Your brain is sending you dopamine to say “job done”. It doesn’t matter if it is a winning poker hand or nibbling onIt’s not the dopamine that unlocks a class of neurons, but rather its neurotransmitter. The spark of joy.
Scientists suspected that the nerve cells which react to this happy hormone could come in different varieties, and some of them might have functions other than pure rewards.
A study led by Northwestern University researchers in the US has revealed three distinct types of dopamine receptor neurons in an area of the brain known as the substantia nigra pars compacta(SNc) is a part of the system that processes movement and rewards.
The expression of each gene subtype differs, and each one reacts to different stimuli such as pleasant experiences, unpleasant stimuli or speed changes. This provides the first evidence that dopamine cells don’t reinforce behavior. tickling our pleasure zone.
In some respects, the findings might not have been a complete surprise. In the end, it is not surprising that the Substance nigeraThe ground zero of the Parkinson’s disease. The loss of its dopamine sensitive neuronsThe condition is associated with a number of symptoms Signature symptomsThis includes rigidity, slowness and tremors.
It’s strange, but the loss of nerve cells is not always accompanied by a decrease in rewarding feelings when a task is completed successfully or with joy. Up until now, it was not clear if neurons that respond positively to hormones had more than one function or if they were each responsible for a different task.
“We found subtypes that are motor signals without any reward response and they sit exactly where dopamine cells first die in Parkinson’s disease,” You can find out more about this by clicking here.Daniel Dombeck was a co-leader in the study.
It’s not hard to see that some subtypes of genes are more susceptible to degradation as we age.
Dombeck’s team had discovered previously that dopaminergic neurons governed movement. However, they believed these cells were only moonlighting as reward receptors, and their primary occupation was still reward response.
His team tested this hypothesis by focusing on three genes that are known to be active in the cells. These genes include Slc17a6, Anxa1, and Calb1. They tagged transgenic mouse neurones so they would glow when the genes were activated.
Around 30 percent dopamine receptor neurons were lit when mice moved.
“This genetic subtype is associated with acceleration,” You can find out more about this by clicking here.Rajeshwar Awatramani is a co-author, a fellow neurobiologist.
“We saw activity every time the mouse moved faster, but we didn’t see any activity in response a rewarding stimuli.”
Researchers speculate that the loss of dopamine-specific neurons for accelerators could create an imbalance in the mind, which could be the cause behind Parkinson’s shaking. If the brain is left with only neurons that regulate deceleration and not those that govern acceleration, it might force muscles to stop.
Research is needed to determine how dopamine nerve cells work and why some subclasses are more vulnerable to damage.
We’re still trying figure out what it all means.” You can find out more about this by clicking here. Awatramani.
“I’d say that this is just a beginning.” It’s an entirely new way to think about the brain and Parkinson’s.”
The research has been published by Nature Neuroscience.
