Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to Investigators of ‘Slow Synaptic Transmission’

Three researchers, Arvid Carlsson, Paul Greengard and Eric Kandel, have been awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for determining the mechanisms that underlie communication between brain cells. Carlsson's research revealed that dopamine is a key messenger in the brain, a discovery that led to the development of L-dopa, and shed light on the mechanism of action of antipsychotics. Greengard showed how brain cells react to the arrival of dopamine and Kandel demonstrated that changes at nerve synapses are crucial to forming memories. Collectively, these discoveries have enormous implications for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.