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2. Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC, NCC, CCDC
Executive Director, AllCEUs.com

3.  Define Neurobiology
 For the following neurotransmitters,
Dopamine, GABA, Serotonin, Acetylcholine,
identify
◦ Their mechanism of action/purpose
◦ Where they are found
◦ Symptoms of excess & insufficiency
◦ Nutritional building blocks
◦ Medications

4.  Neurobiology is the study of the brain and
nervous system which generate sensation,
perception, movement, learning, emotion,
and many of the functions that make us
human

5.  Mechanism of action/purpose
◦ movement
◦ memory
◦ pleasurable reward
◦ behavior and cognition
◦ attention
◦ inhibition of prolactin production
◦ sleep
◦ mood
◦ learning

6.  Mechanism of action/purpose
◦ Altered dopamine neurotransmission is implicated
in
 Cognitive control (racing thoughts)
 Attentional control
 Impulse control
 Working memory

7.  Where is it found
◦ Precursor, L-DOPA is synthesized in brain and kidneys
◦ Dopamine functions in several parts of the peripheral
nervous system
 In blood vessels, it inhibits norepinephrine release and acts
as a vasodilator (relaxation)
 In the kidneys, it increases sodium and urine excretion
 In the pancreas, it reduces insulin production
 In the digestive system, it reduces gastrointestinal motility
and protects intestinal mucosa
 In the immune system, it reduces lymphocyte activity.

8.  Symptoms of excess & insufficiency
◦ Excess of dopamine
 Unnecessary movements, repetitive tics
 Psychosis
 Hypersexuality
 Nausea
 Most antipsychotic drugs are dopamine antagonists
 Dopamine antagonist drugs are also some of the most
effective anti-nausea agents

9.  Symptoms of excess & insufficiency
◦ Insufficient dopamine
 Negative symptoms of schizophrenia
 Pain
 Parkinson’s Disease
 Restless legs syndrome
 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
 Neurological symptoms that increase in frequency with age,
such as decreased arm swing and increased rigidity.
 Changes in dopamine levels may also cause age-related
changes in cognitive flexibility.

10.  Symptoms of excess & insufficiency
◦ Insufficient dopamine
 Lack of motivation
 Fatigue
 Apathy, Inability to feel pleasure
 Procrastination
 Low libido
 Sleep problems
 Mood swings
 Hopelessness
 Memory loss
 Inability to concentrate

11.  Nutritional building blocks
◦ Eating a diet high in magnesium and tyrosine rich foods will
ensure you’ve got the basic building blocks needed for dopamine
production.
◦ Here’s a list of foods known to increase dopamine:
Chicken
Almonds
Apples
Avocado
Bananas
Beets
Chocolate
Green leafy
vegetables
Green tea
Lima beans
Oatmeal
Sesame & pumpkin
seeds
Turmeric
Watermelon
Wheat germ

12.  Medications
◦ Dopamine in blood is unable to cross the blood-
brain barrier to reach the brain.
◦ Levodopa-Carbidopa combination is actually
converted to dopamine in the brain

13.  Medications
◦ Most common dopamine antagonists (positive
symptoms)
 Risperdone, Haldol, Zyprexa
 Metoclopramide (Reglan) is an antiemetic and
antipsychotic
◦ Most common dopamine AGONISTs (Parkinson’s,
Restless Legs) (negative symptoms)
 Mirapex & Requip

14.  Patients with schizophrenia do not typically show
measurably increased levels of brain dopamine
activity
 Other dissociative drugs, notably ketamine and
phencyclidine that act on glutamate NMDA receptors
(and not on dopamine receptors) can produce
psychotic symptoms.
 Those drugs that do reduce dopamine activity are a
very imperfect treatment for schizophrenia: they only
reduce a subset of symptoms, while producing severe
short-term and long-term side effects

15.  Mechanism of action/purpose
◦ Anti-anxiety, Anti-convulsant
◦ GABA is made from glutamate
◦ GABA functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter –
◦ Glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter
◦ GABA does the opposite and tells the adjoining cells
not to “fire”

16.  Where they are found
◦ Close to 40% of the synapses in the human brain
work with GABA and therefore have GABA
receptors.

17. ◦ Symptoms of excess
 Excess sleepiness
 Shallow breathing
 *Increased blood pressure
◦ Symptoms of insufficiency
 Anxiety
 Depression
 Difficulty concentrating
 Insomnia
 Seizure disorders

18.  Nutritional building blocks
 Fermented foods sauerkraut, yogurt
 Almonds & Walnuts
 Cherry Tomatoes
 Banana
 Brown rice
 Potato
 Oats
 Lentils
 Vitamin B6, if deficient, may impair the production of GABA
as it is a cofactor nutrient.

19.  Nutritional building blocks
◦ Inositol (Vitamin B-8)
 Wheat germ
 Brown rice
 Green leafy vegetables
 Nuts
 Navy and Lima beans

20.  Medications
◦ Drugs that act as allosteric modulators of GABA
receptors (known as GABA analogues or GABAergic
drugs) or increase the available amount of GABA
typically have relaxing, anti-anxiety, and anti-convulsive
effect
◦ Gabapentin (neurontin) is a GABA analogue used to treat
epilepsy and neurotic pain.
◦ Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates including GHB,
Valium, Xanax

21.  Mechanism of action/purpose
◦ Helps regulate
 Mood
 Sleep patterns
 Appetite
 Pain

22.  Where is it found
◦ Brain
◦ Gut/Intestines

23.  Symptoms of excess
◦ Shivering
◦ Diarrhea
◦ Muscle rigity
◦ Fever
◦ Seizures
◦ Irregular heartbeat

24.  Symptoms of excess
◦ Depression
◦ Apathy, Emotional flatness or dullness
◦ Passivity
◦ Insomnia and other sleep problems
◦ Difficulty concentrating and learning
◦ Poor memory; amnesia
◦ Difficulty making decisions and acting on them
◦ Sexual dysfunction

25.  Insufficiency
◦ Depression
◦ Anxiety
◦ Pain sensitivity

26.  Nutritional building blocks
◦ Foods rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that
converts to serotonin in the brain.
 Whole-wheat
 Potatoes
 Brown rice
 Lentils
 Oats
 Beans

27.  Medications
◦ SSRIs
◦ SNRIs
◦ 5-HTP
◦ SAM-e

28.  Their mechanism of action/purpose
◦ In lower amounts, ACh can act like a stimulant by
releasing norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA).
◦ Memory
◦ Motivation
◦ Higher-order thought processes
◦ Sexual desire and activity
◦ Sleep

29.  Symptoms of excess
 Depression (all symptoms)
 Nightmares
 Mental Fatigue
 Anxiety
 Inverse relationship between serotonin and
acetylcholine

30. ◦ Insufficiency
 Alzheimers/dementia
 Parkinsons
 Impaired cognition, attention, and arousal
 Cholinergic and GABAergic pathways are intimately
connected in the hippocampus and basal forebrain
complex.

31. ◦ Nutritional building blocks
 Foods high in choline
 Meats
 Dairy
 Poultry
 Chocolate
 Peanut butter
 Wheat germ
 Brussels sprouts and broccoli

32.  Medications
◦ Cholinergics
 Used for glaucoma, bladder control and severe muscle
weakness
◦ Anticholinergics
 May worsen GERD
 Used for extrapyrimadal symptoms is treating schizophrenia
 Muscular spasms
 Akathisia: A feeling of internal motor restlessness, tension,
nervousness, or anxiety[
 Drug-induced parkinsonism
 Tardive dyskinesia: involuntary muscle movements in the lower face
and distal extremities

33.  Medications
◦ Anticholinergics
 Atropine
 Benzatropine (Cogentin)
 Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton)
 Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine)
 Diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Sominex, Advil PM, Unisom)
 Hydroxyzine (Atarax, Vistaril)
 Bupropion (Zyban, Wellbutrin)
 Dextromethorphan - Cough suppressant

34.  Anticholinergic drugs are used to treat a variety
of conditions:
◦ Gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., gastritis, diarrhea,
diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, nausea, and vomiting)
◦ Genitourinary disorders (e.g., cystitis, urethritis,
prostatitis)
◦ Respiratory disorders (e.g., asthma, chronic bronchitis,
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD])
◦ Insomnia, although usually only on a short-term basis.

35.  Higher ACh and NE, together with lower SE,
produces
◦ Anxiety, emotional lability, irritability, anger,
aggressiveness, negative rumination, impatience, and
impulsiveness
 When NE, DA, and SE are low and acetylcholine is
high
◦ The result is simply depression.
 Increasing serotonin
◦ lowers acetylcholine levels, and norepinephrine and
dopamine.

36.  There are a variety of different neurotransmitters
involved in addiction and mental health disorders
 It is not always about increasing a
neurotransmitter. Sometimes you need to
decrease it.
 Human brains try to maintain homeostasis and
too much or too little can be bad
 A balanced diet will provide the brain the
necessary nutrients in synergystic combinations

37.  Res Nurs Health. 2014 Jun;37(3):185-93. doi:
10.1002/nur.21595. Epub 2014 Apr 3. Neurobehavioral
effects of aspartame consumption.Lindseth GN1, Coolahan
SE, Petros TV, Lindseth PD.
 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/could-
diet-soda-cause-clinical-depression-586801/?no-ist
 Understanding our Bodies: Dopamine and Its Rewards
http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/07/understanding-
our-bodies-dopamine-rewards/
 http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/06/understanding-
bodies-serotonin-connection-between-food-and-mood/

38.  Myo-inositol content of common foods: development
of a high-myo-inositol diet.
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/33/9/1954.abstract
 Neuroscience. 2002;111(2):231-9. GABA mechanisms
and sleep. Gottesmann C.
 Biofactors. 2006;26(3):201-8. Relaxation and
immunity enhancement effects of gamma-
aminobutyric acid (GABA) administration in humans.
Abdou AM1, Higashiguchi S, Horie K, Kim M, Hatta H,
Yokogoshi H.

39.  Neuropsychopharmacology: The Fifth
Generation of Progress Editors: Kenneth L.
Davis et. Al. Publisher Lippincott, Williams, &
Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2002
http://www.acnp.org/publications/neuro5thg
eneration.aspx