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Premenstrual Disorders
•
Antidepressants affect the way the
brain functions as it sends messages
throughout the nervous system by way
of
neurons
. Each message your brain
sends moves from neuron to neuron. The neurons are not con-
nected; in fact, a small gap, called a synapse, lies between each
neuron. Messages move across the gaps by way of chemicals called
neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters, once their job of relaying the
message is accomplished, are partially broken down and sent as
waste to the kidneys. The remaining neurons are reabsorbed into
the nerve by a process called reuptake.
Serotonin is just one of the neurotransmitters that relay mes-
sages within the brain, but it is the one that affects our moods and
emotions. By forcing the neurotransmitter to remain in the synapse
neurons
: Nerve cells.
Neurotransmitters moving across the synapse between two neurons.