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Home Q & A Board Biology-Related Homework Help General Biology
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Il D Il D
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2 months ago
good morning gentlemen, I'm new to the forum, I'm Italian so sorry for the mistakes, I hope I haven't made the wrong section. so for a long time I have had a question that I can't answer, there are many neurotransmitters in our body, but they only perform excitatory or inhibitory functions. this is why there are so many neurotransmitters if there are two answers? How can we differentiate, for example, dopamine from GABA?
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#1
Educator
2 months ago
Hello, welcome to the club

I saw your question yesterday, but was so busy, didn't get a chance to reply.

As you pointed out, there are many different neurotransmitters to perform similar tasks, but why is that. One hypothesis for this diversity is so that they are specific to the location they are produced. For example, if neurotransmitter A is produced in the brain, we want only brain tissue to able to respond to its affect. A cell responds to a neurotransmitter often time by communicating with a cell receptor location in the cell membrane. Biologically, we wouldn't want these molecules to affect tissues found in the respiratory system, or the circulatory system, as this would create an unspecific response. Another reason that I can think of is that having multiple neurotransmitters that can perform similar functions provides a degree of redundancy and backup in case one neurotransmitter system is compromised or disrupted. This doesn't happen often, but it probably did over the course of our evolution as a species, or even during our development in the womb.

Does that sort of clear your doubts?
Il D. Author
wrote...
#2
2 months ago
Quote from: bio_man (2 months ago)
Hello, welcome to the club I saw your question yesterday, but was so busy, didn't get a chance to reply. As you pointed out, there are many different neurotransmitters to perform similar tasks, but why is that. One hypothesis for this diversity is so that they are specific to the location they are produced. For example, if neurotransmitter A is produced in the brain, we want only brain tissue to able to respond to its affect. A cell responds to a neurotransmitter often time by communicating with a cell receptor location in the cell membrane. Biologically, we wouldn't want these molecules to affect tissues found in the respiratory system, or the circulatory system, as this would create an unspecific response. Another reason that I can think of is that having multiple neurotransmitters that can perform similar functions provides a degree of redundancy and backup in case one neurotransmitter system is compromised or disrupted. This doesn't happen often, but it probably did over the course of our evolution as a species, or even during our development in the womb. Does that sort of clear your doubts?
oh well I had also thought of the same solution, in fact serotonin which is 95% produced in the gastrointestinal tract also has effects in the brain in specific areas. now I would like to ask you a more specific question, if we consider dopamine for example, how can I control it from the outside, through a neuromodulation process such as the use of electric or magnetic fields or ultrasound or other? i.e. can I select dopamine molecules in the brain?
wrote...
#3
Educator
2 months ago
I think this research may interest you. For reference, rTMS stands for "repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation" and MDD stands for "major depressive disorder". I found it online in the following journal article (cited below):

Preclinical studies and clinical trials, including several meta-analyses, indicate the role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of MDD and other forms of depression. In fact, the alterations in the expression of transporters and peripheral receptors in the dopaminergic system might be potential predictors of treatment responses and biomarkers for the diagnosis of depression. Regarding the antidepressive effects of rTMS, studies in animals and humans have found that prefrontal rTMS can induce dopamine release in the mesostriatal, mesolimbic, and striatal regions. Acute rTMS challenge showed similar striatal dopaminergic effects to those associated with the administration of d-amphetamine, a substance known to increase synaptic dopamine.[19, 20] These findings, together with those from similar earlier reports, support the hypothesis that rTMS could affect the level of dopamine, and thus improves MDD. In the future, experiments that combine positron emission tomography (PET) with dopaminergic high-affinity ligands and rTMS may provide more important information about the specific cortical neural networks and their functional connectivity involved in depression.[21]

What this is saying is that rTMS as antidepressant effects when applied to the prefrontal cortex by triggering the release of dopamine in various brain regions. These effects on dopamine release are similar to those seen when the drug d-amphetamine, which increases synaptic dopamine, is administered. Thus, rTMS could impact dopamine levels and potentially improve MDD.

Furthermore, in reference to ultra sonic sound, article-2 cited below theoretically proposed that focused ultrasound stimulation could have the following effect on people with Parkinson's diseases (a disease closely associated with dopamine due to a deficiency of this neurotransmitter in specific regions of the brain). It is a review most of all the research done regarding this matter. I recommend you review this table.



All in all, the question whether we can control neurotransmitters without using drugs has been explored extensively, and there's no doubt that external forces do influence these neurotransmitters. For example, our ancestors knew exactly how important sunline exposure was even without the need of modern day research methods. We know now that sunlight, particularly during the daytime, can lead to an increase in serotonin production in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter associated with mood regulation and feelings of well-being. This is why people often experience improved mood and increased energy levels on sunny days, which can influence behavior positively.
Source  1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5936045/
2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8869888/
3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/ (on serotonin)
Il D. Author
wrote...
#4
2 months ago
Quote from: bio_man (2 months ago)
I think this research may interest you. For reference, rTMS stands for "repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation" and MDD stands for "major depressive disorder". I found it online in the following journal article (cited below):

Preclinical studies and clinical trials, including several meta-analyses, indicate the role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of MDD and other forms of depression. In fact, the alterations in the expression of transporters and peripheral receptors in the dopaminergic system might be potential predictors of treatment responses and biomarkers for the diagnosis of depression. Regarding the antidepressive effects of rTMS, studies in animals and humans have found that prefrontal rTMS can induce dopamine release in the mesostriatal, mesolimbic, and striatal regions. Acute rTMS challenge showed similar striatal dopaminergic effects to those associated with the administration of d-amphetamine, a substance known to increase synaptic dopamine.[19, 20] These findings, together with those from similar earlier reports, support the hypothesis that rTMS could affect the level of dopamine, and thus improves MDD. In the future, experiments that combine positron emission tomography (PET) with dopaminergic high-affinity ligands and rTMS may provide more important information about the specific cortical neural networks and their functional connectivity involved in depression.[21]

What this is saying is that rTMS as antidepressant effects when applied to the prefrontal cortex by triggering the release of dopamine in various brain regions. These effects on dopamine release are similar to those seen when the drug d-amphetamine, which increases synaptic dopamine, is administered. Thus, rTMS could impact dopamine levels and potentially improve MDD.

Furthermore, in reference to ultra sonic sound, article-2 cited below theoretically proposed that focused ultrasound stimulation could have the following effect on people with Parkinson's diseases (a disease closely associated with dopamine due to a deficiency of this neurotransmitter in specific regions of the brain). It is a review most of all the research done regarding this matter. I recommend you review this table.



All in all, the question whether we can control neurotransmitters without using drugs has been explored extensively, and there's no doubt that external forces do influence these neurotransmitters. For example, our ancestors knew exactly how important sunline exposure was even without the need of modern day research methods. We know now that sunlight, particularly during the daytime, can lead to an increase in serotonin production in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter associated with mood regulation and feelings of well-being. This is why people often experience improved mood and increased energy levels on sunny days, which can influence behavior positively.

wow bio_man I'm really happy with your answer, you understood exactly what I wanted to know, that is, control neurotransmitters without the use of drugs and invasive implants. I will continue my research, also because, simplifying as much as possible, many neurotransmitters form systems just like dopamine and seratonin, for this reason there are neurons that produce only those molecules, so the trick to controlling them, in my humble opinion, is to locate them . for this reason, I had also thought that since some molecules are electroactive they can be excited, causing a response frequency to be emitted, as for magnetic resonance imaging, to localize them already inside the vesicles. thanks bio_man, let's keep in touch, you are a wonderful person, see you soon✌✌
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bio_manbio_man
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#5
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2 months ago
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thanks bio_man, let's keep in touch, you are a wonderful person, see you soon

I'll be around to discuss it further if anything else comes to mind Smiling Face with Open Mouth
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