cells Review Dopamine: The Neuromodulator of Long-Term Synaptic Plasticity, Reward and Movement Control Luisa Speranza 1, Umberto di Porzio 2,*, Davide Viggiano 3 , Antonio de Donato 3 and Floriana Volpicelli 4 1 Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA;
[email protected] 2 Institute of Genetics and Biophysics “Adriano Buzzati Traverso”, CNR, 80131 Naples, Italy 3 Department of Translational Medical Sciences, Genetic Research Institute “Gaetano Salvatore”, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, IT and Biogem S.c.a.r.l., 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy;
[email protected] (D.V.);
[email protected] (A.d.D.) 4 Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy; fl
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +39-081-0816132363 Abstract: Dopamine (DA) is a key neurotransmitter involved in multiple physiological functions including motor control, modulation of affective and emotional states, reward mechanisms, reinforce- ment of behavior, and selected higher cognitive functions. Dysfunction in dopaminergic transmission is recognized as a core alteration in several devastating neurological and psychiatric disorders, in- cluding Parkinson’s disease (PD), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addiction. Here we will discuss the current insights on the role of DA in motor control and reward learning mechanisms and its involvement in the modulation of synaptic dynamics through different pathways. In particular, we will consider the role of DA as neuromodulator of two Citation: Speranza, L.; di Porzio, U.; forms of synaptic plasticity, known as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) Viggiano, D.; de Donato, A.; in several cortical and subcortical areas.