The Structural Foundation
Scientists estimate that the human brain contains nearly 1 million miles of cerebral pathways between an approximate 100 billion neurons and their corresponding 100 trillion synapses. To get a mental picture of the sheer vastness of these numbers, consider that the earth is a mere 238,863 miles from the moon, or that a stack of 100 billion pieces of paper would be about 5,000 miles high, the distance from San Francisco to London.
In the space of a single heartbeat, trillions of combined electrical and neuronal action-potential-transmitting impulses abound throughout this galaxy of 100 billion neurons. Many of these neurons and their associated pathways control our ability to concentrate and remember. Their efficiency determines how well an individual perceives and learns, ultimately determining the character and quality of that individual’s life.
Stress Check
The brain’s remarkable ability to perceive, perform, remember and learn is severely challenged by today’s stressful emotional, mental and physical environments. Left unchecked, these environmental factors may significantly accelerate the decline in nerve cell activity that normally occurs with age.
Phosphatidyl Serine is a potent supplement that helps provide the brain with the support and energy it needs to deal with the physical and mental stresses of an ever-changing environment. The brain’s response to stress also appears to be related to phosphatidyl serine. Increased circulating concentrations of phosphatidyl serine also may attenuate endocrine responses to acute stress.
Phosphatidyl Serine, the Major Phospholipid
As a key bio-structural molecule, phosphatidyl serine provides vital support for membrane proteins that enable nerve cells to communicate, survive and grow.
Within the healthy human brain, phosphatidyl serine is a basic structural component of the endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear envelope, Golgi apparatus, inner (cytosolic) leaflet of the plasma membrane, outer mitochondrial membrane and myelin.
Adequate intramembrane phosphatidyl serine content is required for the fusion of intraneuronal secretory granules within the presynaptic membrane, and for subsequent release of neurotransmitter molecules into the synaptic cleft.
- Within the brain, phosphatidyl serine is incorporated into neuronal cell membranes, influencing metabolism of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine.
- Adequate intramembrane phosphatidyl serine content is required for efficient neurotransmission throughout the human nervous system.
- Dietary supplementation with phosphatidyl serine supports intracellular communication by increasing the fluidity of cell membranes.
- Adequate intramembrane phosphatidyl serine content is required for proper postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptor interactions.
- Increasing supply of phosphatidyl serine to the human brain supports acetylcholine synthesis, which in turn supports human cognitive functioning.
