Ventral tegmental area

Why a holiday is good for you – even before you take time off

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Science, Neuron, Human, Substantia nigra, Ventral tegmental area, Anxiety, Reward, Seafood, Anger, Brain, Dopamine, Holiday, Time, Pleasure, Mental health, Irritability, Fatigue, Tourism, Nursing, Beer, Poultry farming

And the truth is that the benefits of a good holiday can be felt even before the trip begins.

Key Points: 
  • And the truth is that the benefits of a good holiday can be felt even before the trip begins.
  • Scientific studies show that merely looking forward to a future reward can be even more rewarding than the reward itself.
  • This is so thanks to a small molecule called dopamine, which we will talk about later.

Rest increases cognitive flexibility

    • This was concluded by a 2016 study in which 46 workers from a Dutch company participated.
    • What the researchers observed is that, after two or three weeks of vacation, workers had greater cognitive flexibility.
    • Most studies concur that, from a biological point of view, one of the main reasons for this increase in cognitive flexibility –and for the benefits of holidays in general– is stress reduction.
    • But we have to make a small distinction here: stress in and of itself does not have to be bad.

Recipe for a holiday that recharges your batteries

    • When we are idle, our brain is able to reverse – at least temporarily – the negative effects of being under stress.
    • And here comes the key: for holidays to be truly effective, we have to ensure that they really free us from the stress of our work.
    • Of course, what one finds rewarding is entirely subjective, and what is pleasant for one person can cause stress for others.

To enjoy or not to enjoy

    • The worst thing is that the changes do not only occur in the substantia nigra or in the ventral tegmental area.
    • It has been found that chronic stress is even capable of changing the number of dopamine receptors in the areas that receive these projections.
    • Therefore, a vacation that frees us from stress will help to rebalance the dopaminergic system.

Preclinical Data Demonstrate Potential of Creative Bio-Peptides’ Multi-Chemokine Receptor Antagonist RAP-103 to Enhance Opioid Analgesia and Inhibit Opioid-derived Dependence, Withdrawal and Respiratory Depression

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Research, Neurology, Clinical Trials, Biotechnology, Health, Pharmaceutical, General Health, Other Science, Science, Ruff, Initiative, OUD, Research, National, Acquisition, CEO, Temple University School of Medicine, Morphine, Neurodegeneration, Motivation, Safety, National Institute, Department, Therapy, Inflammation, Chemokine, NIH, Temple University, Center, Creative, Nucleus accumbens, Opioid use disorder, Maintenance, CCR2, Brain, Substance abuse, Heroin, Substance dependence, Hormone, Dementia, IND, The Center, CBP, OPRM1, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Principles of Neural Science, Pain, Substance Abuse, CXCR4, Hypoventilation, Doctor of Philosophy, Regeneration, Ventral tegmental area, Dopamine, CCR5, MAT, Neuron, Opioid, Pharmaceutical industry, Cereal, Medicine

RAP-103 also reduced the severity of naloxone-precipitated withdrawal responses in morphine dependence, as well as morphine-induced respiratory depression.

Key Points: 
  • RAP-103 also reduced the severity of naloxone-precipitated withdrawal responses in morphine dependence, as well as morphine-induced respiratory depression.
  • In addition, RAP-103 normalized the components of addiction chemistry in the brain that are altered by opioid abuse.
  • These data were published online ahead of print in the September 2022 issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
  • The results identify chemokine receptor antagonist RAP-103 as a potential treatment to enhance opioid analgesia and inhibit opioid-derived dependence, withdrawal and respiratory depression.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Announces Initiation of Phase 2 Clinical Trial to Evaluate XEN1101 as a Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Channel modulator, Potassium, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, MRI, Nasdaq, VTA, Mouse, GLOBE, Magnetic resonance, Anhedonia, Major depressive disorder, Safety, Depression, Phenotype, Patient, Neuron, Clinical trial, Anxiety, KCNQ, Depressive, Ventral tegmental area, Dopamine, MADRS, Adult, Retigabine, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Reward, Lists of diseases, MDD, BAI, Grammatical mood, NOVA, Pharmaceutical industry, Xenon

Mr. Ian Mortimer, Xenons President and Chief Executive Officer stated, We are excited to announce the initiation of our Phase 2 X-NOVA clinical trial to evaluate XEN1101 as a potential treatment for major depressive disorder.

Key Points: 
  • Mr. Ian Mortimer, Xenons President and Chief Executive Officer stated, We are excited to announce the initiation of our Phase 2 X-NOVA clinical trial to evaluate XEN1101 as a potential treatment for major depressive disorder.
  • Designed as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, our clinical objective is to assess if XEN1101 improves depressive and anhedonia symptoms in patients with MDD.
  • Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with neurological disorders.
  • Xenon and the Xenon logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. in various jurisdictions.

Brain Cells Decide on Their Own When to Release Pleasure Hormone

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Branches of biology, Amphetamine, Neurotransmitters, Dopamine, Phenethylamines, Neuron, Parkinson's disease, Area postrema, Ventral tegmental area

Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study showed that dopamine-releasing brain cells respond to their own signals to regulate the hormone's output.

Key Points: 
  • Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study showed that dopamine-releasing brain cells respond to their own signals to regulate the hormone's output.
  • Because the death of dopamine-releasing brain cells is a key factor in Parkinson's disease, the new findings provide insight into why these cells die in the movement disorder, the researchers say.
  • They injected some of the brain cells with Botox, a toxin that blocks nerve cells from sending chemical messages to neurons and other cells.
  • If the neurons were in fact controlled by neighboring dopamine cells, then dopamine release would remain unaffected because the treated cells would still receive dopamine signals from the untreated cells nearby.

Brain's Cerebellum Found to Influence Addictive and Social Behavior

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Nervous system, Psychiatric diagnosis, Addiction, Dopamine, Behavioral neuroscience, Neurological disorders, Cerebellum, Reward system, Autism, Ventral tegmental area

The surprising finding indicates that the cerebellum plays a major role in reward processing and social behaviors and could potentially lead to new strategies for treating addiction.

Key Points: 
  • The surprising finding indicates that the cerebellum plays a major role in reward processing and social behaviors and could potentially lead to new strategies for treating addiction.
  • In studies designed to test this hypothesis, his lab showed that stimulating cerebellar neurons activates the VTA and leads to "addictive" behaviors in mice.
  • Cerebellum abnormalities have been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), although how the cerebellum contributes to ASD isn't clear.
  • Because the VTA is required for social behavior, Dr Khodakhah and colleagues tested whether the cerebellum-VTA pathway may be involved.