Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Paul Baltes
- Preface
- 1 Perspectives on plasticity
- 2 The life-span view of human development: philosophical, historical, and substantive bases
- 3 Gene marking, recombinant DNA technology, and gene transfer: toward true gene therapy
- 4 Neuroanatomical bases of human plasticity
- 5 Human neurochemistry and the role of neurotransmitters
- 6 Evolutionary biology and hominid evolution
- 7 Comparative-developmental psychological bases of plasticity
- 8 Individual and group interdependencies
- 9 Toward future multidisciplinary efforts
- 10 Conclusions: On the limits of plasticity and the plasticity of limits
- References
- Author index
- Subject index
5 - Human neurochemistry and the role of neurotransmitters
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 March 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Paul Baltes
- Preface
- 1 Perspectives on plasticity
- 2 The life-span view of human development: philosophical, historical, and substantive bases
- 3 Gene marking, recombinant DNA technology, and gene transfer: toward true gene therapy
- 4 Neuroanatomical bases of human plasticity
- 5 Human neurochemistry and the role of neurotransmitters
- 6 Evolutionary biology and hominid evolution
- 7 Comparative-developmental psychological bases of plasticity
- 8 Individual and group interdependencies
- 9 Toward future multidisciplinary efforts
- 10 Conclusions: On the limits of plasticity and the plasticity of limits
- References
- Author index
- Subject index
Summary
In many ways neurons are like other living cells – for example, they can generate energy and repair and maintain themselves. However, neurons have unique functions not shared with other cells. Among these specialized features is the transmission of nerve impulses and those processes associated with the ability of neurons to produce and release neurotransmitters (Iversen, 1979). More than anything else in the human brain, its neurochemical characteristics provide unequivocal evidence for the plasticity of the human organism.
According to Thompson (1981), the key to understanding the actual character of human plasticity provided by the brain lies in an understanding of the chemical synapse and thus neurotransmitters. In the human brain most of the synaptic connections among neurons are chemical. As opposed to electrical synapses, which are common in many invertebrates and which work like an electrical transformer – that is, output is determined by input and is unmodifiable – chemical synapses are very plastic (Thompson, 1981). There are over 30 different known or suspected brain transmitters; each has a characteristic excitatory or inhibitory effect on neurons (Iversen, 1979). In addition, neurotransmitters are localized in specific brain regions.
Due to advances in techniques that allow for the selective staining of neurons containing a particular transmitter, thus facilitating the study of the functional chemistry of the brain, researchers have been able to map the anatomical distribution of individual transmitters in specific neuronal pathways (Iversen, 1979).
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- Information
- On the Nature of Human Plasticity , pp. 66 - 84Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1984