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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: dopamine

dopamine stories: 13 news summaries
chemical revisited

Dopamine: Produces the Rush, Not the Pleasure

The "it" neurotransmitter stimulates drive, not good feeling

Oct 27, 09 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dopamine has become the decade’s “it” neurotransmitter, just as serotonin was in the ‘90s. But the popular image of dopamine as the brain chemical in charge of making us feel good, and hooking us on craving that feeling, a “Bacchus in the brain,” is misleading... More »

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dopamine • neurotransmitter • neurology • neurobiology • scientific research

Police Brutality? It Could Just Be Excited Delirium

Research may help clear cops who end up with dead perps

Aug 8, 09 6:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - New research could help exonerate police officers accused of using excessive force to restrain unruly perpetrators, New Scientist reports. So far the American Medical Association has not recognized “excited delirium,” a condition describing an agitated, combative person who exhibits superhuman strength and high body temperature—a rare condition... More »

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police • cocaine • heart failure • dopamine • American Medical Association • police brutality • sudden death • body temperature

(Newser) - Why some people get steamed while others stay cool depends on which version of a certain gene they carry, the Daily Telegraph reports. German scientists isolated a gene that affects dopamine levels. In a study, people with the least common variation showed little anger. Those with the other two mutations... More »

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genes • anger • dopamine • genetic research • scientific study • temper • anger management

(Newser) - Potential good news for Parkinson's patients: An experimental treatment on mice that involves implanting electrodes on the spinal cord had great success, Reuters reports. Mice that received the so-called stimulator were able to move more easily. Human trials are expected to start next year, and they could lead the way... More »

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Parkinson's disease • dopamine • therapy • deep brain stimulation • spinal cord • lab mice • laboratory

 Fast Thinking 
 Makes People Happy 

Rapid thoughts can make people feel happier

Feb 25, 09 9:16 PM CST
(Newser) - Happy people think fast thoughts, say researchers at Princeton and Harvard. They asked two groups to perform the same tasks—problem-solving, reading, and watching TV—at different speeds. Those forced to move along briskly felt more elated, creative, even powerful, Scientific American reports. The findings suggest a crossword puzzle or... More »

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brain • psychology • dopamine • scientific study • happiness • mood

Single Nerve
Cell Can Hold a Memory: Study

New findings may shed light on addiction, memory disorders

Jan 26, 09 12:04 PM CST
(Newser) - Individual neurons in the brain can hang on to memories for a minute or longer, a new study finds. Something like a computer’s temporary random access memory (RAM), this working memory is what allows you to keep a phone number in your head for a few seconds, then forget... More »

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memory • addiction • cognitive science • dopamine • scientific discoveries • scientific study • neurons • short-term memory • working memory

 Quit Smoking? Yes We Can! 

President-elect's struggle with nicotine could help others kick the habit

Dec 29, 08 10:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama is about to become the nation's smoker-in-chief, and anti-smoking advocates are hopeful he'll become a powerful example for other smokers if he finally manages to kick the habit. He has quit several times but so far has always gone back to smoking up to eight cigarettes a day,... More »

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lung cancer • White House • heart disease • smoking • cigarettes • dopamine • smoking cessation • nicotine patch • Nicorette • President Obama • Smoking Cessation Leadership Center • nicotine addiction • tobacco smoke

 Study Paves Way 
 for 'Entrepreneur Pill' 

Start-up bosses seen to make tough calls under stress; researchers see hormone link

Nov 13, 08 10:59 AM CST
(Newser) - A study that links entrepreneurial success to risky decision-making, a trait less prevalent among buttoned-up business managers, has scientists pondering whether a pill could boost enterprising behavior. Riskiness is associated with the hormone dopamine, which could inject chutzpah into hesitant managers, the Telegraph reports. Critics doubt chemicals are solely responsible,... More »

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entrepreneurs • business • dopamine • business intelligence • management • risky behavior • risk-taking • success

(Newser) - New research takes an accepted truth about obese people and flips it upside down: They may, in fact, get less pleasure out of eating than people of normal weight, the LA Times reports. Researchers found that people who have weaker reward circuitry in the brain tend to overeat. Thus, while... More »

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obesity • food • obesity epidemic • dopamine • overeating • high calorie diet

Parkinson's Drugs Trigger Compulsive Behavior

Patients report sudden onset of addictions

Jul 14, 08 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Drugs for Parkinson's disease can be enormously beneficial, relieving patients' tremors and rigid muscles. But some patients are now complaining of an unusual side effect—extreme compulsive behavior. One woman began taking Mirapex to combat symptoms and suddenly found herself with a $200-a-day scratch-off lottery ticket habit, reports the Chicago ... More »

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gambling • Parkinson's disease • addiction • prescription drugs • dopamine • Mirapex • compulsive behavior

Parkinson's Spreads
to Transplanted Cells

Disease found in healthy cells grafted to sufferers' brains

Apr 7, 08 9:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Transplanting healthy cells into the brains of people with Parkinson's alleviates symptoms, but sufferers showed signs of deterioration as the disease spread to the grafted cells, according to two studies in the journal Nature Medicine. Scientists in Sweden and Chicago discovered similar results in patients who received cell transplants up... More »

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Harvard Medical School • stem cells • Parkinson's disease • medical research • dopamine • Wallenberg Neuroscience Center • Rush University Medical Center • Dalhousie University • brain cell transplants • cell grafts • Lewy bodies • Michael J. Fox • levodopa

Schizophrenia Drug Offers
New Hope

Works on different brain chemical than
its predecessors

Sep 3, 07 3:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - The first human trial of a new medication to treat schizophrenia that works fundamentally differently from its predecessors has shown promising results, according to this month's Nature Medicine. The drug targets glutamate rather than dopamine, as do other drugs. Scientists have long known glutamate is involved in schizophrenia. More »

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medicine • schizophrenia • pharmaceutical companies • antipsychotic drugs • dopamine • Eli Lilly • glutamate

2 Studies
Tie Dopamine
to ADHD

Low level of brain chemical connected to substance abuse, too

Aug 7, 07 5:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Levels of dopamine—a brain chemical associated with movement and emotion—may explain the occurrence of attention deficit and hyperactivity, two studies published yesterday concluded. The studies found decreased dopamine activity in the brains of individuals, both children and adults, diagnosed with ADHD. Doctors say these decreased levels could have... More »

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ADHD • health • brain • dopamine • chemical

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