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.
L-DOPA is a drug used for treating Parkinson’s disease, and now researchers have created a tomato that is enriched with this drug. This innovation could lead to a new, inexpensive source of one of the most essential medicines in the world.
Variations in a gene that regulates dopamine levels in the brain may influence the mobility of elderly and frail adults, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.
In first-of-their-kind observations in the human brain, an international team of researchers has revealed two well-known neurochemicals -- dopamine and serotonin -- are at work at sub-second speeds to shape how people perceive the world and take action based on their perception.
Cocaine addiction is a chronic disorder with a high rate of relapse for which no effective treatment is currently available.
The mature brain is infamously bad at repairing itself following damage like that caused by trauma or strokes, or from degenerative diseases like Parkinson's.
Every time we eat, the glucose level in our body goes up. This spurs our pancreatic machinery into action and through intricate physiological mechanisms, appropriate amounts of insulin are produced, our blood glucose levels are controlled, and we remain healthy.
A new study using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology links astrocyte dysfunction to Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology.
Switching off a molecular "master regulator" may protect the brain from inflammatory damage and neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, reports a study published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Scientists have developed a new, multipurpose probe that is capable of detecting the programmed destruction of faulty mitochondria with pinpoint precision.
Compared with adults, children are less sensitive to the sweet taste and need 40% more sucrose for them to detect the taste of sugar, a new study found.
The lab of Jeremy Day, Ph.D., at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has used single-nucleus RNA sequencing approaches to compare transcriptional responses to acute cocaine in 16 unique cell populations from a portion of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, or NAc.
Uppsala University scientists have reported that they have developed a new way to predict how unique molecules that can be employed in novel immunotherapy.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in everything and the receptors have been a longstanding target for treating disorders like Parkinson's disease.
The neurotransmitter dopamine plays a vital role in everything, starting from motor control to higher cognitive functions, arousal, motivation, sexual gratification, and reinforcement.
Dopamine, a chemical that sends messages between different parts of the brain and body, plays a key role in a variety of diseases and behaviors by interacting with receptors on cells.
Scientists have described a potential new therapeutic strategy for slowing down early-stage Huntington's disease in a new study published today in eLife.
A new synthetic molecule selectively reduces the physiological rewards of cocaine in mice.
Dr. John Streicher speaks to AZoLifeSciences about his research on improving opioid drugs to make them safer and more effective.
A new study co-led by scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) adds increasing evidence that Parkinson's disease is partly an autoimmune disease.
At the University of Sydney, researchers have identified the fundamental science behind the fine-tuning of sweet taste perception in response to different diets.
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