Cognitive Drug to Enhance Brain Functioning

By: Robert Webb

A pharmaceutical company is now currently working on a new drug that may be able to be used as a cognitive enhancer. In theory it could improve a person's working memory. Working memory is the process by which the brain can temporarily store and also manipulate certain information, such as remembering a phone number. This specific drug is able to enhance the functioning a dopamine type 1 receptor in the brain. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain that has a variety of functions. Increasing dopamine can often increase mood and a person's attention by stimulating one of 5 different dopamine receptors. Stimulation of the D1 receptor is extremely important for the proper functioning of a person's working memory. Under stimulation of these types of receptors leads to the cognitive dysfunction that is often found in those with attention deficit disorder.

Enhancing D1 receptor activity may allow a person to have an improved attention span. Improper D1 receptor functioning is also correlated with what are called "negative" schizophrenic symptoms. Negative schizophrenic symptoms include lack or decline in speech, apathy, emotional blunting and poor social motivation. A person with negative schizophrenia may have enormous social difficulties. So this new pharmaceutical compound may be able to improve several specific schizophrenic symptoms. Working memory can decline as a person ages due to a reduction in D1 receptor number. So this new pharmaceutical compound may be able to improve cognitive problems that are correlated with old age.

The new drug is actually an inhibitor of a new intracellular target that can increase activity of the D1 receptor in brain cells. Preclinical data has already shown that it may treat a wide variety of disorders such as schizophrenia, ADHD, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. All of these disorders may have improved cognitive functioning after using this drug.

Increasing activation of the D1 receptor may also have a positive impact on a person's mood. Increasing dopamine is known to enhance a person's pleasure response via the mesolimbic system of the brain. This new drug should not induce psychoses which can be induced by a dopamine type 2 enhancer sometimes. If this drug gains FDA approval it should be very useful for a variety of brain ailments. It may be used to increase cognition, functioning and improve a person's mood. It may also be used by regular people to improve normal cognitive functioning on the job or at school.

Article Source: http://www.myhotarticles.com

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