Neurons are the cells of the nervous system that include four major parts of the cell body, dendrites, axons, and terminal buttons. The synapse is a gap between neurons where a nerve impulses to travel down the axon to the synapse. A neurotransmitter is a chemical that allows neurons to send a signal across the synapse to another neuron. There are excitatory and inhibitory receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron to absorb the neurotransmitter. Reuptake occurs when there is reabsorption of the leftover neurotransmitter by the presynaptic neuron.
The concepts of the structure and function of the brain are interconnected as the function of the brain is affects by the structure and vice versa. The surface of the cortex or the gray matter is composed of the front, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes as well as the prefrontal cortex which regulates the amygdala. The white matter consists of fibers that connect cells in the cortex with other areas while the ventricles are cavities in the brain that are filled with cerebrospinal fluid. The subcortical structure of the brain of implicated in different forms of psychopathology that include the anterior cingulate and the hippocampus that is responsible for memory. The hypothalamus regulates metabolism, temperature, perspiration, blood pressure, sleeping, and appetite while the amygdala is responsible for paying attention to emotionally salient stimuli.
The neuroendocrine system consists of a HPA axis that is involved in responses to stress such as the hypothalamus releasing CRF, the pituitary gland releasing ACTH, and the adrenal cortex promoting the release of cortisol. The function of the HPA axis can be impacted by chronic stress and it takes about 20 to 40 minutes for cortisol to peak and 1 hour to return to baseline. The immune system involves a broad array of cells and proteins that are activated when the body is infected and is highly affected by stress. Cytokines are proteins within the immune system that are implicated in some psychological disorders and initiate responses to infections such as fatigue, inflammation, and activation of the HPA axis. Pro-inflammatory cytokines will produce helpful inflammation.
The neuroscience approach to treatment involves the use of psychiatric drugs continuing to increase and non-biological interventions that can influence brain functioning such as psychotherapy, biofeedback, and neurofeedback. A person can hold a neuroscience view about the nature of a disorder but recommend psychological intervention. Antidepressants were noted as the third most commonly prescribed medication for any type of health issue in 2013. The role of neuroscience influences in psychology has been evaluated over the past few decades and has led to significant progress in understanding neuroscientific influences on psychopathology, including recent advances identifying relevant brain networks. Reductionism is the view that when studying something it can be reduced to basic elements, such as understanding the function of neurons in order to understand mental disorders. However, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and reductionism isn’t sufficient to explain psychopathology.
A different perspective of viewing how the neurochemistry in our brains can be impacted is in the physical aspect. This purpose of this research article was to explore how repetitive brain trauma to athletes alters their neurochemistry. The methods involved using L-COSY to assess five former male professional athletes who engaged in contact sports. A neuropsychologist assessed each athlete and recorded their symptoms experienced from their brain trauma. Five males who did not engage in any contact sports were also assessed as a control group. The results showed that the males who had repetitive brain trauma displayed statistically significant higher levels of brain glutamate and glutamine compared to the control group who had no signs of repetitive brain trauma. This suggests that out neurochemistry can be altered not only through medications, but physical factors as well specifically pertaining to physical trauma to the brain (Lin, 2015).
Lin, A. P., Ramadan, S., Stern, R. A., Box, H. C., Nowinski, C. J., Ross, B. D., & Mountford, C. E. (2015). Changes in the neurochemistry of athletes with repetitive brain trauma: preliminary results using localized correlated spectroscopy. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 7(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-015-0094-5