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Only the Lonely
05 March 2016

Only the Lonely

The chemical signal dopamine plays an unexpected role in social interactions, showed research in February, led by Mark Ungless at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre and Kay Tye at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dopamine is a messenger molecule in the brain already linked to memory, learning and addiction. Previous studies have hinted that it’s involved in social behaviour. The study in Cell shows that when mice are kept on their own for a short time, the nerve cells in the brain that release dopamine become particularly active. There are many different groups of these nerve cells in the brain, and the team focused on those in an area called the dorsal raphe nucleus (pictured). They labelled them with a green fluorescent protein and stained red the molecules that make dopamine; overlap coloured yellow. The finding could hold clues to how social isolation affects people and influences our mental health.

Find out more about this study, and research on the brain at the Clinical Sciences Centre.

Written by Deborah Oakley

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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