All Articles Tagged As: dopamine

New brain research: Hunger for stimulation driven by dopamine in the brain (2/7/2010)

Our need for stimulation and dopamine's action upon the brain are connected, which explains why people who constantly crave stimulation are in danger of addictive behavior such as drug abuse and gambling. ...> Full Article

Brain dopamine receptor density correlates with social status (2/7/2010)

People have typically viewed the benefits that accrue with social status primarily from the perspective of external rewards. A new paper in the Feb. 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier suggests that there are internal rewards as well. ...> Full Article

Vacationing in Thailand over Greece? That's the dopamine talking (11/14/2009)

People constantly make complex decisions, from the more mundane -- which restaurant to go to for dinner or which movie to go see -- to the more profound -- whether to have kids or not. Now, a new study published online on Nov. 12 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, confirms an important role for the brain chemical dopamine in how people make such life choices, by influencing our expectations of the pleasure associated with their outcomes. ...> Full Article

Changes in brain chemicals mark shifts in infant learning (10/30/2009)

When do you first leave the nest? Early in development infants of many species experience important transitions -- such as learning when to leave the mother's protection to start exploring the world. Neuroscientists have now pinpointed molecular events occurring in the brain during that turning point. The findings, in animals, may help explain the strength of attachments in many species -- including the conundrum of why human children form strong attachments to even abusive caregivers. ...> Full Article

Cholesterol necessary for brain development (10/6/2009)

A derivative of cholesterol is necessary for the formation of brain cells, according to a study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. The results, which are published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, can help scientists to cultivate dopamine-producing cells outside the body. ...> Full Article

Looking at language (8/6/2009)

Eye movements of Parkinson's disease patients during sentence comprehension support subcortical role in processing syntax ...> Full Article

Researchers find new actions of neurochemicals (7/4/2009)

Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans. ...> Full Article

Phasic firing of dopamine neurons is key to brain's prediction of rewards (4/5/2009)

Dopamine neuron firing helps brain distinguish between rewarding and aversive events ...> Full Article

Researchers reveal how the brain processes important information (4/4/2009)

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have shed light on how the neurotransmitter dopamine helps brain cells process important information. ...> Full Article

Risk takers, drug abusers driven by decreased ability to process dopamine (1/1/2009)

For risk-takers and impulsive people, New Year'sresolutions often include being more careful, spending more frugally and cutting back on dangerous behavior, such as drug use. But new research from Vanderbilt finds that these individuals -- labeled as novelty seekers bypsychologists -- face an uphill battle in keeping their New Year's resolutions due to the way their brains process dopamine. ...> Full Article

Been there, done that: Brain mechanism predicts ability to generalize (10/24/2008)

A new study reveals how the brain can connect discrete but overlapping experiences to provide a rich integrated history that extends far beyond individually experienced events and may help to direct future choices. The research also explains why some people are good at generalizing from past experience, while others are not. ...> Full Article

Scientists engineer supersensitive receptor, gain better understanding of dopamine system (10/18/2008)

Receptor may be good target for treatment of smoking addiction, ADHD, and more ...> Full Article

Blunted activation of brain reward circuitry increases risk for future weight gain (10/17/2008)

New evidence that blunted activation of brain regions when eating is related to current and future weight gain in young females. ...> Full Article

One Sleepless Night Increases Dopamine In The Human Brain (8/20/2008)

Findings may help explain how sleep-deprived people stay alert ...> Full Article

Cocaine-induced synaptic plasticity linked to persistent addictive behaviors (8/17/2008)

Two studies identify specific cocaine-induced changes in dopamine (DA) neurons that play a pivotal role in behaviors associated with drug addiction ...> Full Article

New insight into what freezes Parkinson's patients and drives drug addicts (8/12/2008)

New research has revealed that dopamine strengthens and weakens the two primary circuits in the brain that control our behavior. This provides new insight into why a flood of dopamine can lead to compulsive, addictive behavior and too little dopamine can leave Parkinson's patients frozen and unable to move. ...> Full Article

Obesity predisposition traced to the brain's reward system (7/30/2008)

The tendency toward obesity is directly related to the brain system that is involved in food reward and addictive behaviors ...> Full Article

Thin line between desire and dread: Dopamine controls both (7/9/2008)

The chemical dopamine induces both desire and dread in adjacent regions of the brain ...> Full Article

Are Anxiety Disorders All in the Mind? (5/13/2008)

Researchers Find Link Between Altered Dopamine Activity and Social Anxiety Disorder ...> Full Article

Brain's 'sixth sense' for calories discovered (3/29/2008)

The brain can sense the calories in food, independent of the taste mechanism, researchers have found in studies with mice ...> Full Article

Nature and Nurture are both to blame for depression (1/18/2008)

Depression is one of the most common forms of psychopathology. According to diathesisâ€"stress theories of depression, genetic liability interacts with negative life experiences to cause depression. Traditionally, most studies testing these theories have focused on only one component of the diathesisâ€"stress model: either genetics or environment, but not their interaction. However, because of recent advances in genetics and genomics, researchers have begun using a new design that allows them to test the interaction of genetic and environmental liabilities -- the G x E design. ...> Full Article

Schizophrenia-Related Gene Linked to Imbalance in Dopamine Pathways (12/21/2007)

Forms of a gene known to increase risk for schizophrenia may create an imbalance in brain pathways for dopamine, suggests a recent study by NIMH scientists. The findings could help explain how this key chemical messenger goes awry in the disorder, which affects about one percent of adults. ...> Full Article

Gambling and increased sexual desire linked to restless leg syndrome (10/29/2007)

Study finds evidence of compulsive behavior associated with treatment ...> Full Article

Insulin's Brain Impact Links Drugs And Diabetes (10/18/2007)

Insulin, long known as an important regulator of blood glucose levels, now has a newly appreciated role in the brain. ...> Full Article