Octopamine

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Octopamine

Octopamine is a biogenic amine

Biogenic amine

A biogenic amine is a biogenic substance with an amine group....
that is closely related to noradrenaline, and has noradrenergic and dopaminergic

Dopaminergic

Dopaminergic means related to the neurotransmitter dopamine. A synapse is dopaminergic if it uses dopamine as its neurotransmitter. A substance is dopaminergic if it is capable of stimulating dopamine receptors in a dopaminergic synapse....
effects.

pamine was first discovered by Italian scientist Vittorio Erspamer in 1948 in the salivary glands of the octopus

Octopus

The octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus ....
and has since been found to act as neurotransmitter

Neurotransmitter

Neurotransmitters are chemistry which relay, amplify and modulate signals between a neuron and another cell . Neurotransmitters are packaged into vesicles that cluster beneath the membrane on the presynaptic side of a synapse, and are released into the synaptic cleft, where they bind to receptors in the membrane on the postsynaptic side of...
, neurohormone

Neurohormone

A neurohormone is any hormone produced by Neuroendocrine_cell cell s, usually in the brain. Neurohormonal activity is distinguished from that of classical neurotransmitters as it can have effects on cells distant from the source of the hormone....
and neuromodulator in invertebrate

Invertebrate

An invertebrate is an animal lacking a vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal species ? all animals except those in the Chordate subphylum vertebrate ....
s. It is widely used in energy-demanding behaviours by all insects, crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, crayfish), and spiders.

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Encyclopedia

Octopamine is a biogenic amine

Biogenic amine

A biogenic amine is a biogenic substance with an amine group....
that is closely related to noradrenaline, and has noradrenergic and dopaminergic

Dopaminergic

Role in invertebrates

Octopamine was first discovered by Italian scientist Vittorio Erspamer in 1948 in the salivary glands of the octopus

Octopus

Neurotransmitter

Neurohormone

Invertebrate

Locust

Locust is the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. The origin and apparent extinction of certain species of locust—some of which reached 6 inches in length—are unclear....
jump. Here it modulates muscle activity, making the leg muscles contract more effectively. This is at least in part due to an increase in the rate of contraction and of relaxation.

In the honey bee

Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of wiktionary:perennial, Colony nests out of beeswax....
and fruit fly

Fruit fly

Fruit fly may refer to:* Tephritidae, the family of large fruit flies.* Drosophilidae, the family of small fruit flies and vinegar flies, including:...
, octopamine has a major role in learning and memory. In the firefly, octopamine release leads to light production in the lantern.

Octopamine also plays a role in mollusks, though the role of octopamine has been examined only in the central nervous system

Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies of multicellular organisms....
of the model organism, the pond snail

Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
.

Heberlein et al have conducted studies of alcohol tolerance in fruit flies; they found that a mutation that caused octopamine deficiency also caused lower alcohol tolerance.

Role in vertebrates

In vertebrate

Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
s, octopamine also replaces norepinephrine

Norepinephrine

Norepinephrine or noradrenaline is a catecholamine with dual roles as a hormone and a neurotransmitter.As a stress hormone, norepinephrine affects parts of the brain where attention and responding actions are controlled....
in sympathetic

Sympathetic nervous system

The Sympathetic Nervous System is a branch of the autonomic nervous system along with the enteric nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system....
neuron

Neuron

Neurons are responsive cell in the nervous system that process and transmit information by electrochemical Signal . They are the core components of the brain, the vertebrate spinal cord, the invertebrate ventral nerve cord, and the peripheral nerves....
s with chronic use of monoamine oxidase inhibitor

Monoamine oxidase inhibitor

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are a class of powerful Antidepressants prescribed for the treatment of clinical depression. They are particularly effective in treating atypical depression, and have also shown efficacy in smoking cessation....
s. It is responsible for the common side-effect profile of orthostatic hypotension

Orthostatic hypotension

Orthostatic hypotension is a form of hypotension in which there is a sudden fall in blood pressure, typically greater than 20/10 mm Hg, that occurs when a person assumes a standing , usually after a prolonged period of rest....
with these agents.

In mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, octopamine may mobilise the release of fat

Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
from adipocytes (fat cells), which has led to its promotion on the internet

Internet

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available server and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory....
as a slimming aid. However, the released fat is likely to be promptly taken up into other cells, and there is no evidence that octopamine facilitates weight loss. Octopamine may also increase blood pressure

Blood pressure

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs. The pressure of the circulating blood decreases as it moves away from the heart through artery and capillary, and toward the heart through veins....
significantly when combined with other stimulant

Stimulant

Stimulant drugs are drugs that temporarily increase alertness and awareness. They usually have increased side-effects with increased effectiveness, and the more powerful variants are therefore often prescription medicines or illegal drugs....
s, as in some weight loss supplement

Anorectic

Anorexics, anorexigenics or appetite suppressants are substances that reduce the appetite and cause a person to eat less....
s.

Due to lack of research, much is not known about octopamine or its role in humans.

Octopamine

Role in invertebrates

Role in vertebrates

Further reading