dopamine tagged posts

Researchers uncovered for the first time what happens in animals’ brains when they learn from subconscious, visual stimuli. In time, this knowledge can lead to new treatments for a number of conditions. The study, a collaboration between KU Leuven, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard was published in Neuron.

An experienced birdwatcher recognises many more details in a bird’s plumage than the ordinary person. Thanks to extensive training, he or she can identify specific features in the plumage. This learning process is not only dependent on conscious processes...

Dopamine, serotonin involved in sub-second perception, cognition...

A new study finds that the pleasure center of the brain and the brain’s biological clock are linked, and that high-calorie foods – which bring pleasure – disrupt normal feeding schedules, resulting in overconsumption.

During the years 1976 through 1980, 15% of U.S. adults were obese. Today, about 40% of adults are obese. Another 33% are overweight.

Coinciding with this increase in weight are ever-rising rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and health complications caused by obesity, such as hypertension...

A four-millimeter-long larvae of zebrafish with visible nerve cells under the microscope. Credit: Research group Driever

The type and intensity of stimuli control the activity of nerve cells that release the neurotransmitter dopamine, report scientists. In their study of fish larvae, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Driever and his team of neurobiologists at the University of Freiburg have discovered that a group of nerve cells in the forebrain release the dopamine when activated by tactile or certain visual stimuli. These dopaminergic nerve cells send connections to almost all parts of the brain and spinal cord, thereby affecting the functions of many circuits...