- Glutamate and aspartate are the most common 
- Work on NMDA, AMPA, and Kainate ionotropic (ligand-gated ion channels) receptors and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR's) 
- Excitotoxicity (death of neurons when overstimulated due to neural injury such as stroke or trauma) can occur with glutamate 

Excitatory Neurotransmitters 

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters 

- A neurotransmitter that is an amino acid (GABA, glycine, glutamate, aspartate)
- In the brain, amino acid neurotransmitters have the most excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters


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- Amine Neurotransmitters
- Amino Acid Neurotransmitters
- Peptide Neurotransmitters
- Gas Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitter Families

Breedlove, S. & Watson, N. (2017). Behavioral neuroscience, eighth edition. Oxford University Press.

Behavioral Neuroscience 8th Edition

- A neurotransmitter based on changes of a single amino acid (acetylcholine, serotonin, and dopamine)
- Monoamine neurotransmitters are amine neurotransmitters 

Amine Neurotransmitters

Amino Acid Neurotransmitters

- Also known as neuropeptide
- Peptides are short chains of between two and fifty amino acids, linked by peptide bonds
- A neurotransmitter that contains short chains of amino acids (galanin, neuropeptide Y, opioid peptides)

Peptide Neurotransmitters

- A soluble gas produced by one neuron that alters the function of another neuron (nitric oxide and carbon monoxide)
- Neurons use certain gas molecules that dissolve in water (soluble gases) to communicate information 

Gas Neurotransmitters

Tryptamine is an indolamine metabolite of the essential amino acid, tryptophan. The structure of tryptamine is a shared feature of certain aminergic neuromodulators such as serotonin and psilocybin.

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