What are Neurotransmitters and how do they work?

Learn to unleash Your Brain superpower

Let's start by looking at the neuroscience of intelligence and exactly how you can increase it in theory.

So, welcome to your mind. Here, you have a huge interconnected network of neurons

We collectively refer to your "neural network". Think of this like the world's largest mind map, except it's made of billions of connections.

Each of these neurons represents an experience, an action, a memory, or a "koala."

So, for example, you have the visual cortex (V1) which contains all the neurons responsible for your vision. If you were to open the back of your skull and stimulate those neurons individually with an electrode (this has already been tested by the way), you would see dots of light appear in your vision that correspond to specific neurons!

Similarly, if you were to stimulate neurons in the motor cortex, this might cause your arm or leg to move, or it might cause you to feel a sensation in your ear.

Other neurons have different functions. For example, there are those who play a role in storing memories. These light up when we remember things that happened to us in the past. Others may make us feel happy or sad. Others may represent aspects of our personality, or our thoughts.

They are collected in clusters in regions of the brain or brain, which is why brain damage can end up destroying very specific abilities or altering our personalities.

And at any given time, multiple brain regions will be active, representing the way your brain is being used. So you may have activity in your visual cortex because you are processing things around you, but you may also have activity in your hippocampus related to memories associated with the things you see and you may have activity in your prefrontal cortex as you do. Plan what you are about to do.

Neurotransmitters

Neurons are connected via tall tales and branches called axons and dendrites. They don't actually touch each other, but they come very close to touch and leave a very small gap called clamp.

When a neuron fires, it causes all the neurons around it to fire. And when neurons cross a certain excitation "threshold," they fire, too.