Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Dopamine |
DopamineNoun1. A monoamine neurotransmitter found in the brain and essential for the normal functioning of the central nervous system; as a drug (trade names Dopastat and Intropin) it is used to treat shock and hypotension. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Health | An endogenous catecholamine and prominent neurotransmitter in several systems of the brain. In the synthesis of catecholamines from tyrosine, it is the immediate precursor to norepinephrine and epinephrine. Dopamine is a major transmitter in the extrapyramidal system of the brain, and important in regulating movement. A family of dopaminergic receptor subtypes mediate its action. Dopamine is used pharmacologically for its direct (beta adrenergic agonist) and indirect (adrenergic releasing) sympathomimetic effects including its actions as an inotropic agent and as a renal vasodilator. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

It can also be supplied as a sympathomimetic drug, i.e. a drug which acts on the sympathetic nervous system, producing effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure.
Dopamine in the basal ganglia plays a critical role in the way our brain controls our movements. Thus, shortage of dopamine, particularly the death of dopamine neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway, is a cause of Parkinson's disease, in which a person loses the ability to execute smooth, controlled movements.
In the frontal lobes, dopamine plays a role in controlling the flow of information from other areas of the brain. Dopamine disorders in the frontal lobes can cause a decline in neurocognitive function, particularly those linked to the frontal lobes, such as memory, attention and problem solving.
Disruption to the dopamine system has also been strongly linked to psychosis and schizophrenia. Dopamine neurons in the mesolimbic pathway are particularly associated these conditions. This is partly due to the discovery of a class of drugs called the phenothiazines (which block dopamine D2 receptors) which can reduce psychotic symptoms and partly due to the finding that drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine (which are known to greatly increase dopamine levels) can cause psychosis when used in excess. Because of this all modern antipsychotic medication is designed to blocks dopamine function to varying degrees.
In addition, dopamine is involved in the chemistry of pleasure. Release of dopamine into that part of the limbic system known as the "pleasure center" (an area just below the thalamus) causes pleasure. Although meant to reward vital activities such as eating and sex, this same mechanism is responsible for the craving connected with addiction to drugs, cocaine for example.
Dopamine is also a hormone released by the hypothalamus. Its main function is to inhibit the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary.
Major Dopamine Pathways
See also
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Dopamine."
Synonyms: DopamineSynonyms: Dopastat (n), Intropin (n). (additional references) |
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Movie/TV Titles | Dopamine (2003) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | ![]() | Schematic representation of the possible influence of b-endorphin (b-EP) on dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Credit: NIAA. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | This type of drug is called a dopamine agonist. (references) | |
Jaffe CA, Barkan AL. Treatment of acromegaly with dopamine agonists. (references) | ||
It codes for an enzyme important in the brain's manufacture of dopamine. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Dopamine" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 94.87% of the time. "Dopamine" is used about 39 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 94.87% | 37 | 56,631 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 2.56% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Noun (proper) | 2.56% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 39 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "dopamine": Dopamine Agents ♦ dopamine agonist ♦ Dopamine Agonists ♦ Dopamine Antagonists ♦ dopamine theory ♦ Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "dopamine"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | dopamin. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | dopamine. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | dopamiini. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
French | dopamine. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Dopamin. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | dopammina, dopamina. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 도파민. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | opamineday dopamina. (various references) dopamina. (various references) dopamin. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "dopamine": dopaminergic, dopamines. (additional references) | |
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"Dopamine" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Dipnarine, dopamime, Dopeman, dopemine, dopmine, Dopramine, Jopanini, nopaline. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "dopamine" (pronounced dÄ"pumī'n) |
| 4 | -u m ī' n | calamine, cholestyramine. |
| 3 | -m ī' n | landmine, undermine. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-d-e-i-m-n-o-p" | |
-1 letter: amidone, imponed. | |
-2 letters: aidmen, anomie, daemon, daimen, daimon, dampen, domain, domine, emodin, impend, impone, maiden, median, medina, moaned, monied, opined, pained, pomade, ponied. | |
-3 letters: admen, aimed, amend, amide, amido, amine, amino, amnio, anime, anode, danio, demon, denim, imped, maned, media, menad, minae, mined, monad, monde, monie, moped, named, nomad, opine, paeon, paned, piano. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-d-e-i-m-n-o-p" | |
+1 letter: companied, compendia, dopamines. | |
+2 letters: championed, complained, palindrome, pantomimed. | |
+3 letters: accompanied, companioned, endoplasmic, impassioned, madreporian, palindromes, pandemonium, predominant, predominate, promenading. | |
+4 letters: deprograming, dopaminergic, impersonated, imponderable, imponderably, madreporians, miscaptioned, pandemoniums, preadmission, predominance, predominancy, predominated, predominates, prenominated, pyridoxamine. | |
+5 letters: commandership, deprogramming, endolymphatic, imponderables, intercompared, preadmissions, predominances, predominantly, predominately, predominating, predomination, premeditation, preordainment, pyridoxamines, unaccompanied, uncomplicated, unimpassioned. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)44 6F 70 61 6D 69 6E 65 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-.. --- .--. .- -- .. -. . |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000100 01101111 01110000 01100001 01101101 01101001 01101110 01100101 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)D o p a m i n e |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0044 006F 0070 0061 006D 0069 006E 0065 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3881826779758071 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Orthography 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.