Re: Dopamine and willingness to work

[Anonymous]

I have to find the actual article but let me put some context to this: dopamine is a neurotransmitter and yes, it is found in many parts of the brain. However, there are unique receptors that are lodged in the brain that fire different patterns. These different dopamine receptors are not the same all over the brain. For example, in ADHD, we see D4 receptors in the prefrontal cortical area where in Parkinson’s disease we see D2 receptors in the substantia nigra. Both conditions have a lack of dopamine but clearly where they have the loss leads to the unique pathology. In schizophrenia, which is almost the opposite of ADHD, we see too much dopamine at D2 rich receptor areas in the mesolimbic, mesocortical and some other areas. Not the same as either Parkinson’s or ADHD. In other words, the report is making highly simplistic statements of something that is far more complex than they state. Clearly they are trying to arouse curiosity and controversy by being confusing.

So, the use of medications that are used in ADHD increase the amount of dopamine in the D4 receptor areas of the brain where we know ADHD lives and it works. Does it push up dopamine levels in other areas? Surprisingly, no or very little. If you give too much of a medication, then there are problems that may occur in other areas. So within the margins of the doses that are acceptable, the medications get the effect in the part of the brain that needs it because of the unique conformation of a medication and the specific neurochemical receptor they target.

And yes…….love is chemical.

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