Dopaminergic nerve fibre

A dopaminergic nerve fibre is a nerve fibre for which the neurotransmitter is dopamine; that is to say, it is triggered into firing when incident nerves that form a synapse with it releases dopamine into the synaptic cleft.

Dopaminergic nerve terminals are present in many brain nuclei, and are particularly associated with those that control emotional and motivational behaviour, as well as the control of movement. Disorders in the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra in the basal ganglia of the brain are known to result in Parkinson's Disease.

Dopaminergic nerve terminals contain a number of uptake mechanisms for the transmitters that are released into the synaptic cleft. These uptake mechanisms are the target for numerous drugs, for example fluoxetine (Prozac), which targets serotonin reuptake in the brain and is used to treat depression.