Glycine (neurotransmitter): what is it and what are its functions

Neurotransmitters are a group of chemicals that the neurotransmitters neurons of our brain and the rest of our nervous system use to communicate with each other.

However, not all neurotransmitters have the same effect on our body or on the cells and organs that compose it. For example, the neurotransmitter known as glycine has specific effects on specific receptors, while that other substances, such as dopamine or serotonin, affect other regions and produce other repercussions psychophysiological.

In this specific article we will see what is glycine and what are its peculiarities of this neurotransmitter and amino acid.

• Related article: "Types of neurotransmitters: functions and classification"

What is glycine?

As much as the human brain is the set of organs from which the ability to think rationally arises, the truth is that its operation is not rational at all. For example, neurons, which are perhaps the most important cell type in this part of the body, function thanks to neurotransmitters, chemical particles that usually circulate throughout the body quite out of control.

In all this chaos of neurotransmitters, our body is able to minimize the effects of unpredictability and take advantage of the existence of cells that react when it arrives. A certain amount of a type of neurotransmitter, regardless of whether it has been generated near or far or whether it has always circulated through the nervous system or has been outside it.

Glycine, for example, is a neurotransmitter thanks to which neurons can communicate with each other, but it is also a amino acid from which proteins are created. Without changing shape and properties, this element can be used both to help create and regenerate tissues or cell components to act as a chemical communication bridge between cells nervous

• Related article: "What is synaptic space and how does it work?"

As an amino acid

In its facet as an amino acid, glycine is the smallest amino acid of which can be found throughout the human body.

Its structure is very simple, and in fact it can be synthesized by the body itself, something that does not happen with essential amino acids. It is not necessary to ingest doses of glycine by incorporating foods that contain them into our diet.

As a neurotransmitter

Glycine is released into the bloodstream and begins to circulate through this medium until it passes through the blood brain barrier Y accesses the interior of the central nervous system. It is in this space that it works as a neurotransmitter.

Once within the context of the nervous system, glycine circulates until it is inserted in certain receptors. This combination makes the glycine act as a "key" that triggers certain biological processes. But... What exactly is the mechanism of action of this substance?

The mechanism of action

Glycine has a specific class of receptor that only responds to the presence of this substance. It is the GLyR-type receptor. Once this engagement has occurred, several valves of the neuron in which the receptor is located begin to work so that chloride ions enter the interior of this nerve cell.

This generates a chain response that, depending on the circumstances in which the neuron is found, causes a stage of depolarization, which causes an electrical impulse to travel throughout the cell until its effects reach other synaptic clefts (the spaces in which neurons communicate with each other).

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The functions of glycine

With regard to the different processes that glycine performs on neurons, the main ones are the following.

1. Regulation of motor behavior

Glycine, along with other neurotransmitters, is involved in the regulation of movements by maintaining muscle tone and that muscle groups can be coordinated to perform coherent actions.

2. Regenerates tissues

Glycine is practically throughout the body contributing to the development and regeneration of cellular tissues thanks to its action as an amino acid.

3. Has inhibitory effects on the brain

Like other neurotransmitters such as GABA, glycine acts in certain areas of the brain helping us to enter a state of relative calm, that is, absence of stress. Thanks to this effect, glycine makes it relatively difficult to enter a state of nervous hyperarousal.

However, this does not mean that glycine makes us sleepy.

4. Contributes to the fluency of cognition

Glycine secretion is believed helps cognitive functions develop more effectively. For example, remembering or making decisions becomes more spontaneous and easier to do, perhaps in part because the absence of excessive stress makes planning when guiding these functions more simple.