Latest

dopamine

This shows a brain surrounded by the COVID virus

·February 25, 2026·8 min read

COVID-19 Uniquely Rewires the Brain Compared to the Flu

It’s not just a respiratory virus. Scientists find that COVID-19—unlike the flu—causes persistent brain inflammation and vascular injury that explains Long COVID "brain fog."

Featured Neuroscience

·February 24, 2026·7 min read

Dopamine Signals Astrocytes to Sculpt the Brain

Neurons write the draft, but astrocytes edit the circuit. Scientists discover how star-shaped brain cells use dopamine signals to prune synapses and master new motor skills.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 23, 2026·5 min read

Moving Beyond Dopamine to Treat Schizophrenia

Dopamine isn't the whole story. A massive new review outlines the next generation of schizophrenia therapies that target the immune system, the gut, and cognitive receptors.

This shows a brain in a wine glass with a syringe above it. Behind is a strand of DNA.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 21, 2026·7 min read

Mounjaro’s Active Ingredient Slashes Alcohol Intake

From weight loss to sobriety. New research reveals how the active ingredient in Mounjaro "mutes" the brain's reward system to slash alcohol cravings.

This shows a head with a tree growing from it, full of leaves. This reflects the cognitive recovery arc in psychosis.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 20, 2026·8 min read

Study Shows Cognitive Recovery in Psychosis

It’s not a single path. A decade-long study reveals how the brain’s "growth chart" can predict recovery and treatment success in people with psychosis.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 18, 2026·8 min read

Less Experience Leads to Faster Neural Adaptation

A new study finds that the brain learns better from spaced-out, rare events than from constant repetition, challenging 100 years of Pavlovian theory.

This shows a couple in love with an overlay of neurons connecting them.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 14, 2026·5 min read

What Falling in Love Does to Your Brain

Falling in love activates the brain’s reward system much like food or addictive substances. Dopamine surges create euphoria and obsessive focus, while stress hormones intensify the experience. Meanwhile, brain regions tied to critical judgment quiet down, allowing emotional bonding to take precedence over skepticism. As relationships mature, bonding hormones reshape that initial spark into lasting attachment.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·December 17, 2025·5 min read

Dopamine Acts as a Movement Support System, Not a Speed Controller

Dopamine may not control the force or speed of movements as long believed. Instead, it appears to function as a foundational chemical that enables movement in the first place.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 16, 2025·6 min read

Two Dopamine Neuron Subtypes Process Smell in Different Ways

Closely related dopamine-releasing neurons in the olfactory bulb behave in fundamentally different ways depending on their physical structure. One subtype releases neurotransmitters from dendrites instead of axons—an unusual mechanism that allows the cells to act locally and even self-inhibit.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 9, 2025·7 min read

Key Brain Protein Controls How We Learn Reward Cues

Changing levels of the brain protein KCC2 can alter how reward associations form, reshaping the learning process that links cues to outcomes. Reduced KCC2 activity increased dopamine neuron firing and strengthened new cue–reward connections, offering insight into how addictions and maladaptive habits develop.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 20, 2025·5 min read

Thrill Fatigue: How Dopamine Devalues Repeated Rewards

New research shows that the same dopamine receptor mechanism responsible for drug addiction also governs the natural decline in motivation when we repeat rewarding behaviors. By studying male fruit flies, researchers found that dopamine acting through the D2 receptor promotes persistence during mating, but repeated experiences cause these receptors to desensitize.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 12, 2025·5 min read

Estrogen Shapes Dopamine Reward Learning

A new study shows that estrogen naturally modulates dopamine signaling in the brain, altering how female rats learn reward cues across the reproductive cycle. When estrogen levels were high, dopamine responses in the reward center intensified, improving learning.

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dopamine

COVID-19 Uniquely Rewires the Brain Compared to the Flu

Dopamine Signals Astrocytes to Sculpt the Brain

Moving Beyond Dopamine to Treat Schizophrenia

Mounjaro’s Active Ingredient Slashes Alcohol Intake

Study Shows Cognitive Recovery in Psychosis

Less Experience Leads to Faster Neural Adaptation

What Falling in Love Does to Your Brain

Dopamine Acts as a Movement Support System, Not a Speed Controller

Two Dopamine Neuron Subtypes Process Smell in Different Ways

Key Brain Protein Controls How We Learn Reward Cues

Thrill Fatigue: How Dopamine Devalues Repeated Rewards

Estrogen Shapes Dopamine Reward Learning

Smoking Linked to Lower Parkinson’s Risk but Higher Mortality

RNA Cleanup System Maps the Brain

Brain Switch Identified for Unlearning Fear Faster

Overactive Brain Rhythms May Be to Blame for Distractibility

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