Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

Researchers examining new antioxidant-based therapeutic approaches to hypertension

High blood pressure affects more than 70 million Americans and is a major risk factor for stroke, heart failure and other renal and cardiovascular diseases. Two University of Houston College of Pharmacy researchers are examining the role of intrinsic antioxidant pathways in mitigating hypertension.

17 Dec 2014

IRCM researchers uncover mechanism that regulates dopamine levels in the brain

Researchers in Montréal led by Jacques Drouin, D.Sc., uncovered a mechanism regulating dopamine levels in the brain by working on a mouse model of late onset Parkinson's disease.

12 Dec 2014

Novel drug target could lead to better antipsychotic medications

Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have identified a novel drug target that could lead to the development of better antipsychotic medications.

10 Dec 2014

At-home test sniffs out prodromal Parkinson’s disease

An at-home olfactory test helps to identify people with an increased risk of having dopamine transporter imaging indicative of early Parkinson’s disease, show data from the Parkinson Associated Risk Syndrome study.

9 Dec 2014

Non-ergot derived dopamine agonists may be safe for the heart

Non-ergot derived dopamine agonists used to treat Parkinson's disease may be safe for the heart, according to preliminary research presented at EuroEcho-Imaging 2014 by Dr Hilal Erken Pamukcu, cardiologist at Ankara Diskapi Education and Research Hospital in Turkey.

4 Dec 2014

Researchers find link between vitamin D deficiency and seasonal affective disorder

Vitamin D deficiency is not just harmful to physical health--it also might impact mental health, according to a team of researchers that has found a link between seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, and a lack of sunlight.

3 Dec 2014

Research findings highlight power of expectations to drive brain activity in Parkinson's patients

Learning-related brain activity in Parkinson's patients improves as much in response to a placebo treatment as to real medication, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and Columbia University.

26 Nov 2014

Successful antipsychotic treatment may alter striatal connectivity

Connectivity within the striatum changes as psychotic symptoms improve in patients treated with second-generation antipsychotics, a study shows.

20 Nov 2014

Janssen announces submission of NDA for three-month paliperidone palmitate

Janssen Research & Development, LLC today announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for three-month atypical antipsychotic paliperidone palmitate to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The NDA seeks approval for the medication as a treatment for schizophrenia in adults.

19 Nov 2014

New study shows that brain’s ability to manage stress depends on brain protein

The brain's ability to effectively deal with stress or to lack that ability and be more susceptible to depression, depends on a single protein type in each person's brain, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published November 12 in the journal Nature.

14 Nov 2014

Stopping the death of synapses: an interview with Dr Soledad Galli

Synapses are the sites that connect neurons – sites where information is passed from one neuron to another. They are highly specialized structures and synaptic function is crucial for normal brain function.

11 Nov 2014

Mice may hold clues in development of ADHD, autism and bipolar disorder

A darting mouse may hold an important clue in the development of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism and bipolar disorder, according to a study by a Vanderbilt University-led research team recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Nov 2014

Researchers edging closer to first ever stem cell transplants for people with Parkinson's disease

A major breakthrough in the development of stem cell-derived brain cells has put researchers on a firm path towards the first ever stem cell transplantations in people with Parkinson's disease. A new study presents the next generation of transplantable dopamine neurons produced from stem cells. These cells carry the same properties as the dopamine neurons found in the human brain.

7 Nov 2014

Cue processing altered in siblings of schizophrenia patients

The siblings of patients with schizophrenia have altered activity in the ventral striatum during reward anticipation and receipt, a study shows.

6 Nov 2014

Scientists develop human stem cell disease model of Parkinson's disease in a dish

A team of scientists led by The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute successfully created a human stem cell disease model of Parkinson's disease in a dish. Studying a pair of identical (monozygotic) twins, one affected and one unaffected with Parkinson's disease, another unrelated Parkinson's patient, and four healthy control subjects, the scientists were able to observe key features of the disease in the laboratory, specifically differences in the patients' neurons' ability to produce dopamine, the molecule that is deficient in Parkinson's disease.

6 Nov 2014

New study finds link between conflict and reinforcement learning

We celebrate our triumphs over adversity, but let's face it: We'd rather not experience difficulty at all. A new study ties that behavioral inclination to learning: When researchers added a bit of conflict to make a learning task more difficult, that additional conflict biased learning by reducing the influence of reward and increasing the influence of aversion to punishment.

6 Nov 2014

Even brief workouts can reduce risk of relapse during meth withdrawal

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that even brief workouts can reduce the risk of relapse in rats withdrawing from methamphetamine. In addition, the team found that exercise affected the neurons in a brain region that had never before been associated with meth withdrawal, suggesting a new direction for drug development.

5 Nov 2014

Neurocrine Biosciences' NBI-98854 drug gets breakthrough designation for tardive dyskinesia

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 inhibitor, NBI-98854, in tardive dyskinesia.

30 Oct 2014

Engineered cells reveal changes associated with learning, memory and reward

Scientists have created cells with fluorescent dyes that change color in response to specific neurochemicals. By implanting these cells into living mammalian brains, they have shown how neurochemical signaling changes as a food reward drives learning, they report in Nature Methods online October 26.

27 Oct 2014

Early brain imaging studies may help prevent vascular diseases

Future prevention and treatment strategies for vascular diseases may lie in the evaluation of early brain imaging tests long before heart attacks or strokes occur, according to a systematic review conducted by a team of cardiologists, neuroscientists, and psychiatrists from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the October issue of JACC Cardiovascular Imaging.

27 Oct 2014