Disclaimer!
Please note that, many concepts discussed below are oversimplifications of the true workings of the brain. It is a good practice to not take anything for granted when learning neuroscience due to the subject's complex and obscure nature.
In this session, we'll be focusing on how dopamine can cause pleasurable sensations and pleasure-seeking behaviors.
Nowadays, the world is full of addictive experiences: scrolling through social media, eating junk foods, going on shopping sprees, and even consuming recreational drugs in some countries. Understanding the neurobiological mechanism behind dopamine and addiction can help us devise solutions to prevalent problems such as doomscrolling!
Here, we start by diving into dopamine reward pathways.
When we encounter these rewarding stimuli, neurons in a region called the ventral tegmental area (VTA) become active.
These neurons release dopamine, which is a key neurotransmitter involved in reward, motivation, and learning.
INFOGRAPHIC
LET'S PLAY
Additional resources for the curious mind!
Below are some resources that you can read and watch to explore any concepts that interest you:
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Cute little video on dopamine detoxes (this channel also has a lot of nice mental health videos so if you're interested please go check it out!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYF_xYrFt3o
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A more sophisticated video on reward pathways (including two pathways we didn't talk about): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCtC3LN2Vfc
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Scientific article on the brain's reward pathways: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4549070/