Neurotransmitters released by Neuro EP signals
Neuro-Chemistry
How Neurochemistry Works
The connections between individual microscopic neurons that make up a pathway occur at specialized junctions called synapses. At a synapse junction, one neuron that receives an electrical signal will release a chemical into the synapse called a neurotransmitter. This neurotransmitter then stimulates the second, connected neuron at that synapse so that it now will generate an electrical signal to travel to other neurons.
How Neuropharmacology Works
Most neuro-active drugs exploit this activity at the synapse by either increasing or decreasing various neurotransmitters. This essentially means that many of these medications can accomplish similar goals as Neuro EP treatments (increasing brain activity when it is too low or decreasing brain activity when it is too high). Some of these medications have very beneficial effects on people with specific brain conditions, and these drugs definitely work faster than training the brain to make similar improvements with Neuro EP treatments.
Problems with Neuropharmacology
However, these medications also cause multiple simultaneous problems:
The beneficial effect of the medications is always temporary, and only occurs after each dose, and quickly goes away requiring the next dose. This requires a dependence on the medication, often for the rest of her life.
Because of the temporary effect causing dependence described above, your brain will often fight to counteract the effect of the drugs. This sometimes results in an actual worsening of your symptoms if you take a neuroactive medication for a long time and then discontinue it. For example, if you take pain medications for a long time, when you try to discontinue them, your pain is actually worse than if you never took them in the first place.
The multiple side effects that are well known for many drugs occur at least partly because these medications travel to all parts of your brain even though you only want them in one specific part. For example, pain medications generally work by decreasing the brain activity in your Pain Network (described in detail in the section titled Neuro–Anatomy). This is why pain medications are often effective at relieving acute pain. Neuro EP treatments also help decrease pain by decreasing the elevated brain activity in your pain network. However, Neuro EP treatments focus only on the Pain Network which has too much activity and does not affect other parts of your brain. Medications on the other hand affect all parts of the brain equally, so when the pain medication lowers your brain activity in the pain network, it also decreases brain activity in your memory, attention, judgment, and problem-solving networks, etc. This explains why pain medications can cause you to not be able to do things you could previously do and miss out on your life.
Stimulates Mu-Opioid inhibitory receptors similar to the neurotransmitters beta-endorphin and ebdomorphin-1 and -2 throughout brain
Chronic Pain
Oxycodone (Percocet), Morphine, and other opioids
Mu-opioid inhibition reduces brain activity in the Pain Network which reduces pain perception
Mu-opioid inhibition in Prefrontal cortex causes poor attention, poor cognition, poor motivation, poor judgement.
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Reduce excitatory neurotransmitters, especially Glutamate throughout brain
Chronic Pain
Gabapentin (Neurotin) and Pregabalin (Lyrica)
Reduces Glutamate in the Pain Network can reduces pain perception
Reduced excitatory Glutamate in frontal lobes and cerebellum can cause dizziness, poor cognition, brain fog, imbalance, fatigue.
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Increases Serotonin (5-HT) and Norepinephrine (NE) throughout brain
Chronic Pain, Depression, Anxiety
Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
Increased Inhibition in the Pain Network can reduces pain perception
Increased NE in frontal lobes and limbic areas may cause paradoxical anxiety, agitation, and/or insomnia.
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Decreases Acetylcholine (ACh) throughout brain
Parkinson's Disease
Benztropine (Cogentin)
Decrease ACh in Striatum rebalances DA/ACh to improve tremors
Decreased ACh in temporal lobes especially in hippocampus can cause poor memory, confusion, brain fog, dry mouth, or even dementia with chronic use
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Blocks Histamine (H1) and Acetylcholine (ACh) throughout brain
Insomnia, Anxiety
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Unisom, ZzzQuil), Doxylamine (Unisom, NyQuil), Hydroxyzine (Vistaril, Atarax)
Blocking H1 & ACh at arousal areas of Hypothalamus and Reticular Activating System which causes sleepiness
Blocking ACh in temporal lobes especially in hippocampus can cause poor memory, confusion, brain fog, dry mouth, or even dementia with chronic use.
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
GABA agonist (which inhibits brain activity) throughout brain
Insomnia
Zolpidem (Ambien)
Cortical, Thalamus, and Hypothalamus arousal networks to induce sleep
GABA-mediated brain inhibition in frontal and temporal lobes, including hippocampus can cause amnesia, confusion, disorientation, poor coordination, ataxia, sleep-walking, sleep-driving, other unusual behaviors
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
GABA agonist (which inhibits brain activity) throughout brain
Insomnia, Anxiety
Lorazepam (Ativan), Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium)
Cortical, Thalamus, and Hypothalamus arousal networks to induce sleep and Amygdala, Limbic System to temporarily reduce anxiety
GABA-mediated brain inhibition in frontal and temporal lobes, including hippocampus can cause poor memory or amnesia, confusion, disorientation, poor coordination, ataxia, poor attention, feeling "drunk," dependence/withdraw-symptoms/addiction
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Increase Dopamine (DA) throughout brain
Parkinson's Disease
Levodopa + Carbidopa (Sinemet, Crexont) & Pramipexole (Mirapex)
Increase DA in Substantia Nigra & Striatum Improves movement (improves bradykinesis and rigitity)
Increased DA in Frontal Lobes and Limbic System can cause hallucinations, paranoia, agitation, or psychosis.
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Inhibits Dopamine (DA) throughout brain
Agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, psychosis, schizophrenia
Haloperidol (Haldol), Risperidone (Risperdal)
Decreased DA in Frontal lobes and Mesolimbic system improves symptoms of agitation or psychosis
Decreased DA in Substantia Nigra and Basal Ganglia can cause Parkinson's or Tardive Dyskinesia movement disorders, Decreased DA in Frontal and Limbic areas can cause loss of motivation, loss of cognitive skills, brain fog, emotional blunting
Medical Condition
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Medication
Target Neurotransmitter
Target Brain Area & Benefit
Unintended Brain Area & Side-Effects
Medical Condition
Stimulates Mu-Opioid inhibitory receptors similar to the neurotransmitters beta-endorphin and ebdomorphin-1 and -2 throughout brain
Chronic Pain
Oxycodone (Percocet), Morphine, and other opioids
Mu-opioid inhibition reduces brain activity in the Pain Network which reduces pain perception
Mu-opioid inhibition in Prefrontal cortex causes poor attention, poor cognition, poor motivation, poor judgement.
Reduce excitatory neurotransmitters, especially Glutamate throughout brain
Chronic Pain
Gabapentin (Neurotin) and Pregabalin (Lyrica)
Reduces Glutamate in the Pain Network can reduces pain perception
Reduced excitatory Glutamate in frontal lobes and cerebellum can cause dizziness, poor cognition, brain fog, imbalance, fatigue.
Increases Serotonin (5-HT) and Norepinephrine (NE) throughout brain
Chronic Pain, Depression, Anxiety
Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
Increased Inhibition in the Pain Network can reduces pain perception
Increased NE in frontal lobes and limbic areas may cause paradoxical anxiety, agitation, and/or insomnia.
Decreases Acetylcholine (ACh) throughout brain
Parkinson's Disease
Benztropine (Cogentin)
Decrease ACh in Striatum rebalances DA/ACh to improve tremors
Decreased ACh in temporal lobes especially in hippocampus can cause poor memory, confusion, brain fog, dry mouth, or even dementia with chronic use
Blocks Histamine (H1) and Acetylcholine (ACh) throughout brain
Insomnia, Anxiety
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Unisom, ZzzQuil), Doxylamine (Unisom, NyQuil), Hydroxyzine (Vistaril, Atarax)
Blocking H1 & ACh at arousal areas of Hypothalamus and Reticular Activating System which causes sleepiness
Blocking ACh in temporal lobes especially in hippocampus can cause poor memory, confusion, brain fog, dry mouth, or even dementia with chronic use.
GABA agonist (which inhibits brain activity) throughout brain
Insomnia
Zolpidem (Ambien)
Cortical, Thalamus, and Hypothalamus arousal networks to induce sleep
GABA-mediated brain inhibition in frontal and temporal lobes, including hippocampus can cause amnesia, confusion, disorientation, poor coordination, ataxia, sleep-walking, sleep-driving, other unusual behaviors
GABA agonist (which inhibits brain activity) throughout brain
Insomnia, Anxiety
Cortical, Thalamus, and Hypothalamus arousal networks to induce sleep and Amygdala, Limbic System to temporarily reduce anxiety
GABA-mediated brain inhibition in frontal and temporal lobes, including hippocampus can cause poor memory or amnesia, confusion, disorientation, poor coordination, ataxia, poor attention, feeling "drunk," dependence/withdraw-symptoms/addiction
Lorazepam (Ativan), Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium)
Increase Dopamine (DA) throughout brain
Increase DA in Substantia Nigra & Striatum Improves movement (improves bradykinesis and rigitity)
Increased DA in Frontal Lobes and Limbic System can cause hallucinations, paranoia, agitation, or psychosis.
Levodopa + Carbidopa (Sinemet, Crexont) & Pramipexole (Mirapex)
Parkinson's Disease
Inhibits Dopamine (DA) throughout brain
Agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, psychosis, schizophrenia
Decreased DA in Frontal lobes and Mesolimbic system improves symptoms of agitation or psychosis
Decreased DA in Substantia Nigra and Basal Ganglia can cause Parkinson's or Tardive Dyskinesia movement disorders, Decreased DA in Frontal and Limbic areas can cause loss of motivation, loss of cognitive skills, brain fog, emotional blunting
Haloperidol (Haldol), Risperidone (Risperdal)
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