Neurochemistry

Neurochemistry is the specific study of neurochemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules (such as psychopharmaceuticals, neuropeptides, or gastrotransmitters) that influence the function of neurons. This field closely examines how these neurochemicals influence the network of neural operation. This evolving area of neuroscience offers a neurochemist a micro-macro connection between the analysis of organic compounds active in the nervous system and neural processes such as cortical plasticity, neurogenesis and neural differentiation.

History

In the 1950s, neurochemistry became a recognized scientific research discipline. The founding of neurochemistry as a discipline traces it origins to a series of "International Neurochemical Symposia", of which the first symposium volume published in 1954 was titled Biochemistry of the Developing Nervous System. These meetings led to the formation of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry. These early gatherings discussed the tentative nature of possible neurotransmitter substances such as acetylcholine, histamine, substance P, and serotonin. By 1972, ideas were more concrete. Neurochemicals such as norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin were classified as "putative neurotransmitters in certain neuronal tracts in the brain."

See also

• List of neurochemists
• Molecular neuroscience
• Neuroendocrinology
• Neurogenesis
• Neuroimmunology
• Neuromodulation
• Neuroplasticity or Synaptic plasticity
• Signal transduction

External links

• Basic Neurochemistry online, searchable textbook.
• American Society for Neurochemistry