What are Neurotransmitters? How do they
affect your life?
Just like hormones
govern many chemical functions in the body, the brain's chemical functions are
governed by messengers called neurotransmitters.
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| Fig. Neurosynaptic transmission |
A neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger used by neurons (nerve
cells) to communicate in one direction with other neurons. These
neurotransmitters are either excitatory or inhibitory. Each cell receives its
instructions through nerve processes called dendrites and it passes on
instructions to the next cell through its axon. The gap between the axon of one
cell and the dendrite of the next is called a synapse.
Special molecules in the dendrite are called receptors. They are
shaped to receive only one type of neurotransmitter, which fits it like a key
in a lock. The result is that if an excitatory
