Neuropsychobiology: Dopamine, GABA, Serotonin and Acetylcholine

CEUs for this course can be found here: https://www.allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/488/c/Unlimited Counseling CEUs for $59 https://www.allceus.com/ Specialty Certificate tracks starting at $89 https://www.allceus.com/certificate-tracks/ Live Webinars $5/hour https://www.allceus.com/live-interactive-webinars/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CounselorToolbox Help us keep the videos free for everyone to learn by becoming a patron. Pinterest: drsnipes Podcast: https://www.allceus.com/counselortoolbox/Nurses, addiction and mental health counselors, social workers and marriage and family therapists can earn continuing education credits (CEs) for this and other course at: https://www.allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/499/c/View the New Harbinger Catalog and get your 25% discount on their products by entering coupon code: 1168SNIPES at check outAllCEUs is also approved as an education provider for NAADAC, the States of Florida and Texas Boards of Social Work and Mental Health/Professional Counseling, the California Consortium for Addiction Professionals and Professions. Our courses are accepted in most states through those approvals.Mechanism of action/purpose… Where is it found Precursor, L-DOPA is synthesized in brain and kidneys Dopamine functions in several parts of the peripheral nervous system In blood vessels, it inhibits norepinephrine release and acts as a vasodilator (relaxation) In the pancreas, it reduces insulin production In the digestive system, it reduces gastrointestinal motility and protects intestinal mucosa In the immune system, it reduces lymphocyte activity. Symptoms of excess & insufficiency… Most antipsychotic drugs are dopamine antagonists Dopamine antagonist drugs are also some of the most effective anti-nausea agents Changes in dopamine levels may also cause age-related changes in cognitive flexibility. Symptoms of excess & insufficiency Insufficient dopamine… Nutritional building blocks Eating a diet high in magnesium and tyrosine rich foods will ensure you’ve got the basic building blocks needed for dopamine production. Medications Most common dopamine antagonists (positive symptoms) Risperdone, Haldol, Zyprexa Metoclopramide (Reglan) is an antiemetic and antipsychotic Dopamine Hypothesis Patients with schizophrenia do not typically show measurably increased levels of brain dopamine activity Other dissociative drugs, notably ketamine and phencyclidine that act on glutamate NMDA receptors (and not on dopamine receptors) can produce psychotic symptoms. Those drugs that do reduce dopamine activity are a very imperfect treatment for schizophrenia: they only reduce a subset of symptoms, while producing severe short-term and long-term side effects GABA Mechanism of action/purpose Anti-anxiety, Anti-convulsant GABA is made from glutamate GABA functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter – Glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter GABA does the opposite and tells the adjoining cells not to “fire” Where they are found Close to 40% of the synapses in the human brain work with GABA and therefore have GABA receptors. Medications Drugs that act as allosteric modulators of GABA receptors (known as GABA analogues or GABAergic drugs) or increase the available amount of GABA typically have relaxing, anti-anxiety, and anti-convulsive effect Gabapentin (neurontin) is a GABA analogue used to treat epilepsy and neurotic pain. Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates including GHB, Valium, Xanax Serotonin Mechanism of action/purpose Helps regulate Mood Sleep patterns Appetite Pain SerotoninSerotonin Serotonin Insufficiency Depression Anxiety Pain sensitivity Acetylcholine Their mechanism of action/purpose In lower amounts, ACh can act like a stimulant by releasing norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA). Memory Motivation Higher-order thought processes Sexual desire and activity Sleep Acetylcholine Symptoms of excess Depression (all symptoms) Nightmares Mental Fatigue Anxiety Inverse relationship between serotonin and acetylcholine Insufficiency Alzheimers/dementia Parkinsons Impaired cognition, attention, and arousal Cholinergic and GABAergic pathways are intimately connected in the hippocampus and basal forebrain complex. It is not always about increasing a neurotransmitter. Sometimes you need to decrease it. Human brains try to maintain homeostasis and too much or too little can be bad A balanced diet will provide the brain the necessary nutrients in synergystic combinations