat hippocampus. Neurobiol Aging 33:1126.e1–1126.e14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.11.024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Duclot F, Liu Y, Wang Z, Kabbaj M (2013) Histone deacetylase inhibitors facilitate partner preference formation in female prairie voles. Nat Neurosci 16:919–924

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yi NX et al (2019) MK-801 attenuates lesion expansion following acute brain injury in rats: a meta-analysis. Neural Regen Res 14:1919–1931. https://doi.org/10.4103/1673-5374.259619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zoicas I, Kornhuber J (2019) The role of metabotropic glutamate receptors in social behavior in rodents. Int J Mol Sci 2019(20):1412. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2019.00020

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Marc L. Zeise

  2. Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Biology, Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Bernardo Morales

Authors
  1. Marc L. Zeise
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bernardo Morales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernardo Morales .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago, RM - Santiago, Chile

    Marc L. Zeise

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Zeise, M.L., Morales, B. (2021). The Transmitters. In: Zeise, M.L. (eds) Neuroscience for Psychologists. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47645-8_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation