Clarify How The Brain Works Essay

To begin, I must clarify how the brain works. The brain is made up of tiny cells, called neurons. They communicate by tiny electric movements called synapses that combine in certain patterns to control everything we do: sleep, walk, think, and feel. The synapses happen as a result of outside stimuli. A clear example is when a person gets too close to a candle. Their nervous system sends the stimulus to the brain, which tells the finger to back away from the flame. However, the synapses wouldn’t happen without neurotransmitters. These are chemicals that flow through neurons, which indicate what should be done next.
There are two types of neurotransmitters: excitatory and inhibitory. The excitatory ones commands the neurons to work quickly; the
Dopamine is extremely important. It is known that some drugs are addictive as a cause of their release of it. What dopamine does is very broad. It controls movement, the process of learning, paying attention, and it controls the reward system in the body. Too much dopamine is linked to conditions like schizophrenia, while too little of it is linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, in charge of reflexes, memory, learning, appetite, sleep and mood; the deficiency of it may lead to depression and its symptoms, such as the desire of carbohydrate-rich foods, and a difficulty to sleep. Other effects caused by the lack of serotonin are aggressive behavior, anxiety, migraines and OCD.
Endorphins are a type of opioid released in our brain as a pain reliever. As a very strong inhibitory neurotransmitter, endorphin works with dopamine in the reward system in the brain. It decreases the heartbeat, respiration and metabolism.
Norepinephrine works with dopamine as a companion for the fight-flight system. It is responsible of alertness, arousal, stress and the command to the endocrine system for the adrenaline