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.

Nicotine shows potential medical benefits

Nicotine may improve the symptoms of depression in people who do not smoke, Duke University Medical Center scientists have discovered.

12 Sep 2006

Boston Life Sciences announces issuance of U.S. patent for methods to diagnose ADHD

Boston Life Sciences has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to the President and Fellows of Harvard College, the General Hospital Corporation and Organix that covers methods of diagnosing and monitoring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by assessing the level of dopamine transporter (DAT) in at least one region of a patient's central nervous system.

14 Aug 2006

Nicotine shows promise as treatment against Parkinson's disease

New research suggests that nicotine treatment protects against the same type of brain damage that occurs in Parkinson's disease.

7 Aug 2006

Methamphetamine increases production of protein that promotes the spread of the HIV-1 virus in infected drug users

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have presented the first evidence that the addictive drug methamphetamine, or meth, also commonly known as "speed" or "crystal," increases production of a docking protein that promotes the spread of the HIV-1 virus in infected users.

4 Aug 2006