Dopamine

Aka

DA

4-(2-aminoethyl)benzene-1,2-diol

Dopamine systems

see dopamine systems

Function

neurotransmitter, hormone (catecholamine), neuromodulator

see dopamine systems

usually but not necessarily excitatory

Details

e.g. hoebel spent most of his career studying dopamine in reward (midbrain nuclei like nucleus accumbens) - release of dopamine there like a generalised reward signal

midbrain to PFC - imbalances in this projection supposed to be related to schizophrenia - too much dopamine

schizophrenia - can get motor deficits as a result of reducing dopamine

From wikipedia

medication

affects sympathetic nervous system, increases heart rate and blood pressure

also important in frontal cortex

involved in attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia

associated with pleasure system

amphetamines force dopamine out of vesicles and into synaptic cleft

cocaine - inhibits dopamine reuptake by blocking dopamine transporter

role in experiencing pleasure has been questioned

may be more involved in appetitive than consummatory pleasure

6-hydroxydopamine used to deprive rats of dopamine (Berridge & Robinson, 1998)

no longer eat by their own volition

then force fed the rats

judging from facial expressions

did not reduce consummatory plesaure, only the desire to eat

mutant hyperdopaminergic mice showed higher wanting but not liking of sweet rewards (Pecina et al, 2003)

antipsychotics reduce dopamine activity (Lambert et al, 2003)

reduce motivation

cause anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure)

D2/D3 agonists (pramipexole and ropinirole)

sociability

social anxiety

tied to low D2 receptor binding

social withdrawal, apathy, anhedonia

my be related to dopamine deficiency

traits found in schizophrenia

dopamine-blocking antipsychotics alleviate manic hyperosociality and hypersexuality

may be involved in salience of rewarding or dangerous things

Basal ganglia

80% of the brain's dopamine is in the basal ganglia

pars compacta projects dopamine to the go and no-go guys

direct pathway gives positive feedback, indirect pathway gives negative feedback

high dopamine = a go signal

low levels of dopamine = suppress response

dopmainergic inputs to both pathways facilitate movements initated in the cortex

since dopamine boosts go and inhibits no-go units

tonic vs phasic dopamine???

ks4, 867

if correct, you get a positive dopamine burst (pars compacta activity above baseline), which increases the go guys and decreases the no-go guys

if you're wrong, vice versa

if the response mapping is really consistent, then once the basal ganglia has settled into habitual responses, the slow cortical learning can generate the correct response on its own

see Parkinson disease#L-DOPA

From conversation - generals, 060822

both neuromodulator and neurotransmitter

neuromodulator

come from one place and go all over

modulate states

hormone-like

neurotransmitter

local effect

see ks4 890 - major modulatory system of the brain

peptides are neurotransmitter

mesolimbic system

ventral tegmental area -> nucleus accumbens -> limbic system???

from sara

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesocortical_pathway

how is this different nigrostriatal???

intentional movement

dopamine vs serotonin

both neuromodulators

disorders

dopamine

schizophrenia, adhd, parkinsons

depression???

serotonin

depression, ocd, tourettes, schizophrenia

ptsd???

Conversation - Jon Roiser, 031031

if you take out the raphe nuclei and the cholinergic system, it messes up memory

but raphe on their own doesn't affect memory

what about ACh on its own???

cf schultz

prediction error in ventral tegmental area