In fact, taurine has a very similar effect to the well-known central nervous system suppressant gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) - a neural messenger responsible for calming. In other words, it helps you to calm down. When you ingest taurine, it suppresses the neurotransmitter receptors responsible for triggering excitatory effects in your brain. In fact, it's just the opposite, as the ingredient is added to popular energy drinks as a nervous system depressant and just has a stimulating effect on the brain. Many individuals believe taurine is a stimulant, much like caffeine - but the truth is that it isn’t. However, since taurine is created naturally in the human body, a balanced diet supplies all you need. Taurine was first discovered in the bile of bulls and is now produced synthetically by the truckload and also found in food sources like scallops and other seafood. Taurine is a free form amino acid that is contained in foods and manufactured by the body from the amino acid known as cysteine. One of the main reasons is due to taurine, a common energy-boosting ingredient found in the caffeine and sugar-laden concoctions.īut what exactly is this popular amino acid, and why don’t we use it in our Proper Wild energy shots? What is Taurine? Homanics of the University of Pittsburgh.The multi-billion-dollar phenomenon of energy drinks has captured the attention of nutritionists and scientists across the globe. Goldstein of WCMC as well as Dev Chandra and Gregg E. Co-researchers include Minerva Yue, Angelo Keramidas and Peter A. may actually play a role in the crash people often report after drinking these highly caffeinated beverages." "Assuming that some of does get absorbed, the taurine. Now, Harrison's group is trying to determine what taurine actually does in the brain Harrison said that because GABA is important for forging new cell-to-cell connections in the developing brain, "and because taurine shares a receptor with GABA, it, too, may play a role in neurological development."Īs for energy drinks, "Remarkably little is known about the effects of energy drinks on the brain," Harrison said. Nevertheless, finding taurine's receptor has been like discovering the 'missing link' in taurine biology." "It came as a bit of a surprise that the same receptor was used by both taurine and GABA. "We found that taurine is extraordinarily active on this population of GABA receptors in the thalamus," Harrison said. The researchers exposed thin slices of thalamic tissue from the brains of mice to concentrations of taurine that were similar to what might be found in the human brain. "It's like a railway junction, controlling information traffic between the brainstem, the senses and the executive functions in the cortex," Harrison said. The thalamus, located deep in the brain's center, is involved in what neuroscientists call "behavioral state control," helping to regulate transitions between sleep and wakefulness, for example. ![]() "But after some recent work in our lab, we ended up zeroing in on this population of GABA receptors in the thalamus." "Scientists have long questioned whether taurine might act on an as-yet-undiscovered receptor of its own," said lead researcher Fan Jia, postdoctoral scientist in anesthesiology. The prime focus of the study, however, was to find a site for the neurological activity of taurine. taurine actually would have more of a sedative effect on the brain," Harrison said. "Its inclusion in these supplements is a little puzzling, because our research would suggest. While the amino acid is made naturally by the body, it's also a much-touted ingredient in such so-called "energy drinks" as Red Bull. The finding, reported in the January issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, opens the door to better understanding taurine's impact on the brain. It seems that taurine shares these receptors." "We had discovered these receptors two years ago and showed that they interact with the neurotransmitter GABA - the brain's key inhibitory transmitter - that is also involved in brain development. Harrison, professor of pharmacology and pharmacology in anesthesiology at WCMC. ![]() "We have discovered that taurine is a strong activator of what are known as GABA receptors in a regulatory area of the brain called the thalamus," said study senior author Neil L. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) has uncovered a prime site of activity for the molecule, bringing them closer to solving that mystery. Taurine is one of the most plentiful amino acids in the human brain, but neuroscientists are still puzzled by just how brain cells put it to use.
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