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Sculptor and Destroyer: Tales of Glutamatethe Brain's Most Important Neurotransmitter
The fascinating story of glutamate, the neurotransmitter that controls the structure and function of the brain in health and neurological disorders.
Sculptor and Destroyer tells the story of a simple, little-known molecule that became a master architect and commander of the human glutamate. Upward of 90 percent of the neurons in the human brain deploy glutamate as their neurotransmitter. Other neurotransmitters can only exert their effects on brain function by subtly modifying the ongoing activity of glutamatergic neurons, but during brain development glutamate controls the growth of dendrites and the formation of synapses. In this eye-opening book, Mark Mattson explains how the neurotransmitter glutamate controls the structure and function of neuronal networks in the brain, thereby mediating the brain’s capabilities, including learning and memory, creativity, and imagination.
Mattson also delves deeply into the dark side of glutamate, which he calls the “destroyer” side. He shows how relatively subtle aberrancies in the activity of neurons that deploy glutamate may result in behavioral disorders ranging from autism and schizophrenia to chronic anxiety and depression. More dramatically, he describes how glutamate can excite neurons to death, a process that occurs in epilepsy and stroke and, perhaps even more insidiously, in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and Huntington’s disease. Sculptor and Destroyer concludes with a perspective on how knowledge of glutamate’s roles in neuroplasticity might be applied to the optimization of brain health throughout our lives.
Written in engaging, approachable prose , Sculptor and Destroyer will be of interest to anyone in the fields of neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, and psychology, as well as to anyone with a curiosity about the human brain.
Sculptor and Destroyer tells the story of a simple, little-known molecule that became a master architect and commander of the human glutamate. Upward of 90 percent of the neurons in the human brain deploy glutamate as their neurotransmitter. Other neurotransmitters can only exert their effects on brain function by subtly modifying the ongoing activity of glutamatergic neurons, but during brain development glutamate controls the growth of dendrites and the formation of synapses. In this eye-opening book, Mark Mattson explains how the neurotransmitter glutamate controls the structure and function of neuronal networks in the brain, thereby mediating the brain’s capabilities, including learning and memory, creativity, and imagination.
Mattson also delves deeply into the dark side of glutamate, which he calls the “destroyer” side. He shows how relatively subtle aberrancies in the activity of neurons that deploy glutamate may result in behavioral disorders ranging from autism and schizophrenia to chronic anxiety and depression. More dramatically, he describes how glutamate can excite neurons to death, a process that occurs in epilepsy and stroke and, perhaps even more insidiously, in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and Huntington’s disease. Sculptor and Destroyer concludes with a perspective on how knowledge of glutamate’s roles in neuroplasticity might be applied to the optimization of brain health throughout our lives.
Written in engaging, approachable prose , Sculptor and Destroyer will be of interest to anyone in the fields of neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, and psychology, as well as to anyone with a curiosity about the human brain.
- GenresScienceNeuroscience
312 pages, Paperback
Published August 22, 2023
8 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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November 14, 2024
Unheralded neurotransmitter
The cool kids like dopamine and serotonin take their orders from this bad boy. And they only get to have a say with his permission. He'll mess you up if you don't respect him by looking after yourself.
Don't be fat and dumb. And don't produce fat and dumb kids.
Intermittent fasting, exercise, and intellectual challenges will keep you in glutamate's good books.
The cool kids like dopamine and serotonin take their orders from this bad boy. And they only get to have a say with his permission. He'll mess you up if you don't respect him by looking after yourself.
Don't be fat and dumb. And don't produce fat and dumb kids.
Intermittent fasting, exercise, and intellectual challenges will keep you in glutamate's good books.
Displaying 1 of 1 review