Brain chemistry

Stamford J A and Justice J B Jr 1996 Probing brain chemistry Anal. Chem. 68 359A... 

Demystifies the phenomenon of craving and relapse from the standpoint of brain chemistry... 

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the century of psychoanalysis may be giving way to that of brain chemistry and neuroscience. Psychotherapy is now supplemented and sometimes even replaced by antidepressants, anti-psychotics, and other pharmaceutical responses to the chemistry of the brain. Neuroscience is beginning to provide physical explanations for cognition, emotion—even subjectivity. At this border of science and our deepest sense of our mental and even spiritual selves, alchemy is again demonstrating its relevance and durability. One final realm in which alchemical tropes became (and remain) common is that of psychedelic drugs.7... 

Treatment of aminoacidurias with a low-protein diet may influence brain chemistry 671... 

Treatment of aminoacidurias with a low-protein diet may influence brain chemistry. It should be emphasized that the treatment of the patient with an aminoaciduria may affect brain chemistry, perhaps in an adverse manner. Nearly all patients receive a low-protein diet. Indeed, undiagnosed patients sometimes avoid consumption of protein, which they feel intuitively can cause lethargy, headache, nausea and mental confusion. As dietary protein declines, the intake of carbohydrate frequently increases. The concomitant rise of endogenous insulin secretion favors an increase in the ratio of the concentration of blood tryptophan to that of other amino acids, thereby promoting the entry of tryptophan to the brain. The latter amino acid is precursor to brain serotonin, which tends to increase. This physiology is known to be operative in patients with urea cycle defects. 

I ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I just went through a depression, but now I m feeling better. The problem with bipolar is that when you are treated for depression it can set off a manic episode. I have to be really careful. I ve been hospitalized four times with manic episodes. I was told by a doctor that my bipolar disorder is an imbalance in brain chemistry caused by chemical exposures. 

The brain chemistry of aggression seems fairly complex and is in need of further exploration. Dopamin functions as a general energizer in particular motivating behaviors... 

As with the adoption of any belief system, commitment to a medical explanation for emotional distress evolves over time. Most people don t suddenly embrace the notion that they suffer from faulty brain chemistry and... 

It s the illness, that brain chemistry that goes awry. 

My conversations also revealed that resistance to psychiatric medications is tied up in complex ways with people s feelings about altering their minds and brains. Although many classes of medication affect brain chemistry, there is something especially frightening about using drugs that mess around with my brain ... 

To be sure, antidepressants do alter brain chemistry and thereby affect feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and moods. Virtually everyone in my sample continued to question how psychotropic medications affect who they are at their core. But the eradication of painful symptoms can also call forth questions about what constitutes one s self... 

Every person with whom I spoke had theories about the source of his or her difficulties. The great majority of interviewees attributed their bad, often crippling feelings to their immediate experiences as well as to their brain chemistry. Their ideas about the source of depressive illness rarely extended to the ways in which society is organized as a whole or to how broad cultural changes influenced their well-being. Alice was an exception. Could it be, as she suggested, that manic-depressive illness is most likely to arise in a manic society ... 

Structure is also essential in complex biological molecules. A lot of medicines used for psychiatric illnesses such as depression rely on their ability to interact with certain proteins in the brain. For instance, a class of antidepressants—medications that alleviate the symptoms of depression—act on proteins involved with the collection (reuptake) of the chemical serotonin, and they are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This class of antidepressants includes Prozac and Zoloft. Earlier medications were also effective and are still sometimes used though they produce a number of side effects, such as dietary problems. Although an SSRI can also generate potentially dangerous side effects, psychiatrists tend to observe these effects less often. (Brain chemistry is the subject of chapter 3.)... 

But how does the action potential bridge the gap between the axon and the target neuron The answer to this question lies at the foimda-tion of many important topics in brain chemistry. 

Dopamine and other brain chemicals profoundly influence the way people think and feel. Variability in these chemicals, particularly in the way they are regulated, affects a person s mental health, response to medication, propensity for or against danger, and other behaviors. A greater understanding of brain chemistry will not only provide more insight into what it means to be human, it will also lead to superior treatments and preventative measures to some of the most serious problems plaguing society. 

Drugs that affect the brain must act in complicated ways as well. These complications mean, at least in the author s opinion, that there will always be side effects that limit a drug s usefulness and effectiveness—including any present or future lifestyle drugs that supposedly alter personalities. Brain chemistry is a frontier of science in which... 

Howard, Pierce J. The Owner s Manual for the Brain Everyday Applications from Mind-Brain Research, 3rd ed. Austin, Tex. Bard Press, 2006. With scientific research as its starting point, this book discusses how the present state of knowledge in brain science can have a practical impact on human lives. A wide variety of topics are discussed, including brain chemistry, the effects of drugs, brain disorders, learning and memory, and much else. 

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