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By Gavriliuc Ioana
Dopamine, also known as the “feel-good chemical”, plays a really important role in the functions of the body, such as motivation, attention, mood, memory etc. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signals to the body, and they also act as hormones.
Dopamine plays an important role in the brain’s reward system by reinforcing feelings of pleasure that people experience when they engage in rewarding activities.
Dopamine itself is not a pleasure chemical, it doesn’t directly produce pleasure. The production of dopamine reinforces feelings of satisfaction by connecting sensations to certain actions and behaviors.
Surprisingly, dopamine is also present in the fight-or-flight response. When our bodies go into fight-or-flight because of a threat, our sympathetic nervous system is activated, and in response our body triggers the release of feel-good chemicals, including dopamine to fight against stress. This chemical is produced in different places in the brain, such as the pituitary gland, the pathways of the hypothalamus etc.
Dopamine affects about anything, from the way we think to the way we speak. Everyone experiences dopamine differently. Because this neurotransmitter is involved in reinforcement, there’s also the dark side of it, as it can also reinforce bad habits, for example whenever a person consumes drugs their body releases dopamine, which reinforces the action.
Dopamine is made from an amino acid called tyrosine. This amino acid then converts to L-dopa, that is then turned with the help of certain enzymes into dopamine. Because dopamine is made from this specific amino acid, eating certain foods that contain tyrosine could actually lead to an increase of dopamine levels in the brain. Foods that are high in tyrosine are: chicken, dairy foods such as cheese, milk, yogurt, avocadoes, bananas, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and soy.
High and low levels of dopamine make you feel different. For example, low levels of dopamine may give you symptoms such as anxiety, difficulty sleeping, low energy, mood swings etc, whereas high levels can show through symptoms such as impulsiveness, feeling energized, euphoric and so on.
Dopamine is involved in many psychological illnesses. Abnormally functioning dopamine receptors play a crucial role in certain health and mental conditions. For example, decreased levels of dopamine have been demonstrated in Parkinson’s disease. Basically the cells that are producing and releasing dopamine are dying. Other disorders are ADHD, where studies have shown that there is a disruption of dopamine that correlates to impulsivity and inattention. Besides ADHD, there’s major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, restless leg syndrome.
Dopamine levels are difficult to monitor since they occur in the brain, but there are ways to balance your dopamine levels without medication. The best way to balance your dopamine levels is to focus on healthy habits. These can be eating nutritious foods like the ones listed before, regularly exercising, doing activities that make you feel good, having hobbies.
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