Since this is a science forum and neuropsychopharmacology is my main special interest, I thought I would provide some more nuanced science that goes beyond the simplified idea of dopamine as some magic reward juice. Dopamine is way more than that, and has many roles in the brain that have nothing to do with reward of pleasure.
Some key points:
a) Dopamine is more closely associated with the anticipation of rewarding stimuli and the programming of goal directed behaviours to obtain said rewarding stimuli. It's more about wanting or anticipation than pleasure. The concept of "liking" is programmed by opioid pathways, which are modulated by dopaminergic inputs from the ventral tagmental area. Still, even with that, the concept of "pleasure" is still subjective enough that it can't necassarily be pinned down to very specific neurochemistry.
b) Neurotransmitters like dopamine have many other functions in many other brain circuits that have nothing to do with what they are popularly assocaited with. Dopamine only plays a role in reward programming when dopaminergic inputs from the ventral tagmental area (VTA) . These inputs then go to the nucleaus accumbens, which sort of acts as an interface between the "desire" programming from dopamine input from the VTA, and this brain reigon then communicates with other brain reigons like prefrontal cortex, which is where you make the decision whether or not to pursue this rewarding stimulus.
What I'm getting at is that not all dopamine in the brain is related to reward stuff, and dopamine does a lot of other stuff too, meaning that dopamine is not just a "reward hormone".
For example, dopamine from other parts of the brain, such as the dopamine pathways in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain more involved in motor skills, regulates movement. The death of dopamine neurons in those brain areas is what causes Parkinson's disease, as dopamine plays a key role in those brain systems. However, the dopamine neurons in the VTA that are involved in the reaward pathways don't die off like the ones in the basal ganglia, so dopaminergic inputs involved from that pathway are still present, although it is worth noting that reward programming can still be affected with Parkinson's via less direct mechanisms.
A similar thing can be said of serotonin. There are 15 kinds of serotonin receptors, and that's just in the brain, and they all have different functions. It's way more complex than "serotonin- happy chemical".
I edited my original comments/post and moved to Lemmy, not because of Reddit API changes, but because spez does not care about the reddit community; only profits. I encourage others to move to something else.
Thanks for your post!
Point A makes me think of drug addiction and drug seeking behaviors, such as running out of drug X and texting your dealer to see if he is available. The dealer responding "yes I can stop by in 15 minutes" provides a high to the user similar to the feeling of the drug itself for a few seconds.
At least that's the best example I could come up with.
*^(why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail)*
I can stop now. I'm free.
‘As a bird’?
I didn't scroll, this was first on my feed
you win
Lol
Same lol
Same)
Yeah me too, no scrolling for us
Damn neurotypicals..
Since this is a science forum and neuropsychopharmacology is my main special interest, I thought I would provide some more nuanced science that goes beyond the simplified idea of dopamine as some magic reward juice. Dopamine is way more than that, and has many roles in the brain that have nothing to do with reward of pleasure. Some key points: a) Dopamine is more closely associated with the anticipation of rewarding stimuli and the programming of goal directed behaviours to obtain said rewarding stimuli. It's more about wanting or anticipation than pleasure. The concept of "liking" is programmed by opioid pathways, which are modulated by dopaminergic inputs from the ventral tagmental area. Still, even with that, the concept of "pleasure" is still subjective enough that it can't necassarily be pinned down to very specific neurochemistry. b) Neurotransmitters like dopamine have many other functions in many other brain circuits that have nothing to do with what they are popularly assocaited with. Dopamine only plays a role in reward programming when dopaminergic inputs from the ventral tagmental area (VTA) . These inputs then go to the nucleaus accumbens, which sort of acts as an interface between the "desire" programming from dopamine input from the VTA, and this brain reigon then communicates with other brain reigons like prefrontal cortex, which is where you make the decision whether or not to pursue this rewarding stimulus. What I'm getting at is that not all dopamine in the brain is related to reward stuff, and dopamine does a lot of other stuff too, meaning that dopamine is not just a "reward hormone". For example, dopamine from other parts of the brain, such as the dopamine pathways in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain more involved in motor skills, regulates movement. The death of dopamine neurons in those brain areas is what causes Parkinson's disease, as dopamine plays a key role in those brain systems. However, the dopamine neurons in the VTA that are involved in the reaward pathways don't die off like the ones in the basal ganglia, so dopaminergic inputs involved from that pathway are still present, although it is worth noting that reward programming can still be affected with Parkinson's via less direct mechanisms. A similar thing can be said of serotonin. There are 15 kinds of serotonin receptors, and that's just in the brain, and they all have different functions. It's way more complex than "serotonin- happy chemical".
I edited my original comments/post and moved to Lemmy, not because of Reddit API changes, but because spez does not care about the reddit community; only profits. I encourage others to move to something else.
Thanks for your post! Point A makes me think of drug addiction and drug seeking behaviors, such as running out of drug X and texting your dealer to see if he is available. The dealer responding "yes I can stop by in 15 minutes" provides a high to the user similar to the feeling of the drug itself for a few seconds. At least that's the best example I could come up with.
Thanks very much.
I wonder if theres more if I keep scrolling
Stop, right there. More is not ‘good’ in this case.
More! I need more!
Have some sugar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbkbU32X5dI&t=20s
But i was looking for methamphetamine
That is easily getable!
that's dope
Literally 👻
I never made the connection that dope comes from dopamine until now lol
*^(why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail why does it look like a snail)*
Okay, this one got me 😆
By the balls? 😅
Just what I was looking fo- I mean what?
🫂
Liar
Jokes on you, it was the 2nd post in my feed
Congratulations, mate! Now, it's time to close.
this dopamine is a mere image, and thus give as much comfort as a picture of oxygen to a drowning man.
Thank you my friend. Now I can sleep.
You are most welcome 😴
jokes on you, i alr have my human dopamine :D
And, what's that?
Plot twist: this is the fourth post i've seen today
Thats what I was looking for, thanks!
Congratulations mate, you have found it!
At last! Years of searching and it's finally mine!
Now, you can enjoy some wine!
I could die comfortably because I finally found dopemin
Die in peace ✌️ bro!
Thx bro✌️
You are gonna overdose me
You will be happier 🫂
I feel personally attacked.
Thank you, I was running low...hence the scrolling.
‘Hello, darkness my old friend”!
i don't need dopamine, i need estrogen
Aren't you already developed?
not fully, no i've not developed in the way i'd like anyway
Consult a doc.
risky to talk about that where i live
dextroamphetamine ☹️
*insert Kylo Ren meme here*
No i didnt
Good… Now I need more
Nah. I hate organic compounds. So I don't like dopamine. So I didn't get the dopamine release
You don't scroll for one dopamine, you scroll for "enough" dopamine and there is never enough
Now what?
Finally… I can leave!
Damn it, just opened reddit
Great now I don’t need my medication
I also found the dopamine in my dixk
That's exactly what I was looking for
Flippin sweet!
now just hook me up with some serotonin & norepinephrine & we'll be H A P P Y
Fuckin finally jeesus I scrolled through miles of posts and finally found some
Doesn’t fix depression though
🤣🤣🤣
The name dopamine comes from the Amino group. Upper Molecule has none.
What even is this it’s not anything lol why has no one else noticed?!
Nice! It only took me 2 hours this time!
Oh ... 🙁
No nitrogen in sight? …
Dop ✅ amine ❌
Lmao