Episode 26: Dr. Larry Zweifel on brain chemistry, genetics, and directions for mental health therapy.
Dr. Zweifel runs a lab at the University of Washington where he is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science. His research efforts are devoted to understanding the complex manner in which genes regulate neural circuits of the brain. Of particular interest is the neural circuitry of the brain that is regulated by the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is a member of the monoamine neurotransmitters that is synthesized from the amino acid tyrosine. By unraveling the nature of genetic regulation of the dopamine system the hope is to better understand how dysfunction of this system contributes to a range of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders from Parkinson’s disease to schizophrenia, autism, depression, anxiety, and addiction.
