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Energizing or Depleting: A Field Guide
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Module 2
Chemical Architecture: Neurotransmitters and Hormones
1
Fast vs. Slow Stress Response: Adrenaline & Cortisol
Distinguish the fast stress pathway (sympatho-adrenal-medullary: adrenaline) from the slow stress pathway (HPA: cortisol), and describe the distinct functional roles and timescales of each.
HPA Axis Dysfunction in Chronic Stress
Trace the HPA axis in detail (CRH → ACTH → cortisol → negative feedback) and explain how chronic stress breaks this feedback through glucocorticoid receptor downregulation, producing flattened diurnal cortisol curves.
Hormones and Neurotransmission: HPT Axis and Sex Hormones
Describe how thyroid hormones (HPT axis) and sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) modulate neurotransmitter systems, autonomic tone, and stress reactivity.
Dopamine's Dual Pathways: Wanting, Executive Function, and Signaling Dynamics
Describe the dopaminergic system's mesolimbic (wanting/reward prediction) and mesocortical (executive function) pathways, distinguishing tonic from phasic signaling.
Serotonin & Norepinephrine: Mood, Arousal & Projections
Explain the serotonergic system (mood regulation, impulse control) and the noradrenergic system (arousal, attention) and their primary projection sites (dorsal raphe, locus coeruleus).
6
GABA-Glutamate Balance: Brain Excitation & Inhibition
Explain the GABA-glutamate balance as the brain’s fundamental excitation-inhibition ratio and how shifts relate to seizure threshold, anxiety, and sensory sensitivity.
7
Neurotransmitter Systems and Their Impact on Pain, Stress, and Homeostasis
Describe the cholinergic (attention, memory, vagal regulation), endogenous opioid, and endocannabinoid systems and their roles in pain, stress buffering, and homeostasis.
Neuromodulator Interactions: Beyond Single-Transmitter Accounts
Explain how neuromodulators interact as a coupled system (e.g., dopamine-serotonin opponency), making single-transmitter accounts of any condition insufficient.
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The Predictive Brain: A First-Principles View
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