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dopamine

·June 25, 2018·3 min read

Nicotine Alters Neurotransmission in Habit Forming Brain Region

According to a new study, nicotine reduces dorsal striatal output, underlying the urge to smoke and making it difficult to quite the addiction.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 24, 2018·6 min read

Why Our Brains See the World As “Us” Versus “Them”

Researchers say our neural circuits could be responsible for why we find comfort in those who are similar to us and why we are often uneasy with those who might differ from us.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·June 20, 2018·3 min read

Half of Those on Parkinson’s Drugs Develop Impulse Control Problems

A new study reports Parkinson's patients who take dopamine agonists are more likely to develop impulse control disorders.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·June 18, 2018·4 min read

Rare Genetic Mutation May Give Insight into How the Brain is Wired

A family with a rare genetic mutation are helping researchers answer important questions about how the human brain is wired. The family, who share an altered copy of the DCC gene, have less connectivity between areas where dopamine neurons originate and their target sites.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 13, 2018·3 min read

Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Emotion Identified

Researchers shed light on the mechanisms behind the anxiolytic CRH circuit in the ventral tegmental area of the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 11, 2018·3 min read

What Makes Aggressive Mice So Violent?

Targeting a protein associated with addiction could help reduce aggression levels, researchers report.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 4, 2018·4 min read

New Optical Probe Allows Ultrafast Imaging of Dopamine in the Brain

Researchers have developed new fluorescence sensors that are able to record dopamine activity in the living brain. The tool will help further understanding of dopamine's role in reward and motivation.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 27, 2018·3 min read

Exercise Helps Treat Addiction by Altering Brain’s Dopamine System

Researchers report, in animal models of addiction, daily aerobic exercise alters the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the brain.

Featured Neurology

·May 24, 2018·3 min read

Early Synaptic Dysfunction Found in Parkinson’s Disease

Mutations in LRRK2 leads to dysfunctional auxilin and impaired synaptic vesicle endocytosis in Parkinson's patients, researchers report.

Featured Neurology

·May 23, 2018·3 min read

Study Reveals Cause of Pesticide Exposure and Parkinson’s Link

People exposed to two common agrochemicals, Paraquat and Maneb, are at a 250% higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, researchers report.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·May 23, 2018·4 min read

People with Family History of Alcoholism Release More Dopamine in Expectation of Alcohol

A new study reports people who have a family history of alcohol use disorder release more dopamine in the ventral striatum as a response to the expectation of receiving an alcoholic drink than those without a family history of alcoholism.