Dopamine, a catecholamine transmitter, plays a number of important physiological roles in
the brain and body. Clues to dopamine’s role in motivation and learning have come from
over 50 years of studies in laboratory animals, which have included rodents and nonhuman
primates. In more recent years, studies on the role of dopamine in disease have opened new
avenues of research and discovery. Genetic cloning has further enabled studies of dopamine
in other species such as Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio. This edition of Methods in
Molecular Biology brings together and provides detailed protocols on leading approaches in
the study of dopamine within biological systems.