Chapter 6 of 10All chapters
Chapter 6 of 10
Brain chemistry
Neurotransmitters, carefully.
The main ones
Dopamine is involved in motivation and learning from reward, serotonin in mood and many bodily functions, GABA in inhibition and glutamate in excitation.
- Dopamine is not the pleasure chemical; it tracks anticipation and prediction error.
- The chemical imbalance account of depression is a simplification the field has moved past.
Drugs
Most psychoactive substances act at synapses, mimicking, blocking or altering the clearance of a messenger. Effects depend on dose, receptor type and location.