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dopamine

Electrophysiology Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·April 28, 2021·3 min read

Protein Linked to Sex Differences in Age-Related Dopamine Neuron Loss

The VGLUT protein is more abundant in the dopamine neurons of female fruit flies, rodents, and humans than in males. The finding shed light on why females have greater resilience to age-related dopamine neuron loss and disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

This shows a woman's face and brain scans from the study

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·April 19, 2021·3 min read

Mirror, Mirror…Viewing Your Own Face, Even Subconsciously, Is Rewarding

Viewing a subliminal image of their own faces, participants showed an increase in activity in the dopamine reward pathway in the brain. Findings shed new light on the underlying neural processes of self facial recognition.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 6, 2021·4 min read

Leptin Puts the Brakes on Eating via Novel Neurocircuit

Researchers have identified novel neurocircuitry between midbrain structures which are modulated by leptin to control eating behaviors in mice.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 6, 2021·4 min read

Brain Cells Decide on Their Own When to Release Pleasure Hormone

Dopamine neurons largely rely on their own discharge to determine release rates of the hormone, researchers report.

This shows a weighing scale and tape measure

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 5, 2021·4 min read

Unwanted Weight Gain or Weight Loss During the Pandemic? Blame Your Stress Hormones

A recent study found 42% of participants gained, on average, 29 lb of unwanted weight during the pandemic, with people gaining 1.5lb per month. Researchers say a combination of stress, hormones, and dwindling motivation to exercise during the lockdowns may be to blame.

This is a drawing of a mouse against a psychedelic background

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 1, 2021·5 min read

Mice With Hallucination-Like Behaviors Reveal Insight Into Psychotic Illness

Mouse study reveals elevated dopamine levels preceded hallucination-like events, and artificially boosting dopamine levels induced more hallucination-like events. The behavioral effects could be blocked by administering haloperidol, an antipsychotic which blocks dopamine. The study sheds light on potential new treatments for psychotic disorders marked by hallucinations.

Electrophysiology Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·March 27, 2021·7 min read

Gene Changes Linked to Severe Repetitive Behaviors

Study identifies genes that become activated in the brain prior to the initiation of severe repetitive behaviors associated with addiction, ASD, and schizophrenia.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·March 23, 2021·4 min read

Parkinson’s Gene May Impair How New Neurons Are Made Throughout Our Lifetime

PINK1, a gene associated with Parkinson's disease, is not just responsible for the premature death of dopaminergic neurons, it also plays a key role in the neurogenesis of dopamine neurons throughout life.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·March 20, 2021·3 min read

Shifting Rewards Are Encoded Using Special Neuronal Patterns

Dopamine neurons in the midbrain become active in a previously undetected way when an animal considers a reward that is changing in value.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·March 18, 2021·4 min read

Parsing Dopamine’s Different Pain Sensitivity Role in Males and Females

Focusing attention on a neural pathway starting at the periaqueductal grey region of the midbrain, researchers made a novel discovery about how dopamine generates different pain responses in male and female mice. Findings indicate dopamine may reduce pain sensitivity in males, whereas, in females, dopamine helps focus attention elsewhere in the presence of pain.

This shows the brain with the VTA highlighted

Featured Neuroscience

·March 15, 2021·5 min read

How the Brain Learns From Subconscious Stimuli

When the ventral tegmental area was stimulated, monkeys were better able to identify details associated with subconscious visual stimuli they were exposed to.

This shows a stressed looking young woman

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·March 15, 2021·5 min read

Epigenetic Mechanism Contributing to Lifelong Stress Susceptibility Discovered

Early life stress induces epigenetic modifications in D2-type medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens, increasing the susceptibility to stress in adulthood.

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dopamine

Protein Linked to Sex Differences in Age-Related Dopamine Neuron Loss

Mirror, Mirror…Viewing Your Own Face, Even Subconsciously, Is Rewarding

Leptin Puts the Brakes on Eating via Novel Neurocircuit

Brain Cells Decide on Their Own When to Release Pleasure Hormone

Unwanted Weight Gain or Weight Loss During the Pandemic? Blame Your Stress Hormones

Mice With Hallucination-Like Behaviors Reveal Insight Into Psychotic Illness

Gene Changes Linked to Severe Repetitive Behaviors

Parkinson’s Gene May Impair How New Neurons Are Made Throughout Our Lifetime

Shifting Rewards Are Encoded Using Special Neuronal Patterns

Parsing Dopamine’s Different Pain Sensitivity Role in Males and Females

How the Brain Learns From Subconscious Stimuli

Epigenetic Mechanism Contributing to Lifelong Stress Susceptibility Discovered

Progesterone Exposure Linked to Gene Alterations in Male Brains

Reducing Visceral Fat Protects the Brain for Decades

Brain-First Hypothesis: Rethinking the Cambrian Explosion

Beyond the Gym: Why Your Brain Craves Creatine

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