Tag brain chemicals

Learning little knowledge about Brain and Mind connection helps us to live healthily and happily!

Hypothalamus:

It is a structure deep in your brain, acts as your body’s smart control coordinating center. Its main function is to keep your body in a stable state called homeostasis. It’s the main link between your endocrine system and your nervous system.

It is and almond sized and is located below the thalamus and above your pituitary gland. It is located just above the brain stem at the base of your brain.

Main Functions of Hypothalamus are:

1. Releasing hormones.
2. Maintaining daily physiological cycles.
3. Controlling appetite.
4. Managing sexual behavior.
5. Regulating emotional responses.
6. Regulating body temperature.

Hypothalamus & Body’s Stress Response:

Cortisol is an essential hormone that affects almost every organ and tissue in your body. Regulating your body’s stress response is Cortisol’s main function.

When a person is in stress, the heart-rate increases, immune system slows down and in fact the digestive system will be altered.

Upon stress, the hypothalamus releases a hormone that travels to your pituitary gland, which then tells your adrenal glands to release cortisol. However, when the stressful situation gets normal, your cortisol levels up and body’s functions will become normal.

It helps in controlling body metabolism & reduce inflammation.

Cortisol can seriously hurt your body whether it is little or much, so the hypothalamus carefully regulates the amount circulating. If a person has chronic stress, the hypothalamus and the rest of the system is activated more often than it should be.

When the body has so much cortisol from chronic stress, it gets used to these high levels. So when you have a stressful situation later, your hypothalamus has to release more cortisol to get an appropriate stress response. This leads to a cycle where your body has to keep releasing more cortisol after every stressful event, which can cause other health issues including anxiety, digestive problems, depression, heart disease, and more fun things literally no one wants.

How to balance Cortisol – For Stress Free & Happy Life?

1. Aim to reduce stress – Breathe well, Exercise, Engage with your interested hobbies.
2. Good Diet – Fruits (bananas), Probiotic food, fibrous food etc.,
3. Enough Rest – Sleep well, lower down screen time.
4. Relaxation Techniques – Meditation, breathing exercises.
5. Have Fun – Be with people who can make you smile and laugh, go out.
6. No Caffeine at Night – Caffeine can interfere with a good night’s sleep.

Other Hypothalamus Releasing Hormones & it’s Effects.

Primary hormones secreted by the hypothalamus include:

• Anti-diuretic hormone (ADH): This hormone increases water absorption into the blood by the kidneys.
• **Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH):** CRH sends a message to the anterior pituitary gland to stimulate the adrenal glands to release corticosteroids, which help regulate metabolism and immune response.
• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH): GnRH stimulates the anterior pituitary to release follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), which work together to ensure normal functioning of the ovaries and testes.
• Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) or growth hormone-inhibiting hormone (GHIH) (also known as somatostain): GHRH prompts the anterior pituitary to release growth hormone (GH); GHIH has the opposite effect. In children, GH is essential to maintaining a healthy body composition. In adults, it aids healthy bone and muscle mass and affects fat distribution.
• Oxytocin: Oxytocin is involved in a variety of processes, such as orgasm, the ability to trust, body temperature, sleep cycles, and the release of breast milk.
• Prolactin-releasing hormone (PRH) or prolactin-inhibiting hormone (PIH) (also known as dopamine): PRH prompts the anterior pituitary to stimulate breast milk production through the production of prolactin. Conversely, PIH inhibits prolactin, and thereby, milk production. **Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH):** TRH triggers the release of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which stimulates release of thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism, energy, and growth and development.

Let’s know more about brain; stay healthy and stress free.

Disclaimer: The images are taken from different sources of website. Factual information has taken from wikipedia and trusted sources in website. All credits goes to the original creators. This article is posted only with the intention of knowledge sharing.

In Gratitude,

N.R.Rakesh Babu
Psychologist | Doctoral Researcher
www.rakeshbabu.com | www.rbac.in

Without these messengers, you cannot become a messenger of your thoughts!

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers without which a body cannot function properly. It carries the chemical signal from one neuron to next target cell. They are the molecules used by the nervous system to transmit messages between neurons, or from neurons to muscles.

Neurotransmitters influences a neuron in one of three ways: excitatory, inhibitory or modulatory.

Nervous system controls the functions such as: Heartbeat and blood pressure. | Breathing | Muscle movements | Thoughts, memory, learning and feelings | Sleep, healing and aging | Stress response | Hormone regulation | Digestion, sense of hunger and thirst | Senses.

How does neurotransmitters work?

Human body consists of billions of nerve cells in your body. Nerve cells are generally made up of three parts: 1. Cell Body, 2. An Axon & 3. An Axon Terminal.

1. Cell Body plays a pivotal role in producing neurotransmitters and maintaining the functions of nerve cell.
2. Axon carries electrical signals along with the nerve cell to axon terminal
3. Axon Terminal is where the electrical messages are changed to chemical signal using neurotransmitter to communicate with next group of nerve cells or to organs.

Neurotransmitters are located in a part of the neuron called the axon terminal. They’re stored within thin-walled sacs called synaptic vesicles. Each vesicle can contain thousands of neurotransmitter molecules.

The seven “small – molecule” neurotransmitters are: acetylcholine, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, histamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin

FIVE Major Neurotransmitters that Influences the Mood are: Serotonin, Dopamine, Glutamate, Norepinephrine, GABA

1. Serotonin: It is “Happiness Molecule”. It helps in memory and learning. It contributes to feelings of well-being and happiness. It is also produced in the gastrointestinal tract in response to food. As a result, serotonin is involved in functions such as sleep, appetite, behavior & moods. It is speculated to have a role in depression, as some depressed patients are seen to have lower concentrations of metabolites of serotonin in their cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue.
2. Dopamine: It is “Motivation Molecule”. It plays a role in body’s reward system which includes feeling pleasure, motivation, motor control, reinforcement and learning. Parkinson’s Disease has been linked to low levels of dopamine and Schizophrenia has been linked to high levels of dopamine.
3. Glutamate: This is the most common excitatory neurotransmitter of your nervous system. It’s the most abundant neurotransmitter in your brain. It plays a key role in cognitive functions like thinking, learning and memory. Imbalances in glutamate levels are associated with Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease and Seizures.
4. Norepinephrine: It assists in fight-flight response and helps moderate mood by alleviating depression and anxiety. It also modulates the responses of the sleep patterns, focus and alertness.
5. GABA (GAMMA AMINOBUTYRIC ACID): It helps increase feelings of calm and relaxation, reduces stress and pain. It also helps in improvement of sleep & concentration. This helps in eliminating the feeling of anxiety, stress, and fear, and may also further help in preventing seizures.

Conclusion: The ultimate aim of this article is to create awareness among people about the Brain chemicals that influences the mood of a person. Reaction or response around is is just a triggering factor. However, upon the chemical exchanges or signal exchanges are creating all mood swings. Upon balancing the chemicals by eating more of healthy & natural food, depression less activities, maintaining steadiness and patience, non-comparison with other people, stress free work-life balance, living for the bigger cause such as charity, service to the humanity, spiritual rituals (applies only to believers), practicing & cascading human values to next generation and maintaining healthy body and peaceful mind, a person can deal with the Brain Chemicals happily.

Disclaimer: Sources of pictures and technical terms are from wikipedia and other few trusted websites. Credits goes to the original creators of the images.

In Gratitude
N.R.Rakesh Babu
Psychologist | Doctoral Researcher
www.rakeshbabu.com | www.rbac.in