Your brain sends signals back and forth within itself.  Your brain also sends signals to every other part of your body. 

 Your brain is full of brain cells like the ones in the picture to the right.  The brain signals jump from one brain cell to the next.  Your body uses nutrients to help transmit these signals.  When the nutrients are being used by the brain in this manner, the nutrients are called neurotransmitters.  Therefore, neurotransmitters are the tiny nutrients, such as amino acids and B vitamins, as well as a few other substances used by the brain to communicate with itself and the other parts of your body.

Since these neurotransmitters are generally nutrients, it makes sense that they usually come from the food you eat.  They are used to control muscular movements, alertness, mood and much more.   Without these nutrients to use as neurotransmitters, the brain cannot function properly.  

Without these nutrients functioning as neurotransmitters you may:

• feel likeyour brain is in a fog.
• struggle with school work.
• have to focus hard to do simple things.
• feel sad and drepressed.

When one is said to  have a chemical imbalance in their brain, it is often just a matter of missing some of these two sets of nutrients that are called neurotransmitters when located in the brain.