Dopaminergic
drug that is used for its effects on dopamine receptors, on the life cycle of dopamine, or on the survival of dopaminergic neurons
Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain.
Dopaminergic brain pathways facilitate dopamine-related activity. For example, certain proteins such as the dopamine transporter (DAT), vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), and dopamine receptors can be classified as dopaminergic, and neurons that synthesize or contain dopamine and synapses with dopamine receptors in them may also be labeled as dopaminergic. Enzymes that regulate the biosynthesis or metabolism of dopamine such as aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase or DOPA decarboxylase, monoamine oxidase (MAO), and catechol O-methyl transferase (COMT) may be referred to as dopaminergic as well.
Also, any endogenous or exogenous chemical substance that acts to affect dopamine receptors or dopamine release through indirect actions (for example, on neurons that synapse onto neurons that release dopamine or express dopamine receptors) can also be said to have dopaminergic effects, two prominent examples being opioids, which enhance dopamine release indirectly in the reward pathways, and some substituted amphetamines, which enhance dopamine release directly by binding to and inhibiting VMAT2.
Dopaminergic agents
Dopamine precursors
Dopamine precursors including L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine are used as dietary supplements. L-DOPA (Levodopa), another precursor, is used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Prodrugs of levodopa, including melevodopa, etilevodopa, foslevodopa, and XP-21279 also exist. They are inactive themselves but are converted into dopamine and hence act as non-selective dopamine receptor agonists.
The public source identifies “Dopaminergic” as drug that is used for its effects on dopamine receptors, on the life cycle of dopamine, or on the survival of dopaminergic neurons. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dopaminergic, drug and used.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dopaminergic” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.