Dopamine in the Gut

Dopamine is widely present in the central and peripheral nervous systems, as well as in non-nervous systems. Parkinson's disease is well recognized as a dopaminergic neurodegenerative disorder, and affected patients often show early signs of gastrointestinal disorders at initial stages of the disease. Apart from the changes that occur in emotion, movement behaviors, learning and memory, metabolism etc., dopamine has also been demonstrated to play very crucial roles in the functional regulation of peripheral organs such as the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and gut. Most recently, dopamine function in the gut has received enormous attention. Not only does dopamine regulate gut motility, ion transport, and mucosal barrier, but it is becoming more pertinent that more than 60% of dopamine in the body stems from the gut, which has not yet been properly addressed and substantially explored. Therefore, this book will discuss the brain-gut axis by providing novel and significant insight into the essence of gut-derived dopamine in mammals. It aims to inspire further research on dopaminergic regulation of gut function and disease genesis.

Dr. Jin-Xia Zhu is a professor and former Chair of Department of Physiology & Pathophysiology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. She is a committee member of Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences (CAPS). She also serves as chairman for the Digestion and Nutrition Physiology Branch of CAPS, vice chairman for the Neurogastroenterology Committee of Chinese Research Hospital Association and former vice chairman for the endocrine and metabolism physiology branch of CAPS. Prof. Zhu is the deputy chief editor for the journal Acta Physiologica Sinica and former associate editor for CAPS News Communication (Chinese). Her research focuses on the roles of dopamine in gastrointestinal physiology and functional gastrointestinal disorders. She has published more than 70 research articles on international journals in this field and several text books about physiology like “Medical Physiology” as chief editor or deputy chief editor.