Abstract
Dopamine was first described by George Barger, James Ewens, and Henry Dale in 1910 as an epinephrine-like monoamine compound. Initially believed to be a mere precursor of norepinephrine, it was mostly ignored for the next four decades (Figure 1A). However, in the 1950s Kathleen Montagu showed that dopamine occurred in the brain by itself, and a series of studies by Arvid Carlsson and collaborators demonstrated that dopamine is a bona fide neurotransmitter, a finding that would earn Carlsson the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. In a landmark experiment, he pharmacologically blocked all dopamine neurotransmission in rabbits, which rendered them completely paralyzed, and then fully recovered their behavior with an injection of the dopamine precursor L-DOPA, demonstrating that dopamine was essential for self-initiated movement (Figure 1B). A similar effect was quickly reproduced by Oleg Hornykiewicz and collaborators in human Parkinsonian patients. Within a few years, dopamine jumped from relative obscurity to being critical for life as we know it.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.