Dopamine and cognitive function after global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion: a brief review

Global cerebral ischemia/hypoxia may occur due to various causes such as cardiac arrest, shock, and asphyxiation. Even though the patient’s life may be saved after cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury is likely to occur and often results in neurological dysfunction. Apart from motor and speech impediments, patients with such injury may also suffer from impaired higher-level cognitive functions such as learning and memory, placing a heavy burden on families and society. Brain areas associated with the limbic system include the hippocampus, corpus striatum, and amygdala, which are linked with cognitive function. Those brain regions are easily damaged by hypoxia, and since they are connected with the dopaminergic pathway, global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion can damage the dopaminergic pathway as well and affect the projection of dopaminergic neurons in the limbic system. This review article examines the feasibility of using dopamine, a neurotransmitter heavily involved in cognitive function, in experimental research and clinical treatment of global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Specifically, we examine the effects of dopamine on post-injury cognition and neuronal plasticity, with the ultimate goal of identifying a new tool for clinical treatment.