Neurotransmitters are continually at work in our bodies, controlling when we wake up and when we feel hungry and even affecting our emotional state. Given their importance in regulating so many human brain functions it is hardly surprising that dysfunctions in neurotransmitter systems have been implicated in mental and behavioural disorders, from depression to anorexia and drug addiction.rnNeurotransmitters transmit signals from neuron (nerve cell) to neuron via junctions called synapses and work by interacting with receptor proteins in the cell membranes. Levels of the monoamine neurotransmitters serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), norepinephrine (or noradrenaline) and dopamine are tightly regulated outside the cells by three unique, but closely related transporter proteins: SERT (serotonin), NET (norepinephrine) and DAT (dopamine).
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