Brain Fumes:
Yes, We have NO Brain Gas
Stephen M.
Stahl, M.D., Ph.D.
Issue:
Nitric oxide (NO) is improbable as a conventional
neurotransmitter. It is not an amine, amino acid,
or peptide; it is not stored in synaptic vesicles
or released by exocytosis; and it does not
interact with specific receptor subtypes in
neuronal membranes. However, NO is synthesized
upon demand in the brain, diffuses to receptor
sites within the enzyme guanylyl cyclase, and has
neurotransmitter-like functions. (J Clin
Psychiatry 1998;59:6-7)
| No Laughing Matter Nitrous oxide (N2O)
is “laughing gas,” one of the earliest
known inhalation anesthetics. Nitric oxide (NO)
is a far different gas, although the two are
often confused. It is NO that is made by the
brain and used as a neurotransmitter, not N2O.1,2
Incredible as it may appear, NO, a poisonous
unstable gas, which is part of car fumes and
helps deplete the ozone layer, is also a chemical
messenger both in the brain and in blood vessels.
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