dopamine

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter. One of the primary “pleasure chemicals” in the brain, dopamine is found in areas of the brain linked to experiences of joy and reward. In addition, dopamine pathways play a role in carrying signals related to attention, movement, problem solving, and pleasure. Brain chemistry blogs that discuss dopamine and other neurochemicals include BrainBlogger and Neurotopia.

The dopamine-rich nucleus accumbens is a significant site of action for addictive drugs. Chronic exposure to cocaine in lab rats produces a characteristic supersensitivity of the dopamine receptors found there. Evidence of abnormally low levels of dopamine is found in patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, a finding that led researchers to an effective treatment for that disorder. Conversely, scientists learned that too much dopamine was at the heart of addiction to stimulants like amphetamine and cocaine.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “dopamine”

• (Not so great) expectations

  
  Blogs — Authority: 162
  I have an apology to make to anyone who has been reading my posts weekly. By posting on the same day every week for a while I created an expectation that this week I didnt meet, and this may have upset your limbic system. Sorry about that! The brain is finely tuned to expectations, and an expectation that isnt met, ...
  1 day ago

• the corporatist agenda 70 years ago....,

  
  subrealism — Authority: 142
  
  3 days ago

• Infections Linked to Schizophrenia

  
  Psych Central News — Authority: 553
  Swedish researchers have developed a technique that analyzes inflammatory substances in cerebrospinal fluid — the liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Using this method they discovered patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Although the ...
  4 days ago

• New discovery can speed up development of Parkinson’s drugs

  
  Thaindian News — Authority: 719
  Washington, Nov 19 (ANI): Scientists from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research have made a novel discovery that can speed up the development of more effective Parkinson’s drugs.People with Parkinson’s Disease suffer from muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement and, in extreme cases, a ...
  5 days ago

• US: Kudzu Compound Could Help Alcoholics Quit Drinking

  
  Fight Hangovers — Authority: 157
  Link: http://www.digtriad.com/life/lifestyle/goodhealth/article.aspx?storyid=133293&catid;=261 Erica Nelson An ingredient derived from the vine noted for gobbling up native Southeast landscapes could help treat alcoholism, according to a study. Kudzu contains a substance called daidzin, which could make ...
  6 days ago

• Designing an Urban Space for Safety during Off-Peak Hours

  
  Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman — Authority: 123
  Image: Borya | Flickr We all have similar urban spaces that we don’t like to hang around. Train stations, bus stations and just outside retail stores after hours. I’m sure when you have to pass through these places, you like to move quickly. And why is this? This is probably because it isn’t so safe. So, ...
  1 week ago

• Parkinsons dopamine killers identified

  
  Heresy and Usurpation — Authority: 431
  Parkinsons dopamine killers identified
  1 week ago

• Brain chemical helps people make decisions (re-issue)

  
  Thaindian News — Authority: 719
  Washington, Nov 15 (ANI): Brain chemical dopamine has been found to play a vital role in making pleasurable decisions such as where to go on holiday, whether to start a family, claims a new study.The chemical can help explain human expectations are formed and how people make complex decisions.It also contributes to an ...
  1 week ago

• Vyvanse diminishes Memory? Watch The Top of The Therapeutic Window

  
  CorePsych Blog — Authority: 104
  Vyvanse can create memory problems and there are several likely explanations, so lets review. Most importantly, remember these small Vyvanse challenges do teach us - they point the way to the next logical intervention for the most effective medication dosage strategies.
  1 week ago

• Brain chemical helps people make decisions

  
  Thaindian News — Authority: 719
  Washington, Nov 13 (ANI): Brain chemical dopamine has been found to play a vital role in making pleasurable decisions such as where to go on holiday, whether to start a family, claims a new study.The chemical can help explain human expectations are formed and how people make complex decisions.It also contributes to an ...
  1 week ago

• Pursuit of hedonistic pleasure our only desire

  
  Family: News and advice on family matters children and parents — Authority: 973
  The pursuit of hedonistic pleasure drives the important decisions that direct peoples lives research suggests.
  1 week ago

• The Mysteries of Pair Bonding (Part II)

  
  Blogs — Authority: 162
  In Part I , we looked at the neurochemical reality that lies behind our instincts to fall in (and out of) love. We saw that our ancestors may have been pair bonders for a very long time, implying that pair bonding serves important ends for our species. We observed that the same bonding behaviors  that ...
  1 week ago

• Drug May Help Smokers Quit...Moving to Phase III Trials

  
  Newsvine - JCAtom's Column - Articles and Seeds — Authority: 129
  The NicVAX vaccine prompts the immune system to create antibodies that bind to the nicotine molecules in the blood. The now-larger molecules are prevented by their size from crossing the blood-brain barrier.
  1 week ago

• Alternative Treatment for Depression: Learning How Herbs Can Aid in Treating Depression Naturally

  
  Wish Everyone Good Health. — Authority: 465
  If you are like many of the 20.9 million adults in the U.S. who are suffering from depression, you have probably debated the pros and cons of taking prescription antidepressants. While depression can often be combated with therapy alone, some professionals do recommend medication for certain cases. The right type and ...
  2 weeks ago

• Addiction Inbox: The Black Market for Seroquel

  
  PharmaGossip — Authority: 491
  Speed freaks, coke heads, and antipsychotics. Last week, writing on the Daily Beast web site, reporter Jeff Deeney profiled a startling underground market for the antipsychotic medication Seroquel (quetiapine). Deeney described street transactions in North Philadelphia for Quells or Suzie-Qs, as the drug is ...
  3 weeks ago

• The Black Market for Seroquel

  
  Addiction Inbox — Authority: 409
  Speed freaks, coke heads, and antipsychotics. Last week, writing on the Daily Beast web site, reporter Jeff Deeney profiled a startling underground market for the antipsychotic medication Seroquel (quetiapine). Deeney described street transactions in North Philadelphia for Quells or Suzie-Qs, as the drug is ...
  3 weeks ago

• Rethinking Dopamine

  
  John Goodman's Health Policy Blog — Authority: 554
  From The New York Times : In the communal imagination, dopamine is about rewards, and feeling good, and wanting to feel good again, and if you don’t watch out, you’ll be hooked, a slave to the pleasure lines cruising through your brain. Hey, why do you think they call it dopamine?
  3 weeks ago

• ADHD Medications: Neurotransmitters to the Rescue

  
  CorePsych Blog — Authority: 104
  Neurotransmitter physiology takes us way beyond what we have been doing for years with only stimulant medications. Neurotransmitters will take us further down the line to that holy grail of ADHD treatments: the Natural Way.
  3 weeks ago

• This is Your Brain on Tea

  
  Kitsune's Thoughts — Authority: 121
  The calming effect of green tea may seem contradictory to the stimulatory property of tea’s caffeine content but it can be explained by the action of L-theanine. This amino acid actually acts antagonistically against the stimulatory effects of caffeine on the nervous system. (1) Research on human volunteers has ...
  3 weeks ago

• Addicted to Love

  
  Healthy and Green Living — Authority: 550
  It has happened to most of us at least once.You can’t stop thinking about him — or her. You dance until dawn in each other’s arms. You can’t sleep and you can’t get down more than a couple of spoonfuls of dinner.You’re in love. And yes, it’s in your head. Literally.So say a growing number [...]
  3 weeks ago

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