Carlsson, Arvid (1923-2018), a Swedish biologist, won the 2000 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his research on the transmission of nerve impulses. Carlsson’s discoveries have helped scientists understand the normal function of the brain and how disturbances in nerve impulse transmission can cause neurological disease. He shared the Nobel Prize with two American biologists, Paul Greengard and Austrian-born Eric R. Kandel, who also studied the biochemistry of the brain.
Carlsson discovered that a chemical called dopamine is one of a group of chemicals called neurotransmitters, which carry information from one nerve cell to another. He found that dopamine is a key chemical signal that helps control body movement. His research led to the discovery that a lack of dopamine in certain regions of the brain could disrupt pathways among nerves that control movement. The loss of nerve pathways produces a condition known as Parkinson disease. People with Parkinson disease experience such symptoms as trembling hands, rigid muscles, and problems with balance and walking.
Scientists quickly realized that a drug called levodopa or L-dopa, which is converted into dopamine in the brain, can be used to treat Parkinson disease. For many patients, L-dopa brings dramatic improvement in symptoms. Carlsson also worked to help develop drugs to treat mental disorders, such as schizophrenia.
Per Arvid Emil Carlsson was born on Jan. 25, 1923, in Uppsala, Sweden. He studied medicine at the University of Lund, receiving M.D. and Ph.D. degrees there in 1951. He taught at the University of Lund from 1951 to 1959. He then accepted the position of professor of pharmacology (the science of drugs) at the University of Goteborg, where he remained until his retirement in 1989. Carlsson died on June 29, 2018.
