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Your brain is made up of billions of nerve cells. They communicate by releasing chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. Each neurotransmitter is like a key that fits into a special lock, called a receptor, located on the surface of nerve cells. When a neurotransmitter finds its receptor, it activates the receptor's nerve cell. The nicotine molecule is shaped like a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine and its receptors are involved in many functions, including muscle movement, breathing, heart rate, learning, and memory. They also cause the release of other neurotransmitters and hormones that affect your mood, appetite, memory, and more. When nicotine gets into the brain, it attaches to acetylcholine receptors and mimics the actions of acetylcholine. Nicotine also activates areas of the brain that are involved in producing feelings of pleasure and reward. Recently, scientists discovered that nicotine raises the levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine in the parts of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward. Dopamine, which is sometimes called the pleasure molecule, is the same neurotransmitter that is involved in addictions to other drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
Arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT) catalyzes the first step of creatine synthesis, resulting in the formation of guanidinoacetate, which is a substrate for creatine formation.he actual reaction catalyzed by AGAT is the synthesis of guanidinoacetate from arginine and glycine, with ornithine as a byproduct. The guanidinoacetate produced is then combined with S-Ado-Methionine, a reaction catalyzed by GAMT, to produce creatine and S-Ado-Homocysteine.