Drugs and Crime - Neurotransmitters - Assignment Example

Drugs and Crime - NeurotransmittersThis paper is detailed on the central nervous system as the central processing hub for the body’s nervous system. It is normally abbreviated as CNS and it solely receives and relays information to its peripheral nervous system. The spinal cord and the brain form the most important and main organs of the central nervous system. These to organs are under the protection of a 3 layered connective tissues known as the meninges. Deeper into the CNS is a network of hollow cavities, ventricles.

A network of interconnected cavities, cerebral ventricles, in the brain is continued to terminate in the spinal cord and the central canal (Nieuwenhuys, 2008).The brain as an entry of the CNS is the center of control in the body that has three main components; brainstem, forebrain and the hindbrain. The forebrain’s responsibility is stretched several functions such as thinking, understanding, perceiving, reception and sensory information processing among others. Some of the structures forming it include thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebrum and the cerebral cortex (Nieuwenhuys, 2008).

The hind and midbrain form the brainstem. Visual and auditory responses are carried out in the midbrain. About the hindbrain, it stretches from the spinal cord. It holds structures that build it such as the cerebellum and the pons. This region is vital in maintenance of equilibrium and balance, coordination and conducting the sensory information. The medulla oblongata is also in the hindbrain, responsible for automated functions such as heart rate, digestion and breathing. The spinal cord is also a structure in the central nervous system; it takes a cylindrical form of bundled nerve fibers that are connected to the brain, running in the protective column that extends from the neck.

Its nerves relay external stimuli to and from the brain. Body cells contain neurons and are the basic units of the CNS, they hold nerve processes which consist of dendrites and axons to transmit and conduct signals. Axons ferry signals outside the cell body, while dendrites do the reverse (Nieuwenhuys, 2008). Neurons are further classified as sensory or motor, inter-neurons. The motor neurons transport information from the CNS to glands, muscles and organs while the sensory neurons carry information to the CNS from external or internal stimuli.

Signals between the sensory and motor are relayed by the inter-neurons The synapse is the gap between the axon and dendrites that holds the synapse fluid where axon releases the neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are mostly associated with dopamine and schizophrenia. It can be referred to as a chemically assembled messenger that transports, modulates and boosts signals between the body cells and the neurons. When action potential is reached, this is the point where neurotransmitters are released to the synapse.

They then cross the synapse’s gap to the receptor site in the other cells or neurons, a process known as reuptake. Here the receptor site is attaches to the neurotransmitters for absorption into the neurons. Neurotransmitters can be affected by drugs and infections that develop several adverse conditions in the body. Some of the diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimers’s, result from deficit of resultant neurotransmitters (Nieuwenhuys, 2008). ReferenceNieuwenhuys, R., & Voogd, J. (2008).

 The human central nervous system(4th ed.). Berlin: Springer.