Various Types of Neurotransmitter Systems

Also known as: Norepinephrine system

Description: The noradrenaline system is associated with arousal and reward. Norepinephrine is a catecholamine derived from dopamine. It binds to adrenergic receptors and promotes the fight or flight response as a stress hormone. It directly increases heart rate and mobilizes glucose stores to the muscles. Used as a drug it increases blood pressure.

Description: Serotonin is a monoamine produced by serotonergic neurons on the central nervous system and by specialized cells in the GI tract. The system is believed to play a major role in mood, emotion, temperature, and nausea. The serotonin system has been a target of antidepressant treatment and studies of human consciousness.

Description: Dopamine is a phenylethamine that activates five different receptors in the brain. It is produced in the substantia nigra of the brain as a neurotransmitter as well as by the hypothalamus as a neurohormone. The system is associated with motor activity, behavior and cognition, memory, sleep, mood, and attention as well as prolactin secretion from the pituitary.

Description: The cholinergic system is made up of cholinergic synapses, a synapse that uses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. This includes the parasympathetic nervous system as well as neuromuscular junctions, the brain stem, and the basal forebrain.