Dopamine : New Study
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.
- 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.
