What is dopamine? _

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical used to help cells transmit pulses. This brain secretion is related to people's lust and feelings, and it conveys information of excitement and happiness.

The molecular formula is C8H 1 1O2N. There is a special dopaminergic system in the central nervous system. The striatum bundle and globus pallidus bundle of substantia nigra emitted from the dense zone of substantia nigra belong to dopaminergic nerve pathway, and the nerve medium is dopamine, which is synthesized by nerve cells or synapses themselves. Dopamine is not only the precursor of norepinephrine, but also an important nerve medium to maintain the function of extrapyramidal nerve.

Some α receptor stimulation can enhance myocardial contractility, increase cardiac output, slightly accelerate heart rate, slightly contract peripheral blood vessels and increase arterial pressure.

Extended data

Dopamine neurons are located at the junction of midbrain and diencephalon and have three pathways. The first is the substantia nigra-striatum pathway, the second is the midbrain-marginal pathway, and the third is the midbrain-cortex pathway.

The substantia nigra-striatum pathway starts from the substantia nigra compact zone and projects to the caudate nucleus-putamen. The activation of this pathway can increase exercise, and the injury of substantia nigra can cause motor retardation and prolonged reaction time. Antipsychotics block dopamine D2 receptor, showing extrapyramidal reaction.

The midbrain-limbic pathway originated from the lateral neurons in the ventral tegmental area, and most of them projected to the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle, and a few projected to the nucleus accumbens, amygdala and hippocampus, which produced pleasant experiences when excited and bad emotions when inhibited. When testosterone rises, the recovery of γ -aminobutyric acid (GABA) increases, and the GABAA receptor on dopamine presynaptic membrane is not excited enough, which leads to the release of dopamine.

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