- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.3.1 Neuroanatomy
- 2.3.2 Neurodevelopment
- 2.3.3 Neuroendocrinology
- 2.3.4 Neurotransmitters and signalling
- 2.3.5 Neuropathology
- 2.3.6 Functional positron emission tomography in psychiatry
- 2.3.7 Structural magnetic resonance imaging
- 2.3.8 Functional magnetic resonance imaging
- 2.3.9 Neuronal networks, epilepsy, and other brain dysfunctions
- 2.3.10 Psychoneuroimmunology
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
(p. 168) Neurotransmitters and signalling
- Chapter:
- (p. 168) Neurotransmitters and signalling
- Author(s):
Trevor Sharp
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199696758.003.0021
By the end of the 19th century it was recognized that signalling from one neurone to the next occurs at specialized contacts – Sherrington coined the term ‘synapse’. It took another 50 years for scientists to accept that information passes between neurones principally through the movement across synapses of chemicals and not electrical current. Today changes in chemical transmission at brain synapses are accepted as being key to the successful drug treatment, and cause, of many forms of psychiatric illness. This article focuses on general aspects of chemical transmission and describes some recent advances relevant to psychiatry that point the direction of future research. Otto Loewi identified the first chemical neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in 1921. Today evidence suggests that there are many tens if not hundreds of molecules in the brain that have neurotransmitter properties. These molecules include not only the three major classes of neurotransmitters—amines, amino acids and neuropeptides—but also specific purines, trophic factors, inflammatory mediators (chemokines and cytokines), lipids, and even gases. Examples of molecules that serve neurotransmitter functions in the brain are listed in Table 2.3.4.1. This list is not exhaustive and more are likely to be discovered.
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- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.3.1 Neuroanatomy
- 2.3.2 Neurodevelopment
- 2.3.3 Neuroendocrinology
- 2.3.4 Neurotransmitters and signalling
- 2.3.5 Neuropathology
- 2.3.6 Functional positron emission tomography in psychiatry
- 2.3.7 Structural magnetic resonance imaging
- 2.3.8 Functional magnetic resonance imaging
- 2.3.9 Neuronal networks, epilepsy, and other brain dysfunctions
- 2.3.10 Psychoneuroimmunology
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry