Study reveals relationship mystery that has baffled scientists for 70 years "happiness hormone" schizophrenic

Researchers say they have been solving the scientifically difficult mystery of how the brain chemical dopamine is linked to schizophrenia for over 70 years.

This devastating brain disorder is characterized by delusional thinking, hallucinations, and other forms of psychosis.

According to the study, there is physical evidence that cells in the nervous system (neurons) cannot accurately control dopamine levels. Researchers have also identified a genetic mechanism that controls the production of dopamine, known as the “happiness hormone.”

Daniel Weinberger, CEO and director of the American Lieber Institute and co-author of the study, explained: “Until now, scientists have not been able to decipher whether the dopamine connection is a trigger or just a treatment for schizophrenia. We have the first evidence that dopamine is the causative agent of schizophrenia.”

Dopamine acts as a chemical messenger that sends signals between nerve cells in the brain, changing their activity and behavior. The chemical is the equivalent neurotransmitter that allows humans to experience pleasure.

According to the World Health Organization, one out of every 300 people worldwide suffers from this disease. Symptoms usually appear in late adolescence or early adulthood, although cognitive impairment and unusual behavior sometimes become apparent during childhood.

Current treatments include antipsychotics, which treat the symptoms of psychosis rather than the cause.

Dr. Jennifer Irwin, a researcher at the institute and one of the authors of the study, said: “One of the main side effects of drugs used to treat schizophrenia is a lack of pleasure and joy. Theoretically, if we could specifically target the dopamine receptors of a drug, this could be a new treatment strategy that would not reduce the patient’s happiness as much.”

Scientists have long known that fluctuating dopamine levels are somehow linked to psychosis, a critical factor in schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Medications that increase dopamine levels in the brain, such as amphetamines, are known to cause psychosis, while drugs to treat psychosis do so by decreasing dopamine activity.

In the study, the researchers examined hundreds of post-mortem brain samples donated to the Lieber Institute from more than 350 people, some with schizophrenia and others without mental illness.

The team discovered the mechanisms that make dopamine receptors a risk factor.

This mechanism is found in a subtype of dopamine receptors called the autoreceptor, which regulates the amount of dopamine released.

And if the autoreceptors are impaired, the flow of dopamine in the brain is poorly controlled, and too much dopamine flows for too long.

The researchers say reduced expression of this autoreceptor in the brain explains the genetic evidence for disease risk.

Neuroscientist Dr Saul Snyder, who discovered that antipsychotic drugs work by lowering dopamine levels in the brain, called the study a major breakthrough.

He added: “There is a lot of confusing evidence pointing to the importance of dopamine and dopamine receptors in schizophrenia. The main thing these researchers did was to bring the data together and convincingly demonstrate that the dopamine systems fail. control in schizophrenia, and that this is the cause of the disease.

Their results were published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Source: Independent

Follow AsumeTech on

More From Category

More Stories Today

Leave a Reply