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dopamine

Image shows a cigarette and a stop sign.

·January 13, 2016·5 min read

Decreasing Nicotine Consumption by Flipping a Molecular ‘Switch’

Researchers have discovered a lipid that may act as a 'switch' to increase or decrease the motivation to consume nicotine.

Image shows the location of the prefrontal cortex in the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 12, 2016·7 min read

A ‘Back Door’ Into Cocaine Addicted Brain

Researchers report those addicted to cocaine may have difficulty controlling their addiction because of a 'back door' into the brain that circumvents their self control.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 5, 2016·4 min read

Put That Phone Down Mom! Fragmented Baby Care Can Affect Brain Development

Fragmented maternal care can harm brain development and have lasting implications for children, a new study reports.

Diagram shows the location of the nucleus accumbens in the brain.

Featured Neurology Pain

·December 21, 2015·4 min read

New Drug Therapy Could End Chronic Pain

Drug combination targets brain circuits in the nucleus accumbens and completely eliminate chronic pain behavior.

Image shows mushroom bodies and kenyon cells.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 17, 2015·4 min read

Rerouting Odor Information to Produce Flexible Behavior

A new study shows how dopamine can help change the flow of information in the brain.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·December 7, 2015·5 min read

Designer Dopamine Neurons Within Reach

Researchers have discovered a new method to ramp up the conversion of skin cells to dopamine neurons.

Diagram of the dopamine pathway in the brain.

Featured Psychology

·December 3, 2015·4 min read

Is Dopamine to Blame For Our Addictions?

A new paper considers the role dopamine plays in addiction.

Image shows a dopamine nueon in the mushroom body of the fruit fly.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·December 2, 2015·4 min read

Observing Synaptic Plasticity While Flies Learn

Researchers present evidence of synaptic plasticity in the fruit fly brain as the animal learns.

Illustration depicts discovery that the ventral subiculum alters the excitability of dopamine neurons in vivo via a relay within the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

Featured Most Popular Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 27, 2015·3 min read

How Cocaine Changes the Brain

A new study maps out the network of circuits that produce dopamine when a rat is exposed to cocaine.

Illustration shows the molecular structure of dopamine on a chalk board.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 24, 2015·3 min read

The Role of Dopamine in Motivation and Learning

A new study suggests dopamine levels signal hoe valuable a current situation is regarding receiving a reward.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 23, 2015·5 min read

Measuring Dopamine in Parkinsons Patient’s Gives Insight Into How We Learn

Researchers measure dopamine release during surgery in Parkinson's patients and identify how rapid dopamine release encodes information critical to learning and decision making.