Researchers have identified two ion channel switches that regulate the release of dopamine in the brain, a first step that might one day lead to therapeutics for a wide range of diseases and disorders ...

Dopamine is not just a reward signal — new research shows it precisely fine-tunes inhibitory brain circuits essential for learning, memory formation and mental health Wroclaw Medical University, ...

When we learn a new motor skill—whether mastering a piano passage or refining balance while walking—the brain must reorganize ...

Within the human brain, movement is coordinated by a brain region called the striatum, which sends instructions to motor neurons in the brain. Those instructions are conveyed by two pathways, one that ...

Astrocytes use the MEGF10 receptor to prune synapses in the striatum, a process essential for dopamine-driven motor learning.

Dopamine in the brain influences movement, learning, motivation and sleep. In humans, problems with dopamine are linked to conditions like Parkinson’s disease, depression and sleep disorders. While ...

Unexpected rewards boost movement speed within 220 milliseconds, revealing how dopamine-linked reward prediction shapes human ...

A research team from the University of California, Irvine is the first to reveal that a molecule in the brain – ophthalmic acid – unexpectedly acts like a neurotransmitter similar to dopamine in ...

Dopamine is a brain chemical famously linked to mood and pleasure − but researchers have found multiple types of dopamine neurons with different functions. By Kimberlee D'Ardenne / The Conversation ...

Here's what lies behind the concept of moderating our dopamine-driven pursuits for an improved quality of life. Thanks to pop psychology’s “hijacking” of a legitimate therapeutic method, most people ...