Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

Norwegian scientists harvest super donor cells to fight diverse diseases

Cells from nine "super donors" are being collected in Oslo. The aim is for these to be used to repair or replace damaged cells, tissue and organs in people suffering from conditions ranging from heart attacks to Parkinson's disease.

16 Sep 2026

Review highlights solute carriers as targets for central nervous system disorders

Solute carriers (SLCs) are specialized transport proteins that control the movement of nutrients, ions and neurotransmitters across cell membranes and are essential for brain metabolism and neuronal communication.

10 Sep 2026

Ultrasonic vocalizations in rats linked to pleasurable food consumption

Understanding how the brain processes rewarding experiences could help researchers better understand behaviors such as overeating, as well as conditions such as anhedonia-the inability to experience pleasure, which is a common symptom of depression.

8 Sep 2026

Could one amino acid help explain why men tend to live shorter lives?

A UK Biobank cohort and Mendelian randomization study involving 272,475 participants linked higher circulating tyrosine with greater all-cause mortality and genetically predicted higher tyrosine with shorter lifespan. After accounting for phenylalanine, the relationship with shorter lifespan was clearest in men, while findings in women were less consistent, suggesting a potential sex-specific role for tyrosine in longevity.

7 Sep 2026

What your genes can, and cannot, tell us about your personality

A meta-analysis of 46 cohorts involving 611,037 to 1.14 million participants identified 1,260 lead genetic variants associated with the Big Five personality traits, including 824 in previously unlinked genomic regions. The associations were broadly consistent across cohorts and measurement contexts, while polygenic analyses linked personality-related genetics to health, behavior, psychopathology, and life outcomes, although effects were modest and could not predict individual behavior.

3 Sep 2026

Why addiction researchers are paying closer attention to GLP-1 drugs

A Journal of Clinical Investigation Viewpoint highlights growing evidence that GLP-1 receptor agonists, particularly semaglutide, may reduce alcohol consumption and some other substance-related outcomes by acting on brain systems involved in reward, motivation, stress, and emotion. However, the authors caution that efficacy for substance use disorders is not yet firmly established and call for further research into optimal dosing, treatment duration, patient selection, mechanisms, and effects across different addictions.

2 Sep 2026

Bridging science and family story to understand schizophrenia origins

Twin studies have placed the heritability of schizophrenia at roughly eighty percent for decades. Concordance between identical twins, who share the entire genome, does not reach fifty percent. Both figures are well established, and they do not fit together comfortably.

2 Sep 2026

Study uncovers cause of abnormal breathing in Rett syndrome

Hyperventilating. Breath holding until they turn blue. This abnormal breathing is frequent and disturbing in people with Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disease.

1 Sep 2026

New brain atlas reveals insights into Huntington's, addiction, and other disorders

A region of the brain called the striatum is critical for many cognitive and motor functions, including decision-making, control of movement, habit formation, and processing of reward.

1 Sep 2026

Precision psychiatry aims to match schizophrenia patients with tailored medicines

Imagine watching a son or daughter begin college during a formative time in life, only to have schizophrenia suddenly alter their reality.

31 Aug 2026

Probiotics for mental health? A new review finds promising signals and major gaps

This narrative review examines how psychobiotics may influence anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia through gut-brain pathways involving neurotransmitters, inflammation, immune regulation, gut barrier function, and stress signaling. Specific Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains showed encouraging effects, but wide differences in strains, doses, populations, and study designs currently limit clinical translation.

28 Aug 2026

Specific brain regions found more vulnerable to dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies is one of the most common forms of dementia in older adults, after Alzheimer's disease.

26 Aug 2026

Study provides a more nuanced picture of biological mechanisms linked to autism

How does autism manifest in the brain? Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital have investigated this question in a new study involving 60 adults.

21 Aug 2026

Oxford study identifies brain mechanisms behind our sense of control

A study led by the University of Oxford has identified the brain mechanisms that help us work out whether the consequences we experience are caused by our own actions or by circumstances beyond our control.

21 Aug 2026

Shifting expectations of unpredictability could help treat schizophrenia delusions

New research has found that improvements to the severity of delusions in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder recovering from an acute psychotic episode were significantly associated with reductions in volatility priors—someone's expectations about the unpredictability of their environment.

18 Aug 2026

Early-life stress rewires brain epigenetics to heighten sensitivity to future stress

. Early-life stress increased SETD7 and H3K4me1 in the ventral tegmental area of mice, creating an epigenetically primed state that heightened later transcriptional, neuronal, and behavioral responses to stress. Reducing Setd7 during development lowered H3K4me1 and weakened these stress-sensitizing effects, identifying a mechanism that may help explain how early adversity leaves lasting biological effects.

11 Aug 2026

Voltammetry and machine learning for real-time neurotransmitter detection

Anne Andrews (UCLA) explains how voltammetry and machine learning can track multiple neurotransmitters in real time, even with overlapping signals.

From Pittcon 10 Aug 2026

Targeting small group of brain cells may reduce opioid addiction risk

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine are investigating how to keep opioids' pain-relieving benefits while reducing their addictive potential. In a study published in Nature, they report a step toward that goal.

7 Aug 2026

Some caffeinated drinks are linked to poorer memory

A study on caffeine's impact reveals product-specific effects on anxiety, memory, and stress among university students, highlighting mental health implications.

28 Jul 2026

Two heart nerve cell types sustain cardiac stability in mice

Researchers identified two major intrinsic cardiac neuron populations in mice: Npy-positive neurons regulate parasympathetic heart rate control and support coronary perfusion, while Ddah1-positive neurons help maintain electrical stability during extreme stress. Removing Npy-positive neurons caused fatal cardiac failure, whereas loss of Ddah1-positive neurons increased susceptibility to malignant arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest under stress.

23 Jul 2026

Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

Norwegian scientists harvest super donor cells to fight diverse diseases

Review highlights solute carriers as targets for central nervous system disorders

Ultrasonic vocalizations in rats linked to pleasurable food consumption

Could one amino acid help explain why men tend to live shorter lives?

What your genes can, and cannot, tell us about your personality

Why addiction researchers are paying closer attention to GLP-1 drugs

Bridging science and family story to understand schizophrenia origins

Study uncovers cause of abnormal breathing in Rett syndrome

New brain atlas reveals insights into Huntington's, addiction, and other disorders

Precision psychiatry aims to match schizophrenia patients with tailored medicines

Probiotics for mental health? A new review finds promising signals and major gaps

Specific brain regions found more vulnerable to dementia with Lewy bodies

Study provides a more nuanced picture of biological mechanisms linked to autism

Oxford study identifies brain mechanisms behind our sense of control

Shifting expectations of unpredictability could help treat schizophrenia delusions

Early-life stress rewires brain epigenetics to heighten sensitivity to future stress

Voltammetry and machine learning for real-time neurotransmitter detection

Targeting small group of brain cells may reduce opioid addiction risk

Some caffeinated drinks are linked to poorer memory

Two heart nerve cell types sustain cardiac stability in mice

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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