Dopamine

Dopamine Latest News

Researchers recently showed for the first time that dopamine dysfunction in the entorhinal cortex, a critical memory-related brain region, contributes directly to impaired memory formation.

About Dopamine

• Dopamine is a hormone and a type of neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, made in your brain. 
• Your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells.  These messages also travel between your brain and the rest of your body.  
• This unique neurotransmitter affects your body, brain, and behavior.
• Dopamine is the chemical that mediates pleasure in the brain.  
  • It is released when your brain is expecting a reward. 
  • When you come to associate a certain activity with pleasure, mere anticipation may be enough to raise dopamine levels.
• It’s a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan.  It helps us focus, work towards goals, and find things interesting. 
• Dopamine also plays a role in these functions:
  • learning and attention
  • mood
  • movement
  • heart rate
  • kidney function
  • blood vessel function
  • sleep
  • pain processing
  • lactation.
• High or low dopamine levels are associated with diseases including Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• Dopamine is also made in other parts of your body, where it acts as a hormone. 
• Dopamine acts as a hormone to help:
  • relax or tighten your blood vessels when needed
  • control your salt levels and urine production
  • control how much insulin you make
  • slow down some parts of your digestion
• Dopamine is found in humans as well as animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates.

Source: ME

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