Dopamine: Between Pleasure And Motivation

We’ll start by giving you a simple example of the complex magic of dopamine :

When we are in love, we are enveloped by this feeling of pleasure and intensity, where emotions are always on the skin.

Dopamines secrete this substance in our brain which prompts us to do things to maintain our relationship, to seduce our partner and to obtain tenderness every day.

This whole virtuous circle brings us a positive addiction where love tends to ignite the same neural structures that we would feel if we were to take opium, where dopamines are also linked.

Now, if that bond breaks and we stop this engagement with the loved one, our brains will continue to generate more dopamine, because this is an adversity where these neurotransmitters keep pushing the brain to “seek out”. goal”.

It is an essential piece that sets our motivation in motion every day, but it is always stimulated as much, whether the goal is positive or negative.

The double face of dopamines

There is a widely held belief that dopamines exclusively regulate pleasure and reward, and they are secreted when we achieve our goals.

But this reality is not exact, because this neurotransmitter acts in a planned way, it is he who pushes us to seek the objective, this joint, this work, this determined reward.

Scientists are also investigating why it also prompts us to look for things that sometimes are negative to us, such as drug use.

In stressful situations, we also release dopamine, we are exhausted and yet we continue to go to work, to take care of that loved one who suffers from Alzheimer’s, etc.

We are immersed in this circle where instead of suffering, we let ourselves be carried by an inner force that takes us in search of something, motivating us to act in one direction or another.

Dopamines and depression 

You have surely noticed that there are people who are much more motivated than others, who are more persevering to achieve their goals while others are more patient.

Hence the fact that scientists and neurobiologists have addressed this question to find out, for example, what are the parameters that make people motivate themselves to do certain things in life.

This can for example be education, work or health, which aim to cope with pathologies such as depression or lack of energy.

These states, like depression, envelop us in a very clear feeling of apathy, where any effort is almost impossible, any hope placed in a project seems confused and even painful.

Our dopamine numbers are minimal and we have no motivation. Thus, the lack of energy is also linked to states of mental fatigue and diseases such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia.

Conversely, it is curious to point out, for example, that some people have an excess of neurotransmitter, because they are used to constantly seeking sensations and an almost compulsive perseverance, which are sometimes linked to specific addictions. 

Dopamine is therefore a special elixir which is essential to keep us alive, because daily motivation is an essential part of being human.

Still, it’s important to always have a balance of this neurotransmitter within us.

Indeed, an excess will lead to a too strong search for emotions without fear of the consequences while a deficit or a lack of dopamines, can lock us in the terrible prison of depression.

The world of neurobiology is undoubtedly as complex as it is fascinating.