Dopamine Decoded: Beyond Joy, The Essence of Motivation
Often referred to as the 'happiness hormone', dopamine is less about immediate pleasure and more about the driving force behind our motivation and the desire to repeat pleasurable experiences. L'Officiel Cyprus unravels the mystery around dopamine and sheds light on its actual function in our nervous system.
Certain myths stubbornly stick in our minds: Endurance sports are the royal road to weight loss, caffeinated beverages dehydrate the body, and dopamine equals pleasure.
Dopamine is probably one of the most well-known neurotransmitters, primarily because of its association with pleasure. We are all familiar with the term "dopamine rush", which describes a flood of feelings of joy when, for example, the long-awaited package finally arrives. It is also widely believed that dopamine is essential for experiencing pleasure - consequently, it is said that people with low levels of dopamine would experience less joy in life.
But this is not the case.
Apologies to all of those proudly sporting their dopamine tattoos (yes, they really exist), but dopamine does not directly produce pleasure. It actually plays a myriad of roles in our brain, including functions related to memory, movement, attention, mood, and motivation.
In terms of our reward systems: When we do something that gives us pleasure, dopamine signals: "Hey, we should do that again." So it triggers the repetition of pleasurable behaviour in the brain, without causing the pleasure itself. A low dopamine level does not necessarily mean that one loses the ability to feel joy. In fact, it rather leads to a lack of motivation to work for things or to make efforts, as various studies have shown.
Dopamine is actually more about motivation and reinforcement of behavioural patterns, so we should finally retire the nickname "happiness hormone".
To put this into context: Imagine you tried a new dessert recipe and it delighted you with its fantastic taste. This sweet, satisfied feeling you experience is the pleasure. However, the desire to recreate this recipe is driven by dopamine. It motivates and reinforces the behaviour that led to this joy. It acts more like a personal coach encouraging us to seek experiences that have brought us pleasure. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to call dopamine a "motivation molecule". It spurs us on and strengthens the pursuit of positive experiences, rather than provoking immediate joy.
The scientific reality is that dopamine is an essential player in a broad range of brain functions, from motor skills to attention, from mood to memory, and particularly to motivation. It's the protagonist on our inner stage, motivating us to repeat certain actions that have brought us joy. It's the silent conductor orchestrating our reward system, and the coach encouraging us to continue to strive and seek out these positive experiences again.
