PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

How the brain's dopamine circuitry helps regulate cognitive flexibility and reward-seeking

A free webinar from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

How the brain's dopamine circuitry helps regulate cognitive flexibility and reward-seeking
2023-05-02
(Press-News.org) The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is hosting a free webinar, “How the Brain's Dopamine Circuitry Helps Regulate Cognitive Flexibility and Reward-Seeking” on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 2:00 pm EST. The presenter will be Nikhil Urs, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Florida and a recipient of a 2018 BBRF Young Investigator Grant. The webinar will be hosted by Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, and host of the public television series Healthy Minds.

Register today at BBRFoundation.org

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that regulates many critical processes such as movement, cognition, motivation, reward/pleasure, and hormone secretion. Dysfunction of the dopamine system has been implicated in many brain disorders, including schizophrenia, OCD, ADHD, and Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Urs will discuss his efforts to understand the organization and function of cortical dopamine circuitry and how it helps to regulate cognitive flexibility and reinforcement learning (the latter involves how we learn to optimize our behavior to obtain greatest rewards). Dr. Urs will also discuss his efforts to discover new ways of treating multiple psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

About Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness. These illnesses include addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, and schizophrenia, as well as research on suicide prevention. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $440 million to fund more than 5,300 leading scientists around the world. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested in research. BBRF operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants. BBRF is the producer of the Emmy® nominated public television series Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, which aims to remove the stigma of mental illness and demonstrate that with help, there is hope. 

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
How the brain's dopamine circuitry helps regulate cognitive flexibility and reward-seeking How the brain's dopamine circuitry helps regulate cognitive flexibility and reward-seeking 2 How the brain's dopamine circuitry helps regulate cognitive flexibility and reward-seeking 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

AI in medical imaging could magnify health inequities, study finds

AI in medical imaging could magnify health inequities, study finds
2023-05-02
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the medical field has the possibility to automate diagnoses, decrease physician workload, and even to bring specialized healthcare to people in rural areas or developing countries. However, with possibility comes potential pitfalls. Analyzing crowd-sourced sets of data used to create AI algorithms from medical images, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers found that most did not include patient demographics. In the study published April 3 in Nature Medicine, the researchers also found that the algorithms did not evaluate for inherent biases either. That means they have ...

Cybersickness more likely to affect women, ongoing research to understand why

Cybersickness more likely to affect women, ongoing research to understand why
2023-05-02
AMES, IA — Iowa State researchers in psychology and engineering found women experience cybersickness with virtual reality headsets more often than men. Their ongoing work, supported by a new $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, explores why this difference exists and options to help individuals adapt.   Psychology professor Jonathan Kelly studies human computer interaction, spatial cognition and virtual reality. He says gender discrepancies in cybersickness may not seem that important when it’s related to video games and other forms of entertainment. "But it’s still a problem, and when VR gets to the point ...

A method to access genetic information in blood samples and find correlations with mental health problems

2023-05-02
Using blood samples to study diseases that originate in the brain is a difficulty faced by psychiatric genetics in the search for markers of mental health disorders. Researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil have shown that this hindrance can be surmounted by analyzing microRNAs in extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are produced by most cells in the body, including neurons and other nervous system cells. The study was supported by FAPESP and is reported ...

Air pollution may increase risk of dementia, complicated by genetics

Air pollution may increase risk of dementia, complicated by genetics
2023-05-02
Three years ago, an international study commissioned by the journal Lancet listed 12 modifiable factors that increased the risk of dementia, including three new ones: excessive alcohol, head injury and air pollution. Writing in the May 2, 2023 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, a team of researchers, led by scientists at University of California San Diego, further elaborate on how exposure to the last of those new factors — ambient air pollution, such as car exhaust and power plant emissions — is associated with a measurably greater risk of developing dementia over time. Senior author William S. Kremen, PhD, professor ...

New RNA-seq, metabolomics protocol offers more efficient extraction that maintains data integrity

2023-05-02
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (May 2, 2023) — Van Andel Institute scientists have developed a new extraction protocol for RNA-seq and metabolomic analysis, offering a more complete picture of cellular activity than either technique on its own. The protocol employs a streamlined extraction from a single sample, which reduces variation, improves efficiency, preserves data fidelity and maximizes use of precious biospecimens. “Our new technique enables researchers to study metabolic phenotypes in a unique way while getting the most information we can out of single samples,” ...

UMass Chan scientists deliver siRNA therapy to lung

2023-05-02
Scientists at UMass Chan Medical School have developed a technology to deliver gene therapy directly to lung tissue through intranasal administration, a development that could potentially create a new class of treatments for lung disease. Published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study by a multidisciplinary team of RNA biologists, chemical biologists, immunologists and virologists describes the delivery of siRNA molecules locally to lung tissue. It is the first demonstration that multimeric ...

Forced water-use cuts made California more waterwise

Forced water-use cuts made California more waterwise
2023-05-02
After a drought-stricken California lifted a year of mandatory water-use cuts that were effective in 2015 and 2016, urban water use crept back up somewhat, but the overall lasting effect was a more waterwise Golden State, a University of California, Riverside, study has found. Published Tuesday, April 25, in the journal Water Resources Research, the UCR study found that water use by 2019 was still lower than it was in 2013, thanks in large part to water use changes by larger water users.   The water-reduction mandate imposed ...

Quantum entanglement of photons doubles microscope resolution

Quantum entanglement of photons doubles microscope resolution
2023-05-02
Using a “spooky” phenomenon of quantum physics, Caltech researchers have discovered a way to double the resolution of light microscopes. In a paper appearing in the journal Nature Communications, a team led by Lihong Wang, Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, shows the achievement of a leap forward in microscopy through what is known as quantum entanglement. Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in which two particles are linked such that the state of one particle is tied ...

TVT 2023 Program Guide Available

2023-05-02
NEW YORK – May 2, 2023 – The program guide for TVT 2023: The Structural Heart Summit is available online. An annual meeting from the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TVT features cutting-edge research and techniques for structural heart interventions and will take place June 7-10, 2023, at the Phoenix Convention Center – West in Phoenix, Arizona. Transcatheter valve therapy has evolved from a novel treatment for the sickest patients to the standard of care for many with aortic stenosis. The rapid adoption of transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies has also changed the treatment landscape, expanding options for patients with structural heart disease. TVT ...

Oil and gas infrastructure hurting nesting birds in globally important breeding area in arctic Alaska

Oil and gas infrastructure hurting nesting birds in globally important breeding area in arctic Alaska
2023-05-02
A new WCS-led study that analyzed 17 years of migratory bird-nesting data in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, revealed that nest survival decreased significantly near high-use oil and gas infrastructure and its related noise, dust, traffic, air pollution, and other disturbances. Prudhoe Bay is the site of intensive energy development and is located on the Arctic Coastal Plain, one of the most important avian breeding grounds in the world. Millions of birds nest here, with some then migrating through every state in the nation to wintering grounds in Central and South America, even Africa, with others crossing the Pacific ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Rice, Texas Medical Center institutions jointly award seed grants

Sleeping for 2: Insomnia therapy reduces postpartum depression, study shows

How fruit flies achieve accurate visual behavior despite changing light conditions

First blueprint of the human spliceosome revealed

The harmful frequency and reach of unhealthy foods on social media

Autistic traits shape how we explore

UCLA chemists just broke a 100-year-old rule and say it’s time to rewrite the textbooks

Uncovered: the molecular basis of colorful parrot plumage

Echolocating bats use acoustic mental maps to navigate long distances

Sugar rationing in early life lowers risk for chronic disease in adulthood, post-World War II data shows

Indigenous population expansion and cultural burning reduced shrub cover that fuels megafires in Australia

Echolocating bats use an acoustic cognitive map for navigation

Researchers solve medical mystery of neurological symptoms in kids

Finding a missing piece for neurodegenerative disease research

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine ranked in global top ten medical journals

A new piece in the grass pea puzzle - updated genome sequence published

“Wearable” devices for cells

Cancer management: Stent sensor can warn of blockages in the bile duct

Nov. 14 AARP Author Q&A at GSA 2024 in Seattle: Debra Whitman, Global Aging Expert and Author of ‘The Second Fifty: Answers to the 7 Big Questions of Midlife and Beyond’

Autistic psychiatrists who don't know they're autistic may fail to spot autism in patients

New findings on animal viruses with potential to infect humans

Ancient rocks may bring dark matter to light

Study reveals acceleration in Pacific upper-ocean circulation over past 30 years, impacting global weather patterns

Virginia Tech researcher finds AI could help improve city planning

A trick of light: UC Irvine researchers turn silicon into direct bandgap semiconductor

NIH trial of rectal microbicide for HIV prevention begins in the United States

Development of a simple, revolutionary printing technique for periodic nano/microstructures

Drug supply chain issues more likely to result in shortages in US than Canada

Differences in Drug Shortages in the US and Canada

Survival outcomes of an early intervention smoking cessation treatment after a cancer diagnosis

[Press-News.org] How the brain's dopamine circuitry helps regulate cognitive flexibility and reward-seeking
A free webinar from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation