Homeostasis: Spring Equinox Serotonin (5HT) Brain Stories ~ New on the Bryan William Brickner Blog
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 20, 2015 -- “Homeostasis and the spring equinox represent standard extremes,” opened Bryan W. Brickner. “Today’s serotonin science stories look at a not so standard extreme: our brains.”
In Homeostasis: Spring Equinox Serotonin (5HT) Brain Stories ~ New on the Bryan William Brickner Blog, serotonergic health is highlighted. The post focuses on new brain research from the National Institutes of Health (PubMed) to tell three serotonin equinox tales regarding: dopamine and serotonin neuronal interactions, maps of widespread 5HT receptor distribution in the prefrontal cortex, and impulsivity in binge drinkers (tryptophan metabolism).
“Interactions between neurotransmitter systems, such as dopamine and serotonin,” Brickner noted, “shape our behavioral and emotional constitutions throughout life; conversely, imbalances create pathologies and illnesses.”
Serotonin (5HT, 5-hydroxytryptamine) is a ubiquitous biochemical found in animals and plants. Mammals use it as a local hormone in systems such as the digestive, heart and immune and as a neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
“The serotonin brain map science is new and helpful,” offered Brickner, “as it shows the construction of the ‘different circuits where 5-HT receptors can modulate the electrophysiological, pharmacological and behavioral functions of the prefrontal cortex.”
“Which brings us to impulsivity and binge drinkers,” signaled Brickner, “and a bit of science I found counter-intuitive; I thought their hypothesis, that serotonin depletion/synthesis played a role in alcohol impulsivity and binge drinkers, would be affirmed: it wasn’t.”
“Today’s science says a binge drinker’s impulsivity is not a result of reduced serotonin synthesis,” closed Brickner; “instead, it is based on one’s inclination to impulsivity … and the dose of alcohol consumed.”
Brickner has a 1997 political science doctorate from Purdue University and is the author of several political theory books, to include: The Promise Keepers: Politics and Promises (1999), Article the first of the Bill of Rights (2006), and Shivitti: A Review of Ka-Tzetnik 135633’s Vision (2015). He also writes political fiction, such as the novella thereafter (2013), and is the publisher of The Cannabis Papers: A citizen’s guide to cannabinoids (2011) and The Bryan William Brickner Blog, a resource for the political science of constitutions and the biological science of receptors.
Next: Saturday 21 March, the spring series Heal Union 2015 begins with Constitutional Love Fever: Gus Kotka, Johnny Reb and a few others.
Bryan W. Brickner, Ew Publishing, +1 773-308-3777, [email protected]
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