Neuroscience
In honor of The Neurocritic's 10th anniversary, I'd like to announce a new occasional feature:
In science, as in life, we learn from our mistakes. We can't move forward if we don't admit we were wrong and revise our entrenched theory (or tentative hypothesis) when faced with contradictory evidence. Likewise, it's possible that some of the critiques in this blog are no longer valid because additional evidence shows that the authors were correct. And vindicated. At least for now...
I've been collecting possible instances of this phenomenon for months, and I'll preview two of these today.
(1) In November 2015, I said that Obesity Is Not Like Being "Addicted to Food". Drugs of abuse are consistently associated with decreases in D2 dopamine receptors, but D2 receptor binding in obese women is not different from that in lean participants (Karlsson et al., 2015). Conversely, μ-opioid receptor (MOR) binding is reduced, which supports lowered hedonic processing. After the women had bariatric surgery, MOR returned to control values, while the unaltered D2 receptors stayed the same.
However, a recent study in mice “points to a causal link between striatal dopamine signaling and the outcomes of bariatric interventions” (Han et al., 2016). How relevant is this new finding for clinical studies in humans?
(2) In another post, I poo-pooed the notion that there is One Brain Network for All Mental Illness. However, a subsequent paper in Molecular Psychiatry claimed that common psychiatric disorders share the same genetic origin (Pettersson et al., 2015). If so, could this result in common brainabnormalities alterations across disorders?
In the future, I'll take a closer look at these and other examples to see if I should revise my opinions.
- Nineteenth Annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting
The 2012 CNS Meeting will be held in Chicago from March 31 to April 3. The schedule is packed with three and a half days of symposia, slide sessions, posters, and distinguished lectures. It will be quite an Event, with sessions on Music and the Brain,...
- D1 Receptor Knock-out Mice Say, "no Cocaine For Us!"
"However, we'll still take plenty of food and opioid agonists!" Unlike mice with the dopamine D2 receptor "knocked out," D1 receptor-deficient mice will no longer self-administer cocaine: Caine SB, Thomsen M, Gabriel KI, Berkowitz JS, Gold LH, Koob...
- I'm Not As Slim As That Mouse
The Agony of Genetically Disrupted Melanocortin Receptors (MC4R). A new study suggests that blocking MC4R function in the central nervous system of rodents produces obesity by altering lipid metabolism and promoting fat deposition (Nogueiras et al.,...
- Glutamate Agonist Ly2140023: A New Treatment For Schizophrenia?
High hopes for new schizophrenia drugs Drug trial hailed as first major breakthrough for 50 years. By Alison Abbott . . . The side effects of LY2140023, including insomnia and emotional instability, are slightly different to those of olanzapine although...
- Parkinson Disease
From an NIH press release on 04 July 2006: Dopamine Drug Leads to New Neurons and Recovery of Function in Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease In preliminary results, researchers have shown that a drug which mimics the effects of...
Neuroscience
Was I Wrong?
In honor of The Neurocritic's 10th anniversary, I'd like to announce a new occasional feature:
Was I Wrong?
In science, as in life, we learn from our mistakes. We can't move forward if we don't admit we were wrong and revise our entrenched theory (or tentative hypothesis) when faced with contradictory evidence. Likewise, it's possible that some of the critiques in this blog are no longer valid because additional evidence shows that the authors were correct. And vindicated. At least for now...
I've been collecting possible instances of this phenomenon for months, and I'll preview two of these today.
(1) In November 2015, I said that Obesity Is Not Like Being "Addicted to Food". Drugs of abuse are consistently associated with decreases in D2 dopamine receptors, but D2 receptor binding in obese women is not different from that in lean participants (Karlsson et al., 2015). Conversely, μ-opioid receptor (MOR) binding is reduced, which supports lowered hedonic processing. After the women had bariatric surgery, MOR returned to control values, while the unaltered D2 receptors stayed the same.
However, a recent study in mice “points to a causal link between striatal dopamine signaling and the outcomes of bariatric interventions” (Han et al., 2016). How relevant is this new finding for clinical studies in humans?
(2) In another post, I poo-pooed the notion that there is One Brain Network for All Mental Illness. However, a subsequent paper in Molecular Psychiatry claimed that common psychiatric disorders share the same genetic origin (Pettersson et al., 2015). If so, could this result in common brain
In the future, I'll take a closer look at these and other examples to see if I should revise my opinions.
- Nineteenth Annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting
The 2012 CNS Meeting will be held in Chicago from March 31 to April 3. The schedule is packed with three and a half days of symposia, slide sessions, posters, and distinguished lectures. It will be quite an Event, with sessions on Music and the Brain,...
- D1 Receptor Knock-out Mice Say, "no Cocaine For Us!"
"However, we'll still take plenty of food and opioid agonists!" Unlike mice with the dopamine D2 receptor "knocked out," D1 receptor-deficient mice will no longer self-administer cocaine: Caine SB, Thomsen M, Gabriel KI, Berkowitz JS, Gold LH, Koob...
- I'm Not As Slim As That Mouse
The Agony of Genetically Disrupted Melanocortin Receptors (MC4R). A new study suggests that blocking MC4R function in the central nervous system of rodents produces obesity by altering lipid metabolism and promoting fat deposition (Nogueiras et al.,...
- Glutamate Agonist Ly2140023: A New Treatment For Schizophrenia?
High hopes for new schizophrenia drugs Drug trial hailed as first major breakthrough for 50 years. By Alison Abbott . . . The side effects of LY2140023, including insomnia and emotional instability, are slightly different to those of olanzapine although...
- Parkinson Disease
From an NIH press release on 04 July 2006: Dopamine Drug Leads to New Neurons and Recovery of Function in Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease In preliminary results, researchers have shown that a drug which mimics the effects of...