serotonin tagged posts

Popular protein great for increasing muscle mass, but could reduce your life-span – researchers say to vary protein intake. Researchers have examined whether there are any ongoing ramifications or potential side-effects from long-term high protein intake or from consuming certain types of amino acids.

Led by academics from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, Professor Stephen Simpson and Dr Samantha Solon-Biet, suggests that while delivering muscle-building benefits, excessive consumption of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) may reduce lifespan, negatively impact mood and...

Highlights
•Enterochromaffin (EC) cells are excitable and express voltage-gated ion channels
•EC cells use sensory receptors to detect irritants, metabolites, and catecholamines
•EC cell activation leads to voltage-gated Ca2+ channel-dependent serotonin release
•EC cells modulate sensory nerves via serotonin receptors and synaptic connections

Cells that alert nervous system to intestinal trouble could provide new target for gastrointestinal treatments. Specialized cells in the gut sense potentially noxious chemicals and trigger electrical impulses in nearby nerve fibers, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco scientists. “These cells are sensors, like a window looking into the contents of the gut,” said James Bayrer, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF.

Usin...

External stimulus causing excitement such as laughter by a joke augments the amygdala activity. In narcolepsy patient (left) lacking orexin neurons, activities of the amygdala become excessive, causing cataplexy. In healthy person (right), orexin neurons augment the activities of serotonin neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus, which reduce activities of the amygdala due to increased release of serotonin in the amygdala, which in turn inhibits cataplexy. Credit: Kanazawa University

The brain is equipped with sleep mechanism and wakefulness mechanism, which are regulated to be on or off in an adequate manner. It is orexin*1 that is important in regulating this switch...

Image1: Serotonin transporter expression (marked in brown) in human colon. Image2: TLR2 mRNA and protein expression in 5-HT treated cells.

Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School and University of Zaragoza in Spain studied a protein TLR2, a critical detector of the microbiota found in the intestine. They found that it regulates levels of serotonin – a neurotransmitter of the brain and also found in the gut, where it regulates our bowel routines. The research in cell cultures and verified in mice, provides strong evidence that microbiota can interfere with human physiology by modulating the serotonin transporter activity...