Neurochemistry

Dopamine is found primarily in the brain, although there is some in the retina, which is similar to the brain tissue. Epinephrine is low in the brain, being found mostly in the adrenal glands. Epinephrine raises the blood pressure and mobilizes glucose for emergency situations.
A large number of books have been written on these matters. Unfortunately some of them are very technical and also very expensive. These are books for doctors and researchers.

This cover, taken from Alibris, shows one of the more technical books. The CNS is short for the central nervous system.

Van Gogh had depression. Depression is caused by errors in neurochemistry. One theory is that brain tryptophan metabolism is abnormal. This theory is very strong as tryptophan plays important roles in the brain. Tryptophan in excess can wreak havok with brain metabolism.

Van Gogh lived in the 19th century. He was born in Holland and later moved to France. In a moment of madness he mutilated one ear. The drawing from Arthur's clipart website shows van Gogh with a bandage on one ear. He later shot himself to death, unfortunately.

Unfortunately some diseases of neurochemistry can be fatal, including Alzheimer's disease. The clipart is from Disability Graphics.

Shown here is tryptophan, as portrayed by the Molecule of the Month website in Bristol, England. Tryptophan plays important roles in the brain as well as in the rest of the body. It is a precursor of the vitamin niacin.

This clipart from Arthur's Famous People website shows Darwin. Neurochemistry is a product of evolution. Mistakes in evolution cause diseases. Many of these mistakes are on a molecular level.

This portrayal of tryptophan is by the Dept. of Chemistry at the University of Bristol in England. As can be seen by comparison, the colored version shows nitrogen atoms in blue and oxygen atoms in red. Oxygen atoms are often portrayed as red because blood cells carrying oxygen are red.

Again the clipart is from Molecule of the Month. It was drawn using a computer program. Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter in the brain and in the intestines. This is one metabolic pathway of tryptophan. Another pathway leads to the manufacture of niacin.

In 1901 Sir Frederick Hopkins isolated tryptophan from milk protein. The photo of Hopkins is from the British website in Bristol.

This struture, taken from Molecule of the Month, shows both epinephreine and norepinephrine. When R is H, it is norepinephrine. When R is CH3, it is epinephrine.