Part 3: Neurotransmitters- Norepinephrine, GABA, and Acetylcholine

Norepinephrine

Norepinephrine is made in your adrenal gland which are nestled right on the top of your kidneys. We often think of it as related to the heart. Norepinephrine is the lowest during sleep. It’s increased during the day and is in excess when we become frightened or on guard such as when you are being chased by a bear! This is what is referred to as “fight, flight, or freeze.” We’ll discuss this more when we talk about anxiety.

Norepinephrine plays a role in many mental illnesses. We see too little norepinephrine in ADHD, depression, and low blood pressure. When the body has too much, anxiety, hyperactivity, irritability, and insomnia.

To help your body maintain an appropriate balance of norepinephrine, exercise, appropriate sleep, and eating a healthy diet including:

• Beans and legumes
• Bananas
• Oatmeal
• Fish
• Meats

GABA

GABA is short for Gamma aminobutyric Acid, so now you know why we just refer to it as GABA. Much easier to pronounce. GABA is known as an inhibitory neurotransmitter; in other words, it slows things down. It limits or slows the nerve signals in your brain. It also is found in your spinal cord and it’s job is to take in the information you gain through your five senses (vision, smell, taste, hearing, and touch). It helps your brain integrate or sort out this sensory information. It helps your muscles to make smooth movements.

Too little GABA contributes to schizophrenia, anxiety, autism, and depression among other disorders. Alcohol exerts an effect on GABA and prevents parts of your brain by reducing the firing of your neurons. That’s why you act stupid when you drink too much alcohol and go to sleep- the neurons in your brain are slowed down.

You can find GABA supplements at the store; however, there is not good research to support their effectiveness.

Acetylcholine

Acetylcholine is abbreviated “ACh.” This important neurotransmitter plays a really big role in memory, learning and attention. It is released by the vagus nerve which is the longest contiguous nerve in your body as it goes from your head to the middle of your body. There are two types of ACh – Nicotinic and Muscarinic. (That’s just bonus information).

Beside memory, learning, and attention, it contributes to the wake-sleep cycle, controlling of your muscle movements by making smooth movements, attentiveness, anger, aggression, sexuality, and thirst. It also plays a role in what we call the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS controls all the things your body does naturally. In other words, you don’t tell your heart to beat or to breath or to digest food. Your body does these things automatically via the autonomic nervous system.

When you’re being chased by the bear I mentioned earlier and you escaped and are safe, ACh helps to bring your body back to balance. Your breathing slows to normal and your heart rate slows back to normal after a while

ACh also is responsible for the secretion of sweat, saliva, and tears.

Too much acetylcholine contributes to depression, headaches, jitteriness, tension, muscle cramps, nausea, and extreme fatigue. Too little plays a role in addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, attention disorders, Huntington disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia.

Summary

1. Norepinephrine is essential for our energy level, function of our heart, and is a major neurotransmitter associated with “fight, flight, or freeze.”

2. GABA is short for a word that no one can pronounce but it plays a role in anxiety and smooth movements.

3. Acetylcholine is one of the most important factors related to memory but is also necessary for learning, attention, sleep-wake cycles, and the functions are body automatically does (breathing, digestion, and keeping your heart beating).