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I'm looking for a concise overview table of all types of neurons (whose number is at least in the hundreds) indicating which neurotransmitters they use pre- and post-synaptically (of which there are over 100 different ones).

If a type of neuron releases (or receives) more than one neurotransmitter the relative amounts would be interesting.

Furthermore: For each neurotransmitter there seem to be more than one receptor, so the table should include also the receptor (per neuron type and received neurotransmitter).

Ideally, to each pair of neuron type and released neurotransmitter the neuron types should be listed that receive this transmitter from this type of neuron. (It might turn out that "anything goes".)

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    $\begingroup$ There may not be actually hundreds of types/subtypes of neurons in the sense that could have a practical value for this discussion. It's more like hundreds of specific locations or specific functions within the nervous system. So, I believe it's more practically to start with knowing neurotransmitters (yes, 100+) and their receptors and then going from there as needed. $\endgroup$
    – Jan
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 14:21

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Wikipedia has a comprehensive list of neurotransmitters, categorized as (a short list):

  • Amino acids: glutamate, aspartate, D-serine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine
  • Gasotransmitters: nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
  • Monoamines: dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (noradrenaline; NE, NA), epinephrine (adrenaline), histamine, serotonin (SER, 5-HT)
  • Trace amines: phenethylamine, N-methylphenethylamine, tyramine, 3-iodothyronamine, octopamine, tryptamine, etc.
  • Peptides: oxytocin, somatostatin, substance P, cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript, opioid peptides
  • Purines: adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine
  • Catecholamines: dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), epinephrine (adrenaline)
  • Others: acetylcholine (ACh), anandamide, etc.

They then specifically present about 100 transmitters and the respected receptors in the tables and most of both are additionally presented in separate articles. They mention specific actions of main transmitters and they further categorize them by systems: noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, histamine and acetylcholine system.

What can be interesting to focus on:

  • Which neurotransmitters/receptors are excitatory or inhibitory
  • Which neurotransmitters are antagonistic or synergistic
  • Which neurotransmitters/receptors are related with specific diseases
  • Drugs that act on specific receptors
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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for this answer and your comment, which both make sense to me and help me. Especially I like your three-fold classification scheme: by type, by location, by function. (My question was for "neurons by type", but "neurons by location" and "neurons by function" are equally or even more valid approaches.) $\endgroup$
    – Hans-Peter Stricker
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 14:24
  • $\begingroup$ @Hans-PeterStricker, it can help if you say what do you want to achieve by knowing this. $\endgroup$
    – Jan
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 14:28
  • $\begingroup$ I'm asked this question again and again - but cannot say more than "I'd like to know" (as a first step into the complexity of neurosciences, into the miracles of evolution, into getting an idea what's it all about, ...and maybe: to possibly see correlations when displaying the data in a suggestive way - which comes next.) $\endgroup$
    – Hans-Peter Stricker
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 14:32
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    $\begingroup$ OK, this is a huge topic, so you may want to check what happens with neurotransmitters/receptors in the context of developing alcohol tolerance and withdrawal. Just a single example to show exact connections between neurotansmitters and symptoms/behavior. $\endgroup$
    – Jan
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 14:40
  • $\begingroup$ Especially thanks for the list of topics to focus on. This goes exactly into the direction of my interests. $\endgroup$
    – Hans-Peter Stricker
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 15:01

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