Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The dopamine neurons of the dopaminergic pathways synthesize and release the neurotransmitter dopamine. [2] [3] Enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase and dopa decarboxylase are required for dopamine synthesis. [4] These enzymes are both produced in the cell bodies of dopamine neurons. Dopamine is stored in the cytoplasm and vesicles in axon terminals.
The motor functions of dopamine are linked to a separate pathway, with cell bodies in the substantia nigra that manufacture and release dopamine into the dorsal striatum. Inside the brain, dopamine plays important roles in executive functions , motor control , motivation , arousal , reinforcement , and reward , as well as lower-level functions ...
The release of dopamine from the mesolimbic pathway into the nucleus accumbens regulates incentive salience (e.g. motivation and desire for rewarding stimuli) and facilitates reinforcement and reward-related motor function learning; [3] [4] [5] it may also play a role in the subjective perception of pleasure.
The substantia nigra is located in the ventral midbrain of each hemisphere. It has two distinct parts, the pars compacta (SNc) and the pars reticulata (SNr). The pars compacta contains dopaminergic neurons from the A9 cell group that forms the nigrostriatal pathway that, by supplying dopamine to the striatum, relays information to the basal ganglia.
Dopaminergic activity enhancers such as the prescription drug selegiline (deprenyl) and the research chemicals BPAP and PPAP enhance the action potential-mediated release of dopamine. [17] This is in contrast to dopamine releasing agents like amphetamine, which induce the uncontrolled release of dopamine regardless of electrical stimulation. [17]
Dopaminergic cell groups, DA cell groups, or dopaminergic nuclei are collections of neurons in the central nervous system that synthesize the neurotransmitter dopamine. [1] In the 1960s, dopaminergic neurons or dopamine neurons were first identified and named by Annica Dahlström and Kjell Fuxe, who used histochemical fluorescence. [2]
Dopamine receptors are implicated in many neurological processes, including motivational and incentive salience, cognition, memory, learning, and fine motor control, as well as modulation of neuroendocrine signaling. Abnormal dopamine receptor signaling and dopaminergic nerve function is implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders. [2]
The vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT) is a transport protein integrated into the membranes of synaptic vesicles of presynaptic neurons.It transports monoamine neurotransmitters – such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and histamine – into the vesicles, which release the neurotransmitters into synapses, as chemical messages to postsynaptic neurons.