Genes predispose some people to focus on the negative
(Medical Xpress)—A new study by a University of British Columbia researcher finds that some people are genetically predisposed to see the world darkly.
Oct 10, 2013
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(Medical Xpress)—A new study by a University of British Columbia researcher finds that some people are genetically predisposed to see the world darkly.
Oct 10, 2013
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(Medical Xpress) -- Because addictions cause so much havoc in the lives of millions of people, researchers the world over are constantly looking for both their causes and ways to treat them. One such addiction, to gambling, ...
A newly discovered regulatory mechanism helps the body control the rate of fat metabolism, according to a new study publishing on January 17 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Ligong Chen of Tsinghua University in ...
Jan 17, 2019
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"Look at me!" we might say while attempting to engage our children. It turns out there is a neurochemical explanation for why looking at mom or dad actually helps kiddoes pay better attention.
Dec 17, 2021
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Stressed people fall into habits and their behaviour is not goal-directed. That the neurotransmitter norepinephrine plays a decisive role here is now reported in the Journal of Neuroscience by scientists from Bochum led by ...
Nov 28, 2011
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Endless worry, irritability and insomnia are all symptoms of a possible anxiety disorder.
Mar 25, 2023
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When a person experiences a devastating loss or tragic event, why does every detail seem burned into memory whereas a host of positive experiences simply fade away?
Jul 24, 2014
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Sleep is known to play a key role in facilitating various physiological processes, while also contributing to the healthy functioning of the brain. Lack of sleep and poor sleep quality have been linked to various chronic ...
In a study in today's issue of Science, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Montefiore Medicine, report that certain nerves sustain prostate cancer growth by triggering a switch that causes tumor vessels ...
Oct 19, 2017
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It's a common belief that there's a link between chronic stress and an increased risk of cancer. In new research published online by the International Journal of Cancer, scientists at The University of Western Ontario have ...
Sep 20, 2011
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Norepinephrine (INN) (abbreviated norepi or NE) is the US name for noradrenaline (BAN) (abbreviated NA or NAd), a catecholamine with multiple roles including as a hormone and a neurotransmitter. Areas of the body that produce or are affected by norepinephrine are described as noradrenergic.
The terms noradrenaline (from the Latin) and norepinephrine (derived from Greek) are interchangeable, with noradrenaline the common name in most parts of the world. However, to avoid confusion and achieve consistency medical authorities have promoted norepinephrine as the favoured nomenclature, and this is the term used throughout this article.
One of the most important functions of norepinephrine is its role as the neurotransmitter released from the sympathetic neurons affecting the heart. An increase in norepinephrine from the sympathetic nervous system increases the rate of contractions.
As a stress hormone, norepinephrine affects parts of the brain, such as the amygdala, where attention and responses are controlled. Along with epinephrine, norepinephrine also underlies the fight-or-flight response, directly increasing heart rate, triggering the release of glucose from energy stores, and increasing blood flow to skeletal muscle. It increases the brain's oxygen supply. Norepinephrine can also suppress neuroinflammation when released diffusely in the brain from the locus coeruleus.
When norepinephrine acts as a drug it increases blood pressure by increasing vascular tone (tension of muscles) through α-adrenergic receptor activation. The resulting increase in vascular resistance triggers a compensatory reflex that overcomes the direct homeostatic effect of that increase on the heart, called the baroreceptor reflex, which otherwise would result in a drop in heart rate called reflex bradycardia.
Norepinephrine is synthesized from dopamine by dopamine β-hydroxylase. It is released from the adrenal medulla into the blood as a hormone, and is also a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and sympathetic nervous system where it is released from noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus. The actions of norepinephrine are carried out via the binding to adrenergic receptors.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA