Introducing the brain: controls of dopamine (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, August 12, 2023, 20:10 (259 days ago) @ David Turell

Two channels found:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-dopamine-ion-channel-mice-smarter.html

"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 that currently have few solutions.

"The switches help regulate learning and motivational state in mice. Humans also have hundreds of these channels, which govern many chemical and hormonal processes that influence behavior and mood.

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"The researchers hypothesized that two ion channels, Kv4.3 and BKCa1.1, were integral to dopamine release. They discovered that these channels governed the pattern of dopamine neuron firing and dopamine release on different time scales to influence separate phases of reinforced behavior in mice.

"When dopamine is released in the brain, it comes out in two differing patterns: a slow, constant release called "tonic" and a rapid, high-concentration release called "phasic." The two patterns of dispersal regulate the brain in different ways to allow it to perform specific functions.

"The scientists hypothesized that the patterns are regulated by these two channels, so they genetically mutated them to see whether and how the release patterns—and the animals' behavior—would change.

"When the researchers removed the channel that controls tonic activity, it drove the mice to a hypertonic flow, which in turn created an increased motivational state. In this condition, once the animals learned a task, they were more motivated to re-attempt it, and performed the task more quickly. When researchers removed the channel that controls phasic activity, it increased the transient high levels of dopamine in response to specific events. This caused the animals to learn much faster."

Comment: another demonstration of the complexity in the brain, not only in its networks of neurons but its control of humoral substances like dopamine. Not by chance, designed for present and future use.