Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. The general function of norepinephrine is to mobilize the brain and body for action. Norepinephrine release is lowest during sleep, rises during wakefulness, and reaches much higher levels during situations of stress or danger, in the fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system response. In the brain, norepinephrine increases arousal and alertness, promotes vigilance, enhances formation and retrieval of memory, and focuses attention; it also increases restlessness and anxiety. Norepinephrine also boosts the signal quality of synaptic transmission. Unlike most neurons, norepinephrine neurons do not fatigue and maintain their condition of excitation.
References
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Haley, J., John. Hagerman, Eric. Spark Chapter 6. Attention Deficit (p. 188). New York, NY: Little Brown Spark.
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Mcgilchrist, Iain. (2010). The Master and His Emissary Chapter 2 What Do the Hemispheres Do (90). London, UK: Yale University Press.
Metadata
Type:🔵 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Biochemistry / Neurochemistry Status:☀️