User:Ajjackson.chem/sandbox

Article Evaluation: Neurochemistry

Content: Everything is relevant to the topic. Nothing was overly distracting. The information is not really sourced well. There is also at least one quote that does not have a reference attributed to it. Not very much information is given about the current state of neurochemistry. There is a history section, but that only goes up through 1972. There are several things that could be improved. More sources could be added, and more information about what the cutting edge research is being done today could be included.

Tone: The tone is neutral, and there aren't any claims that I would consider to be biased. The viewpoints represented are very preliminary. The history section is really the only section devoted to actual information about it.

Sources: I checked the citation I could. Only 1 of the 2 sources had a doi number associated with it. The problem is that it links to an article in an encyclopedia that even with my university credentials, I didn't have access to it. Therefore, I was unable to confirm that information claimed in the article. The other reference doesn't have a doi number. Each fact is not referenced with a reliable source. There is at least one quote that doesn't have any reference. The information seems to come from a reliable source, but I have no way to confirm that just by looking at the article. One source is from the Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, and the other source comes from a book printed by the Academic Press. Neutrality is unable to be confirmed due to not having an accessible link to each source.

Talk Page: The talk page doesn't have any discussion going on within it. It only has information about what WikiProjects the page is a part of. The article has been a part of a WikiEdu program, and is a part of the following WikiProjects: Neuroscience, Molecular and Cell Biology, Physiology. Due to there not being any discussion about the article in the talk page, I am unable to confirm how the article is being talked about.

I asked a question on the talk page.

Article Selection:

neurochemistry: Add more sources, update the page to feature more recent advancements and discoveries, verify the history is accurate, make sure that every claim and quote has a citation associated with it.

Catabolism: provide more detailed information about the process, add more sources, confirm current source is accurate, talk about catabolism regulation.

Article Draft:
Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that influence the function of neurons. This field within neuroscience examines how neurochemicals influence the operation of neurons, synapses, and neural networks. Neurochemists analyze the biochemistry and molecular biology of organic compounds in the nervous system, and their roles in such neural processes as cortical plasticity, neurogenesis, and neural differentiation.

History
While neurochemistry as a recognized science is relatively new, the idea behind neurochemistry has been around since the 18th century. Originally, the brain had been thought to be a separate entity apart from the peripheral nervous system. Beginning in 1856, there was a string of research that refuted that idea. The chemical makeup of the brain was nearly identical to the makeup of the peripheral nervous system. The first large leap forward in the study of neurochemistry came from Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Thudichum, who is one of the pioneers in the field of "brain chemistry." He was one of the first to hypothesize that many neurological illnesses could be contributed to an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. He was also one of the first scientists to believe that through chemical means, the vast majority of neurological diseases could be treated, if not cured.

In the 1950s, neurochemistry became a recognized scientific research discipline. The founding of neurochemistry as a discipline traces it origins to a series of "International Neurochemical Symposia", of which the first symposium volume published in 1954 was titled Biochemistry of the Developing Nervous System. These meetings led to the formation of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry. These early gatherings discussed the tentative nature of possible neurotransmitter substances such as acetylcholine, histamine, substance P, and serotonin. By 1972, ideas were more concrete.

One of the first major successes in using chemicals to alter brain function was the L-DOPA experiment. In 1961, Walter Burkmayer injected L-DOPA into a patient with Parkinson's Disease. Shortly after injection, the patient had a drastic reduction in tremors, and they were able to control their muscles in ways they hadn't been able to in a long time. The effect peaked within 2.5 hours and lasted approximately 24 hours.

Neurochemistry of PTSD
One of the major areas of research within neurochemistry is looking at how different types of stress alters the brain. Neurotransmitter level fluctuations can dictate whether a PTSD episode occurs and how long the episode lasts. Dopamine has less of an effect that norepinephrine. Different neurochemicals can affect different parts of the brain. This allows drugs to be used for PTSD to not have an undesired effect on other brain processes. An effective medication to help alleviate nightmares associated with PTSD is Prazosin.