Unravelling the Role of Dopamine: How Does it Impact our Brain and Behaviour?
- Courtney Ah Shay
- Nov 17, 2024
- 2 min read
Dopamine is a neuromodulator responsible for motivation, anticipation, learning, planning, mood, time perception, movement, pleasure, and reward.
Your body has a baseline level of dopamine that circulates throughout your body at all times.
When you experience something pleasurable such as eating chocolate or finally completing that 60% assignment, your dopamine will peak however, it will then drop below baseline.
Tonic - low level baseline of dopamine (always circulating).
Phasic - peaks above baseline.
Dopamine levels in your brain evidently influence your drive and motivation in life as well as what you find interesting.
The baseline of every individiual is different which can be attributed to genetics, but also other interacting chemicals within the body such as adrenalin (energy).
Dopamine Pathways:
Pathway 1-
Mesocorticolimbic pathway
From ventral tegmentum - ventral striatum - prefrontal cortex
This is otherwise known as the reward, motivation and reinforcement pathway in the brain.
Pathway 2-
Nigrostriatal pathway
From substantia nigra - dorsal striatum
This pathway facilitates movement and motivation.
What increases Dopamine (approximate)?
Chocolate 1.5x increase
Sex (pursuit & act) 2x increase
Nicotine (smoked) 2.5x increase
Amphetamine 10x increase (explains addicition risk)
Exercise (depending on subjective view) 2x increase
Caffeine increases the ability to experience dopamine more intensely.
What are certain activities and an appropriate way to experience dopamine?
Don't stack together numerous dopamine hits at once - after a peak, your dopamine levels will drop below baseline. Big peak = big drop.
When you experience a peak from a pleasurable activity followed by the big drop, be aware that seeking out that pleasurable activity immediately, is the start of an addiction.
Notice your diet: do you have enough Vitamin B6, iron, zinc? consult with a health professional and maybe try some broad beans - they contain L-Dopa.
Exercise can increase your dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin - try yoga, tai chi or nature walks.
Make sure you have adequate sleep each night and try meditation to help in winding down.
Control light exposure by being in sunlight in the morning for approximately 10 minutes and avoid too much light at night between 10pm-4am.
Diseases Associated with Dopamine:
Parkinson's Disease
When the dopaminergic neurons in the substania nigra deplete resulting in death of dopamine. Parkinson's is an idiopathic neurogenerative disease -cause is unknown and there is significant degradation within the brain.
Symptoms - bradykinesia, postural instability, rest tremor, rigidity, lack of pleasure, lack of motivation.
Schizophrenia
When there are elevated levels of dopamine in the brain. There is also more sensitivity (increase in symptoms) to dopamine-like substances such as amphetamines.
Symptoms - delusions, diminished emotional expression, disorganised thinking, abnormal motor behaviour, memory impairments, attention difficulty.
References and Further Reading:
Seeman, P. (2013). Schizophrenia and dopamine receptors. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 23(9), 999–1009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.06.005
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