If you were fortunate enough to witness the recent total solar eclipse in all its glory, you might have noticed something surprising.
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 5, 2017
7
925
A new University of California, Irvine-led study establishes important conceptual connections between the fields of circadian rhythms, metabolism, and addiction. Going beyond current studies on substance use disorders, which ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 11, 2022
0
304
Chemists at Oregon State University have discovered and synthesized a new compound that in laboratory and animal tests appears to be similar to, but may have advantages over one of the most important antidepressant medications ...
Other
Feb 4, 2010
9
0
Most of us have had the experience of backing away when someone has stepped inside the bounds of our personal space. But, until now, little has been understood about the mechanisms that allow us to determine when someone ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 9, 2017
0
185
An international research team has some good news for the struggling honeybee, and the millions of people who depend on them to pollinate crops and other plants.
Plants & Animals
Aug 19, 2015
41
342
Everyone knows it: An entire box of Girl Scout cookies counts as one serving, right?
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 9, 2020
0
969
Unsuccessful courtship attempts by males create aversive memories that can reduce their level of enthusiasm for subsequent courtship attempts. Scientists at the University of California, Riverside and colleagues have attempted ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 15, 2017
0
382
Researchers in Japan have developed a technique which allows them to control and target drug delivery to specific sites of the body at specific times, thus reducing side effects and improving treatment dramatically. The results ...
Bio & Medicine
Nov 2, 2012
0
0
As baby boomers age, the number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease is expected to increase. Patients who develop this disease usually start experiencing symptoms around age 60 or older. Currently, there's no cure, ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 22, 2015
0
148
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has the potential to allow single-molecule detection sensitivity. This capability presents new approaches for studying the biophysical and biomedical properties of complex ...
Nanophysics
Apr 24, 2009
0
1
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter occurring in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five types of dopamine receptors — D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5, and their variants. Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is also a neurohormone released by the hypothalamus. Its main function as a hormone is to inhibit the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary.
Dopamine can be supplied as a medication that acts on the sympathetic nervous system, producing effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. However, because dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, dopamine given as a drug does not directly affect the central nervous system. To increase the amount of dopamine in the brains of patients with diseases such as Parkinson's disease and dopa-responsive dystonia, L-DOPA (levodopa), which is the precursor of dopamine, can be given because it can cross the blood-brain barrier.
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