Optimal Being

Summary :  A novel study explores how Parkinson’s disease patients, particularly those with impulse control disorders (ICD) induced by dopaminergic medications, process the outcomes of risky decisions. The study, involving 30 participants, utilized a computer-based task to compare the decision-making behaviors of patients with and without ICD, revealing that those with ICD exhibit a diminished response to the consequences of their actions, a pattern that holds true regardless of medication status. This research not only sheds light on the nuanced effects of Parkinson’s treatment on behavior but also suggests broader implications for understanding the psychological impacts of dopaminergic drugs and potentially addictive substances on decision-making and risk perception. Key Facts: Dopaminergic Medications and ICD : Parkinson’s disease patients on these medications can develop impulse control disorders, leading to risky behaviors. Differential Processing of Risk : Patients with ICD e...

  Summary:  A neuroimaging study on house sparrows reveals changes in the dopaminergic system could be a physiological mechanism underlying the negative behavioral effects of chronic stress. The findings shed light on stress and resilience in wildlife and humans. Source:  Louisiana State University A biologist at Louisiana State University conducted a pioneering research study that could help us to better understand the role of dopamine in stress resilience in humans through analyzing wild songbirds. This study could lead to increased prevention and treatment of stress-related disorders. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that is important for learning and memory. Department of Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Christine Lattin, and colleagues conducted this study of wild songbirds showing that dopamine is important in responding to chronic stressors, which can help wildlife conservation efforts in response to environmental stressors such as habitat destruction, na...

Consuming high-fat and high-sugar foods causes changes in activity and connectivity in the brain’s  dopaminergic system, resulting in a stronger preference for these foods. Chocolate bars, crisps and fries—why can’t we just ignore them in the supermarket? Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, in collaboration with Yale University, have now shown that foods with a high fat and sugar content change our brain: If we regularly eat even small amounts of them, the brain learns to consume precisely these foods in the future. The paper is published in the journal  Cell Metabolism . Why do we like unhealthy and fattening foods so much? How does this preference develop in the brain? “Our tendency to eat high-fat and high-sugar foods, the so-called Western diet, could be innate or develop as a result of being overweight. But we think that the brain learns this preference,” explains Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah, lead author of the study. To test this...

A California-based biotech company says it's successfully implanted lab-made neurons in Parkinson's patients' brains to stimulate a dopamine response — and if it works as intended, it could be a substantial advance in fighting the disease. As  MIT Technology Review  reports , the early stem cell experiment, which was meant to test whether the procedure is safe, appears to have succeeded at that goal. The trial included 12 people with Parkinson's, a debilitating progressive disease characterized by a shortage of dopamine, and was run by BlueRock Therapeutics, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical giant Bayer. The lab-made neurons were implanted for a year before results were taken, and as researchers told attendees of the International Congress for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder in Copenhagen at the end of August, the implanted cells seem to have survived — and, in a particularly exciting twist, there are indications that they may be reducing the patients' sy...

Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disorder. Multiple neural networks in the brain including the reward system (e.g., the mesocorticolimbic system), the anti-reward/stress system (e.g., the extended amygdala), and the central immune system, are involved in the development of drug addiction and relapse after withdrawal from drugs of abuse. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that it is promising to control drug addiction by pharmacologically targeting the addiction-related systems in the brain. Here we review the pharmacological targets within the dopamine system, glutamate system, trace amine system, anti-reward system, and central immune system, which are of clinical interests. Furthermore, we discuss other potential therapies, e.g., brain stimulation, behavioral treatments, and therapeutic gene modulation, which could be effective to treat drug addiction. We conclude that, although drug addiction is a complex disorder that involves complicated neural mechanis...