Dopamine News and Research

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Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter occurring in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five types of dopamine receptors — D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5, and their variants. Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is also a neurohormone released by the hypothalamus. Its main function as a hormone is to inhibit the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary. Dopamine has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward, inhibition of prolactin production (involved in lactation), sleep, mood, attention, and learning. Dopaminergic neurons (i.e., neurons whose primary neurotransmitter is dopamine) are present chiefly in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain, substantia nigra pars compacta, and arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.

Mice with enzyme deficiency are unable to properly assess threat

Do you run when you should stay? Are you afraid of all the wrong things? An enzyme deficiency might be to blame, reveals new research in mice by scientists at the University of Southern California.

12 Aug 2011

Scientists identify new therapeutic target for ADHD, other neuropsychiatric disorders

A biochemical pathway long associated with diarrhea and intestinal function may provide a new therapeutic target for treating ADHD other neuropsychiatric disorders, according to a team of scientists from China and the United States reporting Aug. 11 in Science.

12 Aug 2011

Roadmap to overcome obstacles for using induced pluripotent stem cells

The possibility of developing stem cells from a patient's own skin and using them to treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer has generated tremendous excitement in the stem cell research community in recent years. Such therapies would avoid the controversial need for using stem cells derived from human embryos, and in theory, also bypass immunological problems inherent in using cells from one person to treat another.

5 Aug 2011

Stress management can improve chronic skin conditions

As anyone with a chronic, inflammatory skin condition, such as psoriasis, rosacea or acne, knows, dealing with unpredictable flares can cause considerable stress and have a negative impact on a person's overall well-being.

4 Aug 2011

Nicotine protects against Parkinson's disease

If you've ever wondered if smoking offered society any benefit, a new research report published in The FASEB Journal offers a surprising answer. Nicotine protects us from Parkinson's disease, and the discovery of how nicotine does this may lead to entirely new types of treatments for the disease.

2 Aug 2011

New neurobehavioral model for obesity counseling

Current approaches to dietary counseling for obesity are heavily rooted in the notion of personal choice and will power - the ability to choose healthy foods and portion sizes consistent with weight loss while foregoing sweets and comfort foods.

1 Aug 2011

Scientists examine relationship between REM sleep behaviour disorders, Parkinson's disease

Patients suffering REM sleep behaviour disorders dream nightmares in which they are attacked and pursued, with the particularity that they express them by screaming, crying, punching and kicking while sleeping.

30 Jul 2011

Researchers identify gene linked to Lesch-Nyhan disease

In humans, inherited mutations in a gene called HPRT1 lead to very specific self-destructive behavior. Boys with Lesch-Nyhan disease experience uncontrollable urges to bite their fingers, slam their arms into doorways and otherwise harm themselves.

28 Jul 2011

Study suggests common process for both pleasurable and anxiety-reducing effects of nicotine

Removing a protein from cells located in the brain's reward center blocks the anxiety-reducing and rewarding effects of nicotine, according to a new animal study in the July 27 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings may help researchers better understand how nicotine affects the brain.

27 Jul 2011

Methamphetamine users more likely to develop Parkinson's disease

People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

27 Jul 2011

Essential criteria for clinical diagnosis of restless legs syndrome

We've all experienced abnormal sensations in our legs at one time or another, but for as many as 10 percent of the US population, restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a daily occurrence. Characterized by throbbing, pulling, tingling, itching, and crawling sensations, RLS is a neurological disorder that produces unpleasant physical sensations in the extremities and an urge to counteract that sensation by movement.

21 Jul 2011

Scientists discover new dominant gene linked to Parkinson's

The newly discovered gene is known as VPS35, the sixth one which has been associated with Parkinson's disease and the third dominant gene.

20 Jul 2011

Lack of kidney dopamine leads to high blood pressure and shorter life span

The neurotransmitter dopamine is best known for its roles in the brain - in signaling pathways that control movement, motivation, reward, learning and memory.

20 Jul 2011

Gut hormone changes the ability of food-related cues to alter dopamine levels

New research findings to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that ghrelin, a natural gut hormone that stimulates feeding, also modulates the ability of tasty food and food-related cues to alter dopamine levels within the striatum, a critical component of the brain's reward system.

12 Jul 2011

Eating disorder behavior may directly affect brain function

Bulimia nervosa is a severe eating disorder associated with episodic binge eating followed by extreme behaviors to avoid weight gain such as self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives or excessive exercise.

12 Jul 2011

PDF announces $1M for 11 novel Parkinson's research projects

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF) is pleased to announce awards totaling more than $1 million for 11 novel investigator-initiated research projects designed to understand the causes of and find a cure for Parkinson's disease.

8 Jul 2011

BioLineRx initiates enrollment in BL-1020 Phase II/III trial against schizophrenia

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today the enrollment of the first patient in the Phase II/III CLARITY clinical trial of BL-1020, a first in class, orally available, GABA-enhanced antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.

28 Jun 2011

McMaster researchers to use tiny worms for Parkinson's project

McMaster researchers from three disciplines are deploying thousands of tiny worms and a homegrown invention to test drugs in a collaborative bid to defeat Parkinson's Disease.

27 Jun 2011

ACS to honor Brookhaven Lab's senior chemist for brain research

Joanna Fowler, a senior chemist and director of radiotracer chemistry, instrumentation, and biological imaging at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, is one of 23 women from around the world who has been chosen to receive a Distinguished Women in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Award, sponsored by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

27 Jun 2011

Cocaine contaminated with livestock de-worming drug causes painful purpura

If the obvious reasons for avoiding recreational drug use aren't off-putting enough, physicians have yet another detrimental consequence to add to the list - crusty, purplish areas of dead skin that are extremely painful and can open the door to nasty infections.

24 Jun 2011