Typical conversation before reading the proceeding blog post:
Average Joe: “What’s dopamine?”
Neurochem student: “Well, it’s one of the most common neurotransmitters in the human brain.”
Joe: “Isn’t that some drug that athletes use?”
N.S. : “Not exactly, that’s just called “doping,” and isn’t actually related to dopamine.”
Joe: “Dopamine..like, cocaine, right?”
N.S. : “No, no, Dopamine itself isn’t an illegal drug. It does, however, play a role in drug addiction.”
Joe: “So basically Breaking Bad then..yeah?”
N.S. : …….Oy vey
So what exactly is dopamine, you ask? This is a relatively new area of study for me, but I’ll do my best to get across the important stuff…without putting you to sleep. Let’s start with the basics: first and foremost, dopamine is a neurotransmitter. That is, a chemical compound in the brain that sends a signal from one neuron to another. Neurotransmitters are key players in neural pathways and are essential for executing all of our basic actions and functions. This week in class we looked at a more specific facet of dopamine: the Akt/GSK-3 pathway. I know what you’re thinking, probably something along the lines of “Ak-wha? I’m over this blog.” Don’t let it scare you! The Akt/GSK pathway is actually really nifty and is prevalent in many common neurological disorders. The bare bones explanation of the pathway is as follows:
1. Dopamine binds to the D2 receptor
2. Binding causes the -arrestin complex to form
3. arr deactivates Akt
4. Deactivated Akt allows GSK to remain active
5. GSK gets to do all sorts of fun things in the cell!
Now you’re probably thinking “Why should I care about any of this?” The simple answer is that, whether you realize it or not, your life is filled with topics revolving around this pathway. This is the mechanism of many antipsychotics, is directly related with the treatment of bipolar disorder, and plays a huge role in addiction and substance abuse. Pretty neat, right? While learning about the nitty gritty details of the dopamine pathway or the Akt/GSK cascade may not be as entertaining as watching the latest episode of Breaking Bad, it is far more relevant to our everyday lives. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything about it–I don’t either!
