Love's all in the brain: fMRI study shows strong, lateralized reward, not sex, drive
...hat autism involves an atypical development of the midbrain and basal ganglia reward systems. This makes sense, too, because other symptoms of autism include repetitive thoughts and movements, characteristics of basal ganglia function. " Surprise discovery: romance is on the right, 'attractiveness' to the le...Brain Scans Reveal How Gene May Boost Schizophrenia Risk
... risk for schizophrenia and a signature pattern of midbrain dopamine activity.** To see how the two gene vers...he midbrain. Frontal cortex activity increased as midbrain dopamine activity increased in subjects with val, but decreased in those who had inherited two copie...Scientists discover the body's marijuana-like compounds are crucial for stress-induced pain relief
...ved in the effect, most notably a structure in the midbrain known as the periaqueductal gray. In this region, stress causes the release of the naturally occurring marijuana-like compounds in the brain. A drug derived from the new research would likely be more effective and specific than smoked marijuana, sai...Frog’s ear canal may provide insights for understanding human hearing loss
...measured the electrical activities in A. tormotus' midbrain that is involved in sound processing and found marked electrical responses to sounds extending into the ultrasonic range -- both in the averaged response of a population of nerve cells in the brain and in single nerve cells -- confirming the frog's c...Morphine makes lasting -- and surprising -- change in the brain
...ral tegmental area, or VTA, a small section of the midbrain that is involved in the reward system that reinforces survival-boosting behaviors such as eating and sex ?a reward system linked to addiction. The affected synapses, Kauer found, were those between inhibitory neurons and dopamine neurons. In a health...Mouse Dopaminergic Neuron Differentiation Kit, 2nd Generation from R&D Systems
...nd ventral hippocampus). The basic organization of midbrain dopamine neurons and their projections is consistent across most mammalians. The midbrain dopamine projections to the striatum have been among the most extensively studied catecholamine neur...