New Discovery Reveals Dopamine Operates with Surgical Precision, Not as a Broad Signal
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO, JUL 10 – Researchers found dopamine transmits in rapid, localized bursts, challenging old beliefs and offering new directions for treating disorders like Parkinson's and ADHD.
- Published today in Science, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus found dopamine acts like a finely-tuned postal service, delivering highly localized messages in the brain.
- Long accepted as a broad diffusion system, dopamine’s role is now questioned, overturning a century-old view, as scientists previously believed.
- Advanced microscopy revealed dopamine’s pinpoint release, showing it occurs in concentrated hotspots enabling targeted, rapid responses in nearby brain cells.
- As a result, treatment approaches could shift, since current treatments focus on restoring overall dopamine levels, and understanding dopamine's 'precision signaling' could improve therapies for dopamine-related disorders.
- Future studies will examine how precision signaling varies, with Christopher Ford, PhD, noting more work is needed to understand disease-specific dopamine signaling changes in neurological and psychiatric diseases.
33 Articles
33 Articles
Activation of D1R/PKA/mTOR signaling cascade in medial prefrontal cortex underlying the antidepressant effects of l-SPD
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by diverse symptoms. Although several antidepressants can influence dopamine system in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but the role of D1R or D2R subtypes of dopamine receptor during anti-depression process is still vague in PFC region. To address this question, we investigate the antidepressant effect of levo-stepholidine (l-SPD), an antipsychotic medicatio…
Advanced microscopy reveals that dopamine operates with surgical precision, not as a broad signal
A new study from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has upended decades of neuroscience dogma, revealing that dopamine, a neurotransmitter critical for movement, motivation, learning and mood, communicates in the brain with extraordinary precision, not broad diffusion as previously believed. This groundbreaking research offers fresh hope for millions of people living with dopamine-related disorders, marking a significant advance …
Hitting the Right Target – SFU Study Sheds Light on How Drug Used To Treat Parkinson’s Disease Affects the Brain - Science in Vancouver
The new study, published in the journal Movement Disorders, looks at why levodopa – the main drug used in dopamine replacement therapy – is sometimes less effective in patients. The drug is typically prescribed to help reduce the movement symptoms associated with the neurodegenerative disorder. While it is effective in improving symptoms for the vast majority of patients, not everyone experiences the same level of benefit. In order to find out w…
Brain breakthrough: Dopamine doesn't work at all like we thought it did
Dopamine doesn’t flood the brain as once believed – it fires in exact, ultra-fast bursts that target specific neurons. The discovery turns a century-old view of dopamine on its head and could transform how we treat everything from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to Parkinson’s disease.Continue ReadingCategory: Mental Health, Brain Health, Body & MindTags: University of Colorado, ADHD, neurodiversity, neurons, Parkinson's Disease,…
Dopamine Acts Locally, Not Globally
New research has overturned decades of belief about how dopamine communicates in the brain, showing it acts with pinpoint precision rather than broad diffusion. Scientists discovered that dopamine is released in localized hotspots, allowing highly specific and timely messages to nerve cell branches.
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