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neurotransmitter

A Dictionary of Psychology

neurotransmitter n. Any of about 50 chemical substances, usually a small amine or a peptide but also a substance such as the gas nitric oxide, by which a neuron communicates with another neuron or with a muscle or gland via a synapse (1). In the central nervous system glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter and GABA the main inhibitory one; in the peripheral nervous system acetylcholine is predominant for motor neurons and glutamate for sensory neurons. Dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter mainly in the midbrain, noradrenalin (norepinephrine) mainly in the peripheral nervous system and in the pons and medulla oblongata, and serotonin mainly near the midline of the brainstem. Other important neurotransmitters include adenosine, adrenalin (epinephrine), aspartic acid, glutamic acid, histamine, oxytocin, substance P, and vasopressin. See also excitatory postsynaptic potential, inhibitory postsynaptic potential, isoquinoline. Compare false neurotransmitter, neurohormone, neuromodulator.
neurotransmission n. The communication of nerve impulses across a synapse (1).

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© A Dictionary of Psychology 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001.

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