neuromelanin

[ noor-oh-mel-uh-nin, nyoor- ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. a dark melanin pigment that contains both pheomelanin and eumelanin, occurring in neurons of the substantia nigra in the brain and having a protective function.

Word History and Origins

Origin of neuromelanin¹

First recorded in 1955–60; neuro- ( def ) + melanin ( def )

Example Sentences

Basing their beliefs largely on a speculative scientific paper published in 1983 by Dr. Frank Barr, a San Francisco physician, the melanists assert that blacks -- who indeed have more of the skin pigment than other races -- possess superior and supernatural traits that can be ascribed to the magical qualities of neuromelanin, a little-studied substance in the brain.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yet while neuromelanin is markedly different from the skin pigment, the melanists often fail to differentiate between the two and ignore the fact that all humans have similar amounts of neuromelanin.

From Time Magazine Archive

According to the melanists, neuromelanin can convert light and magnetic fields to sound and back again, and can capture sunlight and hold it in a "memory mode."

From Time Magazine Archive