BiotechMashup

(Florida State University) The academic performance of adolescents will suffer in at least one of four key subjects -- English, math, science, history -- if their DNA contains one or more of three specific dopamine gene variations, according to a study led by renowned biosocial criminologist Kevin M. Beaver of the Florida State University.

(Association for Psychological Science) Sensation seeking -- the urge to do exciting things -- has been linked to dopamine, a chemical that carries messages in your brain. For a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, scientists analyzed genes in the dopamine system and found a group of mutations that help predict whether someone is inclined toward sensation seeking.

A brain-imaging study reveals a subtle difference between ordinary obese subjects and those who compulsively overeat, or binge: In binge eaters but not ordinary obese subjects, the mere sight or smell of favorite foods triggers a spike in dopamine -- a brain chemical linked to reward and motivation. The findings suggest that this dopamine spike may play a role in triggering compulsive overeating.

Students will have to use their brains to get good grades at school this year, according to new research that relates brain activity to undergraduate academic performance.

(DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory) A brain-imaging study reveals a subtle difference between ordinary obese subjects and those who compulsively overeat, or binge: In binge eaters but not ordinary obese subjects, the mere sight or smell of favorite foods triggers a spike in dopamine -- a brain chemical linked to reward and motivation. The findings suggest that this dopamine spike may play a role in triggering compulsive overeating.

Sensation seeking -- the urge to do exciting things -- has been linked to dopamine, a chemical that carries messages in your brain. For a new study, scientists analyzed genes in the dopamine system and found a group of mutations that help predict whether someone is inclined toward sensation seeking.

The neurotransmitter dopamine is best known for its roles in the brain -- in signaling pathways that control movement, motivation, reward, learning and memory. Now, researchers report that dopamine produced outside the brain -- in the kidneys -- is important for renal function, blood pressure regulation and life span. Their studies suggest that the kidney-specific dopamine system may be a therapeutic target for treating hypertension and kidney diseases.

Scientists have solved the structure of one of the receptors that responds to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Although dopamine transmission is essential to normal brain functioning, the biological assembly of the molecules involved in this crucial neuronal interplay had not been known -- until now.

Researchers showed that human subjects with the 118G variant of the mu-opioid receptor released dopamine from the ventrial striatum of the brain in response to alcohol, while those with the more common 118A variant of this receptor did not. They then demonstrated that mice carrying the gene for the 118G receptor variant showed a fourfold higher peak dopamine response to alcohol compared to mice with the 118A receptor variant gene.