Neurochemistry
The neurochemistry is a research discipline of neuroscience , which deals with the study of chemical processes in the nervous tissue. Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Thudichum (1829–1901) is considered the founder of neurochemistry (at that time still referred to as “brain chemistry” ).
It uses chemical , molecular biological , biochemical , electrophysiological and microscopic methods to investigate the activity of the molecules involved in neuronal activity. This includes both the molecular mechanisms that lead to the release of the messenger substances into the synaptic cleft , as well as the interaction of the messenger substances with the receptors of the target nerve cell , to which they are coupled to open channels through which ions flow in and out resulting in a change in the cell's action potential . The investigation of neurohormones in the central nervous system is also one of the tasks of neurochemistry.
The Diagnostic neurochemistry also plays an important role in the detection of diseases. A central method here is the examination of the cerebrospinal fluid .
See also
literature
- Ferdinand Hucho : Introduction to Neurochemistry. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim / Deerfield Beach, Florida / Basel 1982, ISBN 3-527-25929-5 .
- Axel Karenberg : Neurochemistry. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1036.