Mood Regulation in the Brain: What are Neurotransmitters?
The way we feel is regulated by chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters form a key part of our communication system or our “neuro-endocrine” system, sending messages from the brain to the rest of the body to enable us to carry out functions and also receiving feedback from the body and communicating it back to the brain to establish how we are feeling.
Some may be more familiar to you than others:
Serotonin is our happy neurotransmitter. When functioning optimally serotonin will foster feelings of happiness, contentment and overall wellbeing.
Melatonin is our sleep neurotransmitter, which follows an opposing circadian rhythm to cortisol, rising in the evening to help us to drift off to dreamland.
Dopamine is our anticipation and reward neurotransmitter, and is closely linked to how much pleasure we feel and our motivation levels.
Glutamate is our excitatory neurotransmitter and GABA is our inhibitory neurotransmitter. These two neurotransmitters work together, with their opposing actions, to create a balance between stimulation and calm.
Acetylcholine is our cognition neurotransmitter and plays a key role in memory and focus.
Whilst there is no single cause of anxiety, fatigue, emotional overwhelm, low mood, poor concentration and other mood issues, most researchers agree that imbalances in mood-regulating chemicals play a key role.
Neurotransmitters perform their role by hanging out in synapses – the space between nerve cells or 'neurons' – and transferring information across this space from one cell to another. They must bind to a receptor at the destination cell to deliver their message. Once they have performed this task, they are recycled out of the synapse space until they are needed next time, a process known as reuptake.
Imbalances occur when either:
there are not enough neurotransmitters available at the synapse,
there are insufficient receptors at the receiving cell for the neurotransmitters to bind to, or
the reuptake process is defective in some way i.e. too fast or too slow, preventing effective communication.
The Role of Nutrition in Mood Regulation
The building blocks of almost all neurotransmitters are amino acids, derived from protein.
Obtaining the right amount of protein in the diet is crucial for mood balance. Too little or too much at the expense of other nutrients is not helpful for mood balance.
Often, the women I see in clinic aren’t eating enough protein. They perceive protein as something body builders use to build muscle and are fearful that if they increase their in-take they will gain weight. Less commonly, some women are eating too much protein, often at the expense of carbohydrates, which is also not helpful: The amino acids from our food need carbohydrates to cross what is known as the Blood Brain Barrier i.e. to get into the brain to perform their crucial mood regulating functions.
The synthesis of all neurotransmitters requires key nutrients as co factors e.g. B vitamins, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc and iron. Unsurprisingly deficiencies in one or more of these nutrients is associated with higher risk of the symptoms of burnout and mood disorders like depression, highlighting the need for a nutrient dense diet.
Our genetics, whilst not our fate, can also predispose us to how effective we are at synthesising our neurotransmitters, how many receptors we express and how fast our neurotransmitters are metabolised (or cleared). Fortunately, many of these genes can be up or down regulated by our diet and lifestyle.
Testing
Whilst there is no functional test to determine neurotransmitters levels in the brain (that would be pretty invasive!) we can assess their metabolite levels in urine. This gives us an indication of peripheral neurotransmitter levels. We can also assess nutrient levels to see if you have enough protein and the vitamins and minerals required for synthesis and metabolism. Perhaps most excitingly we are able to test genetic predisposition. All of which collectively enables personalised recommendations for you.
Curious? Let’s have a chat about your needs.
Book your complementary discovery call here: https://www.re-nutrition.co.uk/book-an-appointment