Norepinephrine overview

An overview of some of the processes involved in synaptic transmission is shown in Figure 10-1. Many of the processes are discussed below or in other chapters of this book. Many different types of substance are neurotransmitters. Classical neurotransmitters, such as ACh (see Ch. 11) and norepinephrine (NE see Ch. 12), are low-molecular-weight substances that have no other function but to serve as neurotransmitters. The predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, glutamate, and the inhibitory neurotransmitter in the spinal cord, glycine, are common and essential amino acids (see Chs 15 and 16). 

To gain an overview of the biological basis of anxiety with an emphasis on norepinephrine and the locus coeruleus. 

This review focuses on the role of norepinephrine in neuroinflammation, discusses the contribution of norepinephrine to AD and PD and provides an overview of potential therapeutical options targeting this neurotransmitter. 

The catecholamine theory is derived in large part from observations of the effects of the antipsychotic agent reserpine, discussed earlier in the historical overview. Patients given reserpine often exhibit a depressed appearance. Furthermore, reserpine was found to deplete brain concentrations of norepinephrine. Thus, there was the suggestion that such depictions were causally related to depression. 

---