Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

Disrupting specific signaling pathway in the brain can cause overeating of high fat foods

Defective signaling in the brain can cause overeating of high fat foods in mice, leading to obesity, according to one of the first research articles published in the new open access journal Heliyon.

22 Sep 2015

Olfactory function may inform Parkinson’s prognosis

Olfactory function is preserved in about a quarter of patients with Parkinson’s disease, and may be predictive of disease course, say researchers.

18 Sep 2015

Three studies point to mGluR2 as new molecular target for addiction treatment

The latest issue of Biological Psychiatry presents the results of three studies implicating metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2) as a new molecular target for the treatment of addiction.

15 Sep 2015

UNC scientists create smarter immune cells to treat Parkinson's disease

As a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created smarter immune cells that produce and deliver a healing protein to the brain while also teaching neurons to begin making the protein for themselves.

14 Sep 2015

Study reveals why long-term use of L-DOPA leads to dyskinesia

Researchers have discovered why long-term use of L-DOPA (levodopa), the most effective treatment for Parkinson's disease, commonly leads to a movement problem called dyskinesia, a side effect that can be as debilitating as Parkinson's disease itself.

11 Sep 2015

Study shows external brain stimulation temporarily improves motor symptoms in Parkinson's patients

People with Parkinson's disease (PD) tend to slow down and decrease the intensity of their movements even though many retain the ability to move more quickly and forcefully.

10 Sep 2015

Studies suggests that insular cortex may hold key to treating addiction

A pair of studies suggests that a region of the brain - called the insular cortex - may hold the key to treating addiction. Scientists have come to this conclusion after finding that smokers who suffered a stroke in the insular cortex were far more likely to quit smoking and experience fewer and less severe withdrawal symptoms than those with strokes in other parts of the brain.

8 Sep 2015

Sadness impairs basic visual processes involved in color perception, shows study

The world might seem a little grayer than usual when we're down in the dumps and we often talk about "feeling blue" -- new research suggests that the associations we make between emotion and color go beyond mere metaphor.

4 Sep 2015

Cognitive impairment may be part of prodromal PD

Research shows that people with a theoretical high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD) have significant cognitive deficits, particularly affecting executive function.

3 Sep 2015

Scientists pinpoint neurons responsible for alcohol consumption

Scientists have pinpointed a population of neurons in the brain that influences whether one drink leads to two, which could ultimately lead to a cure for alcoholism and other addictions.

3 Sep 2015

Phase III trial results show cariprazine effective in treating negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia

Results of a clinical trial seem to show the first effective treatment for the negative symptoms - withdrawal, lack of emotion, and apathy - associated with schizophrenia.

31 Aug 2015

Single dose of cocaine can impair ability to recognise negative emotions

A single dose of cocaine can interfere with the ability to recognise negative emotions, according to new research presented at the ECNP conference in Amsterdam.

31 Aug 2015

Brain cells in Parkinson's disease die prematurely, burning out like an overheating motor

The death of brain cells in Parkinson's disease may be caused by a form of cellular energy crisis in neurons that require unusually high quantities of energy to carry out their job of regulating movement, researchers at the University of Montreal reported today.

28 Aug 2015

NTNU researchers find link between aggression and gene variant in children

Some children react more strongly to negative experiences than others. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have found a link between aggression and variants of a particular gene.

27 Aug 2015

Researchers examine relationship between energy needs and 'pleasure' of eating in food intake

A team at the Laboratoire biologie fonctionnelle et adaptative (CNRS/Université Paris Diderot) investigated the relative role of energy needs and "pleasure" of eating in food intake. The researchers studied a group of neurons in mice. They observed that when the neuron activity is compromised, feeding behavior becomes less related to the body's metabolic needs and more dependent on food palatability.

24 Aug 2015

Adolescent e-cigarette users more likely to start smoking

As e-cigarette usage among high school students continues to climb, a recent study from The Journal of the American Medical Association reveals an unsettling trend: that adolescent e-cigarette users are more likely than their non-vaping peers to initiate use of combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookahs. The reason may lie in a common denominator between e-cigarettes and their combustible counterparts: nicotine.

21 Aug 2015

Two proteins that help cells eliminate trash may contribute to development of Parkinson's disease

Two proteins that share the ability to help cells deal with their trash appear to need each other to do their jobs and when they don't connect, it appears to contribute to development of Parkinson's disease, scientists report.

21 Aug 2015

S1 Biopharma supports FDA's approval of flibanserin for women living with HSDD

S1 Biopharma is a developer of first-in-class drugs for sexual dysfunction in both women and men. The company's lead compound, Lorexys, is currently in Phase IIb for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

20 Aug 2015

IQWiG finds no added benefit for safinamide in Parkinson disease

Safinamide (trade name: Xadago) has been available since February 2015 as add-on therapy for the treatment of mid- to late-stage Parkinson disease in adults. In combination with levodopa alone or together with other Parkinson disease medicinal products, this monoamine oxidase (MAO-B) inhibitor is used to help restore dopamine levels in the brain.

20 Aug 2015

New prescription smoking-cessation drug not helping smokers quit

The introduction of a new prescription smoking-cessation aid, varenicline, in 2006 has had no significant impact on the rate at which Americans age 18 and older successfully quit smoking, according to a study led by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

18 Aug 2015