Substantia

What Is Basal Ganglia?

Located at the base of the forebrain, the basal ganglia are responsible for different functions, like voluntary movement. The different parts of the basal ganglia communicate with each other and transmit neurotransmitters to other parts of the...

What Is Striatal Dopamine?

Dopamine is a chemical that your brain and other parts of your body produce to exert various effects throughout your body. The striatum is one part of the brain where dopamine exerts an effect. Disturbances in the actions of dopamine are at the...

What Is Dopamine Responsible for?

Dopamine is a chemical in your brain that affects your emotions, movements and your sensations of pleasure and pain. Dopamine neurotransmitters are located in the deep middle region of your brain called the substantia nigra. There are five...

Dyskinesia & Dopamine

Dopamine is a chemical that signals nerves and regulates a number of important functions in the brain. Imbalances in dopamine or miscommunication in dopamine signaling can result in a number of problems, including dyskinesias, which are trouble...

What Organs Are Affected by Parkinson's Disease?

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive brain disorder caused by loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. An estimated 500,000 men and women in the United States have Parkinson's disease, according to the National Institute of Neurological...

Parkinson's Disease & Dopamine Neurotransmitters

Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder that attacks the motor system. The disease has four primary symptoms: tremors in the arms and hands, head and face and legs; stiffness in limbs and torso; slow movements, also known as bradykinesia;...

Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease Onset

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Parkinson's disease is a disease of the nervous system that worsens over time. In people with Parkinson's disease, the neurons, or nerve cells, in a section of the brain known as the...

What Is Dopamine in the Brain?

Dopamine is one of a number of chemicals known as a neurotransmitters that carry signals from various cells in the brain. Dopamine acts on several neurons and has been implicated in addiction and movement disorders. Learning where...

Parkinson's Disease & Vitamins

Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder that affects 1 million Americans at any given time, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Some clinical studies have found a link between certain vitamin deficiencies and Parkinson's...

Is Dopamine in Parkinson's Disease a Natural Hormone?

In Parkinson's disease, the nerve cells in the brain that release dopamine degenerate. Dopamine and acetylcholine are used by the nerves as neurotransmitters, or used to send signals from one nerve to another. Normally, dopamine and acetylcholine...

Different Parts of the Brain Stem

The brainstem projects from the center of the underside of the brain. This elongated structure connects the upper areas of the brain to the spinal cord. Evolutionarily, the brainstem is one of the oldest parts of the brain. It is responsible for...

About Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that is the result of the gradual decline of a small population of cells within the brain. Parkinson's disease typically develops gradually in the elderly, causing symptoms in people over...

The Effect of L Tyrosine in Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative brain disorder interfering with the ability to start, stop or coordinate movement. Cells in the brain that produce a neurotransmitter called dopamine die during the course of Parkinson's disease. The amino...

Diseases Resulting in Dementia

Dementia itself is not a disease. According to Thomas D. Bird, writing in "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine," it is a deterioration in mental abilities that impairs the successful performance of activities of daily living. Memory is the...

Dopamine Deficiency

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that the nerves use to send signals. A dopamine deficiency can be the result of trauma, a lack of oxygen, certain medications, toxins and disease. In Parkinson's disease, nerves in an area of the brain that release...

Basal Ganglia Diseases

The basal ganglia is a group of nerve cells located at the base of the brain that control movement of the muscles. Damage to the basal ganglia affects a person's motor ability, or the ability to control bodily muscle movements. A number of...

Functions of Different Parts of the Brain Stem

The brain stem links the spinal cord to the brain. Messages between the brain and the rest of the body pass through the brain stem in large nerve bundles. However, the brain stem is more than a nerve impulse highway. According to Dr. Richard...

Benefits of Jiaogulan

Jiaogulan is a perennial vine belonging to the cucumber family that is native to China, Korea and Japan. Since the herb is similar to ginseng in terms of chemical composition, and grows so abundantly in southern China, jiaogulan is sometimes...

Causes of Parkinsons Disease

"Epidemiology of Parkinson's Disease" by de Lau and Breteler in 2006 defined statistics for Parkinson's disease (PD) stating that this is a fairly common neurological disorder currently affecting about 350 per 100,000 individuals. With technology,...

Four Primary Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease, a debilitating neurodegenerative condition, results from loss of pigmented cells in a part of the midbrain called the substantia nigra. The substantia nigra connects heavily to the striatum, the brain's central relay station...

Contents of the Human Brain

The human brain weighs about 3 lbs. and contains 100 billion neurons and even more glial cells, according to Neuroscience For Kids, a University of Washington website. The brain has three major divisions, which contain different structures and two...

Common Diseases of the Brain

The brain and spinal cord makeup a majority of the central nervous system and literally control every function in the body. The brain is responsible for speech, vision, thoughts, movement and controls many of the organs of the body. Most of the...

Dopamine and Damage

Dopamine is a chemical that is created by the neurons in your brain and acts as a transmitter between nerve cells. Most of the neurons that create dopamine come from the part of your brain called the substantia nigra. Dopamine is necessary for...

How Dopamine Neurotransmitters Affect Behavior

The brain is made up of a large group of cells called neurons. Neurons are the functional unit of the brain and control all neurological processes, including thoughts and behavior. The nervous system is essentially a group of interconnected...

Ice Skating for Parkinson's Disease

Independence is important to every person, and when that independence is imposed upon by a disease that affects your every movement, the challenge may seem insurmountable. As foreboding as a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease may be, through...

Dopamine, Acetylcholine and Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The earliest symptoms are related to movement and including a tremor, rigidity, slow movements and difficulty walking. Later symptoms can include thinking, sleep,...

Degenerative Diseases Like Parkinson's

The term degenerative disease refers to a disease that causes the nervous tissue, the nerve cells or the myelin that surrounds the nerves to break down. Parkinson's is a degenerative disease that is caused by the loss of nerve cells in the...

Mucuna Pruriens for Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder affecting 10 million people worldwide, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremors of the hands, slowness of movements, muscular...

What Are the Effects of Too Much Dopamine?

Dopamine is a natural chemical substance that is produced from the amino acid tyrosine by a mid-brain structure called the substantia nigra. As a neurotransmitter, dopamine transmits chemical signals from the dopamine-containing neurons to target...