Our entire organism is evolutionarily designed to survive. In our daily lives we face different situations that require different responses from us. Sometimes, we must use a large amount of resources and mobilize our body for action and other times such a level of mobilization is not enough.
In order to activate and mobilize ourselves, faced with the demands of our daily lives, different compounds intervene in our body. One of them, perhaps the best known, is norepinephrine. If you are interested in knowing more about it, continue reading this Psychology-Online article in which we explain What is norepinephrine and what is it for?.
What is norepinephrine
When we talk about the definition of norepinephrine we may be referring to:
- Norepinephrine as hormone.
- Norepinephrine as neurotransmitterbelonging to the group of monoamines, together with and , and, within this category, specifically catecholamines, together with dopamine.
- Norepinephrine as drug.
Whatever way we refer to norepinephrine, the truth is that it performs various functions that have a common denominator: the activation of our body.
Functions of norepinephrine
To carry out any task, whether exceptional tasks or more everyday tasks, it is necessary to have a certain level of activation. What does norepinephrine do? Together with acetylcholine, serotonin, histamine and orexin (Carlson, NR, 2010) are responsible for preparing us for maintain that level of alert necessary to carry out our functions.
Norepinephrine too prepares our body for action. Together with adrenaline, they affect glucose metabolism, making the body have the necessary energy levels in certain situations. In addition, it also increases blood flow to the muscles. Precisely this effect, maintained over time, can lead to health problems such as cardiac complications.
Norepinephrine in the stress response
Another function of norepinephrine is its participation in the physiological stress response. Given this, the sympathetic branch of the neurovegetative system is activated and the adrenal glands secrete adrenaline, norepinephrine and steroid hormones related to it.
Norepinephrine, in addition to its function as stress hormone, is secreted in the brain and acts as a neurotransmitter. Stress-induced release of norepinephrine in the brain is controlled by a pathway that runs from the central nucleus of the amygdala to the brain. locus coeruleusthe nucleus of the brainstem that contains secreting norepinephrine (Van Bockstaele et al., 2001 seen in Carlson, NR, 2010).
Norepinephrine in pharmacological treatment
There may be problems related to the effect of norepinephrine. As we have seen previously, a maintenance of the stress response and, therefore, an increase in norepinephrine levels, can be harmful to health.
In the same way, norepinephrine deficiencies can also lead to health problems such as . Taking into consideration that there are multiple etiological explanations for depression, the one that interests us most here is the monoaminergic theory of depression, of biological nature, which postulates that People who suffer from depressive disorders have a deficiency of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine.
Pharmacological treatment, in the event of a norepinephrine deficiency, will be aimed at enhance the effect of the neurotransmitter and/or to maintain it for a longer period of time. This function is performed by norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.
Uses of norepinephrine as a medicine
What is noradrenaline used for? Following the Vademecum (2018), norepinephrine, or norepinephrine, is a drug whose mechanism of action is based on the vasoconstrictive action of resistance and capacitance vessels and is a myocardial stimulant.
Taking as reference the therapeutic indications of Vademecum (2018), below, we will see the functions of norepinephrine as a medication indicated for:
- States of acute hypotension.
- Temporary adjuvant in cardiac arrest treatment.
The dosage of the drug is subject to medical prescription. However, taking into account the therapeutic indications for this drug, these doses are usually higher at the beginning and decrease in the maintenance phases.
Norepinephrine in sleep problems
Taking into account what has been said so far about the effects of norepinephrine, it is logical to think that it has influence on sleep-wake cycles.
Indeed, it seems that the activity of the noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus participate in these processes. The firing rate of these neurons decreases during slow-wave sleep and is almost zero during sleep. In contrast, said discharge frequency is high during wakefulness. (Aston-Jones and Bloom, 1981; seen in Carlson, NR, 2010). In this article, we tell you.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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References
- Carlson, NR (2010) In Fundamentals of Behavioral Physiology. Madrid: Pearson Educación SA
- Vademecum (2018) Norepinephrine B. Braun 1mg/ml Concent. Parasol. For perfume. Retrieved from https://www.vademecum.es/medicamento-noradrenalina+b.+braun+1+mg%2Fml+concent.+para+sol.+para+perfus._21847
Bibliography
- University of Navarra Clinic (2020). Medical Dictionary. Recovered from https://www.cun.es/diccionario-medico