Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

Stimulating specific brain pathway may induce active emergence from anesthesia

Researchers may be one step closer to better understanding how anesthesia works. A study in the August issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists- (ASA-), found stimulating a major dopamine-producing region in the brain, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), caused rats to wake from general anesthesia, suggesting that this region plays a key role in restoring consciousness after general anesthesia.

23 Jul 2014

Findings point to biological mechanisms and pathways that may underlie schizophrenia

As part of a multinational, collaborative effort, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and scores of other institutions from all over the world have helped identify over 100 locations in the human genome associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia, in what is the largest genomic study published on any psychiatric disorder to date.

22 Jul 2014

Common genetic variation in gene may modify cardiovascular benefit of aspirin

Aspirin is the gold standard for antiplatelet therapy and a daily low-dose aspirin is widely prescribed for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

21 Jul 2014

Impaired inhibition of medium spiny neurons linked to depression-like behavior in juvenile WKY rats

Accumulating evidence suggests that the nucleus accumbens, which is involved in mechanisms of reward and addiction, plays a role in the pathogenesis of depression and in the action of antidepressants.

18 Jul 2014

Zhichan decoction promotes dopaminergic neurons following NSC transplantation in PD rats

There is an increasing interest in Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment by increasing dopamine content and reducing dopaminergic metabolites in the brain.

17 Jul 2014

Urge incontinence therapy may relieve stress incontinence

Anticholinergic medication appears to be effective as a treatment for stress and mixed urinary incontinence, results of a small clinical trial indicate.

15 Jul 2014

Imaging biomarker proposed for Parkinson’s disease

Reduced off-medication connectivity in the basal ganglia network separates patients with early Parkinson’s disease from healthy controls with high accuracy, preliminary findings suggest.

15 Jul 2014

Study demonstrates that Parkinson's patients are more creative than their healthy peers

Prof. Rivka Inzelberg of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sagol Neuroscience Center at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, documented the exceptional creativity of Parkinson's patients two years ago in a review for Behavioral Neuroscience. Since then, she has conducted the first empirical study to verify a link between Parkinson's disease and artistic inclination.

15 Jul 2014

Sleep problems in PD patients can worsen in later stages of disease

Up to 70% of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients experience sleep problems that negatively impact their quality of life.

11 Jul 2014

Parkinson's disease drug could also help people with phobias or PTSD

A drug used to treat Parkinson's disease could also help people with phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Scientists of the Translational Neurosciences Research Center at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz are currently exploring the effects of psychotherapy to extinguish fears in combination with L-dopa.

10 Jul 2014

Neuroprotective effects of lithium are likely related to gene expressions

Lithium, as a neuroprotective agent, benefits for neuronal survival. Recent cDNA array studies have demonstrated that mood stabilizer lithium exhibits neuroprotective effects through multiple targets.

9 Jul 2014

Cinnamon can be used to halt disease progression in Parkinson's patients

Neurological scientists at Rush University Medical Center have found that using cinnamon, a common food spice and flavoring material, can reverse the biomechanical, cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with Parkinson's disease (PD).

9 Jul 2014

Researchers identify genetic mutation that may cause parkinsonism in young people

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen University Hospital have identified a particular genetic mutation that may cause parkinsonism in young people. The mutation interferes with the brain's transport of the important signal substance dopamine and may also plays a role in mental diseases, e.g. ADHD.

3 Jul 2014

Study details brain mechanisms involved with addictive substances

The National Institutes of Health has turned to neuroscientists at the nation's most "Stone Cold Sober" university for help finding ways to treat drug and alcohol addiction.

1 Jul 2014

Scientists one step closer to understanding the causes of Parkinson's disease

Scientists have taken a step closer to understanding the causes of Parkinson's disease, identifying what's happening at a cellular level to potentially help develop future treatments.

27 Jun 2014

DBS improves motor and non motor symptoms of patients with early Parkinson's disease

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a well-recognized non-pharmacologic treatment that improves motor symptoms of patients with early and advanced Parkinson's disease.

26 Jun 2014

Scientists use femtosecond lasers to tackle Parkinson's disease

Scientists are combining physics and neurobiology to tackle Parkinson's disease. The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University's Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit and Neurobiology Research Unit, along with collaborators at the University of Otago, New Zealand are using lasers, nanotechnology and neuroscience to develop a new, versatile drug delivery system.

26 Jun 2014

Brain iron levels offer potential biomarker in the diagnosis of ADHD

Brain iron levels offer a potential biomarker in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and may help physicians and parents make better informed treatment decisions, according to new research published online in the journal Radiology.

18 Jun 2014

Failing dopamine pump damages brain cells of patients with Parkinson's disease

A study group at the Medical University of Vienna's Centre for Brain Research has investigated the function of an intracellular dopamine pump in Parkinson's patients compared to a healthy test group.

18 Jun 2014

Increase in protein helps store dopamine and protects from Parkinson's disease

Researchers from Emory's Rollins School of Public Health discovered that an increase in the protein that helps store dopamine, a critical brain chemical, led to enhanced dopamine neurotransmission and protection from a Parkinson's disease-related neurotoxin in mice.

18 Jun 2014